Soul of Japan

"FOR YOU: ANTHOPHILOUS, LOVER OF FLOWERS" By Reginald Dwayne Betts
For you: anthophilous, lover of flowers, green roses, chrysanthemums, lilies: retrophilia, philocaly, philomath, sarcophilous—all this love, of the past, of beauty, of knowledge, of flesh; this is catalogue & counter: philalethist, negrophile, neophile. A negro man walks down the street, taps Newport out against a brick wall & stares at you. Love that: lygophilia, lithophilous. Be amongst stones, amongst darkness. We are glass house. Philopornist, philotechnical. Why not worship the demimonde? Love that—a corner room, whatever is not there, all the clutter you keep secret. Palaeophile, ornithophilous: you, antiquarian, pollinated by birds. All this a way to dream green rose petals on the bed you love; petrophilous, stigmatophilia: live near rocks, tattoo hurt; for you topophilia: what place do you love? All these words for love (for you), all these ways to say believe in symphily, to say let us live near each other.



                  How can you write about flowers?   You don't.  The flower writes you.

       Something about sharing all this beauty in one place and then being a part of love. 
........How about having a Briar Patch in the middle of baseball field, with thorny little yellow plants and wooded houses with wild ducks walking all over the place. Or perhaps a floral scene with a little English tea with clotted cheese and scones is more to your liking, sir.
I ALLOW MYSELF By Dorothea Grossman
I allow myself the luxury of breakfast (I am no nun, for Christ’s sake). Charmed as I am by the sputter of bacon, and the eye-opening properties of eggs, it’s the coffee that’s really sacramental. In the old days, I spread fires and floods and pestilence on my toast. Nowadays, I’m more selective, I only read my horoscope by the quiet glow of the marmalade.


MORITURI SALUTAMUS: POEM FOR THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CLASS OF 1825 IN BOWDOIN COLLEGE By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"O Cæsar, we who are about to die Salute you!" was the gladiators' cry In the arena, standing face to face With death and with the Roman populace.
O ye familiar scenes,—ye groves of pine, That once were mine and are no longer mine,— Thou river, widening through the meadows green To the vast sea, so near and yet unseen,— Ye halls, in whose seclusion and repose
Phantoms of fame, like exhalations, rose And vanished,—we who are about to die, Salute you; earth and air and sea and sky, And the Imperial Sun that scatters down His sovereign splendors upon grove and town.

[The End]

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White Peril:  The Case Against An Jung-geun
The idea is simple.  In order to fight the scourge of White Peril you must first defeat the Japanese.
The idea is simple.  In order to fight the scourge of White Peril you must assassinate Ito Hirobumi, the most important Japanese in modern Japanese history.
The idea is simple.  In order to fight the scourge of White Peril, you must lionize An Jung-Guen for killing Ito Hirobumi.
The idea is simple.  In order to fight the scourge of White Peril, you must rejoice in the atomic bomb.
We should all know why history repeats itself.  It’s because people do not learn from history.  It goes without saying that if Ito Hirobumi had still been alive, it wouldn’t have changed a thing for Korea.  Korea would’ve eventually been either returned to back to Korean control, or re-colonized again, but by a White nation, which is something Koreans are more comfortable with.   Japan lost its northern territories to Russia. 

The idea that some how China, Korea, and Japan living independently from each other while enjoying occasional warm relations, is purely naïve.  United we Stand, Divided we fall.  But if you represent the Korean Intellegencia then it’s easy to surmise that somehow living independently would make things easier when dealing with the White Peril problem.  White nations would simply do what they do best, and that is divide and conqueror, so you see, the murder of a great man such as Hirobumi was in vain.  
Hirobumi did not have to change is god, religion, and name to a white god, white religion, and white god in order to realize the greater east asian co-prosperity, unlike Jung-Guen.   Japan has eight million god, why does it need a white one?   Do not issue him the sacraments for his murder!  Thomas.  The Catholic Church did not approve of the murder of Ito Hirobumi.  
Why do you hate Japan?   Because they colonized us, and raped us, is probably something you would say.  Sir, you are backwards.   This is why we hate them, maybe?   Hate your poverty.   Hate your leaders, not Ito Hirobumi a man who gave you industry and education.  Not a man who's printed on mines and yours sen yen notes.  Your murder proved nothing.

A Quote from Jung-Guen
“The devotion to the country is the serviceman’s duty.”   

If you are interested in learning more about this murderer then visit the Dairinji Temple in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.  An Jung-Guen's writing and speech were said to have had a great effect on Japanese prison wardens and many Buddhist.   His teaching were ahead of his time, but were hardly the messege that needed to be heard during White Peril.    All white academics who are familiar with this man An Jung embrace him as a Citizen of the World, not a man of Asia.   He is not a man of Asia in the sense of co-prosperity and peace in East Asia.   Afterall, he is a baptized Catholic who goes by the name of Thomas.  Hardly a man of the East, but a White Peril ambassador.  

Citizen of the world is a misnomer for white worship, because if you weren't white during White Peril, you were not considered a human being; more of a sub-species with human features.    The reason his calligraphy was so compelling is because it embraced  a sense of values that were perhaps foreign to the Japanese, as most Japanese at that time were pure in the sense that they didn't know anything else about the world other then what they were told to think and believe.   


It is not uncommon for nations to defend their freedom, America did it during the War of Independence.   America fought the British tooth and nail and succeeded, but that in no way made the two nations enemies.   After all, it is about the devotion to the country is the serviceman's duty... as so eloquently stated by Korea's hero.     The threat of yellow peril didn't exist during that time, so the need to unify white nations wasn't a pressing issue until Hitler came round. 


Korea and Japan will never normalize relations because of their fundamental failure to find cohesion, like a stubborn ignorance that won't fade away.    Japan has forgiven and has moved on, no longer the expansionist whoremonger, but a technologically advanced society that Koreans love to spend their money and live.   Koreans love Japan and lovelorn Japanese love Korean soft power.   


Has this done much to advance the cause of Asian Peace?  No.  Not at all.   Had the Koreans and the Chinese thoroughly surrendered and united under the Japanese system, history would paint a completely different picture.    Would things have been worser?   You will never know.

Statue of Brothers


The War Memorial of Korea represents so many things for so many Koreans.  The Statue of Brothers is symbolic of a North Korean Soldier and a Republic of Korea soldier embracing each other.  The statue also symbolizes the horrors of war and the sufferings of  Koreans on both sides of the now, Demilitarization zone.   The need for unification and social harmony has always been a constant feature of Korean thinking in Korea, those in the diaspora only see the American Dream.   Such thoughts of harmony, unification, and peace  are also similar to what Japan and China also seek.

Sea of Japan?  No, it's the East Sea reads the banner



For the Koreans, the war memorial  represents the resistance to Japanese rule, not just the Korean War against the North.   Although you would think, from the point of passive onlooker, that this memorial would glorify the actions of the U.N. lead coalition against  North Korea's power grip on the peninsula, when in fact all it really paints is a portrait of Koreans as purely the victims of war.  





For the average  Japanese it represents nothing.   For the average American and European it represents a small piece of history.   For me it represents  anti-Pan Asian philosophical dogma; Japan is the enemy and "white people are my friend" logic because they helped me to fight against my own Asian brother, the North Korean.   The museum memorializes the victims of the Korean War, and all other wars fought domestically by Korean soldiers, and Koreans vs. North Korean conflicts along the border, and so on and so forth.  




The idea of Japan unifying Asia through expansionist policies is unthinkable for the Korean mind, for they feel that only "white people" have the right to expand their influence all over the world.  China and Korea share a border and relatively warm relations with each other.   In Korean's eyes, this is seen as "keeping the peace" whereas if we were to juxtapose that with Japan, it's their ODA paid out to the comfort women, and repeat apologys that is seen as "keeping the peace."    The idea of Japan trying to educate and lead all of Asia to world dominance is too (un)Korean and (un)Chinese, therefore unharmonious.




If we were to contrast Korea's War Memorial with that of The Yushukan, Japan's equivalent to a War Memorial museum in Tokyo, we would see similarities in how historical events are portrayed.   Korea's interpretation is that they were victims of all wars fought over the last thousand or so years, and how they portray Japan as being absolutely the worst aggressor in its history, no mention of European powers expansion in China and Asia.   In spite of Japan educating the Koreans and building its heavy industry, it is still unthinkable for Koreans to accept a more technologically advanced group of Asians during that period in history.   The Korean mind is too rigid and too proud to accept this act of benevolence from a fellow Asian, but would rather accept it from Whites ( European and American) instead, and even maybe from China given the circumstances.  


The large hanger bay built at the Korean Memorial is identical to that of The Yushukan Memorial.  It showcases war planes, armaments and a whole array of heavy equipment used during the war.  


The Yushukan is said to glorify war and aggression.   That is a purely subjective opinion.   If you consider the role of any country's foreign policy, then of course you could draw down the same conclusion.  War Museums glorify war and the weapons used in them to inspire patriotism.   The Yushukan does not paint Japanese as the victims of America's brutal campaigns in Okinawa and in the Battle of Guadalcanal.   It doesn't blame nor does it point the moral finger of condemnation on another country either.   It is a showpiece museum replete with an impressive array of artifacts dating back thousands of years to the present.

There is a train on exhibit in the Yushukan that was used in the Death Railway, or the Burma-Thailand Railway to support Japanese troops during the war.   This extensive railway was built by forced labor on the backs Allied POWs and Javanese people.  Of which many died in appalling conditions and through mass starvation.  Juxtapose that to the slavery in North America when African Americans built North Americas Railways, and had to live under forced labor for 400 years.  Just in case you forgot click here and here.


Allied POWs were used as forced labor, not slaves, same in North America prior to the 17th Century.  Allied POWs were prisoners of war because they tried to kill Japanese soldiers in foreign lands.   In America, the term "slave" didn't exist until after the 1600s, prior to that Blacks were simply referred to as laborers.  During  and after the 17th Centuries the term "slave" became mainstream.  Slaves in America had no blood on their hands, and yet were forced to build railroads along with Chinese and native Americans.   Many of them also died in appalling conditions, so therefore the Burna-Thailand Railway is perfectly in line with being on exhibit in a war museum where White people are the victims of their own brutality and hypocrisy.    No need for an apology then and now, African Americans and their descendents  have learned to live without theirs, and the subsequent back pay they never got.

 

Koreans worship whites, yes.  Koreans do worship caucasians for their beauty and seek to emulate them.   The burden of history and accountability from passed aggressions  does not apply to them.   When the Emperor of Japan along with his elders crafted the Hakko-Ichiu, the idea was purely Pan-Asianistic in intent, and that is the spread of the "Tenno Showa's" power and influence not only in Asia but all over the world.   However, because Koreans only see "White Rulers" as the harmonious balance  in the world they defy Japan, along with China.

Canon EOS 60DCanon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM
It goes without saying  that Tokyo has some of the most futuristic and most well designed buildings in the world.    One of the nice things about shooting up here is that no matter what lens you use, there's always something unique and interesting to snap.  


Mori Tower is a 54 story mixed skyscraper built right in the heart of Tokyo.   It is a center piece of urban development, and the most iconic symbol in Roppongi.    Everybody goes here, whether it be for the dinner date, brunch, and shopping expedition, Mori Tower has something to offer just about everybody.   Expect to see corporate offices like Goldman Sachs, Gree, Google Japan, and many more here.

There is this huge spider which I have no idea what it's there for.  



Million yen Condos There are million yen a month condominiums for the jet set and the super rich who live in opulence beyond my means.   They drive in luxury cars and eat exquisite meals daily, and the enjoy the status that comes with living in one of the most exciting cities in the world.  


