Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Another Japanese movie which was recently shown in the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center in Toronto is the 2010 film titled “Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”.
This is a story of a girl who travels back in time to find a mysterious man who her sick mother met when she was young. During her travel back in time, she meets her future mother and father (sound familiar?) and falls in love herself. The movie was slow at times and is not as exciting as the famous American time travel movie “Back to the Future”.
Sapporo Beer Commercial – Legendary Biru
In case you have missed it, this is an excellent 2 minute commercial for Sapporo Beer called “Legendary Biru”, which has been shown in North America (maybe also in other regions) for the past year and this video has about 3 million hits in YouTube.
Book: Seeing Japan
Before we left Japan to return home to Canada last year, we bought a 3 book set containing Seeing Japan, Seeing Tokyo and Seeing Kyoto. This set was published by Kodansha International in 2005, about 100 pages and a cost of US$25 each.
Seeing Japan is written by Charles Whipple and an excellent book describing all the regions or islands of Japan, containing a number of full-color pictures.
Seeing Tokyo is written by Kaori Shoji, covering most of the districts or areas which make up the Tokyo metropolis, where we lived for over 2 1/2 years. Just like the other books in this series, there are a number of full—color pictures and brings back many good memories.
Seeing Kyoto is written by Juliet Carpenter, capturing the essence of this ancient and traditional city, the former capital of Japan.
Overall, this is a very nice coffee table book set and sits on the coffee table in our living room.
Photo of the Day: Samba, Samba, Samba
It summer and it’s hot, hot, hot. This picture was taken during the 2009 Samba Festival parade held at Asakusa in Tokyo, a very popular event.
Last weekend, the annual Caribana Parade was held in Toronto, Canada as part of the Caribana Festival, the largest Caribbean festival in North America with over 1 million people. Unfortunately this year, there was a shooting resulting in a fatality.
Natsu Matsuri and Obon Festival
A Natsu Matsuri and Obon Festival was held on July 9, 2011 at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center (JCCC).
There were a number of booths inside and outside in the JCCC parking lot.
It was a very hot day so this ice cream truck was a welcome sight and very popular.
The highlight of the Natsu Matsuri was the dance performances by members of the JCCC Sakura Kai and Ayami Kai dance groups.
There was also a taiko drum performance (I didn’t catch the name of the group).
Young and old attended the festivities.
Before the Obon Festival, a prayer was said by the Buddhist priests from the Toronto Buddhist Church.
The Obon Festival highlight was the bon dance held in the parking lot with many yukata clad dancers (each dance group wore the same yukata).
Photo of the Day: Little Girl in Kimono
A little girl wearing a traditional kimono in the streets of Saitama.
Calpico
In Japan, my favorite non-alcoholic drink was Calpis Water. In North America, this drink is sold under the Calpico brand.
Last weekend, we bought a 1.5L bottle of Calpico at our local supermarket in Toronto for $4 (about 330 yen) on sale – normally a 500 ml bottle cost about $3. It is a very refreshing drink, especially in the hot summer.
Photo of the Day: Odawara Parade
A parade of traditionally dressed warriors carrying banners along the streets of Odawara during the 2009 Odawara Hojo Godai Matsuri.
Photo of the Day: Motorcycle
A motorcycle is parked in front of a traditional building in the Ushima Shrine in Asakusa, Tokyo.
Japan in the News: Japan Wins 2011 Women’s World Cup
All the Internets (Twitter, Facebook, blogs) was abuzz during the game and after Japan won the 2011 Women’s World Cup in dramatic fashion – a shootout!
More details and the picture above can be found in The New York Times, as well as Japan Probe. Japan is the first Asian team to win the Women’s World Cup. Congratulations!
Update (07/18/11): The Women’s World Cup final between Japan and the United States set the record for tweets per second, eclipsing the wedding of Prince William and Kate and the death of Osama bin Laden. For more details, read “Women’s World Cup final breaks Twitter record” from the Associated Press.
