so it will be Reiwa from May 1, 2019 onwards – the new era
and all of a sudden, everybody gets busy with consumerism, selling, printing and proposing anything Reiwa can do, including coca cola bottles!!
I reckon there will be a record breaking sale on calendars too this year
wa- was a known (although tough) kanji but Rei will need some practice
Shinagawa is a business area in Tokyo that offers many advantages, it is central, it is smaller than Tokyo station and therefore easier to locate the Shinkansen platforms, there is less queue at the counter to activate a rail pass for tourists and in general less queue all together
On the other hand, if you wish to activate your Rail Pass, make sure you go from 9.00 to 17.00 only
and the station can be mega busy at peak hours!! watch out!! the station is set as a mega corridor and it can feel daunting to jump in the flow.
When I relocated to Japan, I had never contemplated the fact that this country could not be very focused on sustainability.
My lifestyle changed drastically from there as all of a sudden, buying organic was no longer an option (could not read, not available), checking product origin was not displayed or in Japanese I could not read. All items are over wrapped. Bananas come in plastic bags, all products are wrapped once or twice, something 3 layers of plastic.
We officially recycle, I have 19 different categories at home but by far the package bag is the biggest every week !
Japan will need to address it as anyone else and removing straws is NOT a progress, rather a drop in the ocean
check this out – https://japantoday.com/category/national/not-so-fantastic-can-japan-end-its-love-affair-with-plastic?
Overtime in Japan is a catch 22, when you think you are addressing it, something comes across that makes it worse.
In preparation of Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the government and the Mayor of Tokyo, Koike San, are taking things very seriously, asking companies to allow holidays, home work, different working hours. Some metro lines (Tozai being the worst) have a 200% occupancy rate on peak hours, having the huge flow of tourists during the Olympics will make things worse no doubt. However, we could be helped with the fact that Olympics fall in the summer close to the Obon week where many people take a week-break and kids are on holidays.
The governement also considered changing times for the period so athlets would avoid the heat a little
JR now offered to extend train operations until 2am (instead of midnight) and guess what? this could push overtime even further… what can we do?
Nikko is a historical city 2 hours north of Tokyo in the Tochigi Prefecture.
Getting there is relatively easy although there is a small thing to know when taking the train in Kita-Senju. It appears that the express train needs a reserved seat ticket that you can buy, on top of your nomal train ride, at the gate to the platform
that platform is actually a bit like a Harry Potter special one! you need to go to the indicated platform in the station BUT once there, you need to walk all the way to the end and go through a special passage to a hidden platform for that train
you will then get a very vintage train all in brown velvet, so cute, kawaii desu ne
Enjoy the ride!
You may purchase a combined ticket that will include the return ticket and access to the bus in Nikko as well as the monuments. I did not as Nikko is a very walkable city.
Here is one of the most famous and as well unknown products of Japan. Everyone would recognise Japan as the place for tea, the tea ceremony, the matcha, but no one really knows where it is from, how it is grown, the history behind it. I am very curious about it and really want to explore the Shizuoka area with a guide and understand the culture, as it is known as one of the top 3 areas in Japan for tea
The other day, wandering around Daikanyama, supposed to be a trendy upbeat tiny area, I found that very old Rice shop, offering so many different types from all regions of Japan, sold in pack or by the kilo
travel back in the time – slow food!
