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Odd experience with Japanese policemen in Suginami
Hey, This post is about something that happened to my friend last October when he was staying at our friend's in Suginami-ku. We've been really dumbfounded ever since, and it's quite a harmless event that's made us laugh, but we'd really like some sort of explanation because we haven't been able to find any that could make sense. My friend was heading to a train station to get back to downtown Tokyo when he got stopped by two Japanese policemen (uniforms and all) who performed some sort of routine check, asking him where he was from, the reason for his stay, if he could show them his papers, etc. He obliged, they had a look, gawked at "France" on his passport then just started doing a half-walk half-run kind of thing in the opposite direction, his papers in hand. His brain kinda froze in confusion but he ran after them for a couple of seconds, asked for his papers back and they handed them to him with no problem at all. When he told me that, I immediately thought it was some attempt at an ID theft scam/fake policemen thing, but this is a chill suburb of Tokyo as far as I know, and it's Japan- how often do these things even happen, if they do at all? A quick Google search shows anecdotal events that mainly happen to non-Japanese full-time residents. Furthermore, I'm thinking if they were trying to steal from him, running very slowly and in plain sight/daylight is extremely strange and unefficient. Basically, we're just wondering what the hell happened. Do any of you have any ideas? Thanks!
Foreword: I firstly like to mention that the writer of this theory knows themselves how far-fetched this theory is, I cite:
EDIT 1: No this is not meant to be serious, just a fun exercise exploring a what-if scenario. Taking a plunge down the rabbit hole, if you will.
They simply wrote something amusing for a writing contest and approached a CGDCT series in a different perspective. While I am admittedly tired of seeing everyone talk about this theory that has no weight to it at all, I do like to thank this person for seeing Gochiusa in a different perspective that a lot of people are ignorant about. The reason I am writing this is because I've seen some people be confused whether this is actually true or not, so I am here to explain this. So what I want to achieve with this post is just so people are informed that this theory is wrong. I initially also posted this in the latest episode 7 discussion post, but barely anyone in this subreddit actually reads the stuff, so I decided to make a post for it for more visibility.
Gochiusa is set in Europe.
Immediately upon watching episode 1, it is clear that Gochiusa is not set in Japan. So where it is exactly? In the anime, it is referred to as the “wood-framed town”, or simply “the town”. Based on the architecture, we can tell that this place is located in Europe. In fact, it is no secret that this town is directly inspired by Colmar - a real town located in the Northeast of France. Someone else has already made a very detailed comparison so I won't go over it again. So is Gochiusa set in Colmar, France? Maybe, maybe not. According the various signages around the town, the majority of the text seems to be a mixture of French, German, English and some Eastern European language. It is uncertain which country this is supposed to be, we can only be sure that it is located in Europe. Now that we have established that Gochiusa is set in an Europe, we can safely assume that the majority of the characters are not Japanese, but European.
However, at the same time, there are plenty of locations from other countries other than France in this town as well, for example, Germany and Budapest as well. Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany | In the manga As well as the onsen pool in S1 Ep 8 & 10. There is an excellent write up about it from DokiDokiVisual which you can find here: https://xdeyuix.tumblr.com/post/187347534258/ Believe it or not, but there are some fans who literally go Gochiusa pilgrimaging and there are a lot of places for it. Here's the Twitter from a famous Gochiusa pilgrimage, just scroll through their media and you'll find some spots from all over the world, careful, however, it's manga spoilers. https://twitter.com/gochiyukki/ So how come the assumption that it's somewhere in Europe would make sense when in one street it's in France and then we make another turn down the street and suddenly it's Germany? Then when we go to the onsen we're suddenly in Budapest? The answer is simple:
Conclusion: Gochiusa is not in our world and thus not an alternate reality either. It's a fictional world.
Why do they use Japanese? Why do they use Yen? Why are the addresses in Japanese? Japanese has taken over the Europe?
This brings up a question: If the characters are not Japanese and the town is not in Japan then why is everyone using Japanese? This is not a case of in this world the language barrier doesn’t exist. Otherwise, Cocoa and Chiya would not have to study English. Japanese influence goes beyond the usage of written and spoken language. As we can see, the main currency is the Yen, not the Euro and the legislation system is using the Six Codes - which is from Japan. Even more puzzling, the town does in fact, has a name - which we can spot on Cocoa’s letters to her family. Ogikubo - Suginami does not sound very European doesn’t it? What exactly is going on? Here's my theory: Japan has won the second world war[...]
They speak Japanese and have to learn English. They use Yen and the address is also in Japanese. The writer thus assumes something completely absurd if I may call it like this. I am not criticizing them, just to clarify myself. They already admitted that this is really far fetched and they know how absurd their theory is. Anyways, jumping to the conclusion that thus Japan has won the second world war due to an already wrong assumption through another wrong assumption kind of ends you with something like this. Isn't the more logical assumption that since the author is Japanese and thus know the Japanese system more, that they would be using Yen, Japanese as well as addresses in Japanese? Everything of this makes way more sense if we were to look at in the perspective that this is just a fictional world that Koi created. Also the real reason, they used this specific Japanese address, is that it's actually just an easter egg from the animation studio "Kinema Citrus". That address is actually the address for their studio, you can confirm it yourself on their website here. There's nothing more behind it, has nothing to do with the Japanese taking over Europe.
Conclusion: No, it's set in a fictional world and thus since it's written by a Japanese author, logically the infrastructure is in Japanese.
Rize is daughter of a warlord, she is being trained to become an assassin.
Who train their little daughter in using firearms and CQC, drilling into her military discipline at such a young age? While Rize tries to act like an average highschool student as much as she can, at times she displays an alarming level of ruthlessness. Not to mention, no normal teenage girl is such a complete gun nut or possess such incredible physical strength.
The Kafu seems to live on modest mean, yet Rize’s family is really wealthy - living in a huge mansion complete with maids and bodyguards. We never really see police or any kind of crime (except those committed by rabbits) in this peaceful town, so why the heavy focus on security?
Just because the series doesn't show crimes, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Furthermore, it's as the writer claimed still war. So at any point in time, having bodyguards to help you in an emergency situation is always helpful. You're rich anyway, so why not be safe?
The man is ambitious, in training Rize to become some kind of super soldier, he apparently has big plans for his daughter.
If the screenshots used by the writer, would actually prove that Rize's father wants her to be a super-soldier then this claim would be more convincing.
Conclusion: This is completely wrong.
Syaro is a war orphan, and she has amnesia.
This actually has been explained in the manga already and surprise surprise, it's wrong. Manga spoilers ahead. Syaro's parents work abroad. What happened is they lived together in this town initially, but had to move because of work reasons. However since Syaro was already so attached to Chiya, Rize and the others, she didn't want to move. So what happened is the parents moved for work and Syaro stayed back. For more information about their situation, you may DM me.
Chiya is a foreigner, and the truth behind the rivalry between Ama Usa An vs Rabbit House.
We have other evidences regarding Chiya’s origin as well. When she first came to Rabbit House, it is revealed that Chiya has never seen a Western coffee menu before. While Chiya’s kimono is part of work, her grandmother always wear the kimono although she is never in the front of house. Plus, Ama Usa An is nothing like all the other buildings in town - the place looks like something that belongs in, well Japan. We can safely say that Chiya and her grandmother are foreign to this land. They came from Japan to open a tea house in this European town.
Writer claiming that the building looks different from the others, just because they said so. And now it's clear evidence, yup. If only they knew that well, this building is a reference to Colmarjust like many other places in Gochiusa like "Rabbit House", which they talked about a few arguments before. Furthermore, as I already established before, this world is a fictional world and we cannot just randomly assume that countries exist like in our world. None of the characters is assigned a nationality.
As it turns out, the rivalry is only in his mind and Chiya’s grandmother never thought anything about it. [...] He held a grudge against the Japanese for taking over his home, and for marching his son off to war, leaving him a with struggling coffee house and a little girl to take care of.
Or maybe they're just rivals because they both knew each other as they were kids and both ended up opening similar shops? So naturally, they would feel competition between them. This assumption wouldn't be that bad if it weren't for the case that it's built upon a really absurd one.
Chino’s grandfather is old, probably old enough that he can remember a time before the Japanese occupied this town. He held a grudge against the Japanese for taking over his home, and for marching his son off to war, leaving him a with struggling coffee house and a little girl to take care of.
At the end of the day, they're claiming that this rivalry ties down because of the world war, which is completely absurd and is also racist. Furthermore, why would a Japanese series written by a Japanese author be racist towards their own country? They would get in trouble for it and it doesn't even make any sense anyway for this assumption to be true at all.
Conclusion: The rivalry isn't because of racism or because of world war, it's because they're old acquaintances rather.
Chino had a lonely childhood and the master’s last wish
This is completely out of place, why is a character analysis doing in a world war II theory? However if it's the character analysis itself, that is mainly correct.
Cocoa is an angel sent by a higher force, her job is to make everyone happy.
This is actually not that wrong either. Like my theory, magic exists in this world, so rather than Cocoa being an angel, but being a magician makes more sense. But this argument isn't too bad. Remove the higher force and change Angel to magician and we're getting somewhere that may actually be true.
Afterword:
I believe that most people who seriously read through this theory would realize rather quickly how bad the arguments are and how far fetched they are. And also would come to the conclusion that this is just really wrong. I can understand however for those who are interested in history to desperately want it to be true as it's interesting for them, however, this is just straight-up wrong. I can't tell you guys to stop talking about this bad theory, but at least, know that it's wrong. This is all I want from this post. If you want to believe in an interesting theory that actually holds any weight then I recommend reading the theory about magic being real in Gochiusa. Thank you, everyone, for reading this for a bit, if you have any questions feel free to reply to this question or DM me!
Living in Tokyo, 70 000 yen apartment feasible with 190 000 net pay?
I’m a new graduate hired by a Japanese company near Akabanebashi station in Minato-ku and I’d like to know if it’s feasible to find an apartment within 70 000 yen within the 23 wards. My gross pay is 225 000 yen and according to the calculations my company gave me my net pay should be about 190 000 yen (shakai hoken) without residence tax. There’s transportation allowances and biyearly revision of my wage. I’m looking for a decent 1K apartment (flooring, indoor washing machine space, main room 6帖 or higher), 40 minutes or less and a 10 minute walk to the station and mainly look in the Suginami/Setagaya area in a place that has some activity/chain stores/chain restaurants. Going by the 1/3d rule I should max spend 63 000 yen on rent, but would it be okay if I spent 70 000 on rent? Or should I instead to try aim in the 50 000 range? While it’s not impossible to find something for 63 000 yen in the areas listed above, I’ve noticed going up to 70 000 yen opens up my options. However, when looking at Japanese message boards many Japanese people have asked this question and the general reply is that it’s difficult to live like that, so I got worried and wanted some opinions from foreigners living in Japan. Thanks for the advice!
