Braving the Summer Heat in Japan: Playing Pickleball at Tokyo Tower

Attractions at Haneda Airport: Godzilla, Torii gate with Edo painting, and Tanabata Display

BritishProf has been on his travels, first to the UK, and more recently to Karuizawa, the mountain resort town famous for escaping the summer heat. For the UK, I flew from Haneda Airport, just south of central Tokyo, MUCH more convenient than Narita. Haneda has expanded and developed substantially in recent years, and was recently named the World's Best Domestic Airport and recognised for having the World's Best Accessible Facilities at the World Airport Awards. The new Terminal 1 North Satellite is set to open in September 2026 boasting Japan's first hybrid wood-steel terminal structure and promising to improve passenger flow and reduce bus gate usage for domestic operations. In short, if you're flying to or from Tokyo, domestic or international, Haneda is by far the best option: not to mention it also has interesting displays such as the world's largest indoor Godzilla monument, artworks (the picture features the 17th century Cooling Off or 納涼図屏風 by Kusumi Morikage), and seasonal events (such as the interactive Tanabata festival corner which encouraged travellers to write their hopes and dreams on colorful strips of paper called tanzaku).

 

Japan has certainly heated up considerably since I first flew out from Haneda, and despite temperatures in England reaching record highs, they are nothing in comparison to the consecutive 35 degree plus days and 80% humidity which has become the norm in Japanese summertime. The Cooling Off sketch mentioned above, featuring a family of three enjoying an evening breeze and gazing at the moon, makes one yearn for the end of summer, and the painting itself does indeed hint at the coming autumn with its rising full moon and the ripening gourds growing on the vines on the trells. For now, though there is nothing to do but brave the heat but one can at least enjoy some of the delightful summer blooms such as the water lily, properly known as the Indian/Sacred Lotus (Hasu in Japanese) , with its gorgeous pink flowers.

 

Keeping fit in the dog days of summer is tough, but for a light workout at an interesting venue why not try pickleball at Tokyo Tower? The white and red lattice communications tower was famously inspired by the Eiffel Tower: at 333 metres it is just 3 metres taller than its French rival! It was the tallest tower in Japan and one of Tokyo's main tourist attractions until the opening of the 634 metre Tokyo Skytree in 2012. Tokyo Tower's two observation decks remain popular though: the two-story 150 metre Main Deck (¥1500) and the smaller almost 250 metre Top Deck (¥3500). A final tourist attraction is the five-story base building known as FootTown which houses a number of restaurants, gift shops, and other attractions, including two pickleball courts at the top (RF). Pickleball is unique mix of tennis, badminton, and table tennis and is played with a solid paddle and a perforated plastic ball on a badminton-sized court with a lowered net. While first introduced to Japan only in 2014, it enjoyed a surge in popularity following a 2024 tournament held at Ariake Tennis Park; the Tokyo Tower Pickleball Court opened in July 2025 and in 2026 the two leading organisations in Japan merged to form one governing body, Pickleball Japan. It was my first time playing, but it was easy for beginners to pick up and not too strenuous. The only problem was the wind, with the ball - essentially a light plastic ball with holes - really being affected by the gusts. Maybe playing half way up Tokyo Tower was not a good idea after all! Any experience with interesting or unusual sports inside or outside Japan? Let us know in the COMMENTS!

Japan's Turn to the Right: The Sudden Rise of Anti-Foreigner Populism

Temperatures remain in the mid-twenties here in Japan as the rainy season continues, in contrast to soaring temperatures in London and Paris. For the Japanese, rainy season means gorgeous blue, lilac, and pink hydrangeas (ajisai) blooming everywhere, hardly surprising given that they are a plant that needs a lot of water - hydrangea itself comes from the Greek for "water vessel" - and that thrives in the high humidity and wet soil: apparently, the abundant rainfall prevents them from wilting while intensifying the vividness of their colours. Hydrangea festivals are everywhere: see here for a round-up of ten stunning spots for hydrangea viewing around Tokyo.

