Photo of the Day: Ueno Natsu Matsuri
A lively and colorful performance at the Bentendo Hall stage after the 2009 Ueno Natsu Matsuri parade in Tokyo.
2011 JCCC Junior Kendo Spring Tournament
The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Junior Kendo Tournament was held on May 29, 2011 in Toronto, Canada.
My son participated in this tournament along with other members of his JCCC kendo club.
There were several divisions, non-bogu and bogu, and age groups.
A few pictures of the individual matches.
There was also 3 person team matches.
This was only my son’s second kendo tournament and he worked hard to earn 3rd place in his division, earning a medal.
Congratulations and well done, son!
Please visit this week’s issue (#30) of Show Me Japan hosted by Anna at budgettrouble.com.
My Darling is a Foreigner
My Darling is a Foreigner (Darling wa Gaikokujin) is a funny manga that was written in 2002 by Saori Oguri about a Japanese manga artist named Saori (autobiographical) married to an American journalist named Tony. This manga was made into a Japanese movie last year (April 2010 release) starring Mao Inoue and Jonathan Sherr.
This movie was just shown at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. I have not read the manga so I don’t know how close the movie adaptation is. The movie location is mainly in Japan (Tokyo), though one of the scenes was in the US when Saori meets Tony’s parents in his hometown. It is a light hearted comedy. Not a great movie (has received generally bad reviews), but it is watchable with a few funny moments. Don’t expect an Academy Award film.
Have you seen this movie? If yes, what did you think of it?
Photo of the Day: NYK Hikawamaru
The NYK Hikawamaru is permanently docked in the Yokohama harbor and has been open to the public since its renovation on April 25th, 2008.
Anime North 2011
While living in Tokyo, my son and I had a chance to attend the Tokyo Anime Fair last year. This year, we attended Anime North 2011 held annually in Toronto, held on May 27-29.
This event was held at the Toronto Congress Center, Doubletree and Sheridan Hotels near the Toronto airport.
Attendance last year was about 17,000 and entrance fee is $40 (about 5,000 yen).
Inside near the entrance, a weapons check was setup for cosplayers.
There were many different types of activities during the event including panels, anime movies, games, idol singing contents, maid cafe, Japanese art gallery, etc. There was even anime pro wrestling, only in Canada ….
There were Japanese sword demonstrations which allowed participants to learn some basic (Kendo) moves …
There was also live cosplay chess challenge.
Speaking of cosplay, unlike the Tokyo Anime Fair where there were only a small number of cosplayers, over half the attendees were cosplayers.
There were many impressive costumes from anime, video games, movies, TV shows, etc.
The rest of this blog post will be pictures of cosplayers. Enjoy!
From the Assassin’s Creed video game …
Another game –Bioshock.
From the movie Avatar?
Black Rock Shooter.
The Last Airbender
It’s a lovely Supergirl.
Final Fantasy character.
Gundam girl.
I think this is Liane K, a local Toronto TV personality and well-known cosplayer.
Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.
Compared to the Tokyo Anime Fair, Anime North is much smaller, but is more expensive, though has a lot more different types of activities. The Tokyo Anime Fair booths and displays were certainly much nicer. Finally, cosplayers rule the Anime North convention.
Please visit this week’s issue (#29) of Show Me Japan hosted by Anna at budgettrouble.com.
Emergency Kit
Japan experiences the most number of earthquakes in the world so the people are quite prepared. When I was living in Tokyo, my company gives all its employees an emergency kit to keep in their homes. After my assignment, I took mine home when I returned to Canada.
Inside, the contents are typical of what you will find in an emergency kit including first aid kit, battery, flashlight, canned goods, gloves, bottled water, etc.
I also added a few small bills and coins in the local currency. Do you have an emergency kit at home?
Crowd of 100
A very funny 5 minute YouTube video from Japan of what can happen if you have a crowd of 100 Japanese people.
This has almost 1.5 million views on YouTube so this has gone viral so everyone must have seen it already, right?
Photo of the Day: Stone Bridge
This bridge is called Engetsu-kyo (Stone Bridge) or full moon bridge in the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens in Tokyo because a full moon is formed by joining the figure of this bridge to its reflection on the water. This picture was taken in the fall – there were lots of fallen leaves, so no reflection was visible.
Please visit this week’s issue (#28) of Show Me Japan hosted by Anna at budgettrouble.com.
Photo of the Day: Girls Carrying a Mikoshi
Young women in red enthusiastically carry a mikoshi (portable shrine) during the 2008 Mitama Matsuri in Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
Photo of the Day: Roller Coaster
Roller coaster plunging into the water at Cosmo World in the Minato Mirai area in Yokohama.