These are good times for craft beer in Tokyo. You can’t throw a pint glass without hitting a craft beer bar, microbrewery, taphouse or restaurant with a decent line up. This is a truly wonderful thing, though obviously pretty taxing on the wallet. Life’s too short to drink crap beer though, right? One aspect of the scene that I have really come to appreciate in the last couple of years is the humble bottle shop. There’s just something about that feeling of perusing the wares in the fridges, picking one out and then drinking it right there in the shop, eyeing up drink number two as you do so. It’s way more relaxed than a bar, and you’re far less likely to be elbow to elbow with the thirsty masses. And in these socially distanced times, you’ll often find a bottle shop an easier and more relaxing place to throw down some suds than a pub or bar. Some of these places are half bar, half shop. Others, mostly a shop you can drink in. Some have taps for draft beer, others not. There’s a lot of variation out there. But if you’re looking for places to enjoy excellent beer and also be able to take a few favorites home with you, a bottle shop is where you need to be. This list is non-exhaustive, heavily weighted towards the west side of Tokyo (because that is where I mainly find myself) and entirely just my personal opinion. And one more thing before I get going; the obvious and basically unparalleled champion of the Tokyo bottle shop universe is BIA MA, in particular their capacious hall of delights in Kanda (never drink downstairs, go straight to the second floor), but this place is already so well-known and established that I can’t really add anything. But go there, if you haven’t already. Go now. You won’t regret it. In no particular order: PIGALLE Tiny but packed full of charm, Pigalle is a wonderful hybrid bar and bottle shop tucked away in a little side street just a stone’s throw from Sangenjaya station. Only one high fridge and one low, but they couldn’t really fit any more in. Cozy, that’s the word. Six taps behind the bar, usually a mix of styles and a cider, and on the expensive side. The owners have great contacts in Europe, and you’ll find Mikkeller, North Brewing and Wylam alongside Naparbier and Evil Twin. New beers rotate in on a more or less weekly basis. Owners are friendly and speak English, so I do recommend rocking up for a leisurely drink and a chat before hitting the fridges for takeaway goodies. Also, best toilet in Setagaya? Maybe. Anti-corona measures: door is propped open, alcohol spray available, social distancing might be tricky in such a small space Nearby bars: STAND UP, APART. The three places together make an excellent pub crawl. CRAFT BEER SCISSORS Another small one, but these guys pack a lot in. Four full size fridges down one side of the shop, leaving room for a couple of standing tables and other perches, with a decent size kitchen and tap space down the end. Lots of good imported stuff (they’ve been on a Modern Times kick recently) and lots of unusual and rare finds, as well as local favorites like West Coast, Uchu and Yorocco. Some of the cans really push the price envelope, others are pretty reasonable. Good but typically expensive draft selection, mixing imports and Japanese breweries. Didn’t try the food, but others were tucking in when I was there, making it feel more like a bar than a bottle shop perhaps. Short walk from Ikejiri Ohashi station. They also have an online store. Anti-corona measures: not the best news for you here. Quite small, in a basement, not much room to steer clear of coughers. You pays your money, you takes your chances. Nearby bars: walk down to NakaMegs or hop on the train to Shibs or Sancha BEER SHOP LLAMA This place rocks. Super laid-back, standing bottle shop area out front, bar space in the back. Only a few taps, but very well chosen, and while their fridge space is less extensive than others in this list, the curation is top notch. Everything from lagers and pale ales through to sours and big hazy numbers. Just a short stroll from Mitaka station on the Chuo and Sobu lines, you might want to stop by here for an hour or two on your way back from the Ghibli Museum or Inokashira Park. Anti-corona measures: weather allowing, the entire front of the shop is wide open, giving you all the sweet, fresh, untainted by viral payload air you crave. Nearby bars: OGA BREWING, BEER PUB 25, or hit Kichijoji for CBM, BEER BOY, BAIRDS MITSUYA LIQUOR Sam Mitsuya is an absolute legend. Far more than just the owner of the best bottle shop in Suginami ku (sorry Stone!), he is a linchpin of the local gaijin community and a raconteur, a bon vivant and many other French terms to boot. He has an amazing line up of wines and nihonshu, but head to the fridges at the back for the good stuff. US and Canada are well-represented, and he gets lots of good stuff from Oregon, Vancouver and Ontario in particular. His importers are usually Ezo and Beer Cats, so he doesn’t just have all the same stuff that Antenna America has. A grungy but welcoming little standing space at the back of the shop hosts travelling sushi nights and a good chance to rub shoulders with the locals if you’re so inclined. ONly one or two beers on tap; recommend you stick with the cans. Buy six beers and you get 5% off. On Pearl Center shoutengai nearer to the southern Minami Asagaya station end. Anti-corona measures: the standing space is open on one side to the street, so it’s very well ventilated. Other than that, the usual plastic screens and alcohol will be found. Nearby bars: STONE, AND BEER and try CITRABA and EL PATO in Koenji STONE Venerable, that’s the word. Stone was here before craft beer was cool, and it will still be standing when most of us have long ago been forced to quit drinking by our doctors. The owner was and is a huge fan of Stone (hence the name) and it is actually a quasi-official Stone bar. It’s a bar with good draft beers and food first and foremost (sports on the telly, even) but there are also a bunch of fridges with stuff like Mikeller, Modern Times, Firestone Walker and all that jazz. Smoking is unfortunately allowed, and do watch out for the near vertical stairs as you wobble homewards. A short walk west of Asagaya station. Online store. Anti-viral countermeasures: windows were open last time I was there and, as one of the bigger places on this list, it will be pretty easy to keep your distance from the plague-ridden masses. Nearby bars: Same as MITSUYA LIQUOR, but also consider taking the train to Nishi Ogikubo for TACHINOMI BEER BOY or THE OLD ARROW SLOP SHOP Winner of the “cool and hipsterish but not in a bad way, honest” award unquestionably goes to Slop Shop. Nice roomy little place with three big fridges between Jiyugaoka and Gakugeidaigaku stations, the line up is impeccably curated with all kinds of funky sours and wild ales among the usual IPAs and stouts. Local beers include TDM1874, Uchu and West Coast, while imports could be almost anything but I’ve had Collective Arts, Fremont, Hub and Equilibrium(!) in the past. I even saw a bottle of Cantillon in there once. 5 or 6 taps behind the bar, a couple of standing tables and a long counter with stools. Good music playing. Excellent place to spend a couple of hours getting sloshed in style. Online shop. Anti-corona measures: they keep the door open, and it seems well ventilated. Should be fine even for the newly-minted germaphobes reading this. Nearby bars: walk down to Jiyugaoka for fun times and ridiculous pizza at DEVILCRAFT KONISHI KITAZAWA Best kept beer secret on the Odakyu line? Erratic opening hours and its position hidden away in the side streets of Shimokitazawa keep this one off most peoples’ radar, but definitely worth a look. A wall and half of full size fridges, all but one of which is given over to some class imports from all over the place. Slight emphasis on beers from the US west coast maybe, but you’ll find all kinds of gems to whet your whistle in here. Owners are lovely, very much into Star Wars, but no idea if they speak English or not. No draft beer in here at all; very firmly a shop. Pre-Covid, they allowed no more than two people together to have just one drink in the shop, but that’s gone the way of handshakes, nights in the club and having decent films at the pictures. Anti-corona measures: no drinking allowed in the shop, so you’ll pretty much be buying and leaving. No wukkas! Nearby bars: the mighty COASTER is right round the corner, and USHITORA is a walk away Cheers y'all!
Move to Japan before daughter starts kindergarten in summer 2021 (or at the latest, first grade in summer 2022)
Eventually get a job at a decent company with a decent salary (see below)
Live near a school my wife picked out for our daughter in the Suginami/Nerima area
Family Info
Me
Early 30s
Lived in Japan before for ~2 yrs, clean record, paid off all obligations
~5 yrs relevant work exp in tech
Current job ~100k/yr, WFH
N4-N3 Japanese ability (can have simple conversations and discussions, studied Chinese so can understand lots of Kanji)
Wife
Early 30s
Japanese citizen
Freelance part-time for Japanese companies, WFH
Daughter
Age four
Reads English and hiragana/katakana/few dozen kanji, reads books like no tomorrow
Can write a bit of English and hiragana/katakana (with 4 year old handwriting of course)
Speaks English very well with an accent, Japanese like a native
Will attend a K4 program at a local private school this fall (we're in the US)
Son
Age one
Super cute
Our Plan
Preparation before moving:
Get materials together for marriage visa (Japanese in-laws will provide juminzei, etc)
Save money (already done, we have about 35k saved up for this move plus more in reserve)
Find a job in Japan beforehand if possible (see below)
Ship some of our stuff and give away the rest to friends (no furniture, just small valuable stuff that would be more expensive to repurchase)
The Move
Apply for spouse visa using CoE
Take a few weeks off work (not a problem as my workplace is super generous with time off)
Tie up loose ends in the states (pay bills, cancel services, get rid of or ship stuff)
Receive spouse visa
Fly to Japan (wife and kids have Japanese passports)
Move into an apartment near a particular school we've picked out for our daughter (and suck it up and pay a ton of rent up front because I'm working for a foreign company)
Put son on waiting list for daycare; wife will continue to WFH until he is enrolled
Job Details
Ideally, I would find a job before moving to Japan, but applying from overseas really seems to limit the number and quality of available jobs, so I'm thinking of waiting until I'm in Tokyo to seriously start pounding the pavement
I can continue my current WFH job remotely with some less-than-ideal hours (evenings, occasional late night meetings sometimes) until I find a job worth taking in Tokyo
I've been approached by a handful of recruiters every week since switching my LinkedIn location to Tokyo, about 60% of the jobs look good, so job prospects look somewhat positive (although switching jobs is never easy, even in good times)
All of this is, of course, predicated on the COVID situation getting better, which I realize is far from a sure thing. If it does not improve we will just have to push our timeline back. Feel free to ask clarifying questions. All constructive criticism and feedback is appreciated. ETA: I expect to take a pay cut when taking a new job. I'm targeting a salary of ≥8M/yr. I'm a devops engineer, and the job postings I've seen for people with my skillset range from 6M - 12M, so I imagined 8M was a reasonable target. I'd be happy to hear opinions on how realistic this is.
Unresolved 1959 Murder of 27-year-old Japanese Stewardess Tomoko Takekawa
Introduction: While reading the English-language news site Tokyo Reporter (contains NSFW ads), which covers salacious stories from and related to Japan, I came across an old, unresolved crime I hadn't heard of before. I've summarized and rewritten a large portion for this post, but I'd hate to plagiarize it in its entirety. Please click through to the article (also linked below) for more information on the case, other sources, and how it ties into the Japan of today. The Body:
At around 7:40 a.m. on March 10th, 1959, an office worker spotted the body of a young woman floating face-up near the Miyashita Bridge over the Zenpukuji River in Suginami Ward, Tokyo. She was clothed in a green two-piece suit, a silk blouse, a white bra, a corset, white underwear, and nylons. Her high heels, scarf, handbag, and parasol were found scattered nearby. Her body showed no signs of external injury, and lacked shoes, leading investigators to suspect that she had completed suicide by drowning. However, police later announced that an autopsy had revealed only a small amount of water in her lungs, and marks on her neck that indicated she had probably been strangled. The autopsy also uncovered the presence of semen from two men — possibly having blood types O and A or AB — in her system and on her underwear, a development that caused police to begin seeking out information about her associates.
The Victim:
The woman was identified as Tomoko Takekawa, a 27-year-old stewardess. Born around 1932, Takekawa originally hailed from Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, a town of less than 30,000. Her parents influenced her to become a Catholic, and after graduating high school, she moved to Tokyo to enroll in the Seibo Junior College of Nursing, which was run by missionaries. She later returned to Ashiya to work as a nurse. However, after her plans for marriage were not approved of by her parents, she relocated once again to Tokyo to work at the St. Odilia Nursery in Nakano Ward. Apparently seeking a career change, Takekawa applied to work as a stewardess at the state-owned British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), the precursor to British Airways, where her uncle worked in the sales division. In December, 1958, she succeeded in becoming one of 8 Japanese stewardesses selected from 300 applicants. On February 27th, 1959, she returned to Tokyo from a training session in London. Her first day on the job would have been a flight between Tokyo and Hong Kong on March 13th. Needless to say, she never made it. Takekawa was last seen alive on March 8th, when, after attending Sunday Mass, she visited her uncle’s residence near the church for lunch. Around 3:00 p.m., she left to attend "a birthday party" in Shinjuku Ward, and was found in the river 2 days later.
The Suspect:
Louis Charles Vermeersch was born in Oudenburg, Belgium in 1920. Originally a student of philosophy, he arrived in Tokyo in 1948, where he switched his studies to theology. 5 years later, he was ordained in the capital as a Catholic priest. At the time of the murder, the 38-year-old worked as the head of accounting at a publisher of religious books. He became a person of interest in the case of Tomoko Takekawa after police discovered his name written in a notebook that belonged to her. They also learned that on March 7th, 3 days before Takekawa's body was found, a parcel from the publisher where he worked had arrived at her dormitory. Police believed that the parcel contained a letter from Father Vermeersch, asking Takekawa to meet with him. It was reported that she had taken the letter when she departed her dormitory on the 8th, but that it was not found in her possession upon the discovery of her body two days later. Vermeersch agreed to undergo two periods of police questioning in the company of a secretary from the Vatican and a lawyer. These interrogation sessions lasted two days each, and Father Vermeersch began suffering from anemia. At one point, exhaustion caused him to enter a hospital, stalling the investigation. During the questioning, Vermeersch admitted to taking Takekawa to a hotel in Harajuku, claiming it was only for a consultation and that the two were not involved in a relationship. However, police discovered evidence that they had been in a relationship since before she was selected to become a stewardess, 3 months earlier. Police also collected the following witness statements:
-An employee at a Harajuku hotel recalled seeing a foreigner — a rare occurrence in those days — enter the premises on March 5th, three days before the disappearance. When shown a photograph of Father Vermeersch, she confirmed it to be him. -A woman living near the bridge remembered seeing a white sedan similar to the Renault driven by the priest at around 5:00 a.m. on the day of the body's discovery. When the police presented her with a catalog of vehicles, she confirmed that the two cars matched. -Takekawa's autopsy revealed that she had eaten a Chinese meal shortly before her death. Among the items found in her stomach were matsutake mushrooms that had been sliced in a recognizable way. Such a product was sold at a shop in front of JR Ogikubo Station. An employee of the shop confirmed that he had sold some canned mushrooms to a man resembling Father Vermeersch. -Finally, it was claimed that the priest had been seen embracing female staff members at St. Odilia Nursery, where Takekawa worked before applying for the airline. He was also accused of sexually harassing the staff, including fondling their lower bodies. Despite the cloud of suspicion surrounding him, the priest did have alibis regarding his whereabouts. However, the police did not find them to be particularly credible, since the persons who claimed he was in their company were all members of his church.