 I shot with a lens that has a shallow depth of field, so it forced me to be a little more creative than I would like.   I usually want to just rely on a good zoom lens for shooting.   This time around I had to settle for the pancake.  


Bumped up the photo specs. to get more of an architectural balance to this photo.   You can see the shapes and reliefs along the middle and edges of the building.  


Mori Gardens is the centerpiece for Mori Towers.   At night the place is lit up and has a totally different feel and dynamic to it.   In the afternoon the place is a huge draw for aspiring artists, elderly, and children.  
It's a Japanese garden, a very small one, yet it's charming and is just enough for those who want to enjoy the flowers and the greenery, even the kids enjoy playing around with the flora.

It's a pleasant place to visit, especially on a Sunday afternoon when there's nothing to do, and you've got plenty of time on your hands.  There's a Barcardi Bar that serves a pretty modest Mohito and snacks.  There's outdoor table seating with nice views of the garden.     Great theaters and eateries with imported beers from Europe.   The museums here are great, too.   City view has some nice bars as well if you choose to go up.  

Excellent place to take guests on your next trip.

The only department store you need to concern yourself with here in Japan is called Sogo.   Why?   Because I said so.   I love Sogo.  It is a food mecca.   What kind of people go to Sogo?   Average age range is between  40 to 70; Japanese housewives and women who aren't scared to eat by themselves in public.     What's the difference between this department store and any other in Japan, and what makes it any different from an American department store like JCPennys?


There is no difference, but I do think Sogo is the preferred department store for the occasional shopping expedition and "zeitaku" lunch jaunt here.    Zeitaku in English means luxurious.   Here in Japan Jukujo enjoy hanging out in packs and dining at fancy lunch spots that were either featured in  food magazines or television programs.    Japanese department stores do not play elevator music in their stores.   There are some rare occasions though, but most often the sound is drowned out by  cash registers and chatty grannies.    Thank goodness.    In Japan you can see elevator hostesses dressed up in pastel suits standing by with smiles ready to take you up or down.   American department stores are less warm and less attentive.


American department stores have food courts whereas Japanese department stores have three and sometimes four star restaurants on the top floor.   American department stores offer and advertise rebates, discounts, and blue light specials at competitive prices.   Here in Japan, you don't get  such adverts, instead you can pick up a free paper on the way in to the department.   In Japan items are already discounted so there're  no coupon clippings necessary.  

Here is the reason why I go:

Mt. Eggplants and vegetable packed full of shrimp, tomatoes and greens.

Imagawayaki - a custard or bean paste pie.   This treat is called different things depending on where you live.


Honey Melon cakes and tarts;  Tangerine tart in the back.
Tangerine and Honey fruit cocktail
Japanese confectionary at its finest.  Changes according to the seasons.  A true tangible cultural heritage. Mackerel wrapped over Oregano paste and shiitake, baked. Ginger Jelly

Sogo is not cheap.  Many food items are high quality and are made domestically.   The only reason I don't shop here everyday is because it's too far from my house, so often times I just settle for convenience store food, or eat out somewhere.  The Japanese create  and display their wares and foodstuffs so colorfully, and in such a way that you feel that you must buy it.


American food courts have some good offerings too, but not displayed in such a way.    And many of the choices are rather uninteresting.   In Japan it like a paradise of food, like something out of a Disney movie.    I love to come through here when I have free time on the weekends.  

Things to remember though:

When you buy food here it will usually be cold and you will not have anywhere to sit down to eat.  Everything is to go, so don't expect to just start eating most food right away.    Take it home and heat it up.    

Sunshine 60:  Revisited




The building  known as Sunshine 60  is a site that  evokes a memory in the hearts of the bereaved.  A memory  that is so distant and faint, yet so present and near.    This 60 story building represents  60 years of working under the new system; 60 years of living under an American Constitution.   60 years of prosperity; 60 years of decadence; 60 years of conspicuous consumption.   60 years of wandering around in that dark wilderness  and not knowing nor understanding the national identity of the nation.    



The national identity in Japan used to be found in the "Hakko Ichiu" as Japan's justification for its expansionist policies under a newly found brotherhood.    America's justification for war and national identity is found in its " Oath of Allegiance," sworn by military personnel and all  immigrants who wish to become American citizens.   The defense clause is a misnomer for America's right to attack other countries preemptively as a preventative measure against future attacks on U.S. soil.


Maybe there's another identity lost in the booze, overwork, Hello Kitty, and commercialism.   Or maybe it's the total disregard for the martial spirit that wasn't enough to soothe the thirst for all-things-Americana that led you to believe that this is the "Japanese identity."     There are souls lost in limbo on some timeless plane far from your perceptions Japanese man.   They lurk around you, in you, and through you on a daily basis, because a heart unclaimed is easily possessed.  You are fine tuned to tune them out because of your conditioning.   You were hard wired to disavow their very existence.   You were institutionalized and re-infused to worship white people, like Mathew Perry, rather than your own national heroes.     


The Iron Laws of History is a book drug around by ball and chain  and all is remembered.     The Marianas is one such plane full of the souls of men who locked the throttle upon seeing their target.     Their souls have never been reclaimed.   Some have remembered; some have even thrown flowers into the darkness of her belly.   The oceans know for it wreaks of the remains of those who were duty bound to carry on in the face of mother death, resting unclaimed.   

Whether their actions be deemed morally right or morally wrong  is a matter of interpretation.     We know the man who's hands loosed the atomic bomb.  He's in heaven today according to misguided Negroes and  White Americans because his actions saved lives, presumably.    Yes.  The bomb saved my life and yours O' tis of thee Sweet Land of Liberty.  Without the bomb I wouldn't be here in Japan today.    Thank god for the bomb.  Thank god for MacAuthur is what the Asians, Negroes, and Whites say.  This is their conditioning, too.    You are not alone in your delusions, Japanese man.   We are conditioned to rejoice in White America's brutality, like it's their Divine Right, to right the world for its transgressions but never for its own.  It is a sickness of the soul, and a disease that plagues the mind of the whole world.   We attach White gods to their Divine Right, like it's supposed to include us too.

Sunshine Rokuju is a 60 story building alongside Higashi Ikebukuro Chuo Park.  This whole area is a resting ground for souls who died during their incarceration.   The whole area was build on top of the original Sugamo Prison, a triple maximum security facility that housed senior members of former War Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, and his war cabinet.    The Japanese refer to this prison as simply a "correctional facility."   Hardly  a facility designed to detain men who started World War 2.  These men died here for the punishment handed down by the White American courts, so in essence their souls linger here, but there ashes may be scattered elsewhere.    Here is one place.

Mitsubishi Corporation built Sunshine 60 over the prison in order to signify a new beginning that would usher in a new era of  prosperity.   At the time of completion it was the tallest building in the world only to be outdone by Building 63 in Korea a few years later.   This building is the symbol of the rebirth of the Japanese collective conscious to strive to move forward and to pursue  ambitious and lofty ideals like Democracy and Americanism.    The Japanese copied and repackaged everything they could get their hands on, and in many instances made significant improvements, especially in technology.   

In the afternoon the whole area is sprawling with shoppers in search of all the latest tech toys and gadgets.   Fashion boutiques and cafes abound all over this area.   You wouldn't even notice that there was a prison here, unless you looked carefully.   Sunshine 60, or Sunshine City as it's called nowadays by American apologist is a hyper mall and popular hangout for young people.   At night the place is claimed to be haunted.    In fact, it's a power spot.  



Scattered amongst the leaves and stone monuments are homeless Japanese people, the outcaste of society.   The ostracized the disenfranchised.   The voiceless and the defenseless  men and women who lay in patches of dirt and refuse unclaimed, beaten up by ruffians at night, and who have no claim.   People walk passed these unlucky souls on their way to Sunshine City with their $5 dollar paper cup of coffee to spend $100.00 on  pair of second hand panties at a boutique because it's cute.   There is no Sunshine in these parts of the city, just victims of the economic downturn.

The park has stone monuments of importance to the legacy left behind by the original architects.   The main stone reads Eternal Peace where  the execution grounds were.  Mr. Hideki Tojo was hanged along with seven high ranking members of his war cabinet.   Seishiro Itagaki, Tomoyuki Yamashita, Akira Muto, just to name a few.    They are remembered because they were accused of mass murder and  who were victimized and made an example of by an all white  partial court.    The Tokyo Tribunal and the legacy left behind at Sugamo Prison is a testament to White Justice, and this is why both the "Medina Standard" and  the "Yamashita Standard" had to be created and defined for future mass murders committed by U.S. Forces in Asia and  West Africa.


It was Douglas MacArthur along with the Pope who had hoped to spread Christian values and morals in Japan.  They succeeded in some areas, but where they had failed was when they did not demonstrate Christian virtues.    A key virtue of the Christian faith is forgiveness because without it there is no redemptions; central theme of  salvation!   Much controversy still surrounds Tomoyuki Yamashita's petition for leniency.    His appeal was rejected by Douglas Macurthur  twice.   Both men were Christians, but since General Tomoyuki was not a white Christian, MacArthur rejected his appeal.    White Christian soldiers have been receiving forgiveness and leniency for centuries by laws that were inspired by White people who swore by the Bible. 


American War Criminals:

William Laws Calley a convicted war criminal lives today in America as a free man unbound 2013.   Found guilty of mass murder for his role in the My Lai Massacre.  He only served 3 years in prison for the murder of thousands of non-white women and children.  He  walks around today a free man.   Samuel Koster- was discharged over the same incident. Ernest Medina - free man. And then lastly but not least Robert McNamara the brains behind the Vietnam War.    Experts blame his failures in Vietnam for his lack of understanding of the history of the region.   Just another cover up for his own murders and aggression in Vietnam.    This man is laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery  at this plot:  Plot: Section 2, Grave 1233-A











We remember those that sacrificed their lives for something.    In Japan, often times you will see Memorials and Parks build alongside each other.   It's not uncommon here.   One contentious issue that occurred  during the Bush Administration was when he hosted a State visit for former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.   They both visited Arlington Cemetery  to honor the fallen who fought in all wars for North America from as far back as the Civil War.    Someone mentioned a comparison between both Arlington and Yasukuni.  


Arlington is claimed to inter soldiers who did not fight wars of aggression and invasion.  This is left up to interpretation.  Okinawa was an act of aggression, Iraq was an act of aggression. Afghanistan was an act of aggression.  Bay of Pigs was an invasion and aggression.  Arlington claims that it does not inter soldiers who were dishonorably discharged, fair enough, but neither does Yasukuni Shrine, only noble souls are interred there.   There are no remains of dead soldiers at Yasukuni Shrine, not even urned remains.   It's a Japanese shrine where the memory of soldiers are honored by the bereaved.   Yasukuni inters war criminals.  Arlington inters Robert McNamara, and many more suspected murderers, rapist, and baby killers.   Go figure.    Arlington inters many races of people from a variety of different religions, so does Yasukuni Shrine.  There are mixed-nationalities, Ainu, Korean and Chinese soldiers who are interred at Yasukuni Shrine who are not of the Shinto Faith, but embrace Buddhism which is a foreign religion.  The likes of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu were never enshrined at Yasukuni for their atrocities committed overseas.  The horrors of Mimizuka will never be forgotten, and neither will Tokugawa's defiance of the Emperor's rule.  Yasukuni Shrine is not a place that glorifies atrocities, only the men who sacrificed their lives for the State.   Like Tomoyuki,  was made a scapegoat for loosing the war, not necessarily for atrocities claimed.   Had Japan won the war then who knows what history would've claimed.