Sanseito election ad (Yomiuri 2025)

The end of the rainy season roughly coincides with the end of the ordinary Diet (parliament) session, which will wind up on July 17 this year. Consequenty, the damp weather matches a period of intense late-session parliamentary manoeuvering, budget approvals, and negotiations over major legislation. Japanese politics has changed a lot since the upper house election last July, an election which marked the emergence of an anti-foreigner populism previously absent in Japanese politics. As I mentioned in my final blog post of last year, the rapid rise of Japan's far-right Sanseito Party marked a frightening xenophobic shift in tone in discussions on migration and "foreigners" in Japan. My paper discussing the reasons for the dramatic emergence of a party which many have likened to Reform UK and Germany's AfD is at last out, so at the risk of alienating casual readers I'm going to summarise the key reasons for this seismic shift in Japanese politics. For those masochistic enough to want to read in full the paper check HERE!

Post on X by Kamiya (@jinkamiya) 2025/09/20

Sanseito (参政党) - literally "political participation party" - was founded in 2020 by Sohei Kamiya and others but came to prominence when it secured 14 seats in the House of Councilors election in July 2025 running on a "Japanese First" slogan (shown in the election ad above). Their key stance was opposition to current policies of accepting "too many foreigners" (行き過ぎた外国人受け入れ政策に反対) - explained in the social media post right. The election marked the first time a clearly far-right party had secured more than 10% of the national vote. The question I wrestle with in my paper is why anti-foreigner populism - something previously consigned to fringe groups in Japan and relegated to the periphery - suddenly exploded into the mainstream and why the "foreigner problem" (外国人問題) has now become a significant political issue for voters. 

My answer in a nutshell is not a right-wing political vacuum or economic hardship but a rapid increase in the visibility of "foreigners" - both residents and tourists - creating a threat perception in terms of the loss of their homogeneous identity. The COVID-19 pandemic laid the ground work in terms of upsetting the balance between intergroup contact (which tends to lead to a reduction in prejudice towards migrants) and perceived threat (which can foster anti-immigrant attitudes). And the arrival of "the age of populism" and the "first year of SNS elections" in 2024 - that is, an elite loss of control over the migrant narrative - created a fertile environment for Sanseito to exploit anxieties over rapidly growing numbers of "foreigners." In sum, a visible and rapid increase in "foreigners" has created a feeling that traditional Japanese identity is being challenged or threatened. The result has been a broad and unprecedented shift or change in tone, attitude, and policy towards foreigners, as evidenced by stricter regulations and hardening public opinion. For someone who has lived in Japan for forty years it is heart-breaking to witness the abrupt change of tone in a country in which I have always felt welcome and valued. Thoughts? Drop me a note in the COMMENTS.

Snow, Plum Trees, and the Tokyo Comedy Bar

Much of Japan, including Tokyo, experienced heavy snowfall in early February, a rarity for the capital. This coincided with the general election held on February 8th undoubtedly affecting turnout (around 56%). But despite the snow, spring is definitely in the air, with plum blossoms coming out now - this article describes the Mito Plum Festival (水戸の梅まつり), running February 11th to March 22nd, at Kairakuen Gardens in Mito, Ibaraki, one of Japan’s three great gardens (日本三名園): the other two are Kenrokuen in Kanazawa and Korakuen in Okayama. The plum blossoms are a precursor to the cherry blossoms - first bloom is expected around March 18–24 here in Tokyo!

Tourists coming to see the cherry blossoms in Tokyo will no doubt visit Shibuya with its famous scramble crossing - said to be the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world, with up to 3,000 people crossing during a single green light cycle - as well as the well-known Hachiko statue. But there is actually another attraction very popular with tourists in Shibuya - the Tokyo Comedy Bar! Billed as the only English stand-up comedy club in Japan it offers shows in both English every night, plus some Japanese sessions, comedy classes, and even open mic (for those interested in Japanese comedy see the older blog post here). Anyway, Britishprof has always been intrigued by stand-up (my day job at times does not seem that different) so I headed over to see what all the fuss was about.

The Tokyo Comedy Bar is located just a stone's throw from Hachiko, taking up a tiny space on the 3rd floor of the Renga Building. Renga means "brick" in Japanese and since Japanese houses are not built from brick, renga conjures up a strong image of Europe - and especially the UK - for the Japanese. As point of fact, Japanese houses are primarily built from timber (wood), using a post-and-beam construction method designed to withstand earthquakes and manage high humidity. What this means is that the average lifespan of a house in Japan is relatively short, with many homes demolished after only 30 to 35 years. While traditional, older, or well-maintained homes can last longer, the market trend is to treat houses as disposable assets, with their value often depreciating to near zero within 20-30 years (longer for steel-concrete structures). This is very different from the UK, where brick houses last for hundreds of years and increase in value as they get older!

