Rocket News 24

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia today

I don't know if "yesterday's news" is a thing to brag about but I ran across this site in a Google News search for "Tokyo news" this morning and the news they gather is my kind of news:

Edo era-themed sushi restaurant to bring delicious food, historical decor to Tokyo this month

All-you-can-eat ramen being offered in Tokyo by one of Japan’s most popular chains!

Japanese artist uses newspaper to make immense, life-like sculptures. Whatever you do with your old papers, it’s probably nowhere near as cool as this!

Japan has established itself as King of the Thrones. As long as you are able to find a Western-style toilet.


Cheapo News: The top 100-yen sushi plates at Shibuya’s Uobei Sushi. We visit the Uobei Sushi conveyor belt sushi restaurant and choose our top picks to save you time, money and potentially wasted calories.

See what I mean??

And if those articles aren't enough, here are a couple more so that we are ready to appreciate the very best aspects of life in Japan:

10 things Japan gets awesomely right

The top 10 instances when Japanese people feel thankful to be Japanese

NHK Videos for Tokyo

I wish all countries had a public broadcasting station like NHK in Japan.  I keep running across programs I haven't seen, like Tokyo Eye 2020, my first episode of which was about stationery stores, a must see for Fernando who always likes to pick up notebooks.

A week or so ago I watched "Home Appliances" on Japanology in which a couple of Japanese housewives go to an appliance megastore (I think it was LLaOx) in Shinjuku (where we are staying the first 4 days in Tokyo) to buy a new washing machine.  What they find is reason enough to go to Shinjuku: the Japanese have every imaginable feature built into their appliances.  For instance, there's a vacuum storage drawer in refrigerators for keeping leftovers -- so they'll last longer than normal...  Small local appliance stores affiliated with a single manufacturer also make "house calls" whenever one of their customers has a problem -- like not being able to work the TV remote.

Most of the Japanology episodes with Peter Barakan are filmed in Tokyo and so are very relevant for our trip in January.  Since they are produced by NHK, the government/public broadcasting company, they are always upbeat, which I find more enjoyable than programs or travel books that are critical.  The obvious episodes covering landmarks of interest to tourists are:
Tokyo Bay (from which Edomae sushi comes and which has been cleaned up since the economic boom in the 60s, 70s and 80s)
Tokyo Tower (the Eiffel Tower-like TV broadcasting tower built in the 1950s)
Tokyo SkyTree (the taller TV and radio broadcasting tower that replaced the Tokyo Tower in 2012 because the new skyscrapers around Tokyo Tower were obstructing its reception.  Both of these have observation towers so you can see Mt. Fuji)
Tokyo Station (the central brick railroad station built in 1914)
Akihabara (the techno/anime neighborhood)
Tsukiji Market (that famous fish market that won't have moved by January because the new governor wants to test the groundwater at the new site which is a brownfield formerly owned by a gas company.)

And then there are those of more interest to me, covering everyday life:
Underground Tokyo (subways, trains and underground rivers, not to mention underground shopping malls)
Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway (not that we're driving but it is interesting to see a completely elevated 2-lane freeway that goes 45 mph)
Tokyo Housing (extremely dense population makes for compact living quarters - and tiny hotel rooms)
Department Stores (these are high on my list of must-sees, especially the food courts and the elevator operators -- remember when they used to have them in California?)
Convenience Stores (The story of their origin from the US 7-11 franchise is interesting and we might be frequenting a lot of them for dinner.  There's one beneath our hotel in Shinjuku.)

And then there are those on food...
Conveyor Belt Sushi (You wouldn't think these restaurants would be good but the Japanese like to automate everything and the story of the problems involved are enough to make you want to eat at one.)
Vending Machines (You can buy almost anything from a vending machine, although I understand that they are supposedly discontinuing beer sales...)
And of course the general ones on Ramen, Udon, Tempura, Bento...

