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...

Begin Japanology Programs

I'm having trouble keeping track of the Japanology Programs I've already watched so this is a list of the Begin Japanology programs available.  Yes, the X means I've watched it.  Or think I did.

Season 1

x Ep 1 - Bento
x Ep 2 - Miyazawa Kenji (Japanese poet and author of fairy tales)
x Ep 3 - Lacquerware (a mini)
Ep 4 - Rakugo
x Ep 5 - Tsukiji Market
x Ep 6 - Yoshoku (Western Style Cuisine)
x Ep 7 - Kyudo (Way of the Bow - Archery)
Ep 8 - Tea Ceremony Architecture
x Ep 9 - Dagashi-ya (Japanese Sweet Shop)
x Ep 10 - Nihon Buyo (traditional Japanese dance with a fan)
x Ep 11 - Abacus
Ep 12 - Ryukyu Kimono
x Ep 13 - Bamboo
x Ep 14 - Shirakawa-go (world Heritage village with thatched houses)
x Ep 15 - Fireworks
Ep 16 - Hanging Scrolls
x Ep 17 - The Tale of Genji: Part 1
Ep 18 - The Tale of Genji: Part 2
x Ep 19 - Matcha
x Ep 20 - Tokyo Tower
x Ep 21 - Dashi
Ep 22 - Oribe-yaki (pottery)
Ep 23 - The Colorful World of Utagawa Hiroshige (mini)
Ep 24 - The Seven Gods of Good Fortune (not available)
x Ep 25 - Sushi
Ep 26 - Mikoshi (portable shrines)
Ep 27 - Yuzen Kimono
x Ep 28 - Buddhist Statues
x Ep 29 - Hot Springs
Ep 30 - Fish (not available)
x Ep 31 - Tatami (straw mats)
Ep 32 - Castles
x Ep 33 - Miso

Season 2

Ep 1 - Nishijin-ori
Ep 2 - Kyoto Lacquerware
x Ep 3 - Sake
Ep 4 - Katsura Rikyu
Ep 5 - Bonsai
x Ep 6 - The Four Seasons
Ep 7 - Hina Dolls
x Ep 8 - Nagasaki
x Ep 9 - Five-Story Pagodas
x Ep 10 - Cherry Blossoms
x Ep 11 - Chopsticks
x Ep 12 - Aizome (Indigo dye)
Ep 13 - Bunraku
Ep 14 - Kiriko Cut Glass
x Ep 15 - Traditional Folk Houses
x Ep 16 - Tea Ceremony
x Ep 17 - Soba
Ep 18 - Origami
Ep 19 - Imari Porcelain
Ep 20 - Folding Fan
x Ep 21 - Kaiseki Cuisine
X Ep 22 - The Sounds of Japan
Ep 23 - Masks
x Ep 24 - Satoyama - The Japanese countryside of rice paddies where people live in harmony with nature, creating an oasis for wildlife.
Ep 25 - Kendo (Sword fighting)
x Ep 26 - The Fragrances of Japan (scented woods)
x Ep 27 - Spinning Tops
x Ep 28 - Rock and Stone
x Ep 29 - Ink Brushes
x Ep 30 - Tsukemono
x Ep 31 - Dogs
x Ep 32 - Ramen
x Ep 33 - Rice
x Ep 34 - Shinto Shrine
Ep 35 - Festivals
x Ep 36 - Shinkansen (Bullet train)
Ep 37 - Gagaku (ancient imperial court music and dance)
x Ep 38 - Marriage
Ep 39 - Shogi (Japanese board game like Chess - also in Jap Plus)
x Ep 40 - Nabe Cuisine (Japanese Hot Pot)
Ep 41 - Sword

