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開智国際日本語学校(Kaichi International School of Japanese)
Feb. 7, 2022
[English/Japanese] Snow is predicted to fall in Tokyo this week. In Japan, there are many tourist destinations where winter sports are popular, such as Hokkaido, but in Tokyo, snowfall is not that common and the city is not prepared to handle it. As a result, even a 5 cm accumulation of snow can cause many problems. In this article, I will tell you how to deal with snow in Tokyo. 1) Transportation When it snows, train schedules are often disrupted. Trains may be cancelled or the number of trains may be reduced, so you may be late for work. Try to leave your house early on snowy days. Roads can also be crowded, and few people buy snow tires for the rare snowfall in a year. As a result, many people drive with regular tires on snowy days, which can cause slip accidents. Try not to walk near cars on snowy days. 2) The day after it snows Unlike Hokkaido, the snow that falls in Tokyo has a high moisture content. Therefore, the day after a snowfall, the roads are often icy. Since there are many buildings in Tokyo, there is no sunlight and the snow may not melt even after a week. Some people slip on the icy roads and get seriously injured because of it. On the day after a snowfall, try to walk in the sunshine. 3)What to wear What you wear the next day is more important than what you wear when it is snowing. The roads are very slippery, so it is best to wear long boots or other non-slip shoes. You should also wear gloves because the ice can cut your hands if you slip and fall on them. A hat is also necessary to protect your head. A backpack or other bag that allows you to keep both hands free is also a good idea. If you don't have boots, there is a life hack to prevent slipping by putting an adhesive bandage on the back of your sneakers. Please give it a try. Many of the students at our school come from warm countries. Some of them have caught colds from playing in the snow because it was their first time to see snow. Please play in the snow in moderation. This time, we are planning to spread snow-melting agent in front of the dormitory. If your neighbors are having a hard time shoveling snow, let's help them out. It's also a chance to make friends with Japanese people. Also, it's best not to go outside too much on snowy days, so get your shopping done as soon as possible! Snow is forecast to fall in Tokyo this week. In Japan, there are many tourist spots where winter sports are popular, such as Hokkaido, but it does not snow that often in Tokyo, so the city of Tokyo is not equipped to cope with snow. Therefore, even if 5 cm of snow accumulates, various problems will occur. This time, I would like to tell you about snow countermeasures in Tokyo. (1) Transportation When it snows, train schedules are often disturbed. Trains may be suspended or the number of trains will be reduced, so you may be late for the company. Try to leave the house early on snowy days. Roads can also be crowded. Because of the snow that may or may not fall in a year, few people buy tires for snow. Therefore, many people drive on ordinary tires on snowy days, and some people have slip accidents. On snowy days, try not to walk near cars as much as possible. (2) The day after the snow fell Unlike Hokkaido, the snow that falls in Tokyo is moisture. Therefore, the roads are often icy the day after the snow falls. There are many buildings in Tokyo, so the sunlight may not shine and the snow may not melt even after one week. Some people slip on icy roads and get seriously injured because of it. The day after it snows, choose a path that gets as much sunlight as possible. (3) Clothing What you wear the next day is more important than when it's snowing. The road is very slippery, so wear shoes that are not slippery, such as long ones. Also, wear gloves as ice can cut your hands when you slip and get your hands. You will also need a hat to protect your head. Also, it is good to have a backpack or other bag that can be used with both hands. There is a life hack that people who do not have boots can put adhesive plasters on the back of their sneakers to prevent them from slipping. Give it a try. At our school, many students come from warm countries. Some people took off their shoes and played in the snow for the first time to see snow, catching a cold. Let's play in the snow in moderation. This time, we plan to sow snow melting agent in front of the dormitory. If your neighbors are having a hard time shoveling snow, help them. It's also a chance to get to know Japan people. Also, it's better not to go outside too much on snowy days, so be sure to finish your shopping early!