If Yasukuni glorifies war, then so does Native American  museums and U.S. military exhibitions held on bases and overseas.   Memorial Day is when people remember the fallen who fought in numerous wars at home and abroad.   Air Shows which showcase American air power.  At the Smithsonian Museum you can see the Enola Gay Bomber on full display which dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  This is the best example of glorifying war along with the proposed reenactment of the Hiroshima bombing at U.S. Air Shows.  You best believe G.I. Joe, and America honors its war heroes who without a doubt have murdered thousands of innocent civilians and combatants in the name of freedom.   Benign in comparison to what goes on at Yasukuni Shrine where most people either pray or attend festivals honoring  the gods and their fallen.   They have flea markets here on the weekends sometimes and summer festivals for families.   On special occasion you can see old men in their 80s and 90s dressed up in military gear marching to bugles and drums.   This is hardly glorifying war, yet in America we make war heroes buffed up in macho gear and crew cuts and blockbuster movies showing indiscriminate murder in foreign lands against non-white people.


("We USED to hold these truths to be self evident,  that all men are NOT created equal, that they are NOT endowed by their Creator with certain alienable Rights, that among these are NOT life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness").

It never ceases to amaze me at how immense Tokyo is,  845 sq miles (2,188 km²), making it one of the largest metropolitan cities in the world.   So much culture and so many events are  held almost every single month.   This is Tokyo!
I was invited to attend yet another great  event with some sake drinking buddies in the countryside - yes, Tokyo has a countryside!  The event this time was held in a very pristine and beautiful part of Tokyo called Okutama at the Yakumo Shrine.   Never did I imagine that tucked away deep behind that mountain pass in the photo we would enjoy a beautiful traditional Japanese exhibition called the Lion Dance.   The tradition behind it is steeped in mystery from as far back as ancient times.   Read an excellent write-up here.    Before we made our way to Yakumo Shrine we had to wet our whistles, and in typical fashion as sake drunkards do, we stocked up on delicious Japanese nihonshu fresh from the brewer. Ozawa Shuzo
We stopped by to sample some really good local Tokyo brewed sake at a brewery called Ozawa Shuzo, which makes Sawanoi, a locally brewed Tokyo sake.   The brown cedar ball you see on the building in back is called a "sugi-dama."  When it's green it means the sake is young and fresh.   When it's brown it means the sake has some maturity and complexity, the kind I like best.    Often times, people overlook Tokyo sake because it doesn't enjoy as much international appeal as sake from Niigata Prefecture, the motherlode of sake.   This is largely due to misconceptions about Tokyo not having delicious spring water, a vital component necessary from brewing sake.    This is one of the biggest misconceptions about Tokyo.   The water here is excellent!  And the sake is wonderful and so are the people.  
President
After the six of us downed a few local beers and stocking up on over half a dozen sake, including one large 1.8 liter, the president of Ozawa Brewery sees us off at the pass and wishes us well as we begin our hike down the river trail. White Water Rafting
It felt like summer.   Temps were hovering at around a balmy 27C.  The air was fresh and crisp and the first hints of a buzz start to creep up on me.  The man and his dog were playing fetch in the fresh cool water.  People were Barbecuing and laying out in the sun.  It was a perfect day. 



There was no doubting that spring was here.  It was all over the place in greens and purples.  Wisteria grows along the mountains here, and in low valleys and shrubs.   Taking in all this nature over delicious rice brew it was time for lunch, so we headed over to a place called Omotoya
Fresh River Fish Caught and marinated in vinegar served whole.
Sushi, shishito peppers, boiled yuba, and miso.




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After lunch we hailed taxis the rest of the way because we were running short on time.   After arriving there at Yakumo Shrine we had to hike up a a narrow path.

The Kawai Yakumo Shrine:
A Tangible Folklore Cultural Property








Here is the actual photo of the stage below.  This has been around for centuries and is maintained in its original form.  Notice the plain wood.   A truly traditional Japanese style building is never adorned in bright colors inlaid with precious stones.   The Shinto Faith emphasizes a harmony with nature as gods, and do not need to be adorned in paints and gaudiness.   Simple is best.


What you'll need in order to enjoy this event is a good drinking utensil, unagi bones ( Eel bones), dried baby octopus and copious amounts of free flowing Tokyo brewed nihonshu and good friends!
Mutsu Hassen Sake Cup
Unagi Bones
Dried Baby Octopus
Care for one?
Our pourer for this event was the debonair and talented Mr. Ichibay.   He demonstrates how to taste sake.   And with his approval, we imbibe as the lions square off.


There are two lions that move around in a rhythmical dance like they are facing each other off.   This procession continues for hours.  


The lions are battling it out for the females in floral hats.  You cannot see their faces.   The myth is also about how the lions were sent down from heaven as an omen of good luck.   There are many interpretations to this story.  


In the end a farmer defeats the last lion in an epic battle that restores peace to the villagers.    End to a wonderful performance.    If you are ever in Tokyo next year on May 5th, please don't miss it.  Again, click on the link above to be taken to Ichibays site to learn more.

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What is Constitution Day?

On May 3rd is Constitution Memorial  Day for Japan.   In Japanese it's called Kenpo Kinenbi.   This day is to recognize the significants of  McArthur's constitution for the Japanese.  On this day you can see demonstrations by conservative and leftwing groups over the interpretation of the constitution and over the need for revision.  One contentious issue is over Article 9 which prohibits an act of war.  Many lawmakers and politicians on this day reflect on such issues as pacifism and the future role of the Japanese military in a quickly changing world.   

In America we also have our own Constitution Day and it  is observed each year on September 17.  This is observed to commemorate the signing of the American Constitution in 1787.    On this day we reflect on U.S. citizenship.   All publicly and federally funded schools are required to teach on the history of the American Constitution on this day!      
Japan's current constitution was signed into law and accepted by the Japanese government as part of a deal that would end America's Occupation of the country and set Japan on track for recovery and Democratization.   The current day constitution is not an authentic document of the Japanese people, but a quick fix with over half the U.S. Bill of Rights written in it.   There's hardly any provisions endorsed by lay Japanese.   Japan's previous constitution had a similar frame work but  because emphasis in the writing placed  too much importance on "kokutai " it had  to be  rewritten  in order to reflect  more Democratic and Christian principles.
Why is it important for Japan?
It is important for a number of reasons.  One is because of the "Kokutai," which is the essence and posterity of the Japanese race.   It's an abstract concept that embraces the spiritual  core and racial identity of the Nation of Japan.    Douglas MacArthur had to remove references to "Kokutei" because it was too emperor-centered and  less Anglo worshiping in nature and thus too cult like and non- progressive for mainstream whites, Washington power brokers,and world leaders.    All vestiges of Japan's nationalism had to be removed from every aspect of Japanese life, education, and tradition.    Even folk music had to be changed.    

Japan has to reflect on its position in the world.   The country needs to re-identify with its role in the modern world not only as an economic partner to the United States, but a potential ally in war, and  possible inclusion on the U.N. Security Council.   In order for major powers to recognize Japan, it must demonstrate that it can make decisions for itself outside of America's influence and prove itself to be a world leader, not just a follower.    This is one major significance for reviewing the present-day constitution.   Japan has to have the sovereign right to authorize the use of deadly force and to participate in war.  
Another reason why it's important is because it is symbolic.   On May 3rd, Douglas MacArthur was reigned in by the Foreign Relations Committee to testify behind closed doors over his dismissal.    Many Americans saw Douglas MacArthur as a potential crackpot when he advocated using the Atomic Bomb on China.   This is a man who disobeyed direct orders and who has constantly jeopardized national security in order to satisfy his own ego.  

For the Japanese, Douglas MacArthur should be viewed as a man who had good intention, but who ultimately sought to destroy the soul of the country by ridding it of it's ancient practices.    In short, destroying the country from within with Christian values, and White worship.      The reason I use the term "White Worship" is because MacArthur stood shoulder to shoulder with the late Showa Tenno.   No Japanese man or woman has ever met Tenno Showa's gaze, yet a white person did so as a symbolic gesture to show the Japanese race MacArthur's power.    This is disgraceful and shows the total lack of respect for a person whom all Japanese revere as a living god.  

The first Parliamentary government formed in Asia occurred in Japan.  The Meiji Constitution had clear limitations on the power of the executive branch and the Emperor of Japan.  It also had an independent judiciary which afforded civil liberties and even Civil rights.  As with all laws in the world, such civil liberties were ambiguous and subject to interpretation.   The Four Freedoms of America, for example.  Many Americans would mock it today as being  hardly representative of American Democracy.    On May 3rd, the Birmingham Campaign in the south was in full swing in the United States.    Black Americans were being beaten, shot and killed by white police officers.   Why?   Because they marched peacefully  demanding  just basic Civil Rights.   All this was happening  all while the American government  was guaranteeing these same rights to Japanese people.     

In order for any constitution to have merit, it must be shrouded in idealism and divine right.   The American constitution is thought to be inspired by higher principle founded in small part by the Christian Bible, and that god ordained America to lead and shape the world.   The Japanese constitution was also shrouded in mystery  under Kokutai which led to the promulgation of Japanese national myths in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which deified the Emperors of Japan as the descendent of the sun goddess.  .   


 Lincoln and Abraham are honored as men of principle and high honor, almost given godlike status by many zealous patriotic Americans because of their contribution to shaping America, yet these men were slave-owners who had slave mistresses and were not always the best example to model socially and morally upright men after.  Honor and principle are left up to interpretation, as long as you were white American back then.



The Japanese have to regain a sense of national identity  as an independent body politic free from the strains of Western idealism.   Japan's original  constitution pre-dates America's Constitution by a almost a millennium, so there's no misunderstanding here that Japan fully capable of writing its own constitution without the United States.   To read up on an in-depth essay on MacArthur click.

I do believe Mr. Abe is moving in the right direction with his desire to modify the current day constitution.   One that hopefully reflects the needs of the Japanese in this increasingly unstable world.
Let's hope for the best!

Random Ramblings
I enjoyed my second visit to Sendai.   This time around I attended a drinking party with some lovelies and a good sake buddy of mine where we sampled dozens of great nihonshu.   The food for the evening was your typical standard Japanese fair: sashimi, tempura, and baked fish.   What I really enjoyed though was the Chawannmushi, a type of hot egg soup in a cup.     The chef that evening added spinach paste to it and I enjoyed the extra texture I got from the chawannmushi.    The name of the izekaya is called "Shonan Chigasakimichi Kokubunjoten"   in Sendai.     Surprisingly, no seared cow tongue was served; I have an aversion to tongue meat.   The sake for the evening was Mutsu Hassen from Aomori Prefecture.   

I met a lot of interesting characters that evening who were from all over Japan.   Sake really does lubricate the wheels of social interaction and surprisingly even after becoming sober good relationships are made.     A while ago I did a write up on Sendai and about my impressions of this city.    My opinions have not changed, but I feel that I like Sendai now.   The people are still a bit more reserved, but friendly nevertheless.    Also, when I asked for directions everybody  knew exactly where everything was, unlike Tokyo where nobody knows where anything is.   Sendai folks know their city very well and provided me very reliable directions.   Of course I asked a Jukujo mom for directions, go figure.  

Mao Asada, world renowned figure skater, sells her own line of accessories, namely wallets.   My Jukujo asked me to get her one for her birthday so I went to the Daiei in Yokohama and much to my disappointment they didn't have the color she wanted.   I searched around and couldn't find it, so on this last trip I went to the Daiei in Sendai and to my surprise they had exactly the one she wanted, and it was the last one!   Daiei is a department store, by the way.   I did good, plus I was able to pick up a packet of Sasakamaboku, a fish cake that's famous in Sendai.    