On June 10th, 1959, 3 months after the murder and 3 days before he was to be interviewed for a 6th time by police, he arrived at immigration at Haneda Airport, where the examiner on duty contacted police. Nonetheless, he was permitted to board an Air France flight out of the country on the following night. Vermeersch told a Japanese newspaper reporter on the same flight that he was returning to Belgium under an order handed down by the church. He also expressed a desire to see his aging parents. He was quoted as saying "If requested [by the Japanese police], it is my intention to accept at any time, at any place."
Conclusion: Louis Charles Vermeersch was ultimately never arrested in connection to the crime. He relocated to eastern Canada in 1960, where he lived the remainder of his long life, passing away in 2017 at the age of 96. He never issued a public statement on Takekawa's death, but the presumption of his innocence was supported by high-ranking members within his church. The question of who killed Tomoko Takekawa remains a mystery. Police closed the case on the 15th anniversary of her death, March 10th, 1974, listing it as unsolved. She has not entirely faded from the public eye, however, as several Japanese movies, books, and TV shows have been made about the circumstances surrounding her murder in the intervening years. Questions:
It's clear that DNA evidence once existed in this case, with semen being found on Tomoko's clothing and body. The Tokyo Reporter article states that police repeatedly tried and failed to obtain a saliva sample from Vermeersch during the investigation, but doesn't give any more details on how or why. With the case being closed, do you think evidence like this would still be on file?
It seems that the police exclusively focused on Vermeersch as a suspect. Is it possible that xenophobia was at play, at least with the lack of media reporting on any other viable suspects?
A comment on the article reads "Looking at New Brunswick cold cases, interesting that there is a cluster of four unsolved murders of young women between 1970 and 1980, including one who was murdered soon after attending Catholic Mass," and the news site replies with "His obituary provides a rough outline of his movements through Canada". If Vermeersch really were a murderer, is it possible that he could have been responsible for more cases in other places where he lived?
I know this post likely won't go anywhere, but I have to try. I'm 31 and live on the east coast of the USA. I would like to find a Japanese national who would like to talk. Lately I've been interested in Tokyo and it's western wards, specifically Suginami, and what life around Tokyo is like. Things here in the US aren't going so well and my family is going through a lot of drama that I don't want any part of. My interactions with the few people from Japan I've met online have been fun and kind. The level of respect and politeness they have shown is far above what I've come to expect from people here in the US. If you'd like to know a little about me, I'm a quiet guy who stands at 6'2" (188cm) and comes in at a modest 180 lbs (82 Kg). Poor health gets in the way of life so I tend to listen to a lot of music to help get my mind off of things. Video games are a hobby, but lately they just haven't been as fun or appealing to me. I like pictures of Tokyo in the rain at night, and enjoy rainy weather in general.
City development project endangers 350+ year old ancient forest in Suginami ward, Tokyo
Suginami ward mayor pushes land trade which will result in losing 75% of an ancient forest. Oddly enough, the private owners of the land will acquire a prime building site in exchange for a site which is almost certainly polluted and will require expensive remediation. What could possibly be wrong with this picture? The mayor has rebuffed the efforts of local residents to preserve the forest. You can watch the mayor stonewalling the city council in this link (question at 6:35, mayor's response at 13:30):
For those who aren't Japanese speakers, the mayor's response to the councilwoman's appeal for transparency was essentially "take me to court." What can we do so that the local people won't be steamrolled? Further resources:
Suginami ward councilor Matsuo Yuri has a blog which contains detailed information about the many problems with this redevelopment plan:
One of the neighborhood locals found an old book from 50 years ago that describes the forest as containing 50 or 60 trees that are over 300 years old. This means that the trees in the forest are 350+ years old, dating from the Edo period or before. I uploaded photos of these pages from the book to the links below:
City development project endangers 350+ year old ancient forest in Suginami ward, Tokyo
Suginami ward mayor pushes land trade which will result in losing 75% of an ancient forest. Oddly enough, the private owners of the land will acquire a prime building site in exchange for a site which is almost certainly polluted and will require expensive remediation. What could possibly be wrong with this picture? The mayor has rebuffed the efforts of local residents to preserve the forest. You can watch the mayor stonewalling the city council in this link (question at 6:35, mayor's response at 13:30):
For those who aren't Japanese speakers, the mayor's response to the councilwoman's appeal for transparency was essentially "take me to court." What can we do so that the local people won't be steamrolled? Further resources:
Suginami ward councilor Matsuo Yuri has a blog which contains detailed information about the many problems with this redevelopment plan:
One of the neighborhood locals found an old book from 50 years ago that describes the forest as containing 50 or 60 trees that are over 300 years old. This means that the trees in the forest are 350+ years old, dating from the Edo period or before. I uploaded photos of these pages from the book to the links below:
Going to be in Tokyo for 2 weeks in December. Don't really have an itinerary. Some questions.
My wife and I will be in Tokyo from Dec. 14 - Dec. 28. This was kind of last minute so we don't really have an itinerary, and I was looking for some suggestions. I've started making a list of some things we might want to do. ADACHI
`atago shrine` `nation art center, tokyo` `shiba park` `zojoji temple` `sengaku-ji temple` `kakurin-ji temple` `Akasaka` `hikawa shrine` `nogi shrine` `akasaka palace` `Ayoyama` `walking around, small shops (similar to omotesando and daikanyama)` `Azabu` `zenpuku-ji` `Odaiba` `palette town` `diver city (gundam)` `statue of liberty replica` `Roppongi` `major entertainment area` `lots of nighclubs, bars, cabarets, venues, etc.` `Mita` `daishin-ji temple` `mita hachiman jinja` `tozen-ji temple` `koyasan tokyo betsuin`
NAKANO
`arai yakushi` `nakano broadway`
NERIMA OTA
`ikegami honmon-ji`
SETAGAYA
`gotoku-ji temple` `zenyomitus-ji temple` `Shimokitzawa` `laidback entertainment and commercial area similar to a less touristy ura-harajuku`
SHIBUYA
`shibuya crossing (kind of like time square)` `Yoyogi` `yoyogi park` `free` `near harajuku` `lots of zen gardens, etc.` `meiji jingu (shrine)` `shibuya 109` `center gai` `omotesando (famous street leading up to meiji shrine)` `nonbei yokocho (street famous for small bars and old tokyo feel similar to golden gai)` `Harajuku` `takeshita street` `cat street (ura-harajuku)` `togo shrine (maybe)` `ukiyo-e ota memorial museum of art` `nezu museum` `harajuku pancakes` `Ebisu` `lots of bars and restaurants, izekayas` `Hiroo` `embassy of peru` `Sendagaya` `national noh theater` `hato no mori hachiman shrine` `kinokuniya book store` `Dakainyama` `walking around, small shops (similar to omtesando and aoyama)`
`Ueno` `ueno park (museums and shrines)` `Asakusa` `+senso-ji temple` `omikuji (fortune telling strips)` `nakamise street (street leading up to sensoji)`
vendor stalls with traditional snacks and items
`walk around` `kappabashi (kitchen town)` `eat at kikkou (restaurant)` `known for unagi and atmosphere`
`kanzawa bunko` `shin-yokohama ramen museum` `gunmyoji temple` `isezakicho` `sankei-en` `chinatown` `minato mirai 21` `lots of attractions including worlds second largest ferris wheel` `yokohama museum of art`
Are there any other good things I need to do? I'm mainly looking for the following. A. Local things. Non-touristy type things. B. Music. Live shows. Cool venues. Some specific concerts or shows I might want to get tickets for. I'm game for anything, pop, rock, idol. I'd love to see something quintessentially Japanese, like an alt-idol show. C. Other attractions or cool things. Mainly things I might want to buy tickets for before we leave. I also have some questions. The day after we get there (the 15th) I need to pop on over to Nagoya for the day. I want to take the Shinkansen early in the morning and then come back later in the evening. Should I buy tickets now or is that not necessary? Can I just show up? Is there a possibility it might be sold out? I plan on getting a suica card once we get there. That should be all we need, right? We plan on doing a day trip to Kamakura (possibly two) and one to Yokohama. Any other good places to take a day trip? Are there any places near Mt. Fuji that are worth it this time of year? Maybe Nikko? Any other places not in Tokyo city proper that would be worth checking out? Like the Tama area, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki? Any outdoors type stuff that would be worth doing in December? Thanks.
City development project endangers 350+ year old ancient forest in Suginami ward, Tokyo
Suginami ward mayor pushes land trade which will result in losing 75% of an ancient forest. Oddly enough, the private owners of the land will acquire a prime building site in exchange for a site which is almost certainly polluted and will require expensive remediation. What could possibly be wrong with this picture? The mayor has rebuffed the efforts of local residents to preserve the forest. You can watch the mayor stonewalling the city council in this link (question at 6:35, mayor's response at 13:30):
For those who aren't Japanese speakers, the mayor's response to the councilwoman's appeal for transparency was essentially "take me to court." What can we do so that the local people won't be steamrolled? Further resources:
Suginami ward councilor Matsuo Yuri has a blog which contains detailed information about the many problems with this redevelopment plan:
One of the neighborhood locals found an old book from 50 years ago that describes the forest as containing 50 or 60 trees that are over 300 years old. This means that the trees in the forest are 350+ years old, dating from the Edo period or before. I uploaded photos of these pages from the book to the links below:
Is The Order A Rabbit? / Gochiusa is set in an alternate reality where Japan won World War II.
DISCLAIMER: This is my entry for the writing contest. There will be spoilers, read this at your own risk! Though given the nature of the Gochiusa as a moe slice of life, there isn't really much to spoil. EDIT 1: No this is not meant to be serious, just a fun exercise exploring a what-if scenario. Taking a plunge down the rabbit hole, if you will. In the words of Neil deGrasse Tyson:
"The human talent for pattern-recognition is a two-edged sword: We’re especially good at finding patterns, even when they aren’t really there."
EDIT 2: Obligatory thank you for the gold, kind internet stranger! Have some coffee. EDIT 3: A lot of people have commented on Cocoa's part and the conclusion not really matching up with the rest of the essay. I might be rewriting this part soon. Need to put on more tinfoil hats first. EDIT 4: Cocoa is an angel confirmed. Thanks to Grue for providing this irrefutable proof!
At first glance, Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? (or Gochiusa for short) might seems to be just another “cute girls doing cute things” slice of life. But I believe there is a darker secret to the show hidden beneath the fluffy surface. Is there more to this anime than meets the eye or am I just reading too much into this because I have nothing better to do? Probably the later, but that’s beside the point. In this essay, I seek to prove my (completely sensible) theory that Gochiusa is set in an alternate reality where Japan has won World War II, and is now ruling over Europe. After that, I will discuss the characters and how their stories fit into this scenario. All supporting evidences will be coming from the two seasons of the anime.
Gochiusa is set in Europe - after Japanese occupation. The story in Gochiusa is quite straightforward. One day Cocoa arrives in a certain town - where she will be living and working part time at the Rabbit House cafe. The show follows the daily lives of Cocoa and her friends as they have fun and generally be adorable. Pretty standard moe SOL fare, nothing to write home about. What makes Gochiusa stand out the most is its unusual setting. Immediately upon watching episode 1, it is clear that Gochiusa is not set in Japan. So where it is exactly? In the anime, it is referred to as the “wood-framed town”, or simply “the town”. Based on the architecture, we can tell that this place is located in Europe. In fact, it is no secret that this town is directly inspired by Colmar - a real town located in the Northeast of France. Someone else has already made a very detailed comparison so I won't go over it again. So is Gochiusa set in Colmar, France? Maybe, maybe not. According the various signages around the town, the majority of the text seems to be a mixture of French, German, English and some Eastern European language. It is uncertain which country this is supposed to be, we can only be sure that it is located in Europe. Now that we have established that Gochiusa is set in an Europe, we can safely assume that the majority of the characters are not Japanese, but European. We all know that eyes and hair color are meaningless in anime when it comes to identifying nationality, so let’s look at names. Consider the first name of the five main girls (Cocoa, Chino, Rize, Chiya and Syaro), only Chiya and Rize are actual Japanese names. Chiya also happens to be the girl whose heritage is the most apparent - I’m 99.53% confident that she is Japanese. The same cannot be said for the other girls. This brings up a question: If the characters are not Japanese and the town is not in Japan then why is everyone using Japanese? This is not a case of in this world the language barrier doesn’t exist. Otherwise, Cocoa and Chiya would not have to study English. Japanese influence goes beyond the usage of written and spoken language. As we can see, the main currency is the Yen, not the Euro and the legislation system is using the Six Codes - which is from Japan. Even more puzzling, the town does in fact, has a name - which we can spot on Cocoa’s letters to her family. Ogikubo - Suginami does not sound very European doesn’t it? What exactly is going on? Here's my theory: Japan has won the second world war, and much of Europe has been occupied and under imperial rule ever since. It makes sense that the empire would enforce Japanese law and Japanese currency in occupied territories. They renamed the town from whatever it was into the name of an area in Tokyo. A long enough time has passed that Japanese has become the main language for the common people - this land is now essentially annexed into Japan. What’s more, the war is most likely not yet over.
