Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
April 23, 2008 Children’s Day in Japan Kodomo no hi (Children’s Day) is observed in Japan on May 5th. The event is celebrated by hanging carp streamers (koi-nobori) and displaying samurai dolls and helmets (kabuto) in and around the home.…
October 1, 2008 Chiyoda Ward is the least populous ward of Tokyo with just over 43 thousand residents in a 11.6 square kilometer area. While a relatively small number of people call Chiyoda City home, the daytime population exceeds one…
If you ever find yourself in need of assistance in Japan look for a police box or Koban. There are approximately 1200 Kobans located at major intersections and near most train stations throughout Tokyo. If you don’t see a sign…
An exhibit titled “Renoir + Renoir” will be on display at the Bunkamura Museum of Art until May 6th. The exhibit focuses on two great masters — painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) and his son Jean Renoir (1894-1979). Both men had…
May 27, 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 Rihga Royal Hotel Tokyo is offering a great family event during the months of July and August. Mom, Dad and kids can all learn to make and decorate cupcakes under the guidance of the hotel’s pastry chef, Ryoko Nonoda,…
Many of the idioms that native English speakers use regularly are not understood well by the Japanese and often make no sense to them when translated literally. For those of you interested in the Japanese language you may find it…
Eating out can be a bit intimidating in Tokyo. If you can’t read Kanji then you may think that you are out of luck and will need to find a friend who can speak and read Japanese. That’s rarely the…
September 30, 2008 This past weekend I accidentally attended the grand opening of Eataly, a great to place to taste and shop for Italian wines, cheese, breads, pastries and almost everything else that you can imagine in Tokyo’s Daikanyama neighborhood. …
The Royal Park Hotel is located in Ningyocho, one of the city’s oldest and most traditional neighborhoods. The hotel goes out of its way to make sure that guests feel welcome and offers a variety of different ways for guests…
Chuo Ward is home to over 100 thousand residents in a 10.1 square kilometer area of central Tokyo. It is the second smallest ward in Tokyo and the second least populated ward. Like neighboring Chiyoda Ward, Chuo ward offers visitors…
Held in beautiful and spacious Hamarikyu Gardens, the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony offers a unique opportunity to experience a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. Demonstrations and lectures will be held in an effort to familiarize both citizens and international visitors with…
Combine some bourbon, amaretto and a little cranberry juice and you have the award winning Red Carpet Cocktail created by Takahiro Watanabe of the Keio Plaza Hotel’s Polestar Skybar. Sounds like a tasty drink to sip while overlooking the Tokyo…
If you pay attention when you are out and about in Japan you will notice that the Japanese make some everyday things into works of art. Manhole covers are one of those things. The cover to the left is from…
Itabashi-ku is home to over 500 thousand people in a little more than 32 square kilometers. In English, Itabashi means “plank bridge” which recalls an early, innovative bridge, that spanned one of the rivers flowing through the ward in the…
June 17, 2008 Summer Kanji – Natsu This years summer solstice will be on June 20th in the Northern Hemisphere. When I asked “What do YOU want to know about Tokyo?”, Chandra from The Boston Traveler asked me to share…
Plan to visit the Aoyama Cemetery on your next trip to Tokyo. Believe it, or not, Tokyoites use this cemetery as a place to enjoy the cherry blossoms each spring and as a jogging or walking are year round. Aoyama…
Mark you calendars for the 37th Annual Kagurazaka Festival. The highlight of the festival is the Awa odori, a local bon dance of Tokushima Prefecture. Fifteen dance troupes will parade down Kagurazaka Dori at 7 & 9PM on July 25th…
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…
Have you heard the resounding sound of taiko drumming live? It is hard to tear your eyes from the athletic drummers as the beat their instruments to create a soulful sound that is reminiscent of a religious chant or a…