The hotel where I stayed is here: https://www.apahotel.com/hotel/touhoku/04v_sendaieki-itsutsubashi/index.html   Apa Hotel is a deluxe business hotel with locations all over Japan.   I chose this hotel because of its natural hot spa and affordability.   Another reason is because it's located next to a 24 hour convenience store.    For those who have never been to Sendai and are curious then just know that it's the gateway city to Tohoku and it's the capital.   Sendai Station is a major hub for the Shinkansen and Super Komachi Express.    

Sendai is a very busy city with lots of traffic.   There are major chain stores and eateries like you would find in Tokyo, and in some cases, like with the wallet I found, will be in stock.    Sendai is also located in Miyagi Prefecture which has many great natural hot spas and temples for your enjoyment.    The mass transit network is well organized  and you can go just about anywhere by city bus and local rail lines.    The nightlife is there, just like you would find in any major city.   
I was invited to a snack shop, which is a place often frequented by Japanese salarymen.   Another name could be a hostess bar, but on a much smaller scale.   Here the lovely ladies serve you drinks and keep your glass filled with ice.   They talk to you and sing along with you.   They treat you well.    I do not recommend going to these places without a Japanese man.   The guy I was with knew the place well and we could enjoy the ladies, drinks, and music.   We drank shochu, a distilled Japanese spirit for a set price.    

Fujinuma Park & Auto Campsite


The first few years I lived in Japan I traveled extensively through-out Fukushima Prefecture in search of good food, great hot spas, and delicious sake.   My girlfriend and I had a real passion for living in those days, and still do to this day.   
We were diehard campers back then.  We camped in winter, spring, and even autumn.  Cold weather and sometimes wet weather wasn't an obstacle for us, we loved the great outdoors.  It was in our blood.   There was no prefecture in Japan more beautiful than Fukushima Prefecture for us.  It was the land of ramen, sake, beef, and great nature.  We never camped during summer.  
 Today at breakfast, one of my Jukujo moms broke the news that the place was no longer the same after the March 11th disaster and that it hasn't  been restored, just a-washed in mud.  I was disheartened to hear that the place had been wiped out by the March 11th tsunami.  I had no idea the place was effected.  In the video below is what's left; a washed out auto park.  I was devastated.  
Before the March 11th Earthquake and Tsunami

藤沼湖
Fujinuma                         After, and what's left is below


Before the disaster, Fujinuma was lush and full of green.  Natural hot springs were all over the place.
Auto Campsite with my red Honda Civil Ferio and Staggs Gear

Our Tent.  The pole you see is a power outlet. Actual Park It was a beautiful park and auto campsite.

Words couldn't express how I felt during breakfast, and I wasn't aware that the floods pushed in this deep inland.   I had so many memories washed away by mother natures wrath.    This park will be missed!   During the earthquake the dam gave way and the whole place was flooded and has not been rebuilt.   This was one of the best and well maintain auto-camps I have been to.  




View Larger Map

For some reason everything smells so much sweeter in the thick of night.   It could be the allure of female perfume walking by or the warm evening smell of pink flowers wafting in the breeze.   The river yields and extra mineral scent that mixes in with the it all, and you know you are about to have a really good night. 




Takada Castle rendered under a  warm night sky.    Japanese mothers holding cute little chubby Japanese babies.  They are exhausted from all the festivities.  I feel for them, but I pressed on.



In this second picture you are looking at something called "goma - dongo" a sweet sticky rice ball covered in warm sesame seed paste.   This treat is my personal favorite.  I love the warm buttery gooey goodness when they are made fresh like these were.    Whenever you come to a festival in Japan  look for these!

There are so many different kinds of food you can enjoy at a Japanese festival, but these dango are authentically Japanese and help get you in the mood for the night.   And of course great beer always helps.

Pink pedals are scattered about The night time revelry was absolutely crazy.     An then there was Sakura Road!  Take me to heaven.  




Down this road, the lighting had red cellophane wrapped around them, so this intensified the pinkness in the flowers.

As the night wore on the revelry intensified even more.   I beer breathed old Japanese men laughing  and the sound of cameras going off all around.  This was a great trip.  

Listening to Staralfur by Sigor Ros

 Speeding through the Joetsu region of Niigata Prefecture  I often wonder what life would've been like had I lived here.   The only realization I came to was that the only thing to do here is work, and that the work never ends.    Toiling away in the fields is the only way to eat and  live in this sometimes harsh and unforgiving climate.   Sometimes it's the most beautiful and scenic locations that seem to  have the harshest conditions to survive in.   You wake up in the freezing wee hours of the morning and have this gorgeous mountain view, but because you have seen the same view every single day for the last 60 years the only realization is that you have to work, and that the work never ends.  



Farming is the only honest work left in the world.  You cannot trick the earth into yielding its own fruit.   You have to do things the right way from the beginning in order to get a harvest.    You could pump chemicals into the soil, but this will only ruined the soil.  The soil has to be turned and treated properly after every harvest season the natural way.     I can sit down in my comfortable seat in an air-conditioned  super express train with my sake, and can appreciate how fortunate I am.    The  food tastes good when it's grown the Japanese way here.   Canon 60D Tamron AF 70-300 F4 1/800
During the winter when you cannot work in the fields, you are busy shoveling snow every single day and making sure the water lines are not frozen.  You have to make sure there's enough firewood and if not then you need to go out and cut some down.    At night you have a warm gas heater that heats the home, there you can make babies with your wife, and if you are extra romantic you can do it near a warm fireplace while listening to the flames lick the wood as little popping noises echo from the fireplace.   
Occasionally, if you still have any energy left you can ski.  Joetsu is the birthplace of skiing in Japan and home of the father of the Japanese postal system - Meajima Hisoka.    This shot was taken mid April and there's still snow on top of the peaks.  

No festival in Japan would be complete without a procession of men and women carrying this beautiful edifice down  a road.   It is called a mikoshi and it is used to transport a god between shrines.     No better example of the purest essence of Japanese culture than the  Mikoshi,  the truest symbols of Japan's spiritual legacy and a testament to  the continuity of tradition passed down generation after generation.   

During the festive time of year you can see fundoshi( underwear) clad men and women carrying the mikoshi down a street with throngs of people all around.    The mikoshi is carried on the shoulders  around neighborhoods to another shrine where people can get up close and see the god inside the mikoshi, and in some instances touch it.     
Gods come in flesh form too



Cherry blossom viewing can be enjoyed anywhere in Japan, but some places are a must-see-must-go destination.    I have chronicled many places on this blog of famous garden parks that look as if they  had been hewned and carved by the gods of Japan.   One such place is Takada Park, an enormous recreational area with bridges, rivers, playgrounds, a baseball field, and a Track & Field venue.     Every area is lined with dazzling pink cherry blossom trees all collaged with majestic mountain views and scenic snowscapes.     This is Niigata at it's finest, at the very height of its beauty.

Getting there will take about 4 hours if you are coming from Tokyo by train.    You do not have to use Niigata Station to transfer, you can do that at Echigo Yuzawa Station then take the Hakuta Express to Noetsu Station where you'll transfer again to a local line which will take you to Takada Station.  


From the Hakuta Express, you need to sit on the right so that you can witness the beautiful mountain ranges of Echizen on the train ride and relish in the splendor of snowcapped peaks while sipping on cold Japanese sake over a local lunch box replete with salmon and rice.  
You have until the 21st of April to enjoy this beauty.   I took about 600 pictures, so I will post up some of the ones that I feel reflect the beauty of this park.   First, let's have a look at this photo:  Mountains, trees,  and river all  imbue a sense of charm to this region.   Niigata is a mountainous, cavernous, landscape of farm lands, natural hot spas, and rice fields.   Blessed with great water, the  sake flows pure from the vats where they are brewed in, and into the cups where they are poured in, then served to you freshly brewed.  



I had first attempted to come to this park last year, but the park was washed out from the rains.   My image of Takada was so different, I thought it would be more like Kakunodate in Akita Prefecture.  Instead, I discover a vibrant mix of young and old people together with friends, significant others, and family.



Oddly enough, there was a Track & Field event being held during the festival.   Track meets and cherry blossoms provided an interesting contrast with plenty of entertainment for everyone.  

Clear Crisp Skies and Mountain Mochi - This is local specialty.  Sticky rice ball delicacy that's slightly burned - heaven on a stick.
Hiroshima style okonomiyaki with a Niigata twist.   A layered pancake stuffed with pork noodles and etc. In the offing there's  Takada Castle.   If you pay a small fee you can climb to the top and enjoy even more gorgeous views of pink trees.  The old mood was festive.  Truly an unforgettable experience.
Takada Castle

Perhaps the most iconic symbol of this whole park area is Takada Castle.   It is not as ominous as this castle I visited next door.    Please flock here to freshen up, and take pictures around the moat.
Merriment was definitely there.  The whole park was so clean and litter free.   It was really nice just drinking and hanging around this area.   The weather was balmy.
Another thing that surprised me was at how many people spoke English.   Kids on bicycles, mothers, and young ladies all spoke English to me and greeted me!   I was received with smiles and merriment.

The pictures can speak for themselves.   Enjoy

Sitting in one of these on a very cool spring evening with a nice cold bottle of Japanese sake and the sounds of raging water flowing down a mountain you sigh your first real breath of release from deep within.   You know the journey is over and sitting there warm and cozy in this womb of nature the water absorbs deep into you and heals you of all fatigue and strain.


Often times I am reminded of the beauty of Japan when I leave the larger cities.    Miyagi Prefecture was a placed I had visited a few times in search of silence and quietude, and discovered it.   This time around I was solo and found that the charm of country life still remains, even today.   Iwamatsu Onsen is a place often discussed amongst onsen aficionados as one of the best rare one of a kind hot spas.



What may be off putting for travelers is how long it takes to reach Iwamatsu Onsen.    From Sendai, if you use city bus, will take you about 60 minutes and will cost you a little over 1000 yen one-way.   Another option would be the local line to Sakunami Station which takes around 40 minutes.   How much I do not know.   The hotel where I stayed offers a bus service but requires you make a reservation in advance for pick up service.




The type of person who comes to this area, or any area in Miyagi is someone who has plenty of time on his/her hands as buses and trains are infrequent.   Plus,  Miyagi is a large prefecture and you need time to see it and enjoy it.   Miyagi and Sendai are quite different and share nothing other than Sendai being the capital.    On a cool wet overcast day,  just ambling about tiny little deserted hot spring towns and taking in all that is left of old mills and lumber yards,  one can gain a sense of appreciation for how well preserved these places still are even today.    Your hands are cold and wet; you are hungry and you've been walking all day.   And then you check-in to your onsen ryoukan and thaw out those tired bones, each and every bone in that hot steamy hot spring spa with gorgeous views of the Miyagi backcountry.

Don’t know what it is exactly about Japan’s extensive railway network that I love the most, but one thing’s for sure, I love its trains, especially the  Hayabusa.   It’s got to be the the nose! I love its sleekness and the perfectly engineered bogies that slide along the outside; or maybe it’s the pantographs that run along the top of the entire body of the whole train that does it for me….. Actually, let me reiterate, it’s the nose.       ("This man must really love his job.  He gets to ride the fastest train on rails in comfort and style.   No  No.  Chinese and French folks do not even try to say anything.  Do not disturb my apotheosis on Japanese engineering").  

Bullet trains, shinkansen, were designed with perfect aerodynamic contours that allow it to seamlessly glide across steel rails at very high speeds. The faster it goes the sexier it looks, unlike its rival in France.    The Hayabusa is the product of decades of labor intensive engineering, and countless man hours. Years of learning how to develop better metals and ; years of  hard monomers and soft polymers and aesthetically different elements into one whole operating unit and then learning how to blend all of that so that the human subject could experience absolutely the highest level of comfort at top speeds on land, enabling passengers to take in majestic views of Japan’s vast and expansive countryside in the middle of winter from the warmness and comfort of a luxurious recliner.