Inside, there are two small rooms, a tiny bar boasting a big selection of craft beers on tap and an adjoining stage, perhaps big enough for 20-30 customers. When I visited on Tuesday - tickets can be bought in advance for ¥3,000 - there was a stand-up comedy showcase from 7:30 to 9:00 featuring local stars plus one international visitor followed by an open-mic session where fifteen amateurs were each given 4 minutes to show off their skills. The first segment was definitely tourist heavy with a lot of visitors from various countries while for the second segment the amateurs seemed to be mostly locals who had brought a friend or two for moral support. My New Year's resolution was to give open mic a try - what do you think, loyal readers? Should Britishprof give it a go despite the potential humiliation? Or should I stick to my day job? Let me know in the COMMENTS!

An Autumn Potpourri: Pampas Grass, Pac-Man, Ed Sheeran, and the Yamanote Line's 100th Anniversary

With falling temperatures, the red spider lilies (higan-bana) introduced last month have completely disappeared to be replaced with another natural seasonal signpost, Japanese pampas grass (susuki), otherwise called (Chinese) silver grass, zebra grass, or porcupine grass. In the calendar, susuki is most commonly associated with jyūgoya (十五夜) or the night of the full moon, that is the night of the 15th day of the 8th lunar month​ in the old calendar (equivalent to October in the modern calendar - October 6th this year). On this day, some people display susuki - said to bring a year's good health - together with dango (rice-dumplings) and engage in "moon watching" (tsuki-mi =月見), the celebration and honouring of the autumn full-moon which goes back centuries. See here for my previous post on moon-watching!

Autumn is connected with a host of relaxing indoor activities, epitomised by phrases such as dokusho no aki (読書の秋) meaning "Autumn is for reading" and shokuyoku no aki (食欲の秋), literally autumn, the season of good appetite! There is no expression for video games but these are also a popular autumn pastime. Interestingly, to coincide with Halloween, Google recently marked the 45th anniversary of Pac-Man with a playable game on its search engine. Pac-Man was invented by a Japanese, Toru Iwatani, a designer at Namco (now Bandai Namco Entertainment) and originally released in 1980. The story is that he was inspired by a pizza with a slice missing and aimed to create a non-violent video games that would appeal to a wider audience, including women who Iwatani's team apparently thought, in the best tradition of autumn in Japan, "liked to eat!" 

The blog is always looking to make connections between Japan and the UK and here I'm going to make a leap and talk about Ed Sheeran, the hugely successful English singer-songwriter whose favourite restaurant is apparently The Araki, a nine-seater

sushi bar in London which offers an omakase chef's set menu at £310 (¥63,000). Omakase means to leave something up to someone else to decide (a very useful phrase to know!). But the connection doesn't end there: recently the Toei Oedo subway line (大江戸線) in Tokyo held a unique collaboration with Sheeran featuring themed subway cars, a stamp-rally, merchandise, and even a one day travel pass. The logo for the subway line is a magenta circle with an "E" inside which has been neatly transformed into "Ed" for the campaign! Magenta is also the colour of Sheeran's new album "Play."

While we're on the subject of subways, November 1st marks the 100th anniversary of Tokyo's fabled Yamanote line (山手線), the almost 35km circular train line that connects most of the key areas such as Ueno, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro (video here). To confuse non-Japanese (and Japanese too for that matter) the direction of travel is not "clockwise" or "anti-clockwise" but outer circle (sotomawari =外回り) and inner circle (uchimawari=内回り) - go figure!  Each station has a unique jingle when the train doors are about to close - if the music is still playing you know you just about have enough time to leap on or off (listen to them all here)! 

Following the opening of a new station - Takanawa Gateway Station (高輪ゲートウェイ駅) - in March 2020, the one-hour loop now comprises 30 stations, with 50 trains running three or four minutes during rush hour and carrying almost a million people each day. In comparison, the Circle Line in London consists of 36 stations and a "full loop" takes about 49 minutes, though it is no longer a true continuous loop. Figures for Circle Line only are not available, but the average daily ridership for the whole Tube network was 3.23 million for 2023/2024! See here for some of the anniversary merchandise on sale, including a commemorative bento, a Fukagawa rice ball (onigiri), and a limited-edition craft beer! British Prof doesn't drink, but I'd still like to raise a glass to the Yamanote which makes Tokyo travel so seamless and meeting up with friends so very easy. Kanpai! Anything piqued your interest this month? Do drop us a line in the COMMENTS!