Where are the men? They are all drafted into military service. Yes, you occasionally see other men in the town, but the number of actual male characters in Gochiusa can be counted on one hand. Is it easy to overlook the lack of male characters in a show like Gochiusa, after all this is a moe SOL. However, when you consider that there is a war going on, a much more sinister scenario arises. And there is definitely a war - seeing as both Chino’s and Rize’s fathers are ex-soldiers. What is this war? Who is fighting whom and where? We do not know. What is clear is the lack of male presence in this town. Following along with our theory of Japanese occupation, the most logical explanation is that most of the men were conscripted into mandatory military service - so they are all presumably off fighting somewhere far away from home. This explains why in such a picturesque town you would expect to see a lot of tourists, yet the cafes our girls are working in seems to be empty all the time. Even on Christmas night, one of the rare occasions when the Rabbit House is actually full, the customers are almost entirely women. Also what about the lack of male students in high schools and middle schools? There are at least three different schools that the characters go to, yet we don’t really see any boys around. Maybe they all go to female only schools? Unlikely. But wait, what about Chino’s dad and Rize’s dad? They are men right? Remember that both of them are war veterans, and have seen their share of combat. They probably have already completed their terms of service and were released from military duty. It is worth noting that out of all five main girls, only Chino and Rize still have fathers. None of the other girls had to worry about a gift for father’s day besides these two. Chiya only has her grandmother and Syaro lives alone. Cocoa even helped in making the gift for Chino’s dad, but not for her own dad. When they were saying goodbye at the train station, her sister Mocha said that mom is waiting for Cocoa at home, but there was no mention of their dad. The implication is clear: They no longer have a father. A war casualty perhaps? Let’s not forget Cocoa’s two older brothers. Very little is known about them and they only show up briefly in some flashback scene. At the end of season 2 we see her sister Mocha together with their mother at home, but the brothers are nowhere to be seen. Could it be that they are old enough to be serving in the army at this point? Next, let’s take a deeper look at each characters and how their backgrounds fit into this.
Rize is daughter of a warlord, she is being trained to become an assassin. When we first met her, Rize mentioned that she has been trained in self-defense ever since she was small. While most of us dismiss this fact as just another quirk that makes Rize even cuter (it really does), isn’t it really weird when you think about it? Who train their little daughter in using firearms and CQC, drilling into her military discipline at such a young age? While Rize tries to act like an average highschool student as much as she can, at times she displays an alarming level of ruthlessness. Not to mention, no normal teenage girl is such a complete gun nut or possess such incredible physical strength. Considering that they were both in the army together, Chino’s father and Rize’s father led utterly different lifestyles. The Kafu seems to live on modest mean, yet Rize’s family is really wealthy - living in a huge mansion complete with maids and bodyguards. We never really see police or any kind of crime (except those committed by rabbits) in this peaceful town, so why the heavy focus on security? Rize’s father is certainly not simply a soldier. While we do not know what he really does now, guessing that he is a underground warlord operating some kind of private military is probably not far from the truth. The man is ambitious, in training Rize to become some kind of super soldier, he apparently has big plans for his daughter. Is he preparing her for the eventuality that the law will caught up to him, so that she could fend for herself should the need arises? Maybe he grooming Rize in case she has to take over his position in the organization? Or getting her ready for something even more sinister? Rize also has a little bit of a father complex. This goes beyond admiring her dad as a role model. Out of the five girls, Rize is the most mature and often act as the voice of reason for the group. Yet whenever her dad is involved, she becomes completely flustered. Like when she is too shy to give her dad his father’s day present or grow totally red face when he saw her in the maid uniform. And who can blame her, when daddy is both quite good looking and is a certified badass! Another troubling sign: Rize has a stuffed rabbit toy called Wild Geese that she likes to cuddle in bed. Wild Geese wears a rifle on his back and has an eyepatch. Doesn't that remind you of a certain one-eyed soldier? Rize seems to be rather fond of the name Wild Geese, as she gave the same name to the feral rabbit taking up residence in Syaro’s house. Wild Geese is also the name of a mercenary group according to the Metal Gear wikia. Seeing as the show likes to reference Metal Gear, Rize's father could very well be a version of Big Boss.
Syaro is a war orphan, and she has amnesia. We know that Syaro is a poor teenage girl living by herself. She works hard at multiple jobs to make a living and goes to a prestigious school thanks to earning a scholarship. What the show totally glosses over is the obvious fact that she is an orphan. Everyone else has at least some family members, but Syaro is alone. How could a 15 years old girl afford such a large house? The house might be run down but it is still in a prime street front location, not some shady back alley - seeing as Ama Usa An is right next to it. The answer is simple: she is not renting the place, because it has always been her home. She grew up there. How do we know this? In a flashback, we saw a young Syaro playing together with a young Chiya - this means two things. First, that they have always been friends and neighbors ever since they were little. Second, that Syaro must have had parents taking care of her back then. A 15 years old living alone is believable, but she could not have been on her own at such a young age. What’s worrying about Syaro is that she possibly has light amnesia. Chiya mentioned that they used to play blowgun together and that Syaro was very good at it. Yet she is completely baffled to discover her own excellent blowgun skills. Syaro struggles to recall anything regarding the rivalry between Rabbit House and Ama Usa An, going so far as to keep hitting herself trying to remember. Whatever happened to Syaro and her parents was traumatic enough to create a mental block in her mind, making her forget certain events of the past. Judging by her dress and toy back when she was young, as well as her rather refined taste, Syaro was not always poor. Her natural grace and elegant manner might be a result of her upbringing. This is also why Syaro is able to fit in perfectly with the rich girls at school, where no one suspected that she is actually poor. Whoever her parents were, they are gone - perhaps they had become victims of war. The fact that Syaro is all by herself now makes her an orphan. Remember when Chiya was worried that Syaro might have been involved with some questionable establishments? This proves that her financial situation was desperate enough that the scenario of Syaro working for a cabaret (or something worse) is a very real concern. The girl is not exactly stable so it is a good thing that her nextdoor childhood friend Chiya is always looking out for her!
Chiya is a foreigner, and the truth behind the rivalry between Ama Usa An vs Rabbit House. While the nationality of all the girls remains mysterious, Chiya is definitely Japanese - and she is really proud of her heritage. Aside from her fascination for all things Japan, certain aspects of Chiya’s character tell us without a doubt that this girl is Japanese and not just a Japanophile. Chiya absolutely loves manzai comedy, and she takes any chance she can to play jokes on her friends. The girl is committed to staying in character entirely, going so far as to gather up an entire basket of poisonous mushroom, just waiting for someone (the “straight man”) to point out her error (the “punchline”). Manzai humor itself is very Japanese, not something that the average Western person would enjoy. Yet when it comes to serious matters, Chiya has a tendency to not voice her feelings, we see this time and time and time again. When she actually has to express something difficult, she does it in the most roundabout way possible. When Chiya wants to convince Syaro to work with her, she left a package of sweets with a note stating her wish instead of just saying it directly. This passive-aggressiveness and non direct approach are very typical Japanese traits. We have other evidences regarding Chiya’s origin as well. When she first came to Rabbit House, it is revealed that Chiya has never seen a Western coffee menu before. While Chiya’s kimono is part of work, her grandmother always wear the kimono although she is never in the front of house. Plus, Ama Usa An is nothing like all the other buildings in town - the place looks like something that belongs in, well Japan. We can safely say that Chiya and her grandmother are foreign to this land. They came from Japan to open a tea house in this European town. This explains the supposed rivalry between Ama Usa An and Rabbit House. How you ask? First we have to consider how exactly are these two establishments competitors in any way? They offer completely different products: Rabbit House sells coffee and Western pastries while Ama Usa An sells Japanese sweets and tea. Which means they are not directly competing in terms of products. Second, it’s not like Ama Usa An is directly next door to Rabbit House. Chino has to walk quite a long distance to Ama Usa An in order to get medicines for a sick Cocoa. In fact, it is about an hour trip back and forth. In this town, Rabbit House surely does not lack for competitions within the immediate vicinity before we even get anywhere near Ama Usa An. Which means they are not directly competing in terms of location. If they are selling different products and are not even nearby, then why did the old master considered Ama Usa An a rival to Rabbit House? As it turns out, the rivalry is only in his mind and Chiya’s grandmother never thought anything about it. This is our hint to the truth. Chino’s grandfather is old, probably old enough that he can remember a time before the Japanese occupied this town. He held a grudge against the Japanese for taking over his home, and for marching his son off to war, leaving him a with struggling coffee house and a little girl to take care of. Ama Usa An stands out like a thorn in his eye because it represents everything that went wrong in his life. And now this Japanese tea house wants a piece of his business as well? The old man is having none of that. Ultimately, the master is a good man. And we see that he actually adores Chiya just like with all the other girls. Unfortunately he still can’t stand Ama Usa An, though for a different reason entirely.
Chino had a lonely childhood and the master’s last wish. Chino is a very polite, timid and reserved girl. Despite being rather mature and responsible for her age, she is quite shy around people, even with those close to her. This is a result of her growing up without much social interactions. After meeting young Cocoa, the master mentioned that Chino gets lonely when Tippy (the rabbit) is not around. This tells us that she really has no other friends beside the angora rabbit. She spent most of the time alone - therefore she does not know how to deal with people. Chino lacks the social skills to make friends, and ended up keeping distance to everyone except those she is truly comfortable with. This explains why Chino always keep Tippy around whenever possible, because the rabbit’s presence makes her feel at ease - although it seems like Cocoa is slowly taking over this role. While it was only implied in the anime, in the manga it is stated that her mom died when she was younger. As for her dad, he was away at war during most of her childhood. When young Chiya and Syaro was checking out Rabbit House’s menu - the old master was the only person there. And then there’s Aoyama Blue Mountain who knew the master when she used to frequent Rabbit House asking for his advice, yet she has never met Chino’s dad before. It means that this entire time he was in the army and had only gotten back to manage the family business once grandpa has passed away turned into Tippy. And it makes sense, as we’ve seen that Chino is rather adept at house chores - precisely because she is used to be by herself all the time. With her grandfather at work managing Rabbit House, her mom passed away, her dad away at war and no friends other than Tippy, Chino must have had a lonely childhood. This stress of having to take care of both the family business and Chino is probably what lead the old master to complain that he would rather be a rabbit instead. We still don’t know whether he truly died and then his “soul” somehow get transferred into the body of Tippy or he simply ceased existing as a man and just become Tippy instead. Seeing as the rabbit was already the family pet even before the encounter with young Cocoa, I’m gonna go with the former theory: he died of old age but his soul lives on in Tippy. I imagine the master was full of regrets before passing away: his country taken from him, his business struggling to stay afloat, his son is away in some war he wanted no part of. And most of all, he did not have the time to properly takes care of Chino. He told Cocoa that he wish to become a rabbit so he wouldn’t have to work but I think what he really wanted deep inside was to spend time with his granddaughter and see her smile. In the end, he got exactly what he wanted - now in the form of Tippy, he can make up to all the time he did not get to spend with Chino before, and he does not have to work anymore! As for Chino, she is slowly opening up and start making friends, plus she now gets an annoying older sister who fawn over her all the time! A curious detail regarding Chino: she also has a one eyed stuffed bunny similar to Rize’s. But in a flashback with her mom, we see the same rabbit had no eyepatch. So is this somehow connected to her mother? Does the eyepatch signify loss? And if so is Rize’s mom gone as well?
Cocoa is an angel sent by a higher force, her job is to make everyone happy. It is easy to dismiss Cocoa as the annoying klutzy genki girl. But she actually has a very important role to fulfill - the reason why she came to this town in the first place. Before we talk about Cocoa, let’s take a brief look back at the other girls:
Rize is raised by a dangerous warlord and being trained into a killing tool for her father’s own nefarious intention.
Syaro is a war orphan with amnesia, struggling to make ends meet everyday.
Chiya is coping to live a foreign land far away from her ancestral home, having to deal with hatred from the locals for the war crime committed by her people.
Chino grew up lonely with no friends, socially awkward and insecure.
As we can see, most of the girls have rather unhappy background. They are all trying to move on from past traumas, striving to live a normal, peaceful life. This is the reason why Cocoa exists - according to my theory she must be an angel or supernatural entity and she was sent to this town by some higher force to bring happiness to these girls. Although Cocoa being Cocoa, she most certainly is not aware of her own true nature. Or she might have forgotten. Either way, there are many signs pointing toward the fact that Cocoa is not a normal girl. I’m sure you are tired of reading paragraphs at this point, so I present: bullet points!
