Turn your radio off and your open mind on

The radio stations in Tokyo, I find, are really talky. Not much music gets played, and most of the airtime is taken up by descriptions and interviews. Some programs are in both English and Japanese, but these are not the norm. Some J pop is listenable, but you tend to hear the same stuff again and again.   And [...]

Ukiyoe iPhone app

During the recent wicked weather, I’ve spent a lot of time indoors playing with my iPhone and downloading apps. Much of the photography on Chibaraki was shot with either an old Sharp camera phone and iPhone.
This application, Edoshop, uses photos to make ukiyo-e-like images. Ukiyo-e is the woodblock print art that became highly refined in the [...]

Kutsche at Otomachi

This year marks the fourth year for Otomachi, the music project in Kashiwa which features unsigned acts performing outdoors and at venues around Kashiwa. After their performance on the plaza in front of Kashiwa Station,  Kutsche, an indie trio that does all original music, came over to my neighbourhood for Sunday night dinner at White Gyoza.
The [...]

Dinner time earthquake

This evening while having dinner in Kashiwa with friends, a 7.1 earthquake rocked us for what felt like a whole minute. A search of the ‘Net with our mobile phones and my iPhone turned up the US Geological Survey world report of recent earthquakes and the Japan Meteorological Agency’s weather, climate and earthquake infomation. JMA reported [...]

Antique Market at Fuse Benten

 On the first Saturday of the month, from 8am-4pm, the parking lot in front of 布施弁天 Fuse Benten is the site of an antiques market. There are vendors with bonsai, textiles, porcelain and curiousities.
The neighbouring Akebono Park is a sea of sunflowers now and a huge lawn to play on, and Fuse Benten has some seasonal [...]

Hiroshima Memorial in Kashiwa

On August 6th at 5am,　諏訪神社 Suwa Shrine in Kashiwa City will hold a memorial service for the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Here is a video of this peaceful place which can be found on the little hill right in front of Kashiwa City Hall.