Travelling on the Driverless Yurikamome Train: From Toyosu to Daiba over the Rainbow Bridge

After the hottest summer on record, it finally looks as if autumn is here, and evidence of that are the red spider lilies, known as higan-bana (彼岸花), sprouting up everywhere. Indeed, the name of the flower itself - higan - comes from the fact that they bloom around autumn equinoctial week which is called aki no o higan (秋のお彼岸) in Japanese. The middle day of equinoctial week comes on the day of the autumn equinox known as shūbun no hi = 秋分の日 (a national holiday that fell on September 23rd this year). Higan refers to the Buddhist holiday celebrated in Japan during both the spring and autumn equinox. Buddhism is of course closely related to death in Japan - funerals are Buddhist and graveyards are found in temples - so it is no surprise that the lily is also known as the flower of death. This image is strengthened by its presence in graveyards and at funerals: being poisonous to small animals they used to be planted around graveyards in Japan's pre-cremation days to stop the dead bodies being eaten (today, of course, cremation is obligatory in Japan). But whatever the deathly connotations they have, they are a welcome sight after a scorchingly hot summer.

The cooler weather means more opportunities for getting out and about and I enjoyed visiting two popular spots in recent weeks, Toyosu, home to the biggest fish market in the world, and Odaiba, the popular entertainment and dating spot, both sited on an artificial reclaimed man-made island in Tokyo Bay. To get to both places you need to take the Yurikamome Line, an automated, elevated, driverless train which runs from Shimbashi, travelling over the marvellous Rainbow Bridge and offering great views from the large windows. Yurikamome actually means black-headed gull, a common sight in Tokyo Bay and also the official bird of the Tokyo metropolitan government!

 

Taking the Yurikamome Line - officially called the Tokyo Waterfront New Transit Waterfront Line - from Shimbashi, over the Rainbow Bridge, the first stop is Daiba (台場). While the station is called Daiba, this refers only to one district of the island; most people use Odaiba which refers to the entire Tokyo Waterfront Secondary City Center (東京臨海副都心). Despite having various restaurant and entertainment options, Odaiba itself is surprisingly quiet, though it seems to be trying hard to redefine itself as a romantic mecca for couples and is loaded with heart-themed photo opportunities and illuminations. Recent efforts to attract more visitors include plans for constructing one of the largest fountains in the world, a 2.6 billion yen (!) fountain to be completed by March 2026. Mysteriously, there is also a large Statue of Liberty here, 1/7th the size of the original!

 

Continuing on the Yurikamome Line from Odaiba, the final stop is Toyosu. Tsukiji, the famous fish market originally founded in 1935 had limited scope for growth due to its central position near Ginza, so the market moved to Toyosu in October 2018. Today, the new Toyosu Market is almost twice the size of Tsukiji, making it the biggest fish market in the world. Like Tsukiji, it is still possible to see the famous tuna auctions (free but you need to book early!) and to enjoy a breakfast of super fresh sushi or sashimi at one of the many restaurants which moved over from Tsukiji. One of my favourite snacks sold at the various street stalls is not actually fish but the delicious rolled egg (tamago-yaki); they say that you can tell a good sushi restaurant by the quality of the tamago-yaki! I recommend Marutake for an unbeatable dashi-taste that apparently has remained unchanged over its 100 years of history.

 

After eating your fill in Odaiba and Toyosu, my personal favourite thing to do is to get a hotel room with a view of the Rainbow Bridge which looks spectacular at night. Two recommendations are the Intercontinental Tokyo Bay and the (slightly cheaper) Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba. Just be sure to book a room high up with a clear view of the bridge. Why not tell me in the COMMENTS the location of your favourite go-to place to unwind, rest, and treat yourself - in Tokyo or anywhere in Japan!

Japan in the UK - and Liverpool Football Club in Tokyo!

In the month of July, I was lucky enough to escape the Tokyo heat and travel to two much cooler destinations - the UK and to Belgium. In the UK, it was interesting to see the growing Japanese influence, especially in food: Itsu noodles (including ramen, katsu, and miso flavours), miniature sushi lunchboxes, and iced matcha are everywhere - and the restaurant chain Wagamama has become almost a national institution (even if no-one knows the word means "selfish" in Japanese!). But influence is not limited to food - the Ghibli classic My Neighbour Tottoro  was being performed in the West End at the Gillian Lynne Theatre by none other than the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)! 

