Food Anomalies in Kashiwa

Kashiwa is full of surprises. Take for instance, The Ogori Cafe, as reported by Cabel.
Last weekend, we went to The Big Winner, an American diner caught in time. On the old Mitsukaido, just a 5 minute walk from the east exit of Kashiwa Station, you’ll see the front end of a Cadillac on the building [...]

Matsudo Yosakoi 2009

Tomorrow is Matsudo Yosakoi festival. Wooooo! Will the weather cooperate? I sure hope so.
So, you ask, what’s Yosakoi mean? It’s a Kochi dialect which means “come at night”, and refers to a really high energy dance form that combines traditional festival dance forms with modern music. The costumes are not traditional but pop versions of [...]

本土時の秋 Autumn at Hondoji

It’s really tough to get photos of higanbana, the red spider lillies that bloom on the autumn equinox. Either they look really disorganized, or the light they choose to live in makes the photos look too bright or the shadows obscure them. Weird other worldly things, they are.
They are blooming at Hondoji, the Nichiren temple [...]

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 [...]

御盆 Obon

Obon is that time of year when Japanese people’s ancestors come for a visit. You might see little fires lit in front of some houses in rural areas around Chiba Prefecture, but that’s becoming rare these days. These fires are meant to welcome home ghosts of ancestors. The department stores are displaying gorgeous lanterns to display [...]

Tone River Jam 2009

Last year’s Tone River Jam in Abiko got typhooned on, but before the skies opened up, we got to hear some great music.
As always, the Tone River Jam on August 16th is free, hosted by local businesses. Last year, a shuttle bus from Tennodai Station took jam goers to the [...]

Japan and home ec

This week, Bloomberg reports that Japan may be slipping into deflation, and we’re starting to see wages and consumer prices decreasing. I didn’t get a raise this year, some local friends are hanging on to get paid late, and we’re seeing businesses in the region going.
I’m so glad that Dreamer found just the right place [...]

Full Latin Music in Kashiwa

This is Ryuichi and Pri dancing bachata.  Ryuichi is from Dominica who teaches dance all over Tokyo.
Ben in Kashiwa turned lots of local people on to Latin dance. A few weeks ago, I got my first Salsa lesson with Ken, and got hooked. Don’t worry if you don’t have a dance partner. It is a really friendly atmosphere, [...]

Hondoji and Bamboo shoots

Last weekend, The Dreamer, who is new to Nagareyama, and I went on a field trip to see 本土時 Hondoji, the Nichiren Buddhist temple famous for its four-season garden.
When you walk out of the north exit of 北小金 Kitakogane Station on the Joban local line, it is less than a ten minute walk to the temple. [...]

Where am I? Train melodies

When your train is about to depart a station anywhere on the JR East lines, you will hear a melody to tell you the train is departing. The train lines and stations have distinctive jingles which remind you where you are and whether you are on a local or express train bound for wherever.
I spend [...]