ASOVEL.Japan

Hydrangea (あじさい, Ajisai in Japanese)

[Things to do in Tokyo Chuo City] Hydrangea (あじさい, Ajisai in Japanese) is the flower of rainy season in Japan. From May to July, you can see a various colors such as pink, blue, purple, white of hydrangea flowers all over Japan. #Hydrangea #あじさい #Ajisai

[Things to do in Tokyo Chuo City] It is really windy here. Japanese fish shaped streamers (鯉のぼり) are flown in the sky over the Port of Tokyo, one of the largest Japanese seaports. #HarumiPassengerShipTerminal #TokyoChuoCity

[Things to do in Tokyo Chuo City] Early cherry blossoms (河津桜) started blooming in Tokyo Chuo City. Spring is just around the corner!

[EXTRA - Tokyo Marathon 2018]

[EXTRA - Tokyo Marathon 2018] More than 10,000 volunteers support the 36,000 runners on the course. Runners passing through Kyobashi (京橋) and Ginza (銀座) in Tokyo Chuo City.

[EXTRA - Things to do in JAPAN] It was snowing in Tokyo this morning and now is raining.

[Things to do in Tokyo Chuo City] Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri (深川八幡祭り) is one of the three great Shinto festivals of Tokyo, and is held annually at around 15th of August by the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine (富岡八幡宮) in Tokyo Koto City, a neighbor of Tokyo Chuo City. For the festival, people bear an omikoshi(御神輿), a portable shrine, on their shoulders and carry it around the neighborhoods of the shrine. You can see a 2 kilometers long line of over 50 omikoshi through Tokyo Koto and Chuo City. #FukagawaHachimanMatsuri #omikoshi #TokyoChuoCity

Setsubun Festival at Sutengu

Setsubun Festival at Suitengu, Tokyo Chuo City You may have heard of spring cleaning, but ever heard of spring “evil spirit” cleaning? In Japan, there is a day for just that. According to the traditional Japanese calendar, Setsubun (節分) marks the beginning of spring and it typically lands on the 3rd of February. On that day, major temples and shrines around Japan hold Setsubun festivals (節分祭) dedicated to chasing away demons in the coming year. The cleansing ritual, known as mamemaki (豆まき), was traditionally practiced at home. It is done by tossing roasted beans while chanting “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (literally, “demons out, good luck in!”). Why the beans? Tossing fukumame (福豆) symbolically rids the home of the evil spirits that bring bad luck and poor health. On the other hand, eating the number of beans that corresponds to your age brings good luck and vitality, according to tradition. Back in the day, people would also hang up charred sardine heads and burned wood to keep away evil, but Setsubun rituals have certainly lightened up over the past couple of centuries! The festival held at Suitengu (水天宮) in Ningyocho was a spirited event, with live entertainment, singing performances, and pounding drums. Participants of all ages can be seen tossing roasted beans and snacks out to the other festival-goers. “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!”

The most unique way to explore Tokyo? By cruising on a boat! Did you know that Tokyo used to be like Venice in Italy? The city was covered with waterways all over the place and the most convenient way to travel the city was in a fact, by a boat. Unfortunately, most of them have been land-filled now and no longer exist...though, we still have rivers floating here and there especially around central Tokyo. Under the Nihonbashi bridge, that we talked about the other day, you can catch a sight-seeing cruise boat to look around Tokyo from rivers and ocean. I have tried one that goes around Chuo-city, which is literally the central Tokyo area. It was really fun and exciting! Because there were so many little bridges and some of them were so close that we needed to bend our heads to go through. That was thrilling experience! The 360 degree view from the boat was breathtaking. You just can't see the way when you are traveling on foot or by car. Though my experience was very satisfying I've heard it is especially good when Sakura is blooming in the spring. You can view the sakura blooming while you relax on a boat! This is indeed one of the most exciting way to explore Tokyo! #Edo, #Nihonbashi, #Chuocity, #Tokyo, #nihonbashicruise,#cruise

What's the best way to see Tokyo in a short time? Take a "SkyBus"!! The bus takes you to the major sightseeing spots in Tokyo and you can get grasp idea on what to see in Tokyo. Though you won't be able to get off in the middle, it is very convenient way to see them all and take pictures. There is tour guide on the bus explaining what you see and also headphone translation as well. There are different bus lines going to different areas in Tokyo including Ginza, Nihonbashi area of Chuo-city, Odaiba and Shibuya. You can enjoy different scenes depending on the season such as famous sakura blooming in Spring, colored leaves in Autumn and Christmas illumination in the Winter! Come enjoy the view of Tokyo with Skybus! #skybus, #Tokyo, #Chuo-city, #Nihonbashi, #Ginza,

Firefighters of the Edo period (17th-19th Centuries) of Japan

Firefighters of the Edo period (17th-19th Centuries) of Japan 44th Oedo-kakki Parade -Nihonbashi･Kyobashi Festival- http://nikkyo.net/english/

Goldfish Scooping Grand Prix winner

Goldfish Scooping (Kingyo Sukui) Competition!! Have you ever heard that Japanese people play "Goldfish Scooping "when we have summer festival? It must sounds odd but Yes we do! It is called "Kingyo Sukui" in Japan. We scoop goldfish with very thin paper with plastic outline, just for fun! Not for eating. lol If you do catch some fishes, you can take them home as pet. I have attended "Goldfish Catching Competition Grand Prix" where top goldfish catchers competed to decide who's the best catcher in Japan! Take a look at the video to see this Jr. high school boy who won the grand prix catching goldfishes like pro! He scooped amazing 50 goldfishes in just 3 minutes! For those who don't know what goldfish scooping is, check the video below! The american guy explains what that is and how to play (how hard that is too!). https://youtu.be/gpmL2szf6s0