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The Tokyo Traveler

Archive for the ‘History & Information’ Category

July 18th, 2008

Need some luck? Get a Daruma Doll

Have you been having a string of bad luck lately?  Are you starting a new job, a new business or a new relationship that you want to be successful at?  If so, you should get a Daruma Doll.   Legend says that these dolls are named after Daruma, the Japanese name for Bodhidharma, the founder of […]

By Shane -- 5 comments

May 30th, 2008

Kagurazaka - Tour the Alleyways of Old Edo

The Kagurazaka district is located in the center of Tokyo, in the middle of JR Yamanote Line. The area is famous for its lively main street, Kagurazaka-Dori (Dori means “street.”) and it’s winding cobblestone alleyways. The name Kagurazaka is a combination of kagura (a shrine-dance to music) and saka (hill) and evokes the […]

By Shane -- 4 comments

May 27th, 2008

Tokyo Station is Getting a Facelift!

 
Efforts began in 2004 to renovate and preserve the Tokyo Station for the first time since the end of WWII.  The renovations will be completed by 2013 and will include the reconstruction of the domes atop the station, restoration of the red brick facade and repairs to the third floor of the facility.
Architect Kingo […]

By Shane -- 3 comments

May 23rd, 2008

Royalty in Tokyo - The Imperial Palace

Across from the grand Imperial Hotel you will find the Imperial Palace, home to Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan. The palace has housed the Imperial Household of Japan since 1868, when the imperial family relocated from Kyoto which had been the imperial capital for more than a thousand years.
Japan’s monarchy […]

By Shane -- 5 comments

May 6th, 2008

Kabuki - Japanese Drama

Kabuki is a 400 year old traditional Japanese art form.  It is considered classical theater but watching Kabuki is rarely a staid affair.  Originally created by women, since 1629 men have played all of the major roles in a Kabuki drama.  They wear elaborate makeup and costumes and utilize skills taught to them by […]

By Shane -- 0 comments

May 5th, 2008

The Dawn of US Japan Relations circa 1853

The Perry & Harris Exhibition - The Dawn of U.S. Japan Relations is a special exhibit at the Edo-Tokyo Museum that will display photos, documents and artifacts relating to Commodore Matthew Perry’s historic trips to Japan and the events surrounding the 1858 Treaty of Amity and Commerce Between the United States and Japan, better […]

By Shane -- 0 comments

April 24th, 2008

Yabusame - Japanese Archery

On a overcast day in Tokyo it felt as if I had been transported back to the days of Edo. Under a peaceful canopy of greenery and cherry blossoms, magnificent horses and their riders (ite), dressed in traditional hunting attire (a-ge-shozoku), thundered down a narrow 240 meter track (baba), taking aim at three targets […]

By Shane -- 2 comments

April 1st, 2008

April 1st - No Joke for Japanese Americans

The pranks often associated with April Fools Day in the west are not common in Japan and I doubt that most people in Japan are even aware of the custom. In Japan, April 1 is a day of beginnings and renewals, it’s the first day of a new school year and the start of […]

By Shane -- 3 comments

March 22nd, 2008

A Little Bit About Tokyo

Tokyo is the capital of Japan but that wasn’t always the case and the city wasn’t always known as Tokyo either. Over 400 years ago the city was named Edo and the capital of Japan was Kyoto (capital city). Edo stared as a village in 1603 and was the center of the government […]

By Shane -- 1 comment

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