NOTEBOOK — Arts Culture Tourism from Tokyo

North Korea fired a ballistic missile at the Sea of Japan yesterday, the first since March 27th. The Japanese space startup ispace confirmed its lunar lander will attempt to touch down on the moon’s surface later this month. Tokyo Disneyland will celebrate its 40th anniversary tomorrow, and renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami's first full-length novel in almost six years hits Japanese bookstores yesterday. There is a long list of exhibitions that have opened or are due to open, but before jumping on a train to see them, we walk through Nakameguro and along the Meguro River, eavesdrop on an orchestral rehearsing and catch a breath of fresh air. 

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China deployed its Shandong aircraft carrier as Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen met with and the U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Japanese government confirmed that Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko will visit the UK for the coronation of King Charles III. The JOC said that it would recommend Sapporo's Winter Olympic bid be pushed back to 2034, and ChatGPT developer OpenAI said it plans to open an office in Japan amid concerns over personal data and AI's impact on learning. Meanwhile, Notebook walks through Hoppi-dori (Hoppy Street) and along Denboin-dori (Denboin Street) for something to eat and shelter from the weather.

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Japanese boxer Takuma Inoue claimed the WBA bantamweight by defeating Venezuela's Liborio Solis, while China and Japan will hold high-level talks in Tokyo today. Miyajima Island will be closed to tourists during the G7 summit in Hiroshima this May. And researchers from Japan's Chiba University have observed a pair of supermassive black holes. And with the Japanese manga artist Rumiko Takahashi, known for "Urusei Yatsura" and "Maison Ikkoku," awarded the title of Knight in the French Order of Arts and Letters last Thursday, Notebook takes a short walk along the Sumidagawa river, catching sight of the Himiko river cruiser designed by another manga artist, Leiji Matsumoto, then heads towards Sensō-ji Temple in Asakusa before heading home.

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Japan and NATO are partnering to safeguard cyberspace, while regulators for Japanese nuclear power are once more halting safety checks on one of its reactors currently offline after a string of administrative errors. In Tokyo, COVID-19 cases grew by 1,200, while researchers off the coast of Japan uncovered the first ever fish seen swimming 8,336 meters below the surface along the Ogasawara trench, the deepest fish of its kind ever to be recorded. And in the final part of our 'Edoverse' conversation with Shinwa CEO Yoichiro Kurata, we discuss art and commerce, previous experiments like Pokémon GO, and how the Edoverse might also act as another way of visiting Japan for those who would otherwise find it impossible to visit in person.

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ANA Check-in and booking services were temporarily disrupted Monday for every domestic flight as the country relaxes the entry requirements for all visitors from mainland China. A new stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli's “My Neighbor Totoro” won six awards in London at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards, while the musician and film composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, member of the legendary Yellow Magic Orchestra, passed away last week from cancer aged 71. Notebook pays its respects by visiting the DUG jazz-kissa cafe in Shinjuku established in 1961, it too beloved by music and film lovers alike.

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Japan, Australia and the other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership have agreed to admit Britain as its 12th member. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has established a new research organization in Fukushima and unveiled a route along the Shin-Tomei Expressway between Tokyo with Nagoya for autonomous vehicles. The logistics industry is also being updated with Japan Post carrying out the first ever test delivery of a parcel by drone, west of Tokyo. And as the cherry blossom season reaches its peak we visit Ueno Park on April Fools Day, April 1st, as people drink, share stories of a previous night out — where to avoid and where to sing-a-long — and generally take part in this year’s 'hanami' for the first time in three years.

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Renowned Japanese actress Tomoko Naraoka passes away. COVID-19 cases in Japan go up by almost 4,000 from the week before. Chinese authorities shut down one of the largest suppliers of pirated Japanese anime, while Japan's Finance Ministry investigate the possibility of a digital currency. And in Part 2 of our 'Edoverse' conversation with Shinwa CEO Yoichiro Kurata, we discuss the 'real' versus the 'digital', a 'decentralized' market steered by a 'central' historical figure, taking inspiration from peer-to-peer pioneers like Satoshi Nakamoto and the success of Pokémon GO.

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Lithographs of Indian elephant during in 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake have been found in the vaults of Hanayashiki, Japan’s oldest amusement park in Asakusa. Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency moved from Tokyo to Kyoto as the country's first quantum computer began working at the Riken Research Institute in Saitama. And in Toyama, the Meteorological Agency announced that its Somei-yoshino cherry trees were in full bloom, the earliest since records began in 1953. Omicho Market has been a stable part of Kanazawa’s food culture for more than 300 years, with it referred to locally as “Kanazawa’s Kitchen." Notebook captures it winding down at the end of a busy day.

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Nara's Prefectural Government has announced plans to allow its employees to study overseas. Japan struggles with the recent bird flu epidemic, as an alternative to the humble egg is proving increasingly popular. And JR Tokai, otherwise known as Central Japan Railway, has also announced plans to automate its Tokaido Shinkansen service from 2028. Two and a half hours west of Tokyo is Ishikawa prefecture and the city of Kanazawa where Notebook walks to the sound of Japanese bush warbler (uguisu) birdsong and the sound of running water.

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Parts of Fukushima will have their evacuation orders lifted while a new group advocating Japanese LGBTQ comes together ahead of the annual G7 summit in Hiroshima this May. Carmaker Toyota discontinues sales of its popular Camry sedan, while a man is on the run for injuring the manager of a sushi restaurant during a robbery but not before injuring himself with a machete. A Hokusai ukiyo-e print fetches $2.8m dollars at an auction house in New York. And having already sold an Andy Warhol print from 1963 for ¥2.3 billion last year, Shinwa auction house in Tokyo is now developing its own virtual marketplace which Shinwa's president Yoichiro Kurata describes in Part 1 of our recent conversation.

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