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Date, Time, Currency Rate
Japan:
Thu, 04/24/2025, 12:46 AM
Central USA:
Wed, 04/23/2025, 10:46 AM
Currency: 1 USD = 142.64 JPY
as of 04/23/25 15:00 UTC

Japan Days

My Days in Japan

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Welcome to Japan-Days.info

On this web site, I will share with you some stories and pictures from the time when I lived in Japan as a member of the United States Air Force, and from various visits that my wife, Ritsuko, and I have made there since my departure from the military in 1978. As you browse the site, please note that clicking (or tapping if using a phone or tablet) on any of the images will enable you to see an enlargement of the picture, clicking on it again will take it back to original size. Also, many words are highlighted to show the availability of a tooltip, which will provide you with more information about the word, and are invoked by hovering the mouse pointer over it (or tapping if using a phone or tablet).

I will add content to the site periodically, so please visit often.

News Feeds

News feed source: SoraNews24
SoraNews24 -Japan News-
Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

Studio Ghibli releases new My Neighbour Totoro furoshiki bag for Mother’s Day in Japan (Japan)
Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:00:36 +0000

Putting an anime twist on Japanese tradition. With Mother’s Day just around the corner, Studio Ghibli is stepping in with a gift option that fans will find hard to resist. Called the My Neighbour Totoro Dandelion Azuma Bag, this item is both beautiful and functional, with a number of features that make it different to […]
Tokyo government ordered to search for biological parents of 67-year-old-man switched at birth (Japan)
Wed, 23 Apr 2025 14:00:01 +0000

Four-year lawsuit comes to an end as court dismisses privacy concerns. Tokyo resident Satoshi Egura turned 67 this month, and while it’s natural to spend some time on your birthday thinking back on your life so far, Egura most likely looked back even farther than most people do, to the very first few days after […]
A visit to the real-world Like a Dragon/Yakuza cabaret in Osaka【Photos】 (Japan)
Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:00:45 +0000

Mr. Sato visits the clear inspiration for Goro Majima’s Cabaret Grand. Our ace reporter Mr. Sato is a hard-working guy, but on a recent business trip to Osaka, he found himself feeling a little worn out after a day spent chasing after story leads. So after eating dinner, he figured he’d earned the right to […]
New contender for the Akihabara ramen crown: Restaurant run by martial arts champ【Taste test】 (Japan)
Wed, 23 Apr 2025 05:00:03 +0000

Mixed martial artist now adds ramen making to his skill mix at Men Zin Saito. Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood is Japan’s biggest mecca for anime, electronics, and video game specialty shops. That also means that Akihabara has a lot of casual restaurants ready to serve visitors from around the country and around who just dropped some […]
American cookie store Pug opens a pop-up in Tokyo for a limited time (Japan)
Wed, 23 Apr 2025 03:00:47 +0000

Bringing Boston cookies to Japan…with a twist. Tokyoites get to enjoy a world of flavours on their doorstep, and now there’s a new player on the scene bringing Boston cookies to the metropolis for a limited time. Called “Pug“, this American cookie specialty store is actually a new Japanese-born chain, and it’s putting its own […]
How to make Japanese melon pan out of any type of bread (Japan)
Wed, 23 Apr 2025 01:00:16 +0000

Easy recipe turns even sliced bread and curry pan into this famous sweet snack. Melon pan are sweet round buns with crunchy scored exteriors, fluffy soft interiors and a faint taste of Japanese muskmelon, and they have a cult following amongst people in Japan and tourists who visit from overseas. If you’ve ever visited Japan […]
Kyoto’s crazy expensive luxury chirimen nut clusters cost as much as a lunch, but are they worth it? (Japan)
Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:30:36 +0000

A very unique, very pricy snack from Japan’s classiest town. Kyoto is Japan’s classiest city. The buildings are classy, the way of speaking is classy, the trains are classy…and are even the nuts classy? That’s what we were wondering while looking through the wares of Kyoto’s Shimogamo Saryo. Shimogmo Saryo is a ryotei, the term […]
Nekojita Fufu: Cute cat robot cools your drinks, becomes a viral sensation online (Japan)
Tue, 22 Apr 2025 15:00:44 +0000

Japanese gadget now ready to be shipped around the world. Have you got “cat’s tongue“? Lots of people do, particularly in Japan, where the term, known as “nekojita” in Japanese, is used to describe people who are sensitive to hot food or drinks. While those with cat’s tongue usually have to set drinks and food […]
Cold Stone permanently closing its final Tokyo branch, but why is the chain struggling in Japan? (Japan)
Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:00:04 +0000

Once the hottest ice cream chain in the country, Cold Stone is now just one step away from completely disappearing from Japan. When Cold Stone arrived in Japan in 2005, it was a near-instant hit, with long lines of customers at just about every branch excitedly listening to the singing staff as they waited for […]
Studio Ghibli now sells Totoro bubble blowers at its anime merchandise store in Japan (Japan)
Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:00:28 +0000

My Bubble Totoro, complete with an instructional video on how to use them. The star of Studio Ghibli’s 1988 anime feature My Neighbour Totoro is a gentle grey giant that goes by the name “Totoro“, but he’s not the only Totoro to appear in the film. There’s a small, white, mouthless-and-armless variety, known as “小トトロ” […]

Travel to Japan

leaving Kyoto station

As the Shinkansen leaves Kyoto Station, it quickly accelerates. Watch the video to see from a passenger's POV.

Watch from the perspective of a passenger as this high speed Shinkansen leaves Kyoto Station, and accelerates rapidly.

Below is a short video clip that I shot from a train we were aboard when we traveled from Hiroshima to Tokyo during our 2012 trip. Sitting next to the window in the last row of seats in car 5, I shot this as we were leaving Kyoto Station. Immediately after leaving the city the train goes into a tunnel. The video will go dark, and then you can see the reflection of the interior of the car.

Notice the smoothness of the ride, and how quiet is the interior of the train. This is really a great way to travel.

Video shot from inside Shinkansen as it leaves Kyoto Station -- April 2012

waiting to board

Tokyo Station April 2012 -- Ritsuko with our luggage, waiting to board the 6:26AM train for Osaka, where we would transfer to another train bound for Kagoshima.

When Ritsuko and I go to Japan, we typically cover a lot of ground over the 2 to 3 week period of our trip, and in my opinion, the absolute best way to travel in country is by rail. Japan has a superb rail system. The larger cities have a network of commuter trains and subways; many rural areas have a combination of train and bus service. But, of course, the crown jewel of Japan's railway system is the high speed, comfortable, and reliable Shinkansen, also known as the "Bullet Train".

Tokyo Station - Model N700 Shinkansen

The first Shinkansen was a dream made into a reality under the leadership of Shinji Sogo, who was the fourth president of Japan National Railways in the 1950's and early 1960's. The initial plan was to upgrade train service on the Tokaido Line, utilizing a high speed train on a dedicated standard gauge track, with the goal of reducing travel time from Tokyo to Osaka to two hours. Put into service in 1964, the launch of the first train was to coincide with the 1964 Tokyo Olympic games, showing the world the remarkable extent to which Japan had recovered after WWII. However, political goals notwithstanding, the Shinkansen was the first move toward migrating Japan's rail system to standard gauge, and set a new standard for quality of service and safety for Japan's rail system.

Joetsu Shinkansen

E7 Series Shinkansen at Tokyo Station - service to Nagano

The model 0 had a top speed of 200km/hr. Today's model N700 runs at speeds of 240–320 km/h, and throughout the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, most major cities are linked by Shinkansen.

 | Published by: Japan Days  logo
 | Date Modified: July 28, 2023

Japan Culture

With Ritsuko having been born and raised in a small town in rural Kagoshima Prefecture, I have had the opportunity to visit the area with her many times over the years.

stream

stone lined stream that directs water to the Shimazu estate

Southern Kyushu is a beautiful part of Japan that receives sufficient rainfall for the mountains and valleys to be covered in lush vegetation, and has a long history of responsible productive use of the land and resources.

Walking through the countryside, one thing that you will notice are the centuries old stone lined aquaducts that are still in use today. Their presence and use give testament to how well the people of this region have managed, and continue to manage the flow of water from the mountains and into the fields and towns.

During our stay in Kagoshima on our 2016 Japan trip, we visited Sengan-en. Sengan-en is a park established on the grounds of a beautiful estate that has belonged to the Shimazu family for the past three and a half centuries. I will write more about the estate, garden, and museum in another article, however, I just wanted to share this video of a Sakon-Taro in operation. This is a water powered device that was used to remove the husks and to polish rice.

Below, is a video of the machine going through a cycle.

