Sign of the Week: Flat White Coffee

Some Tokyo signs that feature English are noteworthy for their seeming random selection of words. Others stand out as inadvertently humorous, thanks to a tortured translation. But some are real puzzles. They seem as though someone put a lot of thought into them, but they don't make logical sense--at least not to me.

Now, none of us are coffee drinkers, so maybe it's not fair for me to feature this advertisement as Sign of the Week. But from what I understand, java afficionados in search of the perfect cup are looking for neither whiteness nor flatness. So for me, this ad fits perfectly into the category of enigmatic signs I encounter in Tokyo--on a regular basis.

Tremor in the Wee Hours

There is no picture to go with this story, but I wanted to share an unusual experience we had overnight.

We had felt a few very minor tremors in the weeks we've been here, but they were almost unnoticable. Just after three this morning, however, we were all wakened by the apartment shaking quite noticeably. An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale (3 on the Japanese 7-point scale) was the culprit.

The epicenter was off to the southwest, so we didn't get the full brunt of the shaking. Nothing was broken in our home. But we don't feel cheated; as far as I'm concerned, I hope this eerie event turns out to be the most serious earthquake we ever experience.

Vehicle of the Week: food delivery bicycle

Tokyo is a place of restaurants. From the high-cost place to the lowly noodle shop, eateries are part of everyday life. But not everyone eats out; many prefer delivery. The convenient choice, home delivery offers good food in the comfort of home, with no preparation time (or skill) needed. Of course, key to high-quality restaurant food at home is the ability to get it there intact and in a hurry. This is where the delivery bicycle comes into play.

Bikes are the obvious choice for fast delivery in our neighborhood. They can avoid traffic jams, take shortcuts down tiny alleys and streets, and are the ultimate in economic efficiency. And wherever you live in Tokyo, you're never more that a quick bike trip from a number of restaurants. Perhaps the only drawback is this: how does the deliveryman carry the food as he weaves his way through traffic?

This style of delivery bike is the answer. A spacious container tray hangs suspended from a spring attachment mounted behind the rider. It can carry a surprising amount of victuals, bundled up to keep them warm. In the picture, the tray seems to be riding too high to hold much, but as items are loaded, it hangs lower and lower. As the bike swerves on its way, the tray stays level, keeping the bowls of curry or soup upright. Hats off to whoever came up with this clever device.

Edifice of the Week: Roppongi Hills Mori Tower

This week's focus is the sleek Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. Completed in 2003, this high-rise is 781 feet tall and has 54 floors. Most of the building is office space, but the top floors feature an art museum, observatory, private club, and academy.

Mori Tower is the centerpiece of the Roppongi Hills complex. Its lower six floors are part of an upscale shopping mall, which continues down the eastern hillside at the tower's foot. All told, the center features 230 retail stores, a Grand Hyatt hotel, a large cineplex, an outdoor performance arena, and broadcasting centers for two TV stations. The interior of the mall is spacious, with waterfalls and other interesting design features.

The grounds surrounding the mall also have lots of fountains, and some interesting sculptures. The spider statue is a favorite meeting spot.

The grounds were all decorated for the Christmas/New Year season, with beautiful lights at night. In this picture, you can see the Tokyo Tower in the background (a future Edifice of the Week candidate).

Onward, Skylarks!

We are keeping up with the football fever in Philly via the internet (watch, this will be the year!) but we had some of our own here on Thursday. The occasion was the 23rd annual Rice Bowl, which determines the championship of the Japan American Football Association.


The JAFA began in 1934 with three collegiate teams. In post WWII years, the league grew as the popularity of American football spread. While it is still a very minor sport in Japan, I was surprised to learn how many teams are competing.

The JAFA has three divisions: High School (106 teams); Collegiate (220 teams); and Corporate (68 teams). The collegiate champion is determined in mid-December at the Koshien Bowl. In the most recent contest, Hosei U. beat Kwansei Gakuin U. 45-43. In the same time-frame, the corporate champion emerges from the Japan X Bowl, in which the Onward Skylarks recently defeated the Kajima Deers 24-21.
















This set the stage for the Rice Bowl matchup of collegiate vs. corporate champions: the Hosei U. Tomahawks vs. the Onward Skylarks. It was fun to watch (TV) even though either team would have been absolutely destroyed by, say, the Rowan U. Profs. The game was in doubt until the very end, with the Skylarks coming from behind in the 4th quarter to win, 30-29. The difference--in fact, the only variation in quarter-by-quarter scoring--was a missed extra point after the Tomahawk's final touchdown.