The most obvious display of her power is when she listened to the Rabbit House’s old master’s wish and granted him exactly what he wants: to become a rabbit and spend time with his granddaughter a.k.a Cocoa makes people’s wishes come true.
When finding the way to her new school, Cocoa displays her super dimensional walking power, constantly passing by Rize within the span of 5 minutes, prompting the poor girl to question her own sanity.
Cocoa constantly demonstrates supernatural skills, but she has no idea how to properly use her powers. When trying to do cafeomancy she was able to accurately predicts three future events, although she did not know those events would be happening to herself.
The Setagaya family murders: the Hinterkaifeck-esque killing of the Miyazawa family in 2000
IMPORTANT: update to this post is here, I made some mistakes! I read about these killings on this forum several months ago and was captivated. Sadly, there is very little English-language material on the Setagaya killings. I set out to compile everything I could find into one easily readable English-language version. Because there is so little material available, I can’t guarantee the accuracy of anything I’ve written here. I have no familiarity whatsoever with Japanese and thus have had to depend solely on what I could find in English (or clumsily translate), without being able to determine if the source is reliable. That being said, I’ve found some new information for us, as well as photos that should make the crime easier to understand! I depended heavily on the Google-translated version of the Japanese Wikipedia page on this crime, as well as Hilltoptree’s fantastic write-up from the last time this was posted by BurtGummer1911. I’ve listed my sources at the bottom of this posting. Please, if you or someone you know speaks Japanese or Chinese, or if you have found a more reliable source to this information, contact me. I would hope it goes without saying that if something I have written here is incorrect, inform me so I can correct it! I am aware that the Japanese do not use their names the way we Westerners do. I have used the first names and last names in the Western style in this account to humanize the victims and because I would surely screw it up if I attempted otherwise. I originally intended this to be a blog post, so I started out interspersing photos throughout. I’ve given you links for those. I highly recommend looking through the photos of the house layout, as it makes the crime a lot easier to understand. If you find it easier to scroll through, the entire album is here. ~~~~ The Miyazawa Family On December 30, 2000, the Miyazawa family went about their business as usual in the Setagaya district of Tokyo, oblivious to the fact that they were living out the last day of their lives. The Miyazawa family Mikio Miyazawa, 44, worked for Interbrand, a London-based consulting firm. His wife, Yasuko, 38, was a teacher, and they had two children: 8-year-old Niina and 6-year-old Rei. The Miyazawa home, from the front The neighborhood they lived in was rather abandoned; there was an expansion of the skate park next door to them, and thus most of their neighbors had moved out. When the family moved there in 1990, the development held 200 families. Now, there were just four left: the Miyazawas, Yasuko's sister living next door, and two houses across the way. The Miyazawas’ home was semi-detached. Though it was physically connected to Yasuko’s sister’s home, there was no way between the two houses from the inside. Setagaya skate park The skate park had apparently been causing the Miyazawa family some grief, due to the noise. They planned to move in March 2001, so they only had a few months left in their home. A witness reported seeing Mikio arguing with skateboarder a few days before the crime. Another witness reported seeing the father arguing with the Bōsōzoku, a bike gang. The evening of their last day alive, a witness saw the Miyazawas shopping at around 6pm at Seijogakuenmae Station, just under a mile from their home. A neighbor confirmed that at 6:30pm, their car was not in their driveway. At 7pm that evening, Yasuko called her mother, who lived next door with her sister and her sister's husband. Niina had also visited her grandmother that evening, and had used her computer to watch a recorded TV program until 9:38pm. At around 10:38-10:45, the family computer received an email that required a password to open. This is the latest time that we know the Miyazawas were alive. Sightings before the crime On December 25th, Yasuko had mentioned to her father-in-law that someone’s car was being repeatedly parked in front of their house. On the 27th, a man described as in his forties was seen wandering around the house. On the 29th, the day before the crime, a young man was seen near Seijogakuenmae Station wearing an outfit similar to the one found at the scene of the crime, along with a very small backpack. The eyewitness clearly remembered this because the man was underdressed for the weather, so she took note of it. On the 30th, a man matching the description of the suspect was seen near Sengawa station, almost a mile from the Miyazawa home, stated to be between 35-40 years old. A man was also seen hurrying away on a path near the home at around 11:35pm – this is suspected to be the killer hurrying on his way to climb the fence (we’ll get to that in a bit). The Miyazawa home, from the rear The Layout of the Miyazawa Home In 2013, investigators created a 3D-printed model of the Miyazawa’s home, a 1/28 scale replica. This is incredibly useful to understanding how the crime was played out. The locations of the victim’s bodies are labeled. 3D-printed model, from the front 3D-printed model, from the rear The home is portrayed exactly as investigators found it on December 31st. Note the open second-floor window. That is how our killer enters. The second floor of the Miyazawa home. The killer entered through the bathroom in the rear. A split view of part of the second and first floors. The killer enters through the bathroom and turns right, first smothering the boy, 6-year-old Rei, in his sleep in the bunkbeds. Mikio had been working in the study on the first floor. Perhaps hearing a sound, he climbs the stairs, where he encounters the home invader. They fight, and the father’s body is found at the bottom of the stairwell. See the two steps into the empty air above the first floor? Those lead up to the mezzanine. From the mezzanine floor, you can pull down a ladder that leads up to the third floor loft. In this view of what is described as the “mezzanine floor,” we see the bodies of the mother and daughter where they were found at the foot of the ladder. That black line, as far as I can tell, lines up to the opening of the third floor, which we see here. Niina's blood was found on one of the futons, suggesting her and her mother hid upstairs from their attacker. The Crime Take another look at the picture of the rear of the home. The bathroom window was opened and the screen had fallen off inside. (I’m having a hard time determining if the screen had been removed or was actually cut. I’m leaning towards cut, since that seems to make more sense.) Footprints from the criminal were found below the window, as well as broken tree branches just below it. The killer apparently climbed the chain-link fence beneath the window and gained entry there, knocking off small tree branches in the process. As I said before, the killer quietly made his way to the bedroom of the son, 6-year-old Rei, and strangled him in his sleep. Mikio, who had been in the study working on the first floor of the house, possibly heard a noise and made his way upstairs, where he encountered the invader. The man had brought a sashimi knife with him, a knife with a long, thin blade. The killer and the father fought on the staircase, and the killer damaged his knife in the process. The father’s lifeless body was found lying at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor. The killer then attacked the mother, Yasuko, and 8-year-old daugher, Niina, who were sleeping together in the third floor loft of the house. However, he couldn’t finish the job with his knife, and had to retreat to the kitchen on the second floor to grab another knife to finish them off - killing Yasuko with her own kitchen knife. The family’s first aid kit was found open at the scene, with some of the daughter’s blood on the bandages. It appears that during the time the killer retreated to get a knife, Yasuko and Niina took the time to bandage their wounds and possibly hide somewhere. I haven't been able to find out where the first aid kit was kept or where in the house it was found. However, bandages were in the kitchen, with a bandage stuck to the fridge, and a bandage in the living room, as well. Yasuko and Niina may have raised the ladder to the loft in an attempt to hide from the killer, since Niina’s blood was also found on a futon upstairs. The phone lines were unplugged (though at what point this happened is unclear), so perhaps they were unable to call for help. The killer returned with the knife from the kitchen and finished his gory task. The knifings of the female victims were much more intense than that of of his male victims, suggesting that he treats the victims differently based on sex. He would also continue to stab their bodies after they were dead. Based on their stomach contents, the time of the family’s death was placed at 11:30pm. During the attack, the murderer was injured at some point. His blood was found on bandages at the scene. There is also evidence that he used feminine hygiene products for this purpose as well. A perfect fingerprint of his was found on a towel (this might be a translation error, as I imagine it’s hard to leave a fingerprint on a towel; perhaps it was a paper towel?). After the crime, he stayed in the house After killing the family, the killer did not leave - he made himself at home. Perhaps after bandaging himself in the kitchen, he then opened the fridge and helped himself to its contents. Though there was some alcohol available (10 cans of beer), the killer didn’t take it - leading police to believe that he doesn’t drink. The killer ate some melon, drank barley tea, and ate some popsicles. He wandered around the home as he ate the popsicles, discarding two wrappers in the kitchen trash can, and winding up in Mikio’s study, where he discarded two other wrappers. After going through some personal documents, the killer sat down in his victim’s chair and logged on the computer. (Can’t you picture him, idly sucking on a popsicle while tapping the keyboard with one hand, curiously poking around the computer, flipping through documents?) Between midnight and 1am, the killer browsed the internet for 5min and 18 seconds. He visited the site of Shiki Theater Company and attempted to buy tickets to see a show. The Shiki Theater Company was an internet bookmark that had been saved by Mikio. Then again, sometime in the morning, the killer used the computer for 4minutes and 16 seconds. He visited the webpage of the Mikio’s company and Yasuko’s school, then killed the power to the computer by pulling the power cord. The power cord was not found at the scene of the crime. The suspect’s fingerprints were not found on the keyboard, but they were found on the mouse. Perhaps after attempting and failing to purchase theater tickets, the killer continuing strolling about the house, rummaging for information on his victims. In the living room, credit cards, bank books, driver’s licenses, and other personally identifying information were spread out as if the suspect had been sorting through them. In the second floor bathtub, more scattered papers were located, such as receipts, items from the mother’s school, towels, sanitary products used to stop bleeding, and other garbage were tossed. Perhaps now is when the killer used the toilet. He didn’t flush, and evidence of green beans and sesame seeds were found in his stool; apparently, a meal of sesame spinach, a cold dish the perpetrator consumed somewhere other than the Miyazawa’s home. At some point, the killer took a nap on the couch in the living room. It is possible that the killer left and returned to the scene of the crime. However, I don’t get the impression that this is seen as very likely. Not that the killer seems to mind risk, but that would be a serious indication of additional risk. No one is seen entering or leaving the home at this time, and there had been a few sightings of the killer before the attacks, as well as one potential sighting afterwards – keep in mind, the killer is injured. Given that there is evidence of the killer taking a nap on the couch, I think this is the explanation for the gap in his movements at the time. Of course, there is no way to know for sure. What he left behind Calm and not at all cautious through the entire affair, the killer left behind several personal belongings at the scene of the crime. It doesn’t seem the suspect was ever fearful of being caught or of leaving behind evidence, so it doesn’t seem like this would be an oversight. The suspect changed his clothes and left behind his outfight, neatly folded. What he wore: Dress like a killer! What the killer was wearing I want to list out the articles of clothing and brand names, but I’m having difficultly doing so. The brands are from a local skateboarding store, and the style is that skateboardesurfer kind of look. The suspect left behind:
sneakers, Slazenger brand, with Korean sizing (likely purchased in Korea)
a dark green hip bag – this is like a cooler version of a fanny pack, apparently (see picture above)
a black handkerchief
a hat
a scarf
a down jacket
black winter gloves