As for Belgium, I really enjoyed watching the Japan National Team play in the 6th IQA (International Quadball Association) World Cup in Tubize, competing against thirty other nations. As I have written before, Quadball is the real life manifestation of the fictional Harry Potter sport Quidditch and Japan has a thriving - and very diverse and inclusive - Quadball scene. The Japanese squad did incredibly well - coming 12th overall - and garnered widespread support, even from the French fans (they played the French twice, narrowly losing both times!). This article gives the final rankings plus lots of data analysis, reporting that, "Japan is now the most beloved team on the international quadball stage"!

British Prof (left) with some of the Japanese Quadball team's many admirers

(c) Japan Football Association

Talking of sport, I got back to Japan in time to see my favourite Premier Football team Liverpool take on Yokohama Marinos in Tokyo. Baseball has long been the most popular spectator - and unofficial national - sport in Japan, but the popularity of football has skyrocketed since the establishment of the J-League in 1993. This site gives football as the third favourite sport in Japan (at 25.0%) narrowly behind sumo at 27.3% but in terms of TV viewing it is second. Interestingly, the men’s national team is known as the Samurai Blue, and the women’s national team is known as the Nadeshiko (撫子) after a Japanese flower, although the term Yamato Nadeshiko refers to the "ideal" Japanese woman, beautiful, virtuous, graceful, modest - and devoted to household duties! Another interesting fact, mentioned in a previous blogpost, is that the giant three-legged Shinto crow-god Yatagarasu (八咫烏) is the Japan Football Association's official emblem. In Japanese mythology, Yatagarasu guided Jimmu, the legendary first emperor of Japan to victory, so it was adopted as a symbol of victory for the emblem.

But on July 30th in Tokyo there weren't many three-legged crows on view - instead it was the Liver bird amid a sea of red shirts in Yokohama for the match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Liverpool (highlights here). It was held at the 72,000 capacity Nissan Stadium as part of the Meiji Yasuda J. League World Challenge 2025 (明治安田Jリーグワールドチャレンジ2025). Tickets were sold out, with the official attendance given as 67,032, setting a new record for the highest attendance ever at a J-League hosted match. As a Liverpool fan, it was spine tingling to see the whole stadium - including the Marinos fans - erupt into a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" (yuruneba in Japanese!). The song was adopted by a different J-League club, FC Tokyo, during the pandemic as a way to connect with fans when they couldn't attend matches in person: the Marinos fans actually sang a Japanese version of the Les Misérables song, "Do you hear the People Sing?" (民衆の歌) which was almost as moving. 

The Liverpool players certainly seemed interested in Japanese culture: after arriving in Japan they enjoyed a morning of meditation at Eko Temple (回向院) in Ryogoku, Tokyo! But Liverpool's connection with Japan goes beyond the presence of Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan's national team, in its squad. Last year, Japan Airlines (JAL) became the club’s official airline partner. Moreover, at a press conference in Tokyo ahead of the game, the LFC Foundation announced a new partnership with The Nippon Foundation (日本財団) aimed at empowering young people. But the longest running collaboration is with Kodansha, one of Japan's largest publishing companies, which has been going since 2021. April saw a new ‘LFC × KODANSHA’ collection that combines football culture with Japan's manga art, featuring illustrations by Japanese artists depicting dramatic scenes and iconic moments from the club's history: check out some of the various hoodies, T-shirts, art prints, keychains, water bottles, and acrylic stands here. LFC and Kodansha even created unique calligraphy inspired shirts produced in collaboration with renowned calligrapher Riu Akizuki for the Yokohama match. Finally, there is a special exhibition running as I write entitled, "Where Impossible Happens" which is inspired by the match known as the miracle of Istanbul (the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final vs. AC Milan). This exhibition features a special original manga by Yasuda Tsuyoshi plus the opportunity to take the final penalty kick in the legendary final! The exhibition runs until August 3rd - check it out here. Football - or Quadball! - fans, feel free to leave a message in the COMMENTS.

Shin-Okubo: Tokyo's Vibrant Korea Town

 

June 10th marked the official start of the rainy season in the Tokyo area, but as this article discusses, we've seen relatively little rain and instead some very hot days including the year’s first “extremely hot day” known in Japanese as a mōshobi (猛暑日), a day when the temperature reaches 35℃ or above. The high temperatures, accompanied by heatstroke alerts, in a month when the weather is usually pleasant bodes ill for the months of July and August. But at least the flowers are blooming when they should - as written previously, the rainy season always coincides with the flowering of beautiful hydrangeas (ajisai), particularly in blue and purple, as pictured above (either side of a brightly coloured lily).

