Famous Dragon Dance during Chinese New Year Festival at Yokohama's famous China Town. The dragon dance is very cute, funny and interesting. It was a vibrant and colorful festival.

Vibrant and colorful attire, graceful performers ,jolly faces .... Every good things were present during the 38th Samba festival of Asakusa.

Although the samba dance is from Brazil but I saw it 1st time in Tokyo at Asakusa area. It was from 38th Asakusa Samba carnival in 2019. I was really very excited and happy to see it. Unfortunately from 2020 because of corona the event is not happening but I wish this 2022 I could see it again.

On the occasion of Chinese new year the Yokohama China town was well decorated during pre corona situation in 2019. It was my first chance to enjoy Chinese new year in China Town. It was really a great fun. Wish after corona it will be back in full form.

[English/Japanese] Snow is predicted to fall in Tokyo this week. In Japan, many tourist destinations like Hokkaido are popular for winter sports, but snowfall in Tokyo is relatively rare and the city is not prepared for it. As a result, even a 5 cm accumulation of snow can cause various problems. In this article, I will explain how to cope with snow in Tokyo. 1 Transportation When it snows, train schedules are often disrupted. Trains may be cancelled or services reduced, so you may be late for work. On snowy days, try to leave home earlier than usual. Roads can also become congested, and few people buy snow tires for such infrequent snowfall. Consequently, many people drive with regular tires on snowy days, which can lead to slipping accidents. Try to avoid walking close to cars on snowy days. 2 The day after it snows Unlike in Hokkaido, snow that falls in Tokyo has a high moisture content. For that reason, roads are often icy the day after snowfall. With so many buildings in Tokyo, sunlight may not reach some streets and the snow may not melt even after a week. Some people slip on the frozen roads and suffer serious injuries. On the day after snowfall, try to walk along sunlit routes. 3 What to wear What you wear the next day matters more than what you wear while it is snowing. Roads become very slippery, so wear long boots or other slip-resistant shoes. Also wear gloves because ice can cut your hands if you slip and catch yourself with them. A hat is necessary to protect your head. A backpack or other hands-free bag is also a good idea. If you don’t have boots, a life hack to reduce slipping is to stick adhesive bandages to the soles of your sneakers. Give it a try. Many students at our school come from warm countries. Some, seeing snow for the first time, have overdone it playing in the snow and caught colds. Enjoy snow play in moderation. This time, we plan to spread a snow-melting agent in front of the dormitory. If neighbors are struggling with shoveling, 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 finish your shopping as early as possible! Snow is predicted to fall in Tokyo this week. In Japan, many tourist destinations such as Hokkaido are popular for winter sports, but snowfall in Tokyo is not that common, so the city is not set up to handle snow. Because of that, even just 5 cm of snow can cause various problems. This time, I will tell you how to deal with snow in Tokyo. 1 Transportation When it snows, train timetables often get disrupted. Trains may be suspended or their frequency reduced, so you might be late for work. On snow days, try to leave home early. Roads can also get congested. Very few people buy snow tires for snowfall that may or may not occur in a year. For that reason, many people drive on ordinary tires on snowy days, and some cause slip accidents. On snowy days, avoid walking close to cars whenever possible. 2 The day after it snows Snow that falls in Tokyo differs from that in Hokkaido in having a higher water content. Therefore, the day after snowfall, roads are often frozen. Tokyo’s many buildings block sunlight, and snow may not melt even after a week. People sometimes slip on frozen roads and sustain serious injuries. On the day after snow, choose streets with sunlight when you walk. 3 Clothing What you wear the next day is more important than what you wear while it is snowing. Roads are very slippery, so wear wellingtons or other slip-resistant footwear. Also wear gloves because ice can cut your hands if you fall and use them to brace yourself. A hat is necessary to protect your head. For bags, a backpack or similar hands-free option is best. If you don’t have wellingtons, there’s a life hack: sticking adhesive bandages to the soles of your sneakers makes them less slippery. Try it out. At our school, many students come from warm countries. For some, seeing snow for the first time led them to play too much and catch colds. Keep snow play moderate. We plan to spread de-icing agent in front of the dormitory this time. If neighbors are having a hard time shoveling snow, let’s help — it’s also an opportunity to become friends with Japanese people. Also, because it’s better not to go out much on snow days, complete your shopping early!

The "Special Traveling Radio Gymnastics and Gymnastics for Everyone" started in 1978 is held at about 10 venues nationwide. This photo was taken at the Edo-Tokyo Tatemonoen-mae Square in Koganei City in the summer.

Odaiba fireworks festival. The Rainbow Bridge, houseboats, and fireworks harmonized to color the midsummer night!

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

I took a picture of Koinobori at Tokyo Skytree Station! It is at the time of the season. It's perfect for Japan occasions! It smells of a refreshing breeze and healing seasons.

The first visit is an important event held at the beginning of the year in Japan. Everyone comes to worship. In Coronavirus pandemic, dispersed worship for the first time is now becoming the mainstream. Somehow, everyone is trying to make their first visit to the shrine. That's how important this event is. The location is Tokyo Yasukuni Shrine It is early morning on New Year's Eve.

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

First visit ⛄ Igusa Hachimangu Shrine in Ogikubo, it was ⛩😊 a large and cozy shrine

Meiji Jingu shrine during snowfall

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.

Japan Events Sensoji Temple

Happy new year🥳 I was interested in visiting a kotatsu cafe and finally found one in Shimokitazawa! It was called Cafe Stay Happy and made me happy 😊 The atmosphere and food was really good ❤️

Nakamise dori avenue in Sensoji temple. The avenue is well decorated for the new years eve.

The iconic symbol of Tokyo, Sensoji is now fully prepared for the new year's prayer. It looks very beautiful and it is waiting for several hundred people for visiting the Temple in the new years eve.

Five storied pagoda fully prepared for new years prayer. This is from Sensoji temple, the famous iconic symbol of Tokyo.

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!

Christmas day special Tokyo Tower illumination.

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!

Japan Winter Tateishi

Lets enjoy the beauty of Marunouchi illumination. Here everyone was busy to enjoy the illumination.

Went to Takeshiba over the weekend and visited "Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba" I was in the area for other reasons, but just happened to stop by because the building looked interesting. Turns out I was right! The inside of the building had a bunch of really nice shops and was showing a futuristic VR robot being used to stock shelves in a convenience store. I didn't stick around to read everything that was being shown on the screen but this photo seems to be saying how they've created a VR system where users won't feel VR sickness, which I'd actually not heard about before, but it seems to happen after long periods of VR use and is similar to motion sickness I guess. The other photo looks like a simple picture of a sink but it actually has another really cool futuristic feature. The little slot on the right can actually disinfect your phone using UV. I couldn't take a photo of the actual process since I only had one phone but I tried it out and it was really neat. You just remove your case or anything else you have attached to your phone and pop it in and wash your hands. Takes like 30 seconds, about how long it should take to wash your hands, so it's a really convenient feature. Cool place though, I definitely recommend paying it a visit!

Winter in Japan

"Winter in the Japan"

"Winter in the Japan"

Winter in Japan

The beautiful winter illumination in Tokyo Station.