Season 3

x Ep 1 - Sentou (bath houses)
Ep 2 - Karuta
Ep 3 - Taiko
Ep 4 - Cram School
Ep 5 - Light
x Ep 6 - Footwears
Ep 7 - Monkey
x Ep 8 - Soy Sauce
Ep 9 - Tuna
x Ep 10 - Fusuma (sliding doors with decorated paper)
Ep 11 - Pearl
x Ep 12 - Todaiji (Bronze Buddha at ancient capital of Nara)
x Ep 13 - School Lunches
Ep 14 - Geiko and Maiko
x Ep 15 - Robots
x Ep 16 - Wasabi
Ep 17 - Women's Fashion Magazines (Just a mini of shots)
x Ep 18 - Izakaya
x Ep 19 - Apartments and Condominiums
x Ep 20 - Towns and Neighbourhoods
x Ep 21 - Tempura
x Ep 22 - Subways
Ep 23 - Hairstyles
x Ep 24 - Home Appliances
x Ep 25 - Roof Tiles
x Ep 26 - Miniaturization
x Ep 27 - Silk
x Ep 28 - Soybeans - and products like tofu, miso and natto
x Ep 29 - Curry
x Ep 30 - Dams
x Ep 31 - Hotels
Ep 32 - Radio Calisthenics
x Ep 33 - Ekiben (railroad bento lunches)
x Ep 34 - Bridges
x Ep 35 - Earthquakes
Ep 36 - Chrysanthemums
Ep 37 - Cameras
x Ep 38 - Hiragana (one of the Japanese phonetic alphabets)
x Ep 39 - Udon
x Ep 40 - Money
Ep 41 - Nishikigoi
x Ep 42 - Volcanoes
Ep 43 - Firefighting

Season 4

x Ep 1 - Mochi Rice Cake
x Ep 2 - Watches and Clocks
x Ep 3 - Fugu Blowfish
Ep 4 - Haneda Airport
Ep 5 - Kagura Dances
x Ep 6 - Snow
Ep 7 - Pollen Allergy
x Ep 8 - Sashimono Woodwork
Ep 9 - Cranes
x Ep 10 - Kitchen Knives
x Ep 11 - Fishing
Ep 12 - Armour
Ep 13 - Judo
Ep 14 - The Life of Taro Okamoto
Ep 15 - The Life of Osamu Dazai
Ep 16 - The Life of Kenzo Tange
Ep 17 - The Life of Hideko Maehata
x Ep 18 - Toilets
Ep 19 - Lifts (not available)
Ep 20 - Motorcycles
x Ep 21 - Unagi Eel
Ep 22 - Japanophiles - Ilan Yanizky
Ep 23 - Japanophiles - Silvain Guignard
Ep 24 - Japanophiles - Stéphane Danton
Ep 25 - Japanophiles - Dorothy Feibleman
x Ep 26 - Plastic Food Samples
x Ep 27 - Insects
Ep 28 - Traditional Japanese Mathematics (not available)
x Ep 29 - Bicycles
Ep 30 - Chusonji
x Ep 31 - Seaweed
Ep 32 - Charcoal
x Ep 33 - Rain
Ep 34 - Golf
Ep 35 - Shipbuilding
Ep 36 - Japanophiles - Bruce Huebner
Ep 37 - Japanophiles - Noelke Muho
x Ep 38 - Japanophiles - Matt Alt
Ep 39 - Karaoke
Ep 40 - Holidays
x Ep 41 - Red Sea Bream
x Ep 42 - Shopping Streets
x Ep 43 - Chickens and Eggs

Season 5

Ep 1 - Ekiden (relay races)
Ep 2 - Batteries
x Ep 3 - Cafes
x Ep 4 - Hot Water Bottles and Pocket Warmers
Ep 5 - Ikebana
Ep 6 - Excavators
Ep 7 - Woods & Forests (not available)
Ep 8 - Japanophiles - Dhugal Lindsay
Ep 9 - Japanophiles - Richard Emmert
Ep 10 - Japanophiles - Art Lee
Ep 11 - Japanophiles - Philip Harper
Ep 12 - Kabuki
x Ep 13 - Wild Vegetables
Ep 14 - Horses
Ep 15 - Massage Chairs
x Ep 16 - Shikoku Pilgrimage
x Ep 17 - Regional Fast Food
x Ep 18 - Department Stores
Ep 19 - Kimonos
x Ep 20 - Aquariums
x Ep 21 - Confectionery
Ep 22 - Dolls
x Ep 23 - Moss
Ep 24 - High School Baseball
Ep 25 - Planetariums
Ep 26 - Japanophiles - Adam Booth
Ep 27 - Japanophiles - Dave Spector
Ep 28 - Japanophiles - Euan Craig
x Ep 29 - Shamisen
Ep 30 - Crested Ibises
Ep 31 - Abalone
x Ep 32 - Tokyo Station
x Ep 33 - Tokyo Skytree
x  Ep 34 - Tokyo Bay
x Ep 35 - Potatoes, Taros, and Yams
Ep 36 - Name Seals
x Ep 37 - Mushrooms
x Ep 38 - Vending Machines
Ep 39 - Scissors
x Ep 40 - Satsuma Mandarins (the kind grandma has)
Ep 41 - Gift-giving
Ep 42 - Mapping Kyoto Streets