I have ridden on the Hayabusa about five times, and in every cabin class.   The newest train on the block now is called the Super Komachi, and it's  also just as fast as the Hayabusa, reaching speeds of up to 320 k/hr.   It's red with head lights along the side.   The Komachi has always been around, but this new one has a much more sleeker feel to it.  From Tokyo the Hyabusa couples and pulls Komachi to Morioka Station where they decouple.  The Hayabusa continues to Shin-Aomori Station while the Komachi continues on to Akita Station.   Decoupling                                               Decoupling is very easy and automated.  

One of the big draws for kids and train geeks like myself is that we love to come and watch decouplings happen after we get off the train.   If you haven't had a chance to see this done yet then by all means have a look next time.    The Super Komachi's standard class seating is much better than the Hayabusa.   Yellow seats with wider backs and slightly more comfortable than Hayabusa's standard seating.   I rode green class because I love black leather recliner seats that are thick and cushy.    From Sendai to Morioka the fare was 7000 yen for green seats.  

Fares are pretty standard as before.  Check here.    Another thing.  There is a big difference between the E5 and the E2 Shinkansen series trains.    While E5 ( Hayabusa ) is the latest and greatest, the windows are smaller whereas the E2 has larger windows which allow for better photo and video opportunities.   The windows are rectangular rather than square shaped, which is better for panning shots on the E2.  


If you are headed up to Kakunodate this Spring for cherry blossom viewing then riding the Super Komachi is a great excuse and worth it.   It really is super fast and super luxurious.    

Zelkova trees, soft flowing ravines, clean city streets that are well maintained, welcome to Sendai City.  The skyline is well ordered so as not to appear too imposing to  visitors.  Modest and austere is the general mood you can pick up on almost instantly when you step out into the city.  This is  a wealthy city that doesn't show it.   This is a city replete with history and culture along with a well preserved sense of decorum.  


Sendai is a place I have been through almost a half dozen times already, and each time I have come through  here I have always been aware of  how strikingly different Sendai people  treat foreigners in relation to how foreigners are treated in Yokohama and Tokyo. If you are living in Tokyo, and haven't been to anywhere else, and think that you know Japan, you don't. If your perceptions of Japanese people acting in a certain way, and carrying on in a certain way are defined by how Japanese act in Kanagawa Prefecture and Tokyo then you are  misinformed, and you do not know Japan, I am still learning. Sendai  and Osaka people are very much "real people" in the sense that they are not facetious and disingenuous   about everything. They do not blame their whole race for feeling shy and appearing incompetent and two-faced all the time. Sendai people are very one-faced. What you'll find in this city are people who do not give a damn that you are a foreigner, here you are not looked at as equal, just foreign and that your presence is merely tolerated not embraced.   


This probably means that they are well educated and well-rounded.  A Japanese person who has fully embraced all aspects of his/her history, even the uncomfortable truths of the last half of the century will know and understand proper decorum. Japanese understood it when the late Keizo Obuchi was Prime Minister and he showed it in his dealings with the U.S. and Russia.     



Sendai is the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, and is the largest city in the Tohoku Region. I recommend stopping through here for beef tongue, the local delicacy, which many of the locals do not eat - surprisingly.  I have tried it in just about every way and I do not like it. Beef tongue is beef tongue and no matter how many times I have eaten it, I think it's horrible.   Others may not think so, give it a try next time you are up here. If you are into history and great hot spring spas then Sendai is definitely the place for you. This is a wealthy city with a long history, perhaps longer than any other prefecture in Japan. A great samurai by the name of Date Masamune ruled this land. That's as far as I am going to go with ancient history, because I feel I want to highlight more important points like the spiritual core of the people of Sendai.  

The outline of the city is not as impressive as it used to be, back before the war almost every household had its own garden with thick woody Zelkova trees grown in and around them.   The whole city was lush with greenery, life, energy, and vitality.   After the American air raids had destroyed so many of the trees the city had restored less than half of its former glory.  Now, Sendai is a place full of aging matrons and elders who ride public transportation for free, all day.
Everybody knows each other, and yet almost nobody smiles.   Even the young people dress modestly; no hiked up minis and black stiletto pumps parading around.  There is a decorum here, a way you show yourself in public.   

The reference I made about education was more about why the city is like it is; people understand the local history and embrace it whereas in other parts of Japan, Japanese pick and choose what history is more palpable and benign, maybe the story about Momotaru is history for some maybe...lol...? 

Many of the residence who have lived in this city since birth have loose connections with a distant relative who has served in the military in some capacity. During the Second World War, Sendai recruited locally, not nationwide. The 2nd Division, as they were called back then,  was a Division made up almost exclusively of Sendai residence, who fought in many campaigns in the Pacific Theater.  One battle that's notable  is called the Battle of Guadalcanal where the Japanese had engaged the U.S. Marines. This was one of the most epic battles in modern history and one that will never be erased from naval warfare.  People of Sendai understand their own history.



Sendai is also where white American soldiers called POWs were taken to serve as slaves in mines where many had died. Some survived and were eventually repatriated after the war. Politically correct term would be "forced labour" because the U.S. doesn't officially recognize the term "slavery" and its debt owed to African Americans, even with an African American president who was raised in Hawaii.  


That's not to say that there were no black POWs, there were but there's hardly any discourse about them.  This is because nobody cares.  The U.S. Military gave extra special considerations to all German soldiers under Hitler's regime. These German POWs were  the Wehrmacht, Hitler's Army, were allowed to eat and dine alongside white American soldiers while black soldiers were forced to eat in segregated places, and use segregated toilets.  Black soldiers weren't allowed to ride in the same train cars and were all forcibly piled into one train car while German POWs were allowed their own special cars, often time with luxury accommodation. German soldiers would laugh at the negroes, and I don't blame them. Had I been white and German I would've laughed, too. Laughed at the hypocrisy of the United States, and the ignorance of most negro who would serve in the military to liberate others from tyranny abroad while being spat on and treated like a second class citizen back home.  The negro man had no business in Vietnam, no business in Hitlers backyard either. Dying on the battlefield when you could've been back home fighting for righteous causes is far more honorable.  Having a half black president is supposed to nullify the Civil Rights struggle by eliminating "white guilt" over its own past transgressions.  All said and done.  Now Civil Rights no longer represents the core value it was intended for, now it's about sexual equality, a politically correct term would be "marriage equality."  Eccentric blacks promote it that way nowadays, just ask Obama.  I'm sure MLK is looking down from heaven with approving eyes.  [nod your head]  

People of Sendai are not giddy and overly obsequious about how charming foreigners are, it's largely because they know the history as it applies to them and the consequences of the war, and because they have grown up and could care less about what's beyond Sendai.  They are rooted and grounded.   


Very clean, well-maintained underpasses and trains station really sets Sendai apart.  The spiritual core is a term I use to delineate how very Japanese this city is, and how unlike Tokyo and Yokohama it is.  No red carpet welcome; none of that.   
This post wasn't intended to turn you off from visiting Sendai, by all means come here and experience the city.  There's so much more this city has to offer.   Enjoy yourself but be aware of where you are at.  


  

Spring came unseasonable early this year, but that's okay because  sake can be enjoyed all year round.  

The top sake picks for spring 2013:


Takachiyo Shuzo  came  out on  top with its world-class Junmai Daiginjo, Muroka Nama Genshu, and Kasumi type sake; just remember the red and purple labels as these  sold out quickly and were amazing.   A key flavor profile would be the snappy tail at the finish with full on flavors  of deep berries and flowers.   Sake breakdowns are proprietary  as they do not post this information on their website.  They have a fanpage in English.    Facebook Page




Taiyo Shuzo : Like-able and is definitely on its way to becoming more of a contender in the sake world.   Look out for their Ginjo-shu.   


Asazuma Shuzo - Best pickled food pairing with sake goes to Asazuma for its  well balanced texture and overall dryness.  
Koshitsukano shuzo:  Great.   This is a small brewery but one with enormous potential for appealing to a much more diverse crowd.   Could be popular with the ladies.      
  Matsunoi shuzo:   Super honjozo is what you want to look out for this year.   Think  cotton candy with complexity.
Kubiki shuzo:    Real bouquets are just one example of its flavor profile.  I could go on and on.  

These small notes are worthy recommendations and are from long established breweries in Niigata, Prefecture.   These sake breweries enjoy a steady flow of repeat customers and are simply legendary in terms of how well they embody the spirit of the Chubu, Hokuriku region.     The local rice; the farmers; the water; the mountains; the hot flowing springs; the ancient ways are all somehow in the spirit and soul of each and every sake made.    

Enjoy

Answering the Questions in the pamphlet:

1) A white person in the form of Jesus Christ sent to spread white worship all across Asia.    It worked in Korea and China and in the United States and in Vietnam.

2) According to scripture the death and resurrection of Christ is supposed to make it possible for us to go to heaven as long as we ask Christ to forgive us of our sins, no matter how many times we sin.   Jesus loves us all and made the ultimate sacrifice for us all.   No other person could represent the savior of the world, but a white man.   Had this pamphlet had an Asian face or a Black face hanging on the cross people would simply throw it away.   Jewish people come in a variety of different shades and persuasion, why a white face?    Are there no Black Jews?   Are there no  Asian Jews either ?  Yes to both.   Are there white jews?   Yes.  But they were considered Paradesi Jews from southern Europe who were recent newcomers in the 15th Century, and who were eventually accepted into some groups.  Ethnic Jews look nothing like the picture you see in churches and pamphlets, but are merely interpretation by white people of how the saviour of the whole world is supposed to look is a distortion.

3)  Remembering him is important because it reinforces white worship - soft power paradigm.

What exactly is white worship?   Is there even such a term?    Some asian women will claim that there is a fascination  with blonde hair and blue eyes, and that white men treat asian women better than their own men and make them feel sexy, respected and special.   This often times makes white men to appear more attractive and desirable to asian women regardless of physical qualities.    People love Jesus for the same reasons.   He loves us all, gives us salvation, promises us a better life if we follow him and obey his command, and he accepts us for who we are with all of our imperfections.   This is the same gimmick whites employ initially in order to gain the trust of the victim.     White worship could be defined as a person who loves and defends white people because the claimant feels that white people love us all and provides for us all on a metaphysical, material, and deeply emotional and spiritual  level, thus the attraction.   The notion of blonde hair and blue eyes being fascinating is merely a vanity associated with  lovelorn Asians who hate themselves and their own natural features.    Self hate is a disease of the soul and the mind.   Blame  their communities and media barons for promoting Western beauty thus ruining the interpretation of beauty.


Every sunday I get a knock at my door from some poor misguided Japanese person who had been duped into believing this scam, and that a white Jesus from Brooklyn came all the way to Japan to save her.    It's almost comical if you understand the whole religion of Jehovah's Witness and its origins.

One of the greatest charms about living in Japan is that it is free from over zealous religious groups; religiously dogmatic and charismatic preachers, and so on.   It is a country that embraces its own gods.  Whether that be a tree god or an onsen god doesn't matter, a god is a god.    I like Japanese gods.   Japanese gods are natural and earth bound and can come in the form of many things, not some so-called white messiah.


