Odakyu 3000 series SE (Super Express) was introduced as a high-performance express train in 1957. In the same year it achieved the world’s highest speed of 145 km/h, on a narrow-gauge railway. This record gave impetus for the design of the first Shinkansen, the 0 Series. 3000 series SE was a “Romancecar” electric multiple unit […]
The “Lion” at Ginza Mitsukoshi store, Tokyo, wears its Christmas mask.
Shibuya’s renovated station, Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
A visit to Otaguro Park in Suginami-ku makes a perfect relaxing escape from the crowded places of Tokyo metropolis.
This house is a replica of the elegant Sake houses found in the countryside during the Edo period. Its name, Kuhachi-ya, which is a combination of the Japanese words for nine (ku), eight (hachi), and store (ya), refers to the lesson, “Do not fill Sake-cup to the brim. Nine-tenths in daytime, eight-tenths at night should […]
Meiji Jingu Gaien’s ginkgo tree lined avenue is one of the most popular spots in Tokyo to enjoy the spectacular autumn foliage. Gingko (icho in Japanese) is the official tree of Tokyo and the symbol of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is a ginkgo leaf.
Date Masamune (1567-1636) on the grounds of the Aoba Castle (or Sendai Castle) ruins. The legendary samurai was the founder of the city of Sendai and the most powerful daimyo in Tohoku region.
Jan Joosten van Lodensteiyn monument at Yaesu underground shopping mall in Tokyo Station. Joosten (1556–1623) was one of the first Dutchmen to ever travel to Japan. He arrived in 1600 aboard the ship De Liefde with the famous English navigator William Adams. He became one of the first (and few) Western samurai. Joosten was known […]
The bust of Machida Hisanari 町田久成 (1838-1897) in the garden of Tokyo National Museum. He was a samurai and the first director of the museum.
Ofuna Kannon, the huge statue of the Buddhist goddess of mercy at Ofuna Kannon Temple, Kamakura
Nijubashi Bridge at Imperial Palace, Tokyo
Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) at the garden of the International Library of Children’s Literature in Ueno Park, Tokyo. Hearn was an Irish-Greek writer who introduced Japan to the West.