Season 6

x Ep 1 - Sumo
Ep 2 - Bathroom Scales
Ep 3 - Enka
Ep 4 - Small Factories
Ep 5 - Japanophiles - Azby Brown
Ep 6 - Japanophiles - Ernst Seiler
Ep 7 - Japanophiles - Yasokichi Konishiki
x Ep 8 - Ume Plums
x Ep 9 - Storehouses (historic earthen buildings)
x Ep 10 - Wagyu (Japanese beef)
Ep 11 - Uniforms
x Ep 12 - Rice Cookers
x Ep 13 - Burial Mounds
x Ep 14 - Stationery (Pens, mechanical pencils, tape, craft knives)
x Ep 15 - Bread
x Ep 16 - Pine Trees
x Ep 17 - Parcel Delivery
Ep 18 - Pro Wrestling
Ep 19 - Strawberries
Ep 20 - Calculators
Ep 21 - Television
Ep 22 - Lake Biwa
Ep 23 - Expressways
Ep 24 - Beer
Ep 25 - Japanophiles - Mike Harris
x Ep 26 - Japanophiles - Karl Bengs - A German trying to revitalize mountain communities in Japan
Ep 27 - Japanophiles - Kenny Omega
x Ep 28 - Shakuhachi (bamboo traditional flute)
x Ep 29 - Convenience Stores
Ep 30 - Used Books
Ep 31 - Women's Nylons
Ep 32 - Remote Islands
Ep 33 - Characters and Mascots
Ep 34 - Grapes
Ep 35 - Makeup
x Ep 36 - Ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints)
x Ep 37 - Buses
Ep 38 - Parties and Gatherings
x Ep 39 - Conveyor Belt Sushi
x Ep 40 - Pets

Season 7

x Ep 1 - Persimmons
x Ep 2 - Nighttime Scenery
x Ep 3 - Ise Jingu - The greatest Shinto shrine in the city of Ise in Mie prefecture
x Ep 4 - K-cars - The sub-sub compact cars that made Japan an auto power and allowed Japanese families to afford a car.
x Ep 5 - Japanophiles - Nancy Singleton Hachisu - The author of Japanese Farm Food and Preserving the Japanese Way
Ep 6 - Japanophiles - Chris Hart
Ep 7 - Japanophiles - Rogier Uitenboogaart
x Ep 8 - Railways
Ep 9 - Pianos
x Ep 10 - Squid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic6fiwCIzmg

Chromecasting Japanology

A couple of days ago, Fernando asked me why I wasn't "chromecasting" my Japanology programs to the TV.  A lot of extra work, if you asked me.  But after seeing the greatly improved picture quality on the TV, I was a complete convert.  I had assumed the picture quality would be the same -- isn't it coming over the same wire?  But the full-screen YouTube video on my MacBook Air is really pixelated and indistinct.  When it is transmitted to the TV, it is perfect.  Thus I won't be watching any more episodes on my laptop.  Poor Fernando.  Now not only does he have to watch Rick Steves and Lidia Bastianich, but he's got a couple of Japanologies a day to contend with as well.

Naturally I've been choosing episodes he might like:  the Abacus, Sento (Japanese Bathhouses), A Trip through Akihabara (the electronics section of Tokyo), Sumo, Mt. Fuji, Making and Cooking Rice (he fell asleep a quarter through that one).  I'm really having trouble remembering which ones I've seen so it is good that I'm writing them down, although I'm not quite sure what is the best way to keep track of them.  They have two versions of Sento and rice, a Begin Japanology one and a Japanology Plus one.  In any case, I'm making good headway.

Japanology Episode 2

I've watched my seven Japanology videos on YouTube and have learned that I don't have to eat raw fish for breakfast but can have coffee and thick toast, that it rains a lot in Japan, that the Japanese have a love affair with vending machines, that most regional fast food contains offal, and that I'm going to enjoy visiting the Department Stores -- they will be a trip back to my childhood only better because they all have food basements like the City of Paris.