"Judaism's View of Jesus." Wikipedia, The belief that Jesus (or any other human) is God, any deity, the son of God, or a person of the Trinity, is completely unacceptable according to every tradition of Jewish law, and incompatible with Jewish philosophical tenets. The same applies to belief in Jesus as the Messiah or a prophet of God: those beliefs are also contrary to traditional Jewish views. The idea of the Jewish Messiah is different from the Christian Christ because Jews believe Jesus did not fulfill Jewish Messianic prophecies that establish the criteria for the coming of the Messiah.[7] Authoritative texts of Judaism reject Jesus as God, Divine Being, intermediary between humans and God, Messiah or saint. The belief in the Trinity is also held to be incompatible with Judaism, as are a number of other tenets of Christianity.   18 March 2013 at 18:01. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism's_view_of_Jesus



 (" I referenced Judaism because Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish.  John 4:22, Mathew 1:1,Hebrew 7:14")




The Bible has always been interpreted and re-interpreted to mean different things for different people.  If you are asking the Japanese to believe that a white man from Pittsburg received divine inspiration from god, then I ask you to question your reasoning.     It's impossible for a white person to be the voice of god and the voice of the atomic bomb at the same time, and unapologetic all at the same time.    It is morally impossible to deduce down that a white face could possible be in the image of Jesus Christ.



African Americans have never received a State level apology for the enslavement of their ancestors, nor any compensation for loss of wages and income.   Instead, the government gives them food stamps and welfare, and a Black, according to the one-drop rule,  Hawaiian / American President who cannot pass one single reform to end poverty in America, which effects the vast majority of his own people, or at least the people who look like him.     Not once has he addressed the homeless population in downtown Chicago, who are predominantly Black, nor Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.   He's too presidential for that and would rather sit down to have a beer with his mother's half of the guilt equation than to deal with the most pressing needs of the 21th Century - racial equality.    Rich and poor is not equal.  


The vast majority who live in Japan love the relative calm and tranquility this country has been blessed with, and love the peace and non-white worshipping elements that pervade the atmosphere and the corporate culture, sure the Manga and anime exhibit caucasian features, but that's why this genre of literature is labeled as sub-culture, and sub-human in some instances.


Japanese love the traditions and the ancient myths that pervade great stories like the Tale of Genji, or Momo Taro, even the great Kojiki.   In Japan, Japanese gods look Japanese.     Japan is a type of heaven in and of itself.  You may call it temporal if you like, nevertheless it is a heaven and it's no more temporal than your human self.    Instead, you would ask the Japanese to forsake their own heaven to go live in the New Jerusalem, a place, among others, is  probably full of white Americans and Europeans from before and during the Cold War.    I'm sure no Blacks are allowed through those expensive golden gates.    I'm sure Paul Tibbets makes it in with a heroes welcome.


My point is that Japan does not need your religions, your heaven, nor your false sense of salvation by a white saviour.  If anything, the whole world needs to be saved from the scourge of Western expansionist economic hegemony / world policing / and  double standard hierarchical dogmatism and white salvationism.




Feeble minded Japanese, those that forsake the morality teaching of their ancestors, to follow the teachings of white morality teachers, like when  whites murder indiscriminately in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, or even in Okinawa, and then do not ask for forgiveness is immoral.     Japan has apologized to its neighbors on all levels and has paid ODA, and is still paying it - this is fully documented.   No greater example of world peace and order than Japan.   Maybe the world can learn a thing or two from the Japanese instead of the hypocrisy of it's fellow humans in the West.



The Kamikaze died for Japan.   Mishima died for Japan.   So many great men have died in service of this country.    Too many for me to count.   Only a feeble minded Japanese would rather embrace the notion that a white messiah came down from his white throne to die for  YOU.   And then rise again and drop the atom bomb on you.    Only he would put you in internment camps.   Why?  You wanted to be like him, but you couldn't because you weren't born with the same level of indifference to truth.  And because he couldn't trust you, so he put you in internment camps during the war.    But I guess that was ok?   You did receive $20,000 reparations for all of your troubles.    And it's also unfortunate that many of you cannot speak the Japanese language.   You know who you are,  living in America, the diaspora for so many Japanese Americans who betrayed their own country.    You visit Arlington, but not Yasukuni.  I know who you are.


If you need a savior look from within and start with the man in the mirror.    Make a difference in the lives of others, help another person.   Honor your own ancestors.   Drink good Japanese sake.  Take a great hot spa.   Take a wife and breed another generation of Japanese.   Make progress.   Protect the weak and educate the ignorant.    Refuse white religions like Jehovahs Witnesses.   Their teachings are wholly inconsistent with Japanese thinking.    They are a poison to society and do not serve the interest of the Japanese.  

Onigiri-ya Shirayuki

Tokamachi
Address: 新潟県十日町市寅甲127−1, 948-0000, Japan Phone:+81 25-757-8516




The significance of this post has a lot to do with rice and Japanese nihonshu.   Onigiri is known as rice ball in English.    In fact it is not a rice ball; more like a rice triangle stuffed with various toppings and is often  associated with lunch.    It is a comfort food that's widely enjoyed by just about everybody needing something quick, delicious, and healthy.   Niigata Prefecture is home to Koshihikari, a premium grain of rice exclusively grown in this region; other prefectures now grow their own variation of koshihikari.  Jilin, China also grows its own style of koshihikari as well.  However, real koshihikari is most associated with Niigata Prefecture and it is here that you can enjoy so many local brands that are incredibly delicious.       In the picture below you see something called yakionigiri, a slightly burnt variation of onigiri topped with miso.   These are heavenly.




It's not often you get a chance to read up on good places to eat in Niigata, especially in small cities like Tokamachi, at least not in English.   In Japan you will most likely see kanji characters written like this:  居酒屋　izakaya/ pub　焼き鳥屋  yakitoriya / grilled chicken pub, but have you ever heard of a おにぎりーya /onigiri-ya. These characters designate what each pub specializes in, and there are more designations. There are too many great places to eat in Japan.    Which is the best place to eat?   Keep it simple.  This is what I said when I was researching where to eat when I discovered a restaurant called Shirayuki / White Snow. The significance for choosing this particular place  as you may have  guessed is because of the rice balls and  jizake / local nihonshu.    You are right.    However, that wasn't the only reason.   The real reason is because of the staff.    Everybody working here are farmers, and all of the ingredients used are locally sourced. Rice, fish, and sake are all locally sourced and served up perfectly.  


One of my favorite dishes in the top picture is called tamagoyaki a Japanese omelet.   These are all wonderfully handmade and go very well with sake.  

All of the fresh sashimi is locally sourced and melts right on the tongue.   The sake I was having is called Midorikawa Shuzo.  
And then here is the deep fried garlic dipped in mayo.  Having a gf who doesn't mind eating such a treat is wonderful.   I absolutely love these thing.

Visiting this place is a little out of the way because but that's what I like sometimes.  These little hidden gems left alone in the middle of the backcountry that produce some of the best tastes in food and rice brew.  

Cheers,

In this portmanteau's title  I will illustrate for you some dos and donts about photographing women.    The rule of thumb here is to work on mastering good focus and exposure techniques before a photo shoot, and not to rely solely on your camera to shoot sharp images every single  time.   Often times manually focusing your lens is better than auto-focusing it, especially if you are shooting close ups.    No matter how expensive the camera is, you cannot rely on your lenses to take crystal clear sharp pictures 100% of the time, in every situation.   You need to work on manual focus, too.    If you use Canon DSLRs then you can get into the AI servo mode and shoot pretty accurate compositions, especially if the model is moving around a bit, or you want to move around yourself.   

Choose your subject according to your own personal taste.   Your photography will not always appeal to the masses.     Determine why are you shooting your subject.    What do you want to bring out?    I like to bring out some light wrinkling around the eyes and forehead.  The wrinkling along the forehead comes from stress, both good and bad; I call them orgasm lines.   For me, this is more natural than the cake face models you see strewn across fashion magazines.    I love the Japanese mother-types; the thick heavy types; the binge drinker types; the doting mother types, and the list goes on.     overexposed I also love beauty moles on a Japanese woman and the different facial expressions you get from the use of make-up.   Lighting and exposure play a crucial role in how you want your subject to appear.   The top picture is overexposed and contrasty whereas the bottom photo is slightly underexposed.   I wanted to highlight the wrinkles. underexposed bad and unbalanced lighting
Again, I like lines under the eyes and the monkey lip lines as well ( lines that run parallel  from the nose to the lips]. I absolutely love these lines because they yield a more natural composition to aged Japanese models.  
Proper Exposure

 I know I have mentioned several times in previous posts about how being skinny for women is bad;  I want to clear that up a bit more too.    In the case of my subject today she is a career classical dancer with long shapely legs.    She is skinny because she has so much lean muscle mass which she gets through physically training herself to leap and dance several times a week.   I like this type very much, too.   She allowed me to run my hands along her thighs.  The tautness in the skin was perfectly resilient, soft, and supple.    She would grace my hands gently while egging on my perverse intentions.   It is bad practice to get too frisky with your subjects.  


The Happi wear is a traditional Japanese garment worn during festivals here in Japan.   I use this in my photography to signify my own brand of Japanese beauty.   In photography, a lot of professionals watermark their photos.   Personally, I discourage the use of watermarks because they take away from the photo, in my opinion.   But, to each his own.    The soul of Japan is a rebranding of mine which reflects the beauty I see in modern Japan.   As for Bushido and the ancient way of the samurai you'll need to consult with modern day Japanese about that one.


Typically, I like my subjects to be thick and heavy.   This model is lean and slim.   She has nice abs and long legs which is what I wanted to highlight.   Many women here are skinny with 90% being skin and bones with very little to no muscle development.  The 10% is just make-up with only 200 grams of brain matter is what represent the under 25 crowd, a favorite of Japanese men.


My subject is long and leggy with good abdominal development which is not typical of my work.  Nevertheless, I do feel  I need to highlight another aspect of sensuality with older Japanese women.  The subject is in her 40s and loves drinking.   Single women in this age group represent the professional working-class woman of Japan; too old for marriage and too much woman for most Japanese men to handle in and out of bed.  


The Kitchen Drinker: A Literotica
Japanese - English  has thoroughly proliferated in the English vernacular in ways that are sometimes irritating and sometimes charming.  The term "Kitchen Drinker" means a woman who stays home and drinks all day; not in their kitchen per say, just drinking at home.    The term is not associated with men, as most tend to go out and drink with their co-worker almost every other day during the week.     Kitchen drinkers are typically in their 30s and 40s, lovelorn, and hopeless romantic types who have all but given up on dating Japanese men and have resorted to binge drinking and endless gossip at the dinner table; sometimes alone or with their female friends.    I find them to be a little sexy.    Here's a piece on another activity kitchen drinkers do

In my work, I like to illustrate the connection between Jukujo and Japanese sake.   I do not expect sake enthusiast to agree with how I illustrate Japan's national drink.    I do not expect them to have any connection at all with my work.   It is not the reason why I write, nor will it ever be I presume.   This is an interpretation of what I firmly believe to the best balance between liquid and connubial bliss.  

I am a sake drinker and defunct educator of Japanese sake whether you like it or not.  I attach the physical with the spiritual; the sweaty goodness of a sexy Japanese matron with the refined quality of a good premium sake because I feel they go well together in a hot tub in the middle of winter, together.    Just you and that gorgeous fully naked Japanese goddess:  Tucked away in a gorgeous Japanese style hotel hot spa surrounded by majestic soaring cliffs.   Just below our outdoor spa you can hear the sound of a mighty flowing river.   In the offing, there's a beautiful snowcapped mountain range with snowscape scenery all around us.   The water in the hot spa is hot and aromatic and full of minerals that sooth our senses.   Our inhibitions become lowered the longer we sit there together imbibing on delicious sake.   The quaffs of sake in between sweet lips mixed in with hot sake scented breath and winter chill is a natural aphrodisiac.    I love being with this type of woman while enjoying an amazing hot spring like this.   This experience cannot be exported.    