Police were also able to determine the cologne the suspect wore (a favorite brand of skateboarders). Several of these items were available to be purchased in the Suginami ward by Ogikubo station, so police think the suspect shopped there. However, despite being able to locate specific stores where the killer shopped, they were no closer to revealing his identity. Due to leaving behind his clothing, the police were able to determine that the killer is 5’7” with a waist size of 32.6in. He was probably in his twenties or thirties (in 2000), and obviously physically fit. The Murder Weapon The killer brought a sashimi knife with him. I believe the brand is Yanagiha Hawatari, and the store where this specific knife was purchased was located by police (it was in the shopping center at Ogikubo station). This was used to kill Mikio. Genetic makeup of killer The killer is mixed-race, with a mother of Southern European descent and a father who is either Korean or Chinese (probably more likely Korean). Obviously, his fingerprints and DNA have been thoroughly searched and match nothing. Trace Evidence There was some strange and rather telling amounts of small trace evidence. In the “hip bag” small traces of sand were found. Sand, of course, can be analyzed just like another else. This sand came from America. The southwest, actually; near Las Vegas, Nevada… specifically, sand from Edwards Air Force Base. This is the most mind-blowing piece of evidence for me. Edwards Air Force Base?! Why?! Sand was also found that was traced to a skate park in Japan. There are comments like “California is where skater culture began, so it’s clear this is a skater…” but what was he doing on an American Air Force base?! The suspect seems to travel a lot… America, Korea, Japan… so maybe he is an Airman? I hate the thought of someone this crazy living in my country or serving in my military. However, I believe that you are fingerprinted when you joined the military, so I would expect that this avenue has been explored and is a dead end, as I don’t see any mention of the suspect being in the American Armed Forces. Trace amounts of a “red flourescent agent” were also found on the suspect’s clothing. This apparently indicates that the suspect was involved in stage prop design, as that is where this particular chemical is used, and it was not something the family had or would have been around. Trace amounts were also found in the garage, however, there was no indication the suspect had ever been in the garage. This led investigators to believe that the suspect may have had contact with the family prior to the killing. It makes me wonder if there was cross contamination, however, this forensic examination was clearly top-notch, so I doubt contamination was the case. Sighting After the Crime On the 31st, six hours after the discovery of the crime and probably seven hours after the killer had fled the scene, a young man was treated for a knife wound at Tobunikko Station, around 75 miles to the north of the [family’s] house. The man was in his 30s and was wearing a black down jacket and jeans. The station staff treated him for the wound, which was deep enough to see the bone. The man did not give his name nor did he give a reason for his wound, and, incredible though it seems, he was simply treated and released. Remember, at this time investigators thought the criminal had left the scene the night before, and it wasn’t until months later, when they had examined the forensic evidence on the computer, that they realized the suspect had stayed in the home. By this time it was ten months later and it was impossible to trace the suspect further. Items Missing from the Home This murder was not about money - many valuable items and cash were not taken from the home. The killer may have taken 150,000 yen ($1256 USD), but family members weren’t sure where the money was, and again, more cash than that was left in the home. An old jacket was missing, and all of the family’s “Happy New Year” greeting cards were missing (I get the sense these are like Christmas cards to us Westerners). The power cord to the computer is not mentioned here, but that was not found in the home, either. Discovery of the Crime At around 10pm, a witness strolling through the park heard an argument from the Miyazawa home. However, they didn’t hear anything being broken or any physical altercation. This makes police think the killer may have been on the scene earlier. I dislike this explanation because we still have that email being opened at 11:30pm, and I can’t imagine anyone would pause arguing with an intruder to open an email. I’m inclined to think the witness got the time wrong. Around 11:30pm, the grandmother (Yasuko’s mother) next door heard a loud bang. Police reenacted the scene and found that this could have been either Mikio falling down the stairs or the attic ladder deploying. However, the sound wasn’t enough to make the family suspect anything and was not investigated further. The following morning, Yasuko’s mother tried calling the family and found that she couldn’t get through (because the killer had cut the phone lines). Suspicious, she went next door and rang the doorbell. The front door was locked from the inside. (The police are not sure how the killer left, since there was no blood or fingerprints on the front door. I’m doubtful the killer left through the bathroom window, however; as we all know, absence of fingerprints doesn’t mean it wasn’t touched.) The grandmother used her set of keys to open the door and discovered the crime scene. Conclusion There have been, essentially, no leads on who this person might be. The suspect is mixed race, half Asian (probably Korean) and half white. He is young, in his 20s or 30s at the time of the crime, which would place him in his 30s or 40s now. He was into the skateboarding scene back then. He probably has issues with females. He doesn’t drink, or didn’t at the time of the crime. Despite the overwhelming amount of forensic evidence found, the perpetrator of this deeply disturbing crime has never been found. Sources The original Reddit Post Google Translate version of Japanese Wikipedia article Google Translate article containing the 3D-printed model of the Miyazawa’s home A blog post with the picture of what the suspect was wearing English-language source (I got the family picture from here)Setagaya skate park picture from here
Hi guys! My boyfriend and I are leaving for Japan this week and it'll be our first times and we're having a bit of trouble coming up with an itinerary. This is what we have so far - I'd love to get some recommendations - we love food, anime, and want to get the most of our Japan trip :) planning to start our day around 10AM-11AM ish everyday. We need a lot of help figuring out what to do the last couple days. Any food recommendations too would be great thanks! 3/30: Getting to NRT @ 9PM (airbnb is near Asakusa Skytree) Relax, go explore 7/11 and Lawson 3/31: Yoyogi Park Shibuya [insert recommendation here] - I was thinking about visiting a couple shrines/temples but not sure which ones 4/1: Akihabara Nakano Broadway Pokemon Center diverCity (gundam cafe) Suginami animation museum TEAMLABS 4/2: (shipping luggage to hostel the night before) get bento box and hop onto shinkansen to Osaka Osaka Castle Pablo Cheese tart (?) omni rice (dotombori) 4/3: (hanging out with friends in Kyoto) rent kimono dresses and visiting temples (our friend's bf is Japanese so he's going to take us around most of the day) Golden Pavilion Kyoto Castle Fushimi Inari Arashiyama 4/4: (check out of hotel in the morning, they're holding our luggage for us) Go to Nara Park for brunch and to see the deers Head back to Tokyo and drink with friends 4/5: NEED RECOMMENDATIONS early fish market Shiba Inu Cafe 4/6: NEED RECOMMENDATIONS expensive wagyu beef dinner 4/7-4/8: no idea
The most distant Kitsune - Tokyo Dome Trip - Traveling over 22000km (13670 miles) and 36 hours to see BM for the first time! - Part 5 - All Metal Roads Lead to Tokyo Dome
WALL OF DEATH… ehh I mean Text - I am serious this time, though, its almost double all the previous ones, but I didn't want to keep you waiting for Tokyo Dome, you've waited enough.
Monday - 19th (Red Night): For this morning, most of us had planned on going to the Shinmeigu Shrine, in Asagaya, where the Megitsune MV was filmed. So, I went and met up with everyone else at Suidobashi train station (the one next to Tokyo Dome). Someone made a sign, so it was easier to see them. At this point yanimetal pulled out a little pink Sakura Gakuin flag to lead us, haha, this was really funny, another anecdote for the trip. We took a train (30 minutes or so). During the train ride, me and Bigimod had a laugh because nabazul had his Japanese counterpart sitting next to him, lol.. After arriving at the station, we walked a bit, and got to the shrine. It was full of BABYMETAL fans. I thought there would be some, but not 99% of the people there. We walked towards the main place where the MV was shot. And what we saw there was incredibly special, I was not expecting it at all. There was a little sign, with the three girls signatures. I was starting to feel hyped for the show (as if I wasn’t already). It was raining, but we were still able to take some pictures. Some of us even got a picture with a Kitsune mask (thank you yanimetal for the pictures!). We also went further into the shrine, to a place (sorry, I don’t know what its called), where you dropped some coins, and did some movements (bowing/clapping/etc.);video is not mine. I think it was for good luck? I don’t remember who, but one from out group just stepped up and there his entire coin purse down, 100’s of coins, it made a loud noise; he said he was tired of carrying them, I can’t disagree, lol. Then some went over to our left, where they sold some charms. maron-metal explained there were different kinds: for luck, for love, etc. I think shackonthetarget bought one for love? You should tell us if it worked! At this point, we had planed to go to Shinjuku to eat lunch, at the historic Tsunahachi tempura restaurant. But, it was too expensive for me, think that I was eating essentially 7/11, every, single, day, to save a little, and had my father (bless him) pay for my return flight change fee. My plan was to go around the neighborhood and eat somewhere cheaper, and wait until they finish. Well… Kentosdad gave me an amazing surprise, he told me he had talked to everyone, and they were going to pay for my part of the bill! I was at a loss for words. People who I had just met a little over 12 hours ago were offering to pay for my food, and for it to be soooo expensive… I couldn’t believe this amazing, generous, gesture. I am not kidding, I was crying inside, but did not want to start crying in the middle of a shrine. THIS is what makes BM special to me. It IS the best community in the world. There is no equivalent. Thank You guys for your amazing, compassionate, gift. I will NEVER forget it. I WILL repay you somehow. If you ever come to Buenos Aires, know that you have a bed, food, and transport, all on me. Seriously, thank you so much. So…* sniff *, we left the Shrine, and headed to Shinjuku, always following the pink SG flag. We had reserved a traditional Japanese room! With tatami floors, shōji windows and doors, low tables; Everything!. You had to remove your shoes, and eat sitting on the floor. It was essentially impossible for me, and others, not to stretch their legs every now and then, because they would start falling asleep. Before the food came, of course, since BM fans are awesome, MORE COOL STUFF! DaemonSD made some keychains (I chose Yui :)yanimetal somehow (don't ask me, he must be flash) was able to print the picture we had taken just a while earlier at the shrine. And last, but surely not least, sho-taBlue told us he had a special item made. He gave us little boxes, and told us to wait, and open them at the same time. When you opened the box, you found an amazing, hand written scroll; then, underneath, was the best BM merch I have ever seen (and that very difficult to top), it was a custom BM fan. Can you ask for better people? When the food started to arrive, something similar to the night before started happening, we had no idea how to eat or what to eat with what, lol. Thank the Fox God I had aunthor in front of me, and kentosdad next to me. Otherwise I would have been completely lost. In any case… the food was delicious. After eating… we separated, some went their own way, some went as a group. I went to Akihabara with some others, lead by yanimetal. The idea was to do some things in the area, and finish by going to Trio. The issue was we had little time, so we didn’t get to do everything we wanted to, poor yanimetal couldn’t give us a “full tour”. What some of us did was go straight to Trio (we knew we would spend some time there). To say it was overpriced would be cutting it short, but that doesn’t mean some of us didn’t buy some shirts we had always wanted. Yet again, I can’t remember the username, but the guy from Seattle (Shaun) bought the Su-metal Seitansai T-shirt. I don’t even want to remember how much it cost (I think it was over 20000 Yen?). I wanted to get the BM doodle sweatshirt, but was unable to find it. I ended up buying a BM logo sweatshirt, as a sort of consolation purchase. After that we separated, I went to my hotel, 3 minute walk from Trio, (a dangerous location for my wallet, I would later find out) to get my ticket. I also changed into MY battle armor. (The Wembley Memorial T-shirt, and the chainspepcok made. I also took nabazul s Awadama Balloon (yes, balloon, HTWingNut, lol), and Onedari Dollars.
TOKYO DOME
There was still some time left before the doors opened, but I started to head to the Dome. I started seeing tons of BABYMETAL T-shirts at the train station already. Entering Tokyo Dome City, everyone was there for BM It was raining heavily, and I didn’t bring my umbrella (fearing they would take it from me at the security point, but of course every Japanese fan there had one. I made my way to my gate (33), on the other side of where I was. With the rain and everything, it was difficult to pass the lines that had already formed. I had to divert several hundred meters, and it was slow, sine the line ended only 2 feet before the merch line was. Once I passed, with a little more open space, I looked at the merch stand, a few things were already sold out, but knowing the only exclusive item was the Tokyo Dome towel, but in Red, I didn’t care enough to make the line. I do hope they make better exclusives for next time, though. I made my way through the people to get under the Tokyo Dome roof. As I walked up the stairs, I saw tons of staff members with signs saying “No photography and No flags/Big things”, although I already expected that rule was well known. I found my line, I was only 4 meters away from the entrance, “Great!” I thought. Until… I realized, the actual line did quite a few twists and turns before it came back to there, hehe. So, we lined up (here I would learn again about how different a culture can be), there wasn’t any tape to divide the lines, that zig-zagged everywhere, people STILL didn’t cut the line, I passed the entrance about 3 times before making it there by waiting in line, I was amazed. As I got to the gate, I got extremely nervous: “What if the ticket was a fake?” I thought. If any issue at all occurs, I don’t know Japanese, I don’t want to have any problems. They first checked my backpack (I had nothing, but the search was pretty mild anyway), then I proceeded to give my ticket. The scanner beeped with a red light, then again, red (Ohhh noo!!!), I almost had a heart attack. On the third try it finally needed blue, I let out a HUGE sigh of relief. They then gave me my ticket back, with another ticket that said where my seat was, and another handed me a transparent corset!!!! I can’t tell you how excited I was to see this! In an instant I had thoughts about Budokan and how awesome it must have been to be there, but I was HERE! I years this will be talked about as highly as Budokan! Well, I entered the stadium, and felt he adrenaline hit me (or maybe it was the Air Conditioner? :s). I walked a little inside and saw the stage! Without even trying to actually interpret what I was seeing I tried to take a picture, but instantly, a staff member came over, and told me it is forbidden (I thought the rule was meant for during the show). I was actually a bit sad that they didn’t let us take any pictures, I wanted a selfie with the stage :( But, well, I was still here! I started heading towards my seat direction (an English-speaking staff member helped me). I was surprised that they sold the merch inside the stadium, so some people were waiting outside for “nothing” (well, some merch was sold out already). But they were selling the trilogy Blu-ray; I hesitated, but then said “no”. For 16.000 yen, its just not worth it (or, at least, I can get better merch for that). So, I went to my seat, only to find out it was probably… not what I expected. I had put down $270 for this seat, so I expected it be a little…better (not location-wise, but the view). It was a gate 33 seat, so it was like being in a private balcony, in part its cool, but a BABYMETAL show is to be enjoyed by being in the middle of the moshpit (of course this was all seated, but I mean, being with more people around you). But the main problem was I had the speakers in front me, they covered one of the 3 coffins of the stage. Thankfully, I had like 2 hours to cope with this, I had a kitsune from Sweden who spoke English beside me to talk to, and Koba’s iPod has some good music in it. By the time the show started, my nervousness that I might miss something, went away, I was ready for this!