Now I need to choose another seven for next week: May 28-June 3
x Seaweed
x Fermented Foods (I think I'll stick to pickles.)
x Tsukemono Pickles (pronounced skeh-mo-no) (Begin Season 2 Ep 30)
x Bicycles (Beg Jap Seas 4 Ep 29)
x Unagi Eel
x Udon
x Having some Delicious Ramen (Japanology Plus Season 1 Episode 2)

And here are the videos for June 4-June 10:
x Rice (Begin Japanology Season 2 Ep 33)
x Tsukiji (Skeejee) Market (Begin Japanology Season 1 Ep 5)
x World's Largest Fish Market Tsukiji Market (Jap + Season 1 Ep 18) - Surprisingly hardly anything was repeated in this second video of the market.
x Traditional Folk Houses (Begin Japanology Season 2 Ep 15)
x The Shikoku Pilgrimage (Begin Japanology Season 5 EP16, 2012-05-03) Very similar to the Camino de Santiago.  88 shrines in 50 days.
x Ramen (Begin Japanology Season 2 Ep. 32)
x Shinkansen (Bullet Train) (Begin Jap Season 2 Ep 36)

Fourth Week:
x Japanophiles: Matt Alt (BEGIN Japanology Season 4 Ep 38) Matt Alt is an American translator and expert in Japanese yokai.  He and his wife have published Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, which is reviewed in "Choosing the Best Yokai Books for You" and which the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has.
x The Roots of Japanese Yokai Creatures (Jap + Ep 23)
x Wagashi (The Jap Plus Ep 7 on traditional sweets made of rice flour, sugar and adzuki bean paste.)
x Dagashi-ya (Beg Jap Season 1 Ep 6 on the good old-fashioned sweet shop of the post-war years) Dagashi meaning junk sweets.  This video puts a positive spin on them.
x Confectionery (Beg Jap Seas. 5 Ep 21 2012) The Japanese take on Western Pastry.
x Cafes (Begin Jap Season 5 Ep 3)
x Potatoes, Taro and Yams (Begin Jap Seas. 5 Ep. 24)

Fifth Week:
x Tatami Mats (Begin Jap Seas 1 Ep 31)
x Yoshoku (Western style cuisine.  Beg Jap Seas. 1 Ep 4)
x Shopping Streets (Beg Jap Seas 4, Ep 42)
x Soba Noodles (Beg Jap Seas 2 Ep 17)
x The Fragrances of Japan (incense) (Beg Jap Seas 2 Ep 26)
x Silk (Beg Jap Seas 3 Ep 27)
x Matcha (Beg Jap Seas 1 Ep 16)

Sixth Week
x Persimmons (Beg Jap Seas 7 Ep 1)
x Waste and Recycling (Jap Plus Seas 1 Ep 39)
x Mochi (Rice Cakes) (Beg Jap Seas 4 Ep 1)
x Abacus (Beg Jap Seas 1 Ep 11)
x Sumo (Beg Jap Seas 6 Ep 1)
x Making and Cooking Rice (Jap Plus Seas 1 Ep 9)
x Mt. Fuji (Beg Jap Seas 1 Ep 3)

Seventh Week
x A trip through Akihabara (Jap Plus Seas 1 EP 6)
x Sentou (Japanese Bathhouses) (Beg Jap Seas 3 Ep 1) This earlier Begin Japanology episode is a bit more interesting than the Japanology Plus one on Sentou.
Karuta (Japanese Cards) (Beg Jap Seas 3 Ep 2)  Halfway through, the video starts stuttering
x Seikan Tunnel
x Onsen (Thermal Baths)
x Underground Tokyo (Jap Plus Seas1 Ep 28)
x Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway
x Moss
x Convenience Stores (Beg Jap)
x Tempura (Beg Jap Seas 3 Ep 21)

Japanology

Penny turned me on to this YouTube channel about Japan, especially about their foods.  I see that there about 7 seasons, some with 41 episodes and that will certainly keep me busy.  Juan had watched one on mushrooms that he liked a lot so that was my first episode.  I feel that there should be an organized way to view them in sequence but it is not obvious on YouTube.  They are produced by NHK World, which is the international service of NHK, Japan's public broadcasting organization.  On NHK World's website they also offer Easy Japanese with lots of audio.

So here is my first week schedule of Japanology programs to watch:
Bamboo
Vending Machines
Rain
Regional Fast Food (Beg Jap Seas 5 Ep 12)
Breakfast (to see if they have alternatives to raw fish...)
Department Stores (are they really magic kingdoms?)
Conveyor Belt Sushi

Heck, after watching all the Japanology videos, I won't even have to GO to Japan!