Man made disasters, such as global warming, are one thing, but Japan also has more than its fair share of natural disasters. The March 2011 Tohoku Earthquake (3.11) was the strongest in Japan's recorded history and the 4th biggest worldwide. Tokyo itself is way overdue: the Great Kanto Earthquake was in 1923 and the chances of a big one hitting the capital in the next 30 years is said to be in the region of 80% with an estimated death toll of 300,000. One comic book has recently gone viral because it predicts the actual date of the next big one. In the 1999 manga, The Future I Saw (Watashi ga Mita Mirai), Ryo Tatsuki, gives July 5th as the date of the next mega quake. The fact that Tatsuki also correctly predicted the March 2011 disaster has caused a slew of cancellations, especially from Asian tourists. Completely coincidentally, my trip to the UK is booked for July 4th...

South Korean tourists are the 2nd largest group of foreign tourists in Japan and many do seem to be asking whether it is safe to travel (here). Japan has a complicated history with Korea, particularly following Japan's annexation of the country in 1910 and the ensuing period of colonial control. Even since the normalisation of diplomatic ties in 1965 - this year is the 60th anniversary - relations have been rocky, though in recent years feelings of affiniity between the two countries have definitely grown. In contrast to the population of Korean oldcomers - those who came or were forcibly brought to Japan in the pre-war period and were either unable to or chose not to go back after the end of the war - newcomer Koreans started to increase in the 1980s, with many, especially exchange students, settling in Shin-Okubo, Tokyo's Korean Town, just one train stop from Shinjuku. The South Korean drama boom starting in 2004 spurred interest in Shin-Okubo, and the second, third, and fourth waves (han'ryū=韓流), centering on K-pop and Korean film and Netflix dramas, only heightened interest in Korean pop culture and the popularity of "Little Seoul."

Today, Shin-Okubo is a remarkably vibrant place, a hub for South Korean culture, full of Korean street food, restaurants, (super)markets, convenience stores, cafes, bars/clubs, stores with K-pop merchandise, and Korean make-up and fashion shops - not to mention street performers. Just turn right when you exit the station but be prepared for a mass of humanity as you crawl along the street - it gets really crowded, especially at weekends. But those who associate Shin-Okubo with only Korean culture may be surprised to learn that the area also has large South-East and South Asian populations. In particular, the Nepalese community has been growing rapidly in recent years, so much so that the area is also sometimes referred to as "Little Nepal" (together with the area north of Asagaya). I visited the Nepalese restaurant Rato Mato which blew me away both with the quality of the food and the prices. So, which would you choose - Korean, Nepalese, or something else? Let us know in the COMMENTS!

Play to Win: Japanese Traditional and Modern Games

Even though it's only April, it already feels like summer in Japan, with temperatures pushing 30℃ here in Tokyo in the run up to the start of the traditional Golden Week holidays. There has even been talk of Japan's four distinct seasons disappearing under the threat of global warming; certainly, while summers have grown longer, spring and autumn seem to be over in the blink of an eye. For example, while wisteria usually blooms late April to early May, it's already been out for a while. 

Recently, I've been exploring the gaming scene in Japan, with a visit to a board game cafe in Shinjuku (pictured above), an escape room game in Asakusa, and a game and hobby shop in Akihabara, the centre of Japanese geek (otaku) culture. The big two games historically are Go (igo in Japanese) which came over from China around the 7th century - modern variants include Gomoku, Renju, Reversi, and Othello - and shōgi (Japanese chess), a unique 16th century Japanese invention that allows captured pieces to be reused. The latter is the most played board game in Japan, with an estimated 20 million knowing the rules and ia also very visible in the media: Sota Fujii, who became a professional shōgi player when an junior high-school student, is a national icon, newspapers carry shōgi puzzles daily, and there is even a dedicated shōgi TV channel featuring live games! 