It's visiting the local shrine and offering up prayer on a cold rainy overcast day and then going back to our warm tatami room for sake and some Japanese sweets in the quietude of our own world.   Nobody can enter this world of ours.   This experience cannot be exported.  


My concept of Shinto, Jukujo, and hot springs is too niche of category to be taken seriously by the exporters of Japanese culture and beauty.   The exporters of Japanese soul.    I am too pretentious to sit at a table full of sake geeks who love to wax poetic on the virtues of sake who feel they need to educate the world about sake first without educating the younger generation here in Japan first and foremost.    It's their national heritage at stake.   The more sake is loved at home the better, not the more it's loved overseas and then maybe some how the Japanese will rediscover their own lost cultural treasure 30 years later after the drink has completely been reinvented, repackages, and resold back to the Japanese.  

What better love of country then to drink with gorgeous Japanese women who love the ancient rice brew even more than you.   What are we exporting here?   You cannot export this experience.   Where is the passion for sake?   It's in Europe and North America that's where.  Exactly backwards.  But hey, who am I?   The voice of Japan?   

February should  read Febrewerary [ Horan Shuzo K.K.]

Horan Shuzo K.K.

One reason is because many sake breweries  open their doors to the public around this time.   Another reason is because you get to try a lot of young sake which tend to embody the taste of spring; young and fruity.    February is the coldest time of year in Japan, and it is also the most exciting time to be here.  Why?  Seafood and Japanese sake is why.  Unlike other blogs, I am not going to list up all the different and more exotic seafoods to try; it would be too time consuming and as a result less informative; I do not expect you to memorize every single dish.    I recommend sticking with domestic fatty tuna, slightly at room temperature and good nihonshu.



February is not winter in Japan, it is spring.    It feels like winter though, it even snows.   The other day I was invited to attend a sake tour by one of my good friends and drinking buddies "Isa."     All throughout February and March I am busy making my rounds to as many sake houses as possible.   I love trying new sake, especially with a tour bus full of older Japanese folks who love nothing better than to drink good, eat good, and soak in gorgeous hot spas in the pristine mountains of Tohoku.   That in my opinion is the only way to enjoy sake,  not being at some stuffy little party where people geek out over each others love of nihonshu.    Sorry if I stepped on a toe or two.    Welcome to my world.    


The bus ride up from Tokyo was epic.   We had clear views of Mount Fujii from the Tohoku Expressway and all the way up.  The salon bus was packed to capacity with beer and sake!    For breakfast there was onigiri.   There were also dozens of delicious snacks and chips all over the bus table.   We drank for two hours from Tokyo to Tochigi non-stop!    We drank at the brewery.    We drank after the brewery.   We drank at lunch.   We drank on our way to the hot spa.  We drank after the hot spa.   We drank all the way back to Tokyo.     Amazing good good fun.   Bottom line, we were wasted.  

The name of the sake house we visited is called Horan Shuzo K.K.   A small and relatively old sake brewery.   How old the brewery is is not important, only for the geeks it is.   What matters is how delicious the sake tastes, smells, and flows.    One unique point about this brewer is that they make sake, wine, and liqueurs.    And they make them all very well.    The reason for visiting this particular brewer, however, is because it's relatively unknown amongst famed sake houses in Tohoku.     Yet the sake here is wonderful.    I expect to see them really take off someday.    



The wine leaves much to be desired, but to each his/her own.    Where Horan really nails it is with their liqueurs  and one or two really good junmai-ginjos.    Look for the gold and white labels, their signature sakes.     Also, hot sake was wonderful, well, not hot but nuru-kan which means just tepid, or slightly under hot at around 95 degrees fahrenheit.  The two main liqueurs that really impressed all of us were the chestnut and the yoghurt concoctions.   I immediately snapped up two each and have them in my fridge.    Everybody on the tour purchased several bottles of sake and liqueurs.    



The tour itself was very nice.   In the above picture you see these huge machines that are used for milling sake rice.  They use Yamada-nishiki rice, a premium sake rice, for brewing their nihonshu.   We were also shown around the facilities where they make wine and liqueurs.    The picture below you can see seeds from oranges mixed in with tangerine pulp.  This liqueur will be used for making their fruity mikan sake.   The smell of this stuff was divine.

We were also shown to the daigenjo room and was given a chance to sample cold freshly fermented sake.   
Daiginjo Room Notice the quick action of the human hand as it tries to ready its  cup to receive sake.    The finished product       was excellent.  Fresh Sake Lunch

 It was wonderful and then at the end we had a sake tasting and left to have a gorgeous lunch with more sake at a luxury hotel.    After finishing up there we headed to the onsen / hot spa for respite.    We had to detox our livers and soak our feet from all the walking we did.     The hot spa was Eeexcellent!   Nasu Yama Onsen has an amazing outdoor hinoki bath with great water.  



源泉 那須山 DirectionsWrite a review Address: ４５８８-１０ Takakuko, Nasu, Nasu District, Tochigi Prefecture 325-0001, Japan Phone:+81 287-62-4126 Hours:
Tuesday hours 10:00 am–10:00 pm  -  See all
My final thoughts are this.  You must enjoy sake the Japanese way because this is the best way.    Any other way, simply doesn't exist.      Of course you disagree with me.   

Bar Noble





Yokohama is a port city known for its vibrant craft beer scene, Chinese food, and sports bars.   Rarely do you ever hear of there being a real traditional bar establishment, especially one catering to the more sophisticated crowd.    Bar Noble is that bar, and is perhaps the most upscale bar I have ever set foot in, and is on a par equal to that of the great bars in Midtown, Roppongi Hills, and the Ginza.      When passing through the  wooded doorway you instantly identify with the timeless beauty and allure of what I consider to be a classy bar.     

When a real bar comes to mind  I think of gorgeous mahogany counter tops, dimly lit ambient lighting arrangements, well-dressed bartenders with stoic faces, a light tune playing from some distant speaker somewhere, by some forgotten great whose name I can quite remember, but is somewhere on the tip of my tongue.    I love the extra added care and attention to detail placed on my drink, and the level of service and special care I receive from the bartender.   I love the whole mood of a bar like this, but I never thought I would ever discover such a place in Yokohama City, at least not one that exemplified such elegance and refinement.  

While seated at the bar I immediately noticed the  quality of the counter top as I ran my hand along its smooth surface.    While admiring the shine of freshly polished wood, I noticed that the bar counter felt different.    Bar Noble's counter top is made of Zelkova Serrata wood, in Japanese it's called Keyaki, or Japanese Zelkova, which is a type of smooth soft warm wood most often used for making bonsai trees and taiko drums.     In North America you may see either  Mahogany or Oak counter tops, so for me, this was a rare exposition of wood decor.   The counter top is the iconic symbol of any "bar" experience.  

Inside Bar Noble,  you may notice patrons either ordering up whole bottles of  Courvoisier and sharing it with their business associates over exotic cheeses and crackers, or you'll notice couples exchanged intimate words over fruit inspired cocktails with cherries around the rim of their glasses.    The table charge is ￥700 and comes with  appetizers each uniquely paired to whatever you are drinking.    There are about 500  kinds of alcohol at Bar Noble, and the bartenders are all very knowledgable, not only about the standard cocktails like Gin & Tonic, but also more exotic cocktails with cognac and fresh cream as a base.     Standard cocktails are between the 900 - 1100 yen price range.    Fruit inspired cocktails can get a little more pricey at around 1300 - 1500 yen price range.        

The real reason I came to Bar Noble was because I needed to try the March 11th inspired cocktail that won the World Cocktail Championship, which was held in Poland in November of 2011.     The cocktail is called [the Great Sunrise]  and was a creation of  Mr. Yamada, the owner and head bartender at Bar Noble.     The drink is a vibrant yellow which symbolizes hope for the victims of the March 11th disaster.  One ingredient that really set this cocktail apart was the acai berry juice, a small dark purple fleshy fruit.   My initial impressions were vivid, refreshing, and clean.   It is a vodka - based drink that's a little sweet, smooth and refreshing.     Wonderfully clean finish with good aromatics.   You can feel the sunrise right up into your mouth.    


We then  ordered up an assorted mix of cocktails after finishing are  Sunrises.    I ordered the rum based sweet potato  and nutmeg cocktail.   Real sweet potato was blended with a hand blender  right there in front of me on that big black shiny  Zelkova wood counter top.     Watching as the finished products was poured into an elegant stemmed cocktail glass was textbook bar-tending at its finest.   My partner ordered the Strawberry Mojito, made with fresh strawberries mashed in a decorative glass mixer, and then garnished with mounds of mint leaves and served up with ice.    The night was progressing smoothly and wonderfully. 

There are five bartenders, but only three were  working the counter the night I went, and all three were dressed to impress.    The counter seats seven.    There are other intimate tables for two away from the bar, but I do not advise sitting anywhere but the bar counter.   Another thing I especially like was how each bartender stood by to answer any questions about the cocktails they made.    The bartender made recommendations to us that were based off of our previous cocktails.   So if I ordered a rum based cocktail then he/she would make a recommendation that was either very similar or an alternative choice that worked well.    



Getting there is pretty straight-forward.  You can get off at JR Kannai Station via the Keihin Tohoku Line.    Cross the main intersection near where a large thoroughfare with pachinko parlours.    Once across the main intersection turn right and walk straight until you reach Yoshidamachi Street.   Ask someone if your bearings get tricked up.    The police box should be on your right hand side.    Turn left on Yoshidamachi and you should see Bar Noble on the corner.   It's easy to miss, so pay attention to your location.    As for dress code, I'd recommend business casual.   
２−７ Yoshidamachi Yokohama Naka Ward Open all year.   Hours 6:00 pm–3:00 am

Conservative right leaning piece:  Message from a lefty.



A Right Wing Piece
Letters from the Left

[QUOTE=Yokohammer] Arrogant, presumptuous ... let me guess: was your little heart broken because you were discriminated against as a child? You're overcompensating big time, soul of Japan, and it's not going to win you any friends, Japanese or non..[/QUOTE])
[ No, I have never been discriminated against.   At least not that I was aware of].   
Pray tell, exactly how long have you been here? Do you speak, read, and write the language well enough to have absorbed the culture's representative literary works in original form, for example? How about Nihon shoki? The Kojiki? In what capacity have you worked with the Japanese, within their own system and for a substantial length of time, that has brought you such enlightenment? Through what social activities, other than drinking and trying to score jukujo, have you cooperated closely with the Japanese on a daily basis over a period of years such that you might truly understand how things work here?

I have been here for a number of years.   I have a mediocre command of the Japanese language.    I cannot read a Japanese novel in Japanese, but I can read children's books, hence Jukujo boy.   I seriously doubt many Japanese even interested in the myths of the great Kojiki and Nihon Shoki.   One reason is for this is because of the degree of difficulty with abstract  kanji characters.     Same could be said about Roman myths in that the language used in such classical texts are outdated and abstract and difficult for many English speakers to follow, even in translation.     But like Roman myths, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki should be cherished as great literary works and preserved for future generations.    


I have worked with the Japanese in some capacity, but I do not wish to be a part of their business culture.    Why would anyone need to come to Japan for the sole purpose of working ten hours a day in order to understand what many of them suffer from?   How things work in Japan is more of a  consequence of modern excesses and decadence.   If you attach any cultural relevance  to the moral and social decline of the country then  I will have to disagree with you.   If you think that throwing your life away for the company is a Japanese virtue then I would also have to disagree with you.    Bushido alludes to this in ancient text in which a man / samurai should offer his life to his master.   And that if he should bring shame upon himself, or lose face he should commit ritual suicide.   In modern Japan, it is more convenient to jump in front of a train and inconvenience the lives of others if you feel compelled to commit suicide.     You simply cannot compare men of virtue / samurai with the modern Japanese salaryman.      One was virtuous and duty bound by honor whereas the other one is duty bound to sit at a desk and drink himself to death until he either dies of a disease or jumps in front of a train.   It is purely a sickness of society, and has nothing to do with Japanese culture.    Work - until - you die,  is a distortion brought on by modernization.    You cannot compare pre-industrial Japan to the present.   