RED NIGHT
NOTE: as I said before, I did not take any picture/video during the show, so all the following videos/pictures are from another source (some of which I re-uploaded since I can’t find the original) Its been 5 months, so my memory isn’t perfect. But thanks to fan cams, and the WOWOW broadcasts I was able to remember some things that crossed my mind that fateful evening. Sadly, I did follow the rules (on both nights), and refrained from recording, or taking pictures (at least, during the show). Most importantly, BM Amnesia is a real thing, you love every minute of it, but then fail to remember what happened exactly. Still, I will try and give the best possible recount. First, Koba’s iPod music started lowering in volume, and then you could start hearing faint sound of a chorus singing, and the lights started dimming. We could all see a flame start appearing on the screen. And then “Koba” appears in the BABYBONES outfit, just like at Budokan. He welcomed us, and started introducing the show. I love that they added English subs! I wouldn’t have to wait months to understand what was said, lol. At some point I got confused, though; I thought when he said this, that he meant there would be a song that would never be played again after these shows (I started remembering of when in Wembley, the intro video for Black BM said they would never beg Daddy for anything ever again, and Onedari Daisakusen was never played again, so I thought they meant it). I was sure it meant the demise of 4 no Uta! At this point I got a bit sad… I didn’t want to see any song left behind. Luckily, as soon as Koba explained everything, my excitement returned. I was ready to headbanger as hard as I could (in part because I somehow believed “Koba” when in the video he said that the harder we do so, the brighter the light from the corset. Song 1:Then a video with THE most dramatic music started, I instantly fell in love. The video talked about the 110.000 Kitsunes that gathered there. BM had transcended generations, borders, time and space. We were ready to become THE ONE. A new LEGEND: “Road of METAL RESISTANCE” Then you started to hear the intro to Road of Resistance, with Red lights illuminating the stadium. I thought: “They are starting with ROR!!!” This is going to be the best show ever!! Then, the intro rift started, and then the girls appeared on top of the main stage. My first time seeing them in person is the first thing I thought, nothing about how awesome and high up they were. I could barely recognize Moa and Yui apart from wether I was, but thankfully the huge screens helped. Then the show started, lights, pyrotechnics, everything. The thing that crossed my mind at this point was “the speakers are not that loud” (in a good way). I had brought ear plugs (under recommendation), but I could barely hear though them, I removed them and I could hear perfectly fine, not loud at all. The first point I got real excited about was the “Woah, Woah” part when the whole stadium started signing, the girls disappeared, and the Kami came out of the center stage. Then the girls appeared on the bottom, WTF?!? How did they do that? I also took notice that the Kami kept playing a little, so the crowd would follow the beat. If they had issues in SSA 2015, imagine at Tokyo Dome. Song 2: After RoR came YAVA! Although, I must admit something, at first I didn’t recognize the song; in fact, this happened with many of these songs. The issue was that I hadn’t heard any BM songs since I landed in Japan, I wanted to feel like I was listening to them for the first time (and it kinda worked for some). But more importantly, I hadn’t watched any Fan-cams (or Wembley) of the new songs, that way I could see the choreography for the first time. I must also admit I don’t remember quite a few songs, mainly my favorite, and the ones that have crowd participation, as such, YAVA doesn’t have a lot, so I don’t remember a thing. Song 3: But then came one of my favorites Iine!With the awesome light intro. Like all the old songs, I knew the “Ainote” perfectly, but I couldn’t stop thinking about if Su is going to scream “Tokyo Dome” in the middle of the song, she did! I loved being a part of that. Song 4 (no, not THAT one): After Iine ended, came my favorite intro of all. With short bursts of the guitar rift, and drum bangs in the distance. Syncopation! I remember Su with her badass look when the song started (and then she kept it throughout the entire song). I remember essentially 0 from the choreography, to be truthful. But the guitars in this song are just soooo beautiful, a master song, I hope they play it overseas for everybody. Song 5: Slightly after it ended, a piano intro started. First I thought it was “Akatsuki”, but as I heard I couldn’t recognize it, I had never heard this intro before. Then, as I started to hear the rhythm of the song, it clicked “Amore”! Ohhhoho, a Su solo. I was about to be overwhelmed ( I love Black BM songs, but Su solos are just a killer for me). As soon as the song started to fade, we saw a couple of angel wings on the screen, and just a moment later, Su appeared on top of the stage, and on the screens Su looked like she had the wings attached. These slow starting songs, that then explode at a certain point are my favorite. As soon as the power metal part started, I headbanged as hard as I could, side to side, forward and back. I had to stop because I wasn’t able to listen to her voice correctly with all my moving, lol. But I still kept a little headbang in there. Ohh god… Boh’s short base solo, and Ohmura and Mikios duet were just beautiful. When the song kinda “stops” in the middle, we all started applauding because we thought it was over (the pause was much longer than the studio version), but no, she started signing very deeply again. Song 6: As soon as it ended, we were not given even a 5 second break. As, synced to red flashing lights, the intro of GJ! started, we all started clapping to the rhythm. Then MoiMoi appeared, I loved this part of the choreography, doing some kind of “waves”. I really like this song, because its much more metal than their previous songs, but still keeps the “Kawaii” voices, and “J-pop” part, which is why I fell in love with their music in the first place. Song 7 and 8: Then came another Su solo, Akumu no Rondo, and after that, another Black BM song. I think Akumu is the song I least remember from both shows, I can’t even put a single image in my head from that song. I can put 4 no uta in my head, though. I think it was easier to remember since I payed more attention, thinking it was the last time they would play it. In any case, how can someone forget, MoiMoi going around the stage shouting “Yon Yon” with the crowd. I shouted it as hard as I could, even more so when they were closer to my section. I love crowd participation. Song 9: Then, we were in for a treat, one of the top songs for BM fans: Catch Me If You Can. The intro started, and I absolutely love the Kami solos. Its when their time to shine really comes. And you can clearly see each ones expression. I always love the guitar solos. But this time even more, because Ohmura, who usually uses the same solo, changed things up this time. I also think Hideki did a great solo, which, in my opinion, are usually on the milder side of things. But no mildness here, he destroyed those drums. With such a large stage, I wondered how they could do the “run” part of the choreography, in Budokan the circle was much smaller, but here it would be impossible to do it like there. Well, they each ran by their own. It was a clever solution to the problem, but it lacked Moa sliding under Su’s legs :( No matter, the song was still as amazing as I thought it was. I loved the C&R added in the middle, with everybody clapping, and Su’s “Whats up Tokyo Dome!!?!” Song 10: Then came the most famous of their songs: Gimme Chocolate. With an extended intro I hadn't heard before (maybe it was new). I am like most, in that this song is good, but its a little too mainstream for my tastes. I want to be clear here: I LOVE all BM songs, but this is on the lower part of my list. What I found curious was the lack of C&R, probably because there was already a lot of C&R already planned with the rest of the songs. Also, although I loved Mikios shredding during the Yokohama solos, I didn’t particularly like it during the “solo” portion of this song. But, shortly after, came my favorite part of the song, just before the last chorus, everyone clapping to the rhythm of the drums. Song 11: What song could come after their first album main song? Their second album main song, of course, KARATE! Even though it is mainstream, like Gimme Choco, I LOVE this song. I think its the first new song that came out while I was a fan (studio, obviously, but I mean live). I remember watching the MV before METAL RESISTANCE came out like a million times. I didn’t know how much I would shout “Osu” with the rest of the crowd, probably the loudest sound we made in both shows. I had watched several lives of this song (it was impossible to miss). I already knew I loved the C&R, and I wasn’t wrong. Its my favorite C&R, su doing some “acapella”, and then the crowd joining in. Not to mention the “Everybody JUMP!” The long notes she holds at the end of the song are my favorites as well. Such a well rounded song, I hope they replace Gimme Choco as the main song with this one. Song 12: After it finished, came a video (other than at the start, this show had lacked any videos until this point; odd for a FINAL show). The video started by saying THE ONE was headed to “El Dorado”. At the time I couldn’t remember what that place meant for the BM lore, I tried to remember, but I just couldn’t. The video reminded us to have our neck braces on, so I knew the light part was coming. Then it went on to say “No one can stop our Tales. No matter what your Destiny may be.” Subtle Koba, real Subtle, lol. I was about to witness the first live of a song!!! And it didn’t just start right away, they gave us yet another intro. With grinding and robot noises, with lights, very weird. Then the music stopped, and it showed on the screen (and with sound), something kind-of like opening. Like opening a deeply locked crypt or something. I almost fainted when I heard the Apollo Countdown start. Want to take a guess? Yes, I am also a Space Geek, lol. And between the countdown, you could here the intro for Tales of the Destinies start. “5”, “4”, “3”, “2”, “1”, boom with the guitars and the drums! Since there was no choreography yet for this song, I could only imagine what it would look like. I imagined the fast-paced parts as some fast chores from Yui and Moa, as I watched, I knew it would be impossible to move that fast. But Mikoko is a genius, and was still able to create an amazing choreography for us! I especially loved the piano part in the middle (and it seems everyone else in the stadium too, given the reaction). Su cracked quite a bit in the long notes of this song, but I completely pardon her, its a tough song to get the hand of, so many changes of pace. Plus, given the location (very important show, and the first time they played the song, she probably had a million things going through her head). I must also say, they did a great job with the guitar solo part, its essentially impossible to play live, and they did a great job with the replacement; in fact, I think I might like it even more. Song 13: With the song over, the piano portion took over, I KNEW THE ONE had to come, but I couldn’t believe they would put RoR, Gimme, Karate, AND THE ONE in the same show. They also did a great job with the change in the piano portion, to fit when the lights came on. The crowd went nuts! It was just gorgeous, and really helped one appreciate the amount of people there. Then we started to hear some faint chantings :”lalalala… lala..la..lalalalala…” A great intro to the song. This time I did look at the girls outfits… they were… Golden trash bags!… they are moving up in the world. When they started to move, they looked like walking eggs, lol. I was surprised that they chose to sing the English version (though grateful since I prefer this version a bit more). I really like seeing Su’s improvement with the language. In this song, the crowd didn’t sing to much, only moving the kitsune forward and back. By the end of the song, when they were on the moving platforms, I had 2 conflicting feelings: “Never let this end” and “For fucks sake! Make those platforms move faster! My arm is about to fall off!” And then, of course, the platforms start slooowwly…. mooooving…. baaack…. I was crying inside… Lol. But then, with an explosion of pyrotechnics, it was over. But not without reminding us why we are BM fans, and that this was not the end, but only the beginning.
SHOW OVER
When the lights started coming on. I was kinda stuck, I didn’t know what to do at this point. I sat for a while reflecting what I had just witnessed…NO…experienced, participated in. I helped make the show, I may only have been one, but all together we were THE ONE, we ARE THE ONE. I sat there watching everyone leave. But I just thought, all I did to get here, not just the money, but the effort, the time put in, was all that really worth it? Yes. You bet it was worth every single second. I would take a flight 4 times the length than the one I took to get here, and it would still be completely worth it. Then I started thinking, what can I do now? I didn’t have any plans, since all of the after parties were full. I just decided it was time to go “home” (the hotel). After a couple of minutes, I started walking towards the doors, a long line had formed. I walked with almost everyone to the Suidobashi station. It was full of people, and there were staff there to help push people inside. The true Japanese train experience! I still got a good stop since I was almost first, and I was just doing 2 stops. Half the train got off at Akihabara (a lot of connections), I still love hearing the train music. I went to my hotel, not without some 7/11, of course. And you know what the funniest thing… As soon as I entered my room, I got a call. It was the reception, the had a “package” waiting for me. Hmm, very odd, what was I expecting? A package? Lets see… I went down and they gave me an envelope, as soon as I saw who the sender was, I jumped with joy (poor receptionist must have thought I was mad). Up until that moment, I hadn’t even thought about it, but I didn’t have my Black Night ticket yet, thankfully thats what it was.