An even older game is Sugoroku (双六), a 6th century creation similar to backgammon that morphed into a Snakes and Ladders type dice-based picture boardgame (e-sugoroku) popularly played at New Year. But probably the most interesting for non-Japanese players are the variants of karuta playing cards - from the Portuguese for letter or card - which involves matching one half of a card, which is read out aloud, with its corresponding pair. This can be highly competitive when played as a duel when players slap the matching card before their opponent - check out this video from the 64th All Japan Championships (第64回全日本選手権大会) held only a few days ago! Manga lovers may be reminded of Chihayafuru which played a big role in popularising competitive karuta. While the video shows Uta Garuta (hyaku-nin isshu=百人一首) featuring waka poems by 100 great poets, there is also a kid's version, with cards representing the 47 syllables of the hiragana alphabet. Great for learning Japanese!

But it is not all about tradition. Modern Japanese board games which have enjoyed critical acclaim overseas include the 2012 Love Letter, the classic 2014 Deep Sea Adventure, and the road building 2016 masterpiece Tokyo Highway. For a great overview of these three and traditional games as well see here. And for those in Japan, why not check out the gaming convention known as Game Market, which started in 2000 as a fan-run event and is now held in May and November at Makuhari Messe just outside of Tokyo? Another recommendation is the 4-day September Tokyo Game Show which, in contrast to the analogue focus of Game Market boasts mainly video game content, though it does include some board games as well as lots of cosplayers! In sum, the gaming market in Japan is booming, perhaps reflecting the fact that in Japan gaming is more than just entertainment - it’s a deeply ingrained social activity. What's your favourite game? Have you ever played a Japanese game? Let me know in the COMMENTS!

Bathing Culture in Japan: Public Baths, Hot Springs, and High-tech Tubs

My 4th year students graduated last week - dressing up in the traditional hakama (here) to receive their graduation certificate from the president - though it was a bit of shock to wake up to a heavy snowfall! Indeed, the weather has been very strange recently, 26℃ on Friday and 13℃ on Saturday. Nevertheless, spring is in the air, with the cherry blossoms now at their peak, after officially starting to bloom on the 24th. While many people are content to sit in the park under the trees and enjoy a picnic (known as hanami), a great way to properly enjoy the sakura experience is to take an evening boat ride under the blossoms on either Chidorigafuchi Moat (here) or Meguro River (here).

The awareness of the Japanese towards the changing seasons and their appreciation of seasonal foods is one of the reasons I love Japan, but for me perhaps the biggest draw of all is the bathing culture - nothing beats a visit to a hot spring (onsen) or even the local public bath (sentō). Of course, it's not realistic to visit these places every day so a fine substitute is the household bath which enjoys a level of technology that puts the British bath to shame. Earlier this month we had our bathroom renovated so I thought this would be a good opportunity to promote the joys of domestic bathing! The picture above shows the process of removing the old bath and installing the new one. One interesting point is how the bath is typically cleaned before it is demolished to show respect for years of use (this is also done before disposing of old cars or even used needles (here)! Respect for objects that have served one well is a nice custom but that doesn't detract from the joy of a new high-tech bath. Note that the new bath is not only lower but lacks taps too. As the control panel below shows, the bath in Japan is filled automatically and the temperature, height of the water, and even the length of time the temperature is to be maintained can be set. The most recent models even allow baths to be controlled via smartphone app from outside the home, so you can come home to a steaming hot bath after a hard day's work!

During the four-day renovation, I made use of a local sentō just down the road, actually a super sentō named Terme Ogawa which unlike the simple local neighbourhood public bath comprises a large complex of multiple baths and saunas as well as restaurants, massage, and relaxation rooms (map below). Regarding the difference between public baths (sentō) and hot springs (onsen), the latter use natural spring water while the former use boiled tap water - subsidised under the Public Bathhouses Law - explaining why sentō are often distinguishable by their chimney. The distinction is not clear cut however, particularly in the Kanto region, where super sentō like the one I visited often also describe themselves as "natural hot springs" (天然温泉). 

Map of "Super Sentō" Terme Ogawa (©Termeogawa) here

With the spread of private bathrooms from the 1970s, public baths plummeted in popularity and many went out of business. Data for Tokyo, for example, reveals 1968 as the peak, with 2687 sentō in the capital faling to only 444 in 2023. However, since around 2014, public baths have enjoyed something of a revival - in tandem with the sauna boom (sakatsu=サ活) - as a community spot or hub, especially among young people and foreign tourists. For example, last year, a new sentō tour named Sentorance Japan started with the aim of making sentō an "entrance" to Japanese culture: the tour includes a lecture on sentō etiquette in English followed by a bath. There are also a number of non-Japanese involved in preserving and restoring bathhouses such as Sam Holden and Stephanie Crohin. In terms of a specific recommendation, why not check out Denkiyū, a small sentō located in Kyojima, Sumida ward, which featured in the film Perfect Days? One thing you may notice in both public and private baths in Japan is a small stool which Japanese typically sit on while washing before getting into the bath. This is crucial - Japanese enjoy the bath for relaxation never for washing, and since they enter the bath clean usually reuse the same (clean) water for a few days before refilling. Certainly, British bathing seems primitive in contrast! Thoughts? Please write in the COMMENTS section.