Japan on YouTube

Naturally when I watch Japanology episodes on YouTube, other videos are recommended for me.  Some are better than others but I was happy to find that there are some really unique videos on Japanese street food.  Fortunately they are in English.  Here are a couple of channels:

TabiEats
This is a couple of guys (the main commentator seems to be a Japanese-American from Hawaii) who also have a blog with recipes featuring healthy dishes like Kit Kat pancakes, Mac and Cheese Pies, Okonomiyaki, Omurice and many Yoshoku dishes (Japanese-style Western dishes).  If you thought the Japanese only ate delicate perfectly arranged small dishes of fish and vegetables, this will disabuse you of that notion.  The advantage to them having eclectic undiscriminating tastes, is that they appreciate almost everything they eat, they even feature breakfasts at Lawson and 7-Eleven convenience stores!  I'd rather have breakfast at a French pastry shop like Gontran Cherrier but I might be up to a dinner at a 7-Eleven when we arrive in Tokyo and it's late and every restaurant has long lines.  Perhaps more interesting are their episodes on street food in the Tokyo neighborhoods of Asakusa and Oeno.  He tries to film an episode on supermarkets but they don't like people filming in them.  Sort of like libraries...

Only in Japan
The first episode I watched was Street Food in Shibamata which is a suburb of Japan and is famous for being the setting of a Japanese film series called Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It's tough being a man) featuring an unlucky-in-love character called Tora-san.  Maybe it would be a change to check out the suburbs if we find Tokyo too hectic.  There are also episodes on Vending Machines, Super Escalators and Ice Cream Flavors.
If you like trains, there is an episode on the overnight sleeper car JR Sunrise Izumo Express from Tokyo Station to Izumo on the Sea of Japan and another episode on the Kitaro Family (Pokemon) Train" train in Yonago.

Tokyo Cheapo
Tokyo Cheapo has a channel on YouTube but also its own website offering a downloadable ebook guide to Tokyo.  What does their Shinjuku guide say about the neighborhood?  We'll let you know what we think!

Helpful Websites on Japan

Mandy alerted us to The Cup and The Road, a blog by Athena, a Chinese Canadian, who has a page on a Guide to the Tokyo Subway 1-3 Day Pass.

The 3-day pass costs 1500 yen (about $15) and since most trips cost 200 yen, it is worth the cost if you take 8 trips and it allows you to travel on both subway lines, Tokyo Metro and Toei.  We can buy them at Narita Airport

And we can also buy them at the Shinjuku station, and BICQLO BIC CAMERA Shinjuku East Store, BIC CAMERA Shinjuku West Store, and Laox Shinjuku Main Store.








The Cup and the Road also has a post on the Top 10 Apps to Travel in Japan like a Local.  Of course Athena speaks Japanese so she can use the Japanese Apps better than we'll be able to. She also has a post on My Japanese Diet: 20 Daily Foods (plus a restaurant map) talking about everyday foods that we should probably mark off as having tried, including konbini (convenience store) and supermarket food: "Japan lives off of premade food."

"Eating Tip: Get dinner in the supermarkets after 6pm since the sets are usually at least 20% off! Look out for Life, Isetan, Marunaka, AEON, Atre, Kinokuniya and independent grocers. It’s a great way to try things like nigiri sets and sashimi platters."

Tabelog
Tabelog is the Japanese Yelp, with restaurant reviews browsable by neighborhood, type of cuisine, and cost.  They have an English version, although the user-submitted reviews are in Japanese.  You can look at the photos.

Matcha -- Japan Travel Magazine

This online magazine has articles like "Finding Japanese Souvenirs -- the Best Shopping Spots in Kyoto", "10 Selected Restaurants in Tokyo + Japanese Food Guide" and Japanese Sweets Exclusive To Tokyo Station.

Tokyo Cheapo

Lots of articles, a Youtube channel, and information on events.  One can begin with the Tokyo Cheapo 101: Beginner's Guide to Tokyo.  They also mention the Seven Lucky Gods  (Shichifukujin) Pilgrimage to Shinto Shrines that is done in a few neighborhoods in Tokyo from January 1-10th, such as in Nihonbashi, Yanaka and in Shinjuku.  It might be an interesting walk to do.

Undoubtedly there will be more to come.