I am proud to have been the inaugural author of this blog and understand that there will soon be a new blogger here to share even more about this amazing metropolis with you.

In the meantime you can keep up with me on twitter or check out The Nihon Sun, my new home on the web, where I will blog about travel and culture in Japan.

I hate goodbyes, so let’s not say sayonara, but ja mata (see you later) instead…

Image Credit: Flickr, Referee Bows, Fukuoka Kokusai

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Read folk tales from Japan or learn about native foods and dress.  Learn more about what’s cool, the language or even play some virtual games.  There is a lot of information available on this great website and it is one that I recommend exploring with or without your kids.

The time spent learning about Japan will enrich your visit and allow you to recognize the significance, and understand the history, behind many of the of the things that you will see and do on your trip.

Image Credit:  Flickr, taking notes

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Also near Shimabata Station is Taishakuten Temple where you can browse a 200 meter long strip of shops selling dumplings, candy and traditional toys on your way the temple.

Mizumoto Park (PDF) is home to over 600 cherry trees, the largest concentration of Japanese Irises in Tokyo and forests of Japanese Poplar and Metasequoai trees and is well worth a visit.

Take a walk through Katsushika, download the PDF Guide to Katsushika sights from the city’s website or read through ATT.Japan’s article on Katsushika and Kita Senju to plan you visit.

Image Credit: Flickr, The life of a travelling salesman &  Wikipedia, Shimabata Taishakuten

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Cover is Y3,500 for a 45 minute visit, long enough as the temperature is kept at a chilly minus 5 degrees Celsius year around, and includes a cape to keep you warm during your stay and a Vodka cocktail (or non-alcoholic drink) served in your very own ice glass.

The bar is currently undergoing a renovation and will reopen on November 1st with a new interior decor and all new ice.   Absolut Icebar Tokyo is open from 6PM to midnight Sunday through Thursday and on Friday and Saturdays from 6PM to 1:15AM.

Reservations for 45 minute slots are recommended and can be made online on the ABSOLUT ICEBAR TOKYO website.

Image Credit: FLickr, ice glasses on the ice bar

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Image Credit: Flickr, Things

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If candy and sweet things are more your speed then read all about Japanese candy at NYMag.

Leah Dizon, a Gravure Idol (read bikini model and video star) in Japan, recently got married and W. David Marx talks about the Japanese entertainment industry in an interesting article at his blog, Neojaponisme.

The Jenss family blog about their visit to Tokyo at Intelligent Travel.

Image Credit:  Flickr, Candy Stand

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“Aoyama Cemetery, perhaps best described as an urban oasis, has been in existence for over 130 years. As one of the four city-owned cemeteries, it is the eternal resting place of over 120,000 graves, including many politicians, writers, Hachiko the famous loyal dog, and nearly 200 foreigners since the Meiji period.”

Source: Japan Now & Then, Aoyama Cemetery–Foreigner’s Graves in Danger

Aoyama Cemetery Access:
7-minute walk from Gaien Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. 10-minute walk from Nogizaka Station on the Tokyo Metro Subway Chiyoda Line. 10-minute walk from Aoyama 1-chome Station on the Tokyo Metro Subway Hanzomon Line or Toei Subway Oedo Line.

Visit the Cemetery Administration office near the Aoyama-dori entrance (Aoyama area map) to pick up a map of the cemetery and its once famous residents. Admission is free.

Image Credit:  Flickr, Cemetery Road

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“Everything along the coast must have been built close together, because now it is endless rubble. There is no open country when you leave town.

You are smack-jam in another community that looks just the same as the one just passed piles of bricks, steel twisted like old wires, a few smoke stacks still standing and Japanese people crawling in & out having found some space to make a home in all that mess.

We didn’t spend more than 2 hrs in Tokyo (went up on 1:30 bus — one hr ride — & returned on 5:15 train — 1 1/2 hr ride.)

I didn’t see very much in ruins in Tokyo. I think it is a beautiful city — lovely buildings and beautiful landscaping.”

Source:  Japan Times ‘Life keeps right on moving’

The Japan Times recently featured a series of articles based upon letters written by in 1947 and 1948 by Elizabeth Ryan who worked for the Inspector General of the Occupation in Kobe as a reporter for a provost court.  The letters were discovered by a secondhand bookstore owner in Nebraska of all places. The series of seven articles is titled “Letters From Kobe” and are a must read for anyone interested in this period in Japan’s history.

Image Credit: Wikimedia, Sto1001

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The area is home to a number of sights and attractions including the Itabashi Art Museum and the Itabashi Historical Museum (pictured below).

The Itabashi City website offers information for foreigners and visitors including seasonal events and traditional arts & crafts from the area. The sightseeing guide around ITABASHI ART MUSEUM provides some great options when planning a visit to Itabashi City in Tokyo as does the Tokyo Tourism Info - Itabashi-ku area guide.

Image Credit:  Flickr, Itabashi Historical Museum (郷土資料館) (2/2) #8737

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A kendama (pictured on the right) is a traditional wooden toy that consists of a ball connected by a string to a handle with 3 cups and a spike on top.  The goal is to catch the ball in the cups or on the spike and like a yo-yo there are many tricks that you can do with a Kendama.  Here are just a few (Japanese name / English name ):

• Oozara / Big cup
• Kozara / Small cup
• Chuuzara / Base cup
• Rousoku / Candlestick
• Swinging Oozara (String must remain taut until ball is above the level of the ken)
• Tsubame Kaeshi / Orbit (Oozara>Orbit>Ozara)
  Tomeken / Pull-up-in
• Kajiya / Tap Back (Oozara>tap ball with ken>Oozara)
• Hikouki / Aeroplane
• Moshikame for 10 catches (Starting with Oozara or Kozara - player’s choice)

Kendama competitions are sponsored by the British Kendama Association and the Japan Kendama Association tells us how to identify a certified sport Kendama at toy stores and department stores throughout Japan.  But you don’t need a certified sport Kendama to have a lot of fun playing this game as this video proves.

Can you do it?  Try it out yourself with some virtual kendama before picking up one of these fun and affordable toys on your next trip to Tokyo?

Image Credit:  Wikimedia, Kendama Video: You Tube: kendama high technique play

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