MET Column | My Eyes Tokyo

Happy South and Southeast Asian Solar New Year!

2018-04-13

A girl pours water at revelers during Myanmar New Year Thingyan Water Festival in Yangon, Myanmar. *Photo from Wikipedia The traditional New Year in many South and Southeast Asian cultures is based on the sun’s entry into the constellation Aries. In modern times, it is usually reckoned around 14 April. The specific New Year observations include: South Asia Bohag Bihu (India), Pana Sankranti (India), Sangken (India), Vishu (India), Bisket Jatra (Nepal), Maithili New Year (India and Nepal), Pahela Baishakh or Bengali New Year (Bangladesh and India), Puthandu or Tamil New Year (India, Sri Lanka and so on), Sinhalese New Year

Happy Birthday to Senegal!

2018-04-04

A street market in Senegal. *Photo from Wikipedia April 4 is the Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Senegal from France. Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa. The name “Senegal” comes from the Wolof “Sunuu Gaal”, which means “Our Boat”. On April 4, 1959 Senegal and the French Sudan merged to form the Mali Federation, which became fully independent on June 20, 1960, as a result of the independence and the transfer of power agreement signed with France on April 4, 1960. In commemoration of the day, we introduce you to a great percussionist

O-tsukimi

2015-09-25

Yoko Kawakami My Eyes Tokyo E/J Translator This year’s crazy hot summer seems to be ending in Japan. The calls and sounds made by insects at night tell us that the season is gradually but certainly changing. Now Japanese people are waiting for autumn, looking up at the sky at night, thinking of “o-tsukimi”. Well… What is o-tsukimi? “O-tsukimi (おつきみ/お月見)”, or just “tsukimi (つきみ/月見)”, means “moon viewing” in Japanese. People enjoy watching the full moon in September that is thought to be the most beautiful moon in a year. They prepare special rice dumplings, place them to the moon

Obon

2015-08-10

Yoko Kawakami My Eyes Tokyo E/J Translator Summer vacation time for Japanese people is approaching. In mid-August, you will see that many people try to go everywhere at the same time, so the Shinkansen platforms are full of people and highways are jammed for miles and miles. Some of them are enjoying traveling, and some of them are heading to their hometowns for obon. Well… WHAT is obon? “Obon (おぼん、お盆)”, or just “bon (ぼん、盆)”, means the annual event held from August (July in some area) 13th to the 16th to welcome back the ancestors’ spirits to

MET Getaway: Company facilities/museums tours in & around Tokyo

2015-08-02

Yoko Kawakami My Eyes Tokyo E/J Translator Do you know that there are many Japanese companies which open their facilities to the public and have museums about their products? If you don’t, you might be missing a very interesting side of Japan. Unfortunately, however, many companies have facilities/museums tours only in Japanese and not so many Japanese companies prepare facilities/museums tours in English or in other languages for foreign guests. Even if there are tours in these languages, the tour information is somehow not so easy to find on their web pages or other media. We, at MET, are

Doyo-no-ushi-no-hi

2015-07-24

Yoko Kawakami My Eyes Tokyo E/J Translator Have you ever seen lots of pieces of packed fatty eels, piled at the fish sections of Japanese supermarkets recently? Or you might have seen the TV news showing fresh eels at fish markets in Japan at this time of year? This phenomenon tells you that it’s time for “doyo-no-ushi-no-hi “! Doyo-no-ushi-no-hi (土用の丑の日)”, the midsummer day of the ox, comes on one or two days a year. In this year of 2015, the day is on July 24th and August 5th. “Doyo” (土用) means the 18 days before the first day

Natsu

2015-07-13

Taken by Hiroko Sakamoto Daniel Penso Columnist/Proofreader/Translator Today, I’m going to reflect on natsu (pronounced kind of like “nuts”) in Japan. People literally go nuts during natsu, or summer, all over Japan. There are a myriad of festivals, fireworks shows, outdoor booths which sell food and a variety of trinkets. As in other cultures, people love the summer in Japan. There are so many positive connotations, even a popular name for girls, Natsuko. You can also hear the word “forever summer (常夏 tokonatsu)”. People of all ages and genders put on yukata (浴衣) to view the fireworks

Do you know “Tanabata”?

2015-07-07

Yoko Kawakami My Eyes Tokyo E/J Translator You may see this kind of colorful sight when you visit Japan in early July. 7月初旬に日本を訪れると、このようなカラフルな光景を見かけると思います。 Taken by ymtnprn What are these ornaments? These are for Tanabata, the Star Festival! Japanese people celebrate Tanabata (七夕) on July 7th. This festival is originated from the Chinese legend of two stars, Orihime (織姫, Vega) and Hikoboshi (彦星, Altair). According to the legend, Orihime, a weaving girl, and Hikoboshi, a cowherd boy, loved each other so much that they stopped working hard. The Emperor became mad at them and separated them by the Milky

How ‘bout some Fries?

2015-06-16

Daniel Penso Columnist/Proofreader/Translator Sitting there in my college dorm learning how to write complex Kanji such as Bara (薔薇: Rose), I never contemplated that I’d be raving about French fries when I came to Tokyo. French fries, which don’t even bear that name in France (they’re called “Pommes frites” there) and are originally from Belgium of all places, are a big hit in Tokyo. You can find them served at almost any food joint that serves hamburgers, where they act as sidekicks. They are sold at the myriad of fast-food restaurants in Tokyo such as Lotteria, First Kitchen

Sarue Onshi Park (Koto-ku, Tokyo)

2015-06-02

Photo by Daniel Penso Daniel Penso Columnist/Proofreader/Translator For the average Japanese, Sarue Onshi Park (猿江恩賜公園, lit. “Sarue Imperial Gift Park”) may not be familiar. But for me, an avid tennis player in years past, this park was a recreational spot where I could escape from the monotonous teaching career that I was in and enjoy sweating even in the freezing Tokyo winters. A park located within 15 minutes by foot from Kinshicho, it remains relatively unknown to your everyday tourist. On a trip back to Tokyo with my family, I wanted to be near a green spot that

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