I wondered about the Skylarks' odd name until I found that Onward is in this case not an exhortation, but the name of the corporate sponsor (high-fashion clothing). Here is a list of the top-echelon corporate teams:

East Division
Onward Skylarks
Kajima Deers
IBM BigBlue
Penta-Ocean Construction Pirates
Gakusei Engokai Rocbull
All-Mitsubishi Lions

Central Division
Obic Seagulls
Asahi Beer Silver Stars
Fujitsu Frontiers
Nissan Skyliners
Tokyo Gas Creators (no kidding!)
Renesas Hurricanes

West Division
Matsushita Electric Works Impulse
Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers
Naigai Engineering Marvies
As One Black Eagles
Iwatani Sidewinders
SRC Kobe Finies

My hopes for next year's Japan X Bowl: either the Marvies vs. the Finies or the Onward Skylarks vs. the As One Black Eagles. Of course, Asahi Beer vs. Asahi Soft Drinks would be worth seeing, too.

Thanks to the Onward Skylarks' website for the pictures; you can view it at http://www.onward-skylarks.com/

A Fire in Azabu Juban

The other day Cindy called up from our lobby and said there was a fire going on just down the street. I went out to look, and took these pictures from the our front landing.

Here are some shots from ground level, as firefighters were cleaning things up.

Many of the emergency personnel arrived on the scene on their official bicycles.

The fire started in a fifth floor apartment. That apartment seems to have been really gutted, but fortunately the blaze was soon contained and didn't spread much further.

The fireplugs over here are under the sidewalks, beneath access panels that are sort of like manhole covers. The fire engines have self-propelled hose carts that stow in the rear.

A Trip to Miyajima

We recently returned from a three-day trip to the island of Miyajima, just off the coast of Hiroshima. What a beautiful place!

A major attraction at Miyajima is the Itsukushima shrine. It is built on stilts, and when the tide is in, appears to be floating on the water.

The first shrine on this site was built in about 600 A.D. The current layout was constructed in the 12th century. Itsukushima is most famous for its large red torii (gateway) which stands out among the waves when the tide is right.

Immediately upon arriving, we became acquainted with the deer of this island, which are quite tame, and will follow after you and try to nibble at anything that looks edible--even a shopping bag, as Cindy found out.

We stayed at Momijiso, a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn. It takes its name from the word for maple, which makes sense because it's set in a park full of maple trees. The leaves fell last autumn, but even in winter the park has a rare beauty. And Momijiso itself is surrounded with quiet, carefully planned gardens.

The inn is run by an elderly woman who speaks very little English, but whose kindness needs no translation to be understood. I don't know her name, but think of her as obaasan (grandmother) since upon our arrival, she immediately adopted us as honorary grandchildren.

Part of obaasan's responsibilities included helping us understand what to do and not do on the premises. Staying at a ryokan is the chance to experience traditional Japanese lifestyle, and we are real novices. So she showed us how to dress properly (yakuta) how to eat, and which slippers to wear in which places.

Though this is a small island, it has two peaks over 1,500 feet high. Sherry (who is here from BYU spending the holidays with us) and I took the chance to climb the tallest, Mt. Misen (there is a cable car, but we preferred to hike). Our trail began in the maple park by our inn. It was steep and featured stretch after stretch of stone steps. When we got to the top of it, we found we still had quite a way to go to reach the peak of Mt. Misen.

We stopped to take pictures of the wild monkeys that frequent the area around the cable car lift, then pressed on to the top. The views were amazing.

Near the summit were a number of shrines. One has a flame which is said to have been burning continually since 600 A.D.

At the top was a three-level observation platform, well worn by time and weather.

On top of the mountain, we noticed snow flurries. We had been in shirt sleeves, heated by the exertions of the climb. But once we got to the peak, we got back into our jackets--it was very windy and cold.

We took an alternate way back down the mountain, one that took us lower and then higher, as we conquered the second-highest peak. This path was much steeper, and had many small shrines built into niches or under rock outcroppings.

Miyajima is also a great place to shop for touristy trinkets, so we spent time doing that. Like tourist destinations everywhere, there wierd and wacky points of interest that compete with the historically significant and beautiful sites. For example, among the shops is the Largest Rice Paddle In The World exhibit--we couldn't pass up the chance visit that (C. J. in the background provides a size reference).

I should also mention that part of the fun of our trip was getting there. We took the shinkansen (literally "new trunk line" but the English name "bullet train" is much cooler). Ours, the Nozomi train, is the fastest bullet train, topping out at over 180 mph, and averaging around 160. It's like flying on the ground; the train banks through turns like a jet. It took just four hours to travel the 426 (as the crow flies) miles from Tokyo to Hiroshima, and that's with five intervening station stops.

In contrast to the pace of the bullet train, our days on Miyajima were laid back and peaceful. On the morning we left, there was a delicate layer of snow which arrived overnight, lending additional beauty. I know there will be times in the upcoming year when I relax by mentally re-visiting the peaceful tranquility of Momijiso.