Thoughts after Red Night: The environment was not exactly what I had expected, though I know most of this has to do with the fact that it was an all seated stadium. And not in a bad way, instead of what you usually see on the deloreans, here people weren’t (because they couldn’t) moshing, though some were jumping in the THE ONE floor sections. Seeing this at first, I was nervous… I mean… sad, thats what I meant. However, IMO something much better happened, it was a THE ONE atmosphere during the whole show, people weren’t only following the backing vocals of Moa and Yui, but also singing with the chorus of the song, and this made some songs truly come to life. I also saw a lot of new fans, and people went as families, so they didn’t go too crazy, which is fine by me. The only thing I must add, is that I had a little girl (no more than 8 years old) who sat in front of me with her dad, she was wearing an exact replica of the 2015 costume, I thought she was another super fan, and would know all the moves. But I am saddened to say that I am sure she was dragged to the show by her father, because during the entire show, she sat down (she wouldn’t have been able to see anything, given everyone was standing), and I saw that a several times she pulled on the dads shirt, kind of like to tell him she wanted to leave. This honestly is something I hope doesn’t happen, because you shouldn’t drag anyone to something they don’t want to see. Just something I thought I should share. Still, the show was awesome. THE ONE is even stronger than I thought. They were able to take a HUGE drawback in how they usually acted during shows (mosh pit, wall of death, etc.), and make it into an even greater show, using just their arms, wait… no… I am a part of THE ONE... OUR arms, and OUR voices, to make THE ONE look like an army, a forced to be reckoned with. BABYMETAL is unstoppable. I didn’t know what to expect for Black Night. What could they have planned for tomorrow?
Here is an album with all the pictures from this post.
Thank You for reading this incredibly long post, I really appreciate it. Part 6 (The Metal Resistance Continues) coming up! Though, very likely not tomorrow, if I want it done right. Edit: Spelling, words, links. Edit 2: Mixed up who gave each piece of merch. Edit 3: PART 6 (The Metal Resistance Continues) is UP!
Where to search? (or rather, why is Suumo not recommended in the wiki?)
Are there any special differences between Tokyo wards that might not be obvious? (is it just rent and commute that matters?)
I live in Tohoku, and I'm moving to Tokyo with my girlfriend at the end of March and starting a job in April. We started looking for apartments already, and we called a few agencies, but a lot of them keep telling us that we should either sign a contract now, and start paying already (basically from February, which would mean at least one month goes to waste), or that we should start looking again later. Meanwhile, a friend of mine has already secured an apartment in December (which they aren't paying for yet), so I'm not sure what to think. I've also no idea when it would be better to search. Some agencies have warned us that by waiting, people might take good apartments, while a guy I randomly met in a local 不動産 told me that only low quality apartments are available now, and for better ones we should start looking a couple of weeks before moving in. And lastly, I'd like some hints on how areas compare. I've looked at various figures and data (cannot post links to blogs apparently), which show average salary and rent per ward, but other than that, and the obvious (e.g. commute), are there any criteria on why one might pick Ward A over Ward B? For example, why would one live in Koto-ku over say Setagaya-ku or Suginami-ku? Provided conditions are the same, I really don't know if I should have preference for some (non-expensive) wards. PS: Why does the wiki not have Suumo? That seems to be the most popular site, both according to people and agencies (telling us "We have more listings on Suumo than homes") PSS: I'm moving in with my girlfriend who's Japanese, but I'm not, although I speak the language. Will we have issues because I'm a foreigner? There are more questions I'm curious about (such as what experiences people had with moving companies and "moving by mailing", etc.), but I'll leave those for later :)
[Itinerary] first time in Japan - 4 wks - tokyo, hiroshima, miyajima, shimanami kaido, onomichi, kyoto, osaka
taking my first ever trip to Japan in a few weeks, mostly going solo. traveled internationally several times before including in Asia. I don’t know Japanese. would prefer not to take a wifi device with me and just use my offline google maps for directions...probably get a gigabyte of international data for emergencies. Not planning to get the JR pass; according to the online calculators it's not worth it for my itinerary. BIG INTERESTS • traditional architecture - old neighborhoods, shrines, narrow alleyways • biking • street food • flea markets/secondhand stores • hilly neighborhoods - I love urban staircases my main purpose of the trip is sketching/painting – the reason a lot of my itinerary is low on detail is because I will be spending a lot of time standing around drawing/painting the scenery, and i mostly just want to wander around at my own pace. (if you want to see my artwork, check the link in my bio). that said, I don’t want to miss out on stuff! and I know there is a nonzero chance that there could be a typhoon for half of this trip - in which case I’d look up more museums and indoor activities. on my other travels, my favorite places have been rural, smaller towns (bonus if they’re hilly) that aren’t flooded with tourists. I definitely want to balance the main cities with see these kinds of places – though I suppose most of this trip will be pretty much on the beaten track. are there any outer-Tokyo areas that fulfill these qualities? I mostly would like some advice around the mid-trip Onomichi part, deciding how much time to spend in those places. Thank you in advance! The wealth of knowledge in this sub is amazing.
place
activities
8.22 - arrival
arrive at Narita 4:30pm. jump on a train to Tokyo station. pick up bus tix & snacks at convenience store. bus to Kawaguchiko, arrive around 10:20pm
8.23 - Kawaguchiko
explore kawaguchiko town, ride bikes around the lake, acclimate jet lag, eat local noodles
8.24 - Kawaguchiko
take a local bus somewhere for a hike around Mt Fuji (Aokigahara?). back to Kawaguchiko in evening.
8.25 - Kawaguchiko-Tokyo
spend early part of day in Kawaguchiko, then train or bus back to Tokyo early afternoon. Meet my host family in Suginami area.
8.26 Tokyo
walk around shinjuku. find tokyo govt building with view. shop at sekaido for pens and stuff. evening: omatsuri festival in azabu juban with host family
8.27 Tokyo
Suibuya - thrift stores! see famous crossing, dog statue, etc. interested in Aoyama Flower Market.
8.28 Tokyo-Niigata
Drive up to art trienniale (Echigo-Tsumari Art Field) in Niigata w/ host family. Spend night in an inn
8.29 Niigata-Tokyo
More trienniale, drive back to Tokyo
8.30 Tokyo
explore Suginami and nearby areas in the morning. Ghibli Museum - tix for 2 pm. advice: Anything else worth seeing in Mitaka?
8.31 Tokyo
Shibamata & Asakusa - explore temples & eat street food
9.1 Tokyo
Tsukiji fish market? then Imperial Palace area. Evening: meet up with friends for a drawing group/dinnedrinks
9.2 tokyo/day trip?
Open! depends how I feel about Tokyo, and the weather - might want to explore the city for another day, might want to take a train somewhere for a day trip to get out of the city
9.3 Tokyo-Hiroshima
leave tokyo early AM on shinkansen. explore hiroshima in afternoon. spend night in hostel.
9.4 Hiroshima
explore more of Hiroshima, esp. atomic bomb memorial
9.5 Miyajima
train/ferry to miyajima in AM (1 hour trip), explore town/shrines & historic street, famous torii gate. ferry back across the water to hotel.
9.6 Miyajima
hike up the mountain! pick one of 3 trails, all look pretty good (90-120 minute hike one way). find Daishoin Temple
9.7 miyajima-onomichi OR to matsuyama?
advice appreciated: trying to decide my route for Shimanami Kaido. which way to start - from the north or south? there are few affordable accommodation options in Onomichi this week for some reason. I’d like to book something ASAP. option 1: take ferry from Hiroshima-Matsuyama early in the day. prepare for cycling & stay the night in Matsuyama or Imabari. option 2: take train to Onomichi, hang out/prepare, stay the night.
9.8 Onomichi/Imabari? Shimanami Kaido
bike like halfway through, then take time to explore the islands since I won’t be rushed. stay on one of the islands in an airbnb.
9.9 Shimanami Kaido
explore more islands, stay the night in same airbnb
9.10 Onomichi
drop off bike, explore town, stay in guesthouse (already booked)
9.11 Onomichi
more exploring/stair climbing - very excited about stairs
9.12 ???
more advice appreciated: I’m really excited about Onomichi and I think I could spend a lot of time exploring it. but I also have FOMO about missing out on nice cities in this area, like Kobe or Okayama? worth the hassle of booking another place and moving? Should I just go to Kyoto a day earlier and do more things in that area (there seem to be a lot of day trip options)
9.13 Kyoto
arrive in AM - explore Gion area
9.14 Kyoto - Kishiwada ???
advice pls Danjiri Matsuri festival is today. Worth it to go see it for a day trip? I’m not into crowds but this seems kind of amazing. on the other hand, Kyoto also seems amazing, and there is maybe a lantern festival happening? it was mentioned on this sub but couldn't find more info about it.
9.15 Kyoto
go to the flea market (15th of the month only). Arashiyama half day trip OR fushimi inari (leaning towards Fushimi Inari)
9.16 Kyoto - Nara - Kyoto
day trip to see the stuff, back to Kyoto in evening
9.17 Kyoto-Kibune/Kurama
train to Kibune, hike around. stay the night in Kurama.
Late as always, and not yet complete. I still have to look through the smaller festival listings. I'm not listing fireworks, they are well covered by WalkerPlus (Japanese) and Yumemakura (English). Also, for those interested, tonight (8/2) is 50% off drinks at the Hub and 82 Ale and this Thursday (8/4) is 50% of drinks at any LION chain bar. That includes Ginza Lion, Yebisu Bar, Dubliners, etc.
Suginami Tourism: Tripadvisor has 14,750 reviews of Suginami Hotels, Attractions, and Restaurants making it your best Suginami resource. If you're into Japanese animation I would highly recommend this stop at the beginning of your visit to Tokyo. There is an audio tour in English too (which you don't get at the Ghibli) which provides interesting facts as you walk through the exhibit from the first crude animation techniques, to Speed Racer, to modern anime. Some nice hands on activities drawing and creating your own stop animation. I lived in Kyoto for 9 years, then moved to Machida, Tokyo in 2014 after meeting my Japanese partner. I love to take photos, and my Japan in Pictures Facebook page has some 40,000 followers. I have been the Regional Partner for Yamanashi Prefecture since 2014.I am enjoying exploring the prefectures around Tokyo (I like to get off the beaten track), and I hope the photos and stories I share Suginami (杉並) is in Tokyo, west of Shinjuku.. Understand []. Suginami is mostly a residential area which will provide a great view of real Japanese living in Tokyo. The area's main points of interest are the clothing shops and nightspots of Kōenji (高円寺) and the antique shops of Ogikubo (荻窪) and Nishi-Ogikubo (西荻窪).. Get in []. JR Chuo Line and the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Suginami Suginami is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Suginami City in English. As of April 1, 2017, Suginami has an estimated population of 562,065, and a population density of 16,502 persons per km2. The total area is 34.06 km2. Translations in context of "suginami" in English-Japanese from Reverso Context: suginami ward Cours particuliers Compréhension écrite en Langue des signes japonaise à tokyo_suginami_eifukucho ou en ligne avec des professeurs Compréhension écrite en Langue des signes japonaise expérimentés venant du monde entier. Rejoignez nos 400 000 étudiants et devenez bilingue en Compréhension écrite en Langue des signes japonaise! Japanese History, Tokyo Rivers, Travel in Japan 5 Comments. The Kanda River. July 15, 2014 October 22, 2020 marky star - JapanThis.com. The story of the Kanda River is a story as old as Edo itself. It is part and parcel of the evolution of the city. Continue reading The Kanda River. Like this: Like Loading... Japanese History 5 Comments. What does Ogikubo mean? October 21, 2013 March 31, 2017 Otaguro Park in Suginami City is a free Japanese strolling garden found on the estate of the former music critic Motoo Otaguro. An entrance path lined with beautiful gingko trees, the park features traditional elements like a pond, bridge, waterfall and a tea house. Book your tickets online for the top things to do in Suginami, Japan on Tripadvisor: See 14,763 traveller reviews and photos of Suginami tourist attractions. Find what to do today, this weekend, or in January. We have reviews of the best places to see in Suginami. Visit top-rated & must-see attractions.
# Salvation Army Japan staff band /Tokyo suginami - YouTube
Walking tour around Koenji Pal Shopping Street, Suginami, Tokyo Japan with binural 3D audio (ASMR).Filmed video camera : DJI Osmo PocketDate : January 9th, 2... 近所のネコ。杉並区成田東にて。 Two cats in Narita-Higashi,Suginami,Tokyo. 2019年8月18日JSB 夏のミニコンサートが開催。二曲目の元日本軍国司令官、元JSB 楽長の指揮に注目 Thank you for watching! If you like our work, please consider cheering us up by subscribing to our channel, hitting the like button, sharing our videos with ... About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators ... Suginami Children's Traffic park is a place for children to practice cycling while observing the rules of the road. There is no admission fee and borrowing ... Suginami Travel Guide. MUST WATCH. Top things you have to do in Suginami. We have sorted Tourist Attractions in Suginami for You. Discover Suginami as per th... Japanese fairy, small adults liveSu... 大宮八幡宮Ohmiya-Hachimangu東京都杉並区にある、都内で敷地が三番目に広い神社The third largest shrine in Tokyo in Suginami, Tokyo ... This is a video of walking around Nishi-Ogikubo Station in Suginami-ku, Tokyo. Nishi-Ogikubo Station is a station on the JR Chuo Line. Next door are Ogikubo ... Did you know that most of our childhood cartoons were animated in Japan? The quality of Japanese animation is top notch and has been unmatched ever since. Sa...