I am a passive observer of the Japanese, an outsider.   I think this role suits me just fine, like the rest of the expat community.    You are no exception either.   


You'd better have some damn good credentials if you're going to run off at the mouth the way you do, otherwise it would be wiser to shut the fuck up and actually take some time to study the culture while you're here.
I think I understand the culture to a point, an am still learning.   
(Why am I being so hard on you? Because you're precisely the kind of overbearing, imperious fuckup who engenders racial hatred. Straight off the boat you're running around and telling the natives how to behave, and since they usually won't tell you to your face, I will: they will only hate you for it. You insult their intelligence, their integrity, and their culture, and you will be resented.[/QUOTE])

The truth hurts.    Why hate the messenger?    You simply cannot walk around totally oblivious to the cancer that is eating away at the core of the nation here.  I am just as critical about my own country.  I cannot allow a grown Japanese man to walk around with a U.S. Navy hat without saying something.   I cannot praise the actions of Japanese fathers who allow their children to participate in Halloween and Christmas without speaking up.    You are a Japanese, not a goddam gimp in a gimp suit.           



As I have already stated, I cannot sit at a table with a group of grown  salarymen types who all they want to do is talk about my penis and my waist size.  This to me is disrespectful, stupid and childish.   Grown men can't sit at a table and have a rational discussion is close to impossible here and you tell me I don't understand them?   Why in the fuck would I want to understand such a person!?   I hope they do hate me for telling the truth.  

 That's just like this old Japanese man I approached last year.   I ordered him to remove his American military hat because I thought  it was sacrilegious to the people who died during the war, and that these were the people who murdered and raped his own people.  How dare he pay homage to such atrocious men who murdered his own people indiscriminately.  Better he wear his own country's military regalia than to honor the people who murdered his own people!   Nobody ever came at him like that.  How dumb can a 60 year old man be to promote such a symbol of murder against his own people!?   And you call me a loser for calling it like I see it!?

Can you say with me "Jyun-mai" Yes.  That's right.   It's Japanese sake made with no added  alcohol, only rice, water, and koji. 

Say "the soul of Japan"
What you see is what you get, no fillers, no cosmetic enhancements, no botox.   No unnaturally looking make-up.  No prudery.    No ignorance.   Just pure Japanese matures in the fullness of their thickness and exquisitely beautiful to behold.     
Thick is good.  God made thick women in the beginning,  before women were cursed to be skinny and formless.   In the beginning, the earth was without form too, and void of all life and form until God moved upon its face and brought life and form.    Even the womb of God is shapely.   And then God created the Japanese Jukujo first, then Adam, an anglo male servant who was gay, and who only had eyes for Steve.     They both deceived her into biting the apple that poisoned her mind and soul, ultimately cursing her and reducing her down to them.      And then a samurai god came along and killed both servants because they were trying to create a white woman out of the Japanese woman.    The samurai and the Jukujo conceived me out of love, and here I am today, shapely.    


The evolution of ass came about by design whereas slender was a catastrophic accident.   The round tautness, the thick pillar shaped thighs of the Jukujo were used by the Egyptians and the Romans to model their stone edifice after when they designed their great monuments.    haha….haha…. How am I doing so far?   Am I crazy yet?

Back on topic,  Japanese women are thick, they just don't come out as often and many times conceal their true form.   Big women are taught to be ashamed of their voluptuous  bodies by old wrinkly obasaan grannies who sit in public bath houses.   Having large breast and being proud of them is a social faux pas here because it leads to perversion.    I remember hearing stories from ladies about how they had to conceal their bodies when they went to public bathhouses for fear of scorn by these wretched wrinkly old hags who have no love in their lives, and are jealous of such beauty criticize someone with a heavy assed beautiful body.   



I remember one time when I was scrubbing myself down at a public bath house when this young slender Japanese man was scorned for showing off his penis to the elderly.    He was no more than 17 or 18, well built and packing.   He was about at least 13 inches limp!   How could you not notice something like that here in Japan?  After all, this is Japan, you know, the place where the men are  known for the legendary mushroom head.      At any rate, one elderly man gets out of the tub and approaches the young man and forces a towel over his genitalia and pulls him out of the bathing area.     If you are blessed, well endowed, or thick with nice tits and ass you are considered a public obscenity.    Let this be known,  the prudes are the true reason for the misery of the world, and I hate you and will come at  you  ferociously. 


Welcome to the real world, Japan, where nature, good food, gorgeous women, temples, shrines, natural hot spas exist at the very height of their beauty.    Where sake flows in abundance captivating hearts, souls, and imaginations.   

The dynamics in this painting cast a dark shadow over the misery of war and self sacrifice. The female subjects are beauty intertwined with this misery of soul and spirit, and patriotism.   One, a young Japanese beauty, and the other,  a young Korean beauty.   Two opposing factions united in suffering and beauty.    Mishima had also identified with similar dark themes of beauty and pain in his works, and ultimately suicidal glory.


Shock Art is a contemporary art form that showcases disturbing imagery, like when I witnessed Mr. Aida Makoto masturbating in one of his private exhibitions in downtown Tokyo the other night.  There was something disturbingly fascinating about a grown man pulling his penis over the kanji of "beautiful young woman / bishojo 美少女"  as throngs of people watched on flat screen display.  Almost similar to when the late Mr. Mishima Yukio's ejaculation over the depiction of St. Sebastian, a male, nevertheless, was beautiful  in his own mind.   Shock art may be a bit of an overstatement or a mislabeling of his work, but for me it isn't.  Throwing a young girl in a blender and making a puree out of her is shock art in my dictionary.   





The contention between Japan and Korea goes back many years and cannot be separated from rhetorical discourse, not even art.   One such contentious period would be during Japan's annexation and colonial rule of the peninsula from 1910 to 1945, which  for the most part, contributed to the building of heavy industry and public education for Koreans there.    This in turn helped bolster Japan's war economy in an attempt  to strengthen Asia against Western expansionist policies through-out the Far East.    Makoto pieced together this drawing to illustrate that turbulent time period.    And it was not as if ordinary Japanese were aware of what was actually going on over in Korea at that particular time given the circumstances back at home.    The rendering of the war from Makoto's perspective had to incorporate young tender beauty, much like the soul of this nation used to be when the whole race was pure, now tarnished.  Makoto seeks to mesh together that lost purity with images of rampant over-westernization and decadence, and how the destruction of the soul is evident in modern Japan, yet the beauty is somehow still there amongst the detritus and the dead.     


In reality the young tender beauties of Makoto's time have grown into delicious looking Jukujo mothers with thick legs and hefty bust lines.   Bovine beauties  that are no longer seen as beautiful in the eyes of Japanese men.    The one thing Makoto and I have is a strong attachment to is beautiful smooth legs and a lurid sense of sexuality and patriotism towards Japan.    We both love Japan.


My only connection with Koreans before I came to Japan is when they were annexing the ghettos of north America  with their booze, cigarettes and in some instances drugs.   Some liquor stores even provide sofas and places to sit outside for many poor people so that they can binge drink themselves into oblivion.    90% of all liquor stores in the ghettos are owned and operated by Koreans, who contribute  very little to nothing to the communities they exploit, namely black communities.   When there should be schools and supermarkets and community centers for young kids, there are liquor stores, many of which are in the vicinity of churches in the poorest neighborhoods.  Koreans have killed black people just for looking suspicious, a fact.   This is their contribution to the community when they come to America.


All Koreans, even religious types believe that all black people are devils by birth, and that redemption is virtually impossible if your skin is dark, and are therefore damned to hell.    Koreans worship white people, just ask the cosmetics industry,  and believe that they are the true manifestation of godliness and that they are without sin.   I will never forget nor forgive the debt to humanity Koreans owe Blacks in these poor neighborhoods where their main stock and trade is peddling booze, and where they make a fortune off the backs of the poor and disenfranchised.    Neither will Korea forget Japan's enlightenment period when they educated the Koreans in everything, even etiquette, or even better, humanity.     I am sure the Vietnamese comfort women will never forget the atrocities committed by the Korean Armies and the enormous debt owed to them, and the compensation they never received - not even an apology.

I can still remember the crooked black toothed Korean tour guide in Seoul.    I was in a tour group full of Whites from Eastern Europe, and we were  on a tour of the DMZ.   The Korean tour guide kept laughing and praising the virtues of the atomic bomb, like it was the greatest blessing ever bestowed upon the Japanese race.     I almost threw up.    She should be more humble being so poor and uneducated.    Such an attitude could be construed as barbaric on her part.   Maybe she should be thanking the Japanese instead for at least providing her forefathers a higher standard of education and an industry which they still use today, albeit in different form.      


Japan has paid monies in the form of ODA, even the Korean survivors of the atomic bomb received 6 billion yen in compensation for the fallout caused by Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Japan has done more than enough for Korea and has granted these people the opportunity to exploit the Jukujo with their songs and pop culture, which I hate, and is unforgivable in my book.     

After visiting Korea for the sixth time, and seeing them in their 'Korean form' when they are not whoring over whites in the U.S.A. is interesting.    They are much more composed and docile, still shrewd though.    And I like how most of them behave here in Japan, but in Los Angeles and New York you can forget about  everything they learned from the Japanese, in terms of civility and moral decency.    

Actually, I do have a story of an experience I had once.   It happened almost ten years ago when I was attending a meditation session at a zen house in downtown L.A. at around 6pm.    In the group were a mix of whites, Koreans, and some other people.   We were walking around in a circle chanting some incantation  of sorts.    Korean lady behind me asked  me "don't you have your own gods?"  I never reacted to that curt comment but I took it to mean that I was not welcome and I never returned.  The head practitioner was a fat caucasian.     Zen is not a racist practice, but I guess everybody needs a crutch every now and then when they feel weak and vulnerable.  Spiritually enlightened or not, Koreans are still racist in nature and they show it.   This is my experience with them, maybe not your experience.   Was her soul any different from mine?   Do Koreans have soul?   Much to ponder there.   Blacks invented soul.   

Drawing back to Makoto, I still find beauty even from the soulless types.   Korean women are beautiful, that cannot be denied, even their stinging rebuke of blacks spews of tainted beauty from a black heart is sickeningly beautiful and caustic all at the same time.  


N.B.  Sort of NSFW, but I recommend watching it.  It's a specialty video made for a type of smoking fetish.   Look into her eyes, see the smoke, smell the smoke,  Watch and feel her pollute.


The views expressed in this piece are my own, and are not the actual artist's opinion, except for the depiction of the first piece of art which I stumbled upon via twitter.    


Aida Makoto's exhibitions will be on display until March, so I highly recommend attending it if you want to get a very unique perspective on the heart of Tokyo.    This is one of the best art exhibitions I have attended in a long time.    You can request the audio phone in English or Japanese.   Don't know if it's available in any other languages.   I highly recommend renting the audio guide!  The museum has a place that keeps your coats and bags for free.   Some exhibitions you can take pictures.  


In closing, art is not always pretty if you are a prude.   Sometimes images as well as rhetoric can be rather off putting, but that doesn't lessen the meaning nor the essence of it.   There is a message there, even a nugget of truth if you are open minded.