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Dylan Gibson
Feb. 2, 2022
Was passing through Komagome the other day and stumbled across this quaint little shrine in front of the station. Apparently it was established in the Edo Period but didn't actually look like a shrine until the Meiji Period. It's also dedicated to Okuninushi who has a lot of different mythology surrounding him, but according to what I could find, he was the head of the gods on earth. There are also a lot of legends and folklore about him in the Kojiki as well it seems, the most interesting sounding one being 'The White Hare of Inaba" (因幡の白兎) where he apparently wins over a princess that his brothers wanted to married and then is subsequently killed by them with the use of a flaming boulder and he is then brought back to life by the gods after his mother goes up to heaven to ask another deity to bring him back, after which he is brought back to life as a handsome man. And that's why I like reading about Japanese mythology lol. So much interesting stuff to read about
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  • Japan
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Dylan Gibson
Jan. 21, 2022
Was walking through Shimokitazawa the other day and found some really cool street art on the shutter of some shop or something (not really sure what the building was). Just thought it was cool to see this. Don't see much street art in Japan, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as usually it involves vandalism, but this doesn't look to be vandalism, although I could be wrong. Either way I think it's a nice improvement to the empty shutters and definitely adds a little spice to the area. Aesthetically I'm a huge fan since I enjoy learning about Japanese history, especially samurai, swords, etc., even if this is a fantastical rendition of the likes you'd find in some anime or manga. Shimokitazawa is a pretty cool place though. It seems like a lot of younger people go shopping in the area and there's a lot of restaurants as well. If you're into coffee, cafes, and unique shops with trinkets, etc. it's an enjoyable place to visit. Really trendy
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  • Japan
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  • Art
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Dylan Gibson
Jan. 18, 2022
Decided to donate some clothes I wasn't wearing anymore over the weekend so I decided to go to the Second Street in Minami-Senju. Managed to find some cool stuff along the way. I was walking from Minowabashi and saw this nice looking temple, apparently called Koshunin (公春院). It was a really lovely spot and I would have liked to take more photos but I had some luggage with me and also wanted to avoid taking any photos of the tombstones as I thought it might be rude. It seems the temple focus on memorial services though and looked like a nice place. The next spot I came across was just a really small shrine that seemed so randomly placed that I wanted to take a picture of it. There wasn't much space inside the shrine are so it was quite difficult to get a decent photo, but I did the best that I could and tried to take a photo from the side street next to it which was also incredibly narrow lol. The last thing I ended up finding was a statue of Matsuo Basho! I'd not been to Minami-Senju as I've never really had a reason to go there, but I saw the statue from the corner of my eye and thought "Hmm I wonder if that's Basho" and sure enough it was. It even has "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" (奥の細道) written below it. Also, apparently there is debate about which "Senju" he started at (Adachi or Arakawa), so this is one of the statues depicting the place where he started his journey! It ended up being a pretty interesting walk. I'd like to visit the area again as there was a ton of cool stuff.
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Dylan Gibson
Jan. 6, 2022
Was walking past a park in Arakawa the other day and came across this interesting statue. I think the name is read as Honda Takatomo (本田 貴侶) but it was difficult to find any information. I kept finding stuff showing the same statue but instead of "聖なるもののリピドー" they all show "聖なるもののリビドー" I'm not sure what the differences are though. Perhaps there are multiple statues in different locations? All the ones I saw referred to this statue in Arakawa though so maybe there's a misprint or something? Also I'm not sure what "リピドー" or "リビドー" means, but if anyone has any idea about what the statue's meaning is I'd love to hear it! Either way it's a nice looking statue. I always enjoy finding things like this around different parts of Japan, they really add to the atmosphere of the city.
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  • Japan
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  • Arakawa City
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Dylan Gibson
Dec. 29, 2021
Went to a soba restaurant in Akabane called "Zenmi Kotobuki" (禅味寿). I got the "天せいろ" (Ten Seiro "Tempura Soba Served on a Bamboo Wicker Tray" If I had to translate it literally I guess lol). Cost 1350 yen and it was 大盛サービス (free extra serving of noodles). And who am I to turn down free noodles? The choice was obvious and so I got the extra helping! I really liked the atmosphere of the place too. The waitresses were wearing Japanese-style clothing as well, which made it a really nice experience. I always enjoy visiting small shops like this where the owners have it decorated in their own style and you can see all of the bottles of sake or whatever else is used to create the atmosphere of the restaurant. Anyways, as for the food, the tempura was cooked really well and the soba was the perfect texture. At the end of the meal they brought some hot soba water so I could drink the remaining tsuyu (soba sauce) as a sort of warm drink. Was a great experience that I haven't had in a while!
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  • Japan
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  • Gourmet
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Dylan Gibson
Dec. 28, 2021
Like I mentioned yesterday, I went to "Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba" over the weekend and there were a ton of restaurants. The one that I chose to eat at was a tough choice, but I ultimately settled on "Do Miso Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba" (ど・みそ 東京ポートシティ竹芝店), but there was also an Okinawan-themed restaurant right next to it called "Okinawa Bar Kafu" (沖縄酒場 かふー) that looked really nice as well, and smelled good. Either way from across the isle I got to eat some delicious ramen while listening to the Okinawan music which was really relaxing and created a nice atmosphere. I'm not sure what the ramen I got was called it was just the normal miso ramen from my understanding and I believe it cost ¥1100. There's another one that looks similar, has a similar name, and costs ¥1200 but that's a white miso ramen and not the one that I got. Either way, I'm sure it tastes good as well, because my ramen tasted great! I really liked that the restaurant had metal cups as well, it gives the water a different flavor and always makes it feel more refreshing too (in my opinion at least). One thing I forgot to mention about the building; if you open up their website, another futuristic feature you'll find is that the building actually shows the number of people in the building at any one time and also shows that percentage of male and female visitors. I thought this was really amazing. I'm not sure how it's done, but they must have censors located at the doors or in other places around the building that can analyze body structure or something similar. Either way it's a cool place!
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  • Japan
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  • Miso ramen
  • Music

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