Video of Sakon-taro in operation - Sengan-en, Kagoshima, Japan

sakon-taro

Sakon-taro rice husking device at Sengan-En, Kagoshima, beginning to cycle

Sakon-taro rice husking device at Sengan-En, Kagoshima, about to strike

 | Published by: Japan Days  logo
 | Date Modified: July 28, 2023

My Air Force Days

During the early part of my tour at Yokota Air Base, Okutama became one of my favorite places to escape when I had a day off from work. Okutama is a small town in the extreme western extent of Tokyo Prefecture. Geographically, the municipality extends far beyond the town itself, encompassing a large mountainous area bordering Saitama and Yamanshi Prefectures. Several waterways, including the Tama River, traverse the area, and nearby is Lake Okutama, a large man made reservoir that is an important source of water for Tokyo Prefecture.

Traveling by train from Fussa to Okutama in 1973, on the Ome Line

Back then, as is now, Okutama was a popular destination for hikers and fishing enthusiasts. I used to go there in order to escape into a peaceful natural environment, to hike, and to photograph. For me, the area was very accessible, either by car or by train. By car, the roads were well marked, and although few road signs were in romaji, the kanji for Okutama, 奥多摩, was easy to remember and recognize. However, with the town having train service via the Ome line, rail was the the most convenient conveyance. Japan Railways Ome line provides service from Tachikawa to Okutama, with Fussa being one of the stations on the line. The original line was built during the Meiji Period, providing service between Tachikawa and Ome. In 1944, it was extended to its current western terminus, Okutama.

The video in this article is a short film that I shot on super 8 during one of my visits to Okutama in 1973. You can see in the various scenes, a change in terrain from the flat, low lying plain where Fussa is located, to progressively more mountainous terrain as the train travels westward.

photography in Okutama 1974

Okutama 1974, composing a shot with my Nikon F2, demonstrating proper technique of simultaneously holding camera and cigarette

I loved going there to take pictures. Mountain trails and waterways were just a short hike from the station, and they offered great subject material for a photo hobbyist like myself. Shortly after arriving at Yokota, I took up photography as a hobby, and Yokota Air Base was definitely a good place for one to pursue such a hobby. Not only did the Base Education Office offer several courses in photography through LACC (Los Angeles Community College), but also Yokota had an excellent Photo Hobby Shop for military personnel stationed there.

For a price of admission that was comparable to buying a beer at the NCO Club, one could use the hobby shop darkroom. All chemicals and equipment were provided, although you were welcome to bring your own enlarger lens, developer, and other assorted accessories. The hobby shop store usually had a good supply of photographic paper in various sizes, finishes, and contrast characteristics. Of course, if one wanted photographic supplies that the hobby shop didn't stock, Shinjuku was only about 45 minutes away by train. Across the street from Shinjuku Station were a couple of large photographic equipment stores, where one could find anything. I was a frequent visitor to the Sakuraya store in Shinjuku, where I usually tried to keep from spending all my money so that I could enjoy a hot bowl of noodles at one of the nearby standing soba shops before boarding the train for home.

near Okutama Japan

One of my favorite pictures from Okutama 1974- shot on Kodak Panatomic X film, I was trying to expose for maximum grey scale

Bridge near Okutama Japan in 1974 - photo shot while wading in the river

Recently, I found some prints of a few of my favorite pictures from Okutama, that I took during 1973-1975. They were photographs that I had printed at the Yokota Air Base photo hobby shop, and were still in excellent condition. I have the negatives somewhere at home, and considered producing digital media by scanning the negatives in a film scanner, but instead decided to scan the prints using a flatbed scanner. My reason for this is that when I took the photographs, I did so knowing that I would crop the negative to fit the aspect ratio of either 8x10 or 10x12 paper in the darkroom. Therefore, the print better represents what was in my mind when taking the picture, and since I sure can't remember what I was thinking while standing in a river or leaning off a cliff 40 years ago, I'll just scan the print.

fisherman casting from the riverbank

A fisherman casting from the river bank, near Okutama 1974

calm water

Hazy sky reflected in calm water

looking out of tunnel

Light at the end of the tunnel - near Okutama 1974

new mountain road

Newly improved mountain road - near Okutama 1975

This concludes my trip into the past for today. I hope that you enjoyed the video and pictures.

 | Published by: Japan Days  logo
 | Date Modified: July 28, 2023
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