A World without Nuclear Weapons: The Nobel Peace Prize and Japan's Hibakusha

 
November was a super busy month for British Prof and it was the first time in a while that a new post didn't drop. My apologies. But don't worry, normal service is resumed! Here in Japan, Christmas is much more low key than in the UK - Christmas Day is a normal working day and the ads are not as ubiquitous - but the Japanese still enjoy Christmas shopping, Christmas cakes, and Christmas markets, not to mention amazing illuminations (see previous posts here and here). On campus, the Christmas tree lights are now up following a countdown light-up ceremony (点灯式) which included free hot chocolate for students. A nice touch was a "What are you going to ask from Santa?" (サンタさんに何をお願いしますか）display: aside from job-hunting and study goals, a common request was peace (heiwa=平和).

Thousands of origami cranes at the museum entrance

Those watching the news closely might have noticed that the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony was held in Oslo on December 10th with Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A- and H- Bomb Survivors Organisation) receiving the award. According to the Nobel Peace Prize website, Hidankyo was awarded this year's prize “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.” Hidankyo was formed in 1956 to promote the social and economic rights of hibakusha (被爆者), the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Their motto is "no more hibakusha" and the Oslo speech featured a heartfelt plea to abolish nuclear weapons. The full speech given by 92-year-old Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of the group and Nagasaki survivor, can be read here. Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed the origami crane as the symbol of the group, harking back to the story of Sadako Sasaki who developed leukemia after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and folded more than 1000 cranes in a futile attempt to prolong her life.

Picture in the Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall of the Castle Bravo Hydrogen Bomb Test which generated a mushroom cloud 34,000 meters high. It was said to be 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (© US National Archives)

The trigger for the formation of Hidankyo were the nuclear weapon tests conducted at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, in the Northwestern Pacific by the United States in 1954, which 23 crew members of the Japanese tuna fishing vessel "Lucky Dragon No.5" ( Daigo Fukuryū Maru =第五福龍丸) were inadvertently caught up in. The return of the boat to Japan, the burns and acute radiation poisoning suffered by the crew (including one early death), and the ensuing "radioactive rain" which fell throughout Japan and the Pacific mobilised the Japanese and prompted the birth of Hidankyo. Unknown to many locals, Tokyo has an incredible museum hosting the actual wooden fishing boat and featuring an array of artifacts, art, and historical materials. 

The boat itself was retired from service in 1967 and was abandoned in the garbage dump known as Yume no Shima, an artificial island built using waste landfill in Tokyo Bay. However, local citizens pushed the Metropolitan Government to preserve the boat and the exhibition hall was constructed in 1976. The boat is exhibited here "as an enduring symbol of protest against all nuclear weapons and testing." The museum is an incredible learning experience, with detailed bilingual information on the nuclear testing and aftermath, accompanied by huge maps, witness testimonies, artifacts (like the "Ashes of Death" pictured), and newspaper reports from the time. There is also information about the spread of the anti-nuclear movement in Japan and worldwide, including the Russel-Einstein Manifesto of 1955 and the first World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs in the same year.

Reading about the Russel-Einstein Manifesto reminded me of the presence of Einstein in the award-winning film Oppenheimer. In Japan, reactions were mixed with some praising the film's "anti-nuclear stance" and others, including an ex-mayor of Hiroshima, criticising leaving out scenes of the atomic bombing in Japan. It was not released here until eight months after its initial global release and some cinemas posted trigger warnings (Universal's official distributor in Japan Toho-Towa opted not to release it, partly explaining the delay). The film was certainly a tough and uncomfortable watch, especially the scenes outlining the reasons for targeting urban population centres rather than less populated areas: the justification of "sending a message" to the Soviet Union was difficult to swallow given the terrible loss of life. On that pensive note I wish all my readers - indeed all humanity - peace over Christmas and into the New Year and pray that the experience of the hibakusha will never again be repeated. If you do have any thoughts, hopes, or messages, please send a COMMENT to share with readers all over the world.