NOTEBOOK — Arts Culture Tourism from Tokyo

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to the G7 summit this May in Hiroshima. Kishida also flew to Poland making a secretive trip by land to Ukraine. In Florida, Japan beat Mexico 6-5 at the World Baseball Classic semifinals before winning their 3rd Championships. And theatre plays by three female Japanese playwrights were performed in London earlier this year. Back home and there is little to do in Omotesando but shop. Should you find yourself leaving the metro station via its A3 exit, you will chance upon Akiba Shrine. We walked past the shrine to the sound of passing planes, pedestrians, cyclists and queuing shoppers.

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The HEXA flying car aims for the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads to Japan, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) builds a plant in Kumamoto, while somei-yoshino cherry blossom trees bloom in nearby Fukuoka. In Ginza. the landmark San-ai Dream Center building which has stood for six decades, is soon to be demolished later this month. So we walk past the landmark one last time capturing the sound of screaming children and shoppers blowing through the shopping district late one Saturday afternoon when Ginza Dori is closed to traffic.

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol arrived in Japan yesterday for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, for the first time in 12 years. It didn't escape the attention of North Korea either which launched an ICBM the very same day. The Tokyo stock market dropped amid growing concerns over Credit Swiss and two U.S. banks, while JNTO registered 1.47 million overseas visitors last month. In Shinjuku, we talk with artist Toru Yoshikawa in kissaten and coffee shop “Times” about upcoming painting and ceramics exhibitions as well as his love of Geocaching.

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The number of people still wearing masks remains high, despite guidelines being relaxed on Monday. Japanese novelist and pacifist Kenzaburo Oe, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature, died peacefully in the early hours of March 3rd aged 88. While in Nara prefecture, torches were lit for the annual 'Shuni-e' ceremony and two-week Omizutori ritual which reaches its climax with water drawn from a well near Todaiji temple. And in Shimbashi, we focus on the sound of people enjoying the warm weather and the beginning of spring.

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Hanami' cherry blossom comes early this year thanks to warmer weather. Astronaut Koichi Wakata returns from the ISS for the first time in five months. Japan's national baseball team are competing in the WBC World Baseball Classics at the Tokyo Dome on the 12th anniversary of the March 2011 disaster as ministers pledge to restart idled nuclear reactors in efforts to decarbonize power production. And later this month, 10 films by the director Ishii Gakuryu play at Eurospace in Shibuya to celebrate the cyberpunk of Japanese cinema, featuring German Industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten and early appearances by the actor Tadanobu Asano.

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In news, five are arrested for genetically modifying the Japanese killifish. Masks will no longer be required on JR East trains from March 13th, nor will they be in 7-Eleven and FamilyMart convenience stores. Meanwhile, 'hanami' parties return to Ueno Park as the cherry blossom blooms post-pandemic. Ever keen to stretch the legs, Notebook heads west of Shinjuku towards Shimo-Takaido on the Keio line to visit the artist-run gallery space Goya Curtain record a short interview will proprietor Joel Kirkham to hear his take on what's worth visiting in local area.

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tokyo stock market reaches a 15-month high and domestic airlines stoke demand with cut-rate fares this spring. Meanwhile, 32% of women in Japan are said to have considered switching jobs due the gender gap at work, while one a young actress has accused a lawyer of being guilty of the very same thing he is fighting: sexual harassment. And with today being International Women’s Day, films and documentaries at the National Film Archive of Japan celebrate “Women Who Made Japanese Cinema” from the Silent Era through to the 1960s.

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hiroshima's former mayor calls for all G–Seven nations attending this May’s summit in city to declare a "no first use" policy for nuclear weapons. Mitsubishi has signed a new deal to supply equipment for a new commuter rail network in the Philippines. And Japan’s new flagship H3 rocket is scheduled for its inaugural launch tomorrow. Back on Earth and Chinese restaurants have long been a source of fascination for food lovers here in Japan, fueled by the phenomenon of local Japanese family-run Chinese restaurants or "machi chuka" and more recently the desire for more authentic cuisine from mainland China, from Kohakukyu and Sazenka, to Gyoza Fukuho and Asian Tuai.

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The IOC has announced details of its Olympic Esports Series 2023, Japan reports 13,950 new coronavirus cases this week as the Amadea, the first foreign cruise ship to Japan in almost three years after docking earlier this week in Shizuoka. In Mie prefecture, Kintetsu Railway announces it will start a service aimed at attracting cyclists from large cities, allowing them to bring their bicycles onboard. And as Spring brings with it warmer weather, the RE:FACTORY art fair comes to town. But this time, sharing its agenda with an exhibition across town and "The Original" at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, both longing for longevity.

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Japan will add to a growing G7 list of Russian sanctions, advertising giant Dentsu, a former Olympic organizing committee exec, plus others, were all charged this week with allegedly rigging bids in connection with the 2021 Tokyo Games. Nissan plans to make nearly every car sold in Europe by 2026 electric, while Japan will end its general testing of visitors arriving from China from today onwards. And with today marking the start of Women’s History Month, we take a brief look at female architects in Japan thinking of "how best to find commonalities and create a space for collaboration."

—

Get in touch: [email protected]

Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook

Instagram: @notebook_pod

Twitter: @notebook_pod

—

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices