The Tokyo Traveler

Kendama is a game that came to Japan in the Edo period and was a popular form of entertainment.  Kendama is also know as Nichi Getsu Ball, or Sun Moon Ball, in Japan and is based upon the French game ‘Bilboquet’ meaning ‘cup and ball’ which has roots that can be traced back to the 11th century.  Yep, it’s an old game and it was one of the first real toy crazes in the early 1700’s according to the British Kendama Association. 
A kendama (pictured on the right) is a traditional wooden toy that consists of a ball connected …read more

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Each year on the second Monday of October, the Japanese celebrate Health & Sports day, Taiiku no hi in Japanese, with a national holiday.  Established in 1966, this holiday celebrates the anniversary of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic opening ceremony and encourages residents to enjoy sports and cultivate a healthy mind and body.
Schools and communities sponsor local sports days to celebrate Taiiku no hi and to  encourage children to live an active lifestyle while having some fun with their friends and classmates.
The benefits of a healthy mind and body are not limited to children or one day of the year.  …read more

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Are you interested in Yabusame (Japanese archery)?  Have you been to the ancient town of Kamakura?  If you will be in Tokyo from September 14th to the 16th you can check both of these items off your “to do” list by heading to the Reitaisai festival at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura.
The Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine has been hosting this three day festival for over 800 years and it features traditional folk dancing, parades and Shinto ceremonies.  The highlight of the festival is the samurai archery exhibition, known as yabusame, on September 16th, where participants take aim at targets while …read more

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The September Sumo Grand Tournament will be held between September 14th and 28th at the Kokugikan in the Ryogoku area of Tokyo and will be your last chance to catch a tournament in Tokyo this year! 
If you will be in Tokyo during this time, this is one event that you will definitely want to include in your itinerary.  Book your tickets in advance or get to the the ticket office early in the day as tournament day chair seats (general admission) are limited to around 400 and go on sale at 8:30AM.
If my enthusiasm for this event hasn’t made …read more

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The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Tokyo Dome City and is a great place to visit for  baseball fans and historians alike.  The museum documents the history of the game in Japan from the late 1800’s, when Horace Wilson, an American Teacher at Ichiban Chugaku (now Tokyo University) first introduced baseball to his students, through to the present day.
Exhibits include over 100 artifacts from professional baseball in Japan that include a well designed locker room setting where you can get a close-up look at the uniforms for each of the twelve professional teams playing in …read more

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Why not rent a bike and get some exercise while taking in all the great sights that Tokyo has to offer? Next to the train, cycling is the most common way to get around the city and it can be a lot of fun. Folding bicycles with carrying cases can be rented through Coolbike for Y2,000 (around US $20) per day via an online reservation system in English, or in person at their shop.
Coolbike rentals can be taken on trains and busses around the city (when collapsed and in their carrying case) so you can take …read more

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Japan will be sending a team of 339 athletes to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing which will be captained by Keiji Suzuki, the 2004 Athens Olympic Judo gold medalist.  Ai Fukuhara, a petite table tennis star has the honor of bearing the Japanese Flag, also knows as the Hinomaru, at the games.
At a traditional sendoff ceremony and gala party held for Japan’s Olympic Team last Monday, Crown Prince Naruhito, a member of the Japanese royal family and next in line to become the Emperor of Japan, passed on some words of encouragement to the athletes:
“At such a memorable event, …read more

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The best baseball players in Japan will compete in the 2008 Mazda All-Star Game at Yokohama Stadium on Friday, August 1st at 6:10 PM. The Central League will play the Pacific League and will each have a 28 man roster that includes the best players as voted on by the fans, fellow players and coaches.  The August 1st game is the second of two All-Star Game scheduled for 2008, the first will be held the day before at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka.
Mazda will provide green electricity indirectly for this years games under the “Green Power Certification System” by …read more

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Sadaharu Oh is a baseball legend in Japan, he signed with the Yomiuri Giants in 1959 and played for 22 seasons, slugging 868 home runs (Barry Bonds has 762), winning 14 league pennants and 11 Japan Series. In 1962 he was the Central league home run leader, a title that he held for 13 straight seasons, and he won the batting triple crown twice for leading the league in batting average, runs batted in and home runs.
He retired after the 1980 season and became a coach and then the manager of the Yomiuri Giants. In 1988 he ended …read more

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Baseball is Japan’s favorite sport and if you love baseball then no trip to Japan would be complete without a trip to the ballpark. Nippon Professional Baseball has exported the likes of Ichiro, Daisuke Matsuzaka (Dice-K) and Fukudome to MLB and if you are lucky you might get to see the next Japanese slugger or hurler on his home turf before he makes it big in America.
Even if you don’t get to see the next Fukudome you will have a great time at a Japanese baseball game. The fans here form complete cheering sections in the outfield that …read more

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