Stupid tourists ruin Tokyo fish market for the rest of us

by Mike Barish on

There are travelers and there are tourists. Travelers explore new places, immerse themselves in diverse cultures and respect their experiences. Tourists gawk, point, mock and generally embarrass themselves while poorly representing their native cities and countries. Tourists ruin things for travelers. And that’s exactly what has happened at one of my favorite places in the world, Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market.

Tourists have officially been banned from the early morning tuna auctions at Tsukiji. The ban begins on December 15 and will be reviewed in mid-January to determine if it should be extended.

Fish traders have complained that the 200-300 visitors that crowd around the tuna auction everyday distract workers and pose safety risks. Back in April of this year, access to the auctions was limited in response to complaints that the flash photography was obscuring the hand gestures of traders and that the tourists’ poking and prodding of the fish created hygiene concerns. Now local media are blaming misbehaving tourists for the creation of the stricter ban. Fish market officials, eager to not offend foreign guests who are still welcome to tour the outer areas of the market, were quick to announce that the ban applies to Japanese tourists, as well.

If you’re heading to Japan, I still highly recommend a trip to Tsukiji. It’s a fascinating place, as you would expect from the world’s largest fish market. Be respectful of those around you, as that is their place of business and it’s an industrial area with heavy equipment and lots of people scurrying about. You are a guest in their workplace and you should behave accordingly. I hate to lecture, but, well, the hijinx of a few idiots can really ruin things for the rest of us.

As you go out into this great big world of ours, think before you act. And don’t touch other people’s fish.

Big in Japan: FIFA Club World Cup is coming to Japan

by Matthew Firestone on

On Monday, Big in Japan brought you news about the first female baseball player to be drafted into the big leagues….

In keeping with the sports theme, today’s post is aimed at spreading the word about the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup tournament in Tokyo and neighboring Yokohama.

Somewhere along the way, America missed out on the soccer memo that seems to have been given priority status in just about every other country. In fact, we’re pretty much the only people in the world that think football is played with elongated pigskins and not spherical black and white balls.

But there is time to get on the real ‘football’ bandwagon, and to perhaps do a bit of sightseeing in Japan while you’re at it. In case you’ve been looking for yet another reason to visit this side of the Pacific pond, why not check out a bit of world-class footie in between shrines and sushi?

That’s right – the FIFA Club World Cup is coming to Japan this December!!

Keep reading to find out more!

Starting on December 11th, the FIFA Club World Cup will begin in Japan, and will feature the best footballs teams from every corner of the globe.

Japan is no stranger to world-class football, having hosted the Toyota Cup from 1980 to 2004, which pitted the South American and European champions against each other on neutral ground. Of course, the Club World Cup is an exponentially bigger tournament, featuring the champions from each FIFA continental league.

This year, the Club World Cup consists of Egypt’s Al Ahly, who recently clinched the African championship, and has the greatest number of tournament appearances, as well as Mexico’s Pachuca, Ecuador’s Liga de Quito, Australia’s Adelaide United, New Zealand’s Waitakere United, England’s Manchester United, and the hometown favorite, namely Osaka Gamba.

Japan has hosted the event since 2005, though the Club World Cup will move to Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2009 and 2010. In other words, you better act now if you want to catch FIFA action in the Land of the Rising Sun.

So, here is the nitty-gritty:

On December 11th, 13th and 17th, matches are taking place at Tokyo’s National Stadium, which previously hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics.

On December 18th and 21st, the action switches to Yokahama’s International Stadium, which previously hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

More information about this year’s tournament can be found by clicking here.

So, how do you get tickets? That’s easy.

Whether you’re living overseas, or currently living as an ex-pat in Japan, you can book tickets directly through the official tournament website by clicking here.

Alternatively, you can book special FIFA Club World Cup packages through various travel agencies, which provide you with tickets, accommodation and game day transportation.

Check out JAPANiCAN’s tour packages, which guarantee you seats to the final two games on December 21st, as well as accommodation in Yokohama – prices start at 44,900 yen (approximately US$470) excluding airfare.

If you’re currently in Japan, or just happen to be passing through Asia this holiday season, be sure to check out the tournament. After all, the FIFA Club World Cup is way, way bigger than the Super Bowl (^_^)

** All images are trademarked by FIFA, and are presented here for the purpose of brand identification and/or critical commentary **

Big in Japan: The cutest pitcher you’ve ever seen!

by Matthew Firestone on

In a classic scene from the film A League of their Own, coach Jimmy Dugan (played by Tom Hanks) screams at his female players: ‘There’s no crying in baseball!’

Of course, while there may have been a Hollywood ending for Madonna and Geena Davis, there is still very much a prominent glass ceiling in real-life baseball.

However, there is a chance that the sport as we know it may one day change, especially following the recent draft pick of a female Japanese high school student by the minor league team Kobe 9 Cruise.

On that note, allow me to introduce you to the cutest pitcher you’ve ever seen, namely 16-year old Eri Yoshida (??????????). Weighing in at a mere 114 pounds, and standing just over give feet tall, Eri is now the first woman ever to play in Japan’s all-male professional baseball league.

How did she do it you ask? Simple.

Eri has mastered the knuckleball, an infamous baseball pitch characterized by its wild and unpredictable motion.

Keep reading as the story goes on..

A knuckleball is special type of baseball pitch that is thrown in such way as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. Through the miracles of physics, knucklers can change direction erratically, and even corkscrew in mid-flight, which is needless to say a ripe pain in the ass for unsuspecting batters.

In Major League Baseball (MLB), a few players over the decades have been able to master this phantom pitch, including Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. Indeed, this BoSox legend served as the inspiration for a 16-year-old high school pupil from Yokohama to pitch her way through rows and rows of male batters.

According to Eri Yoshida: “I never dreamed of getting drafted. I have only just been picked by the team and haven’t achieved anything yet.”

She continues: “I’m really happy I stuck with baseball. I want to pitch against men, and eventually I want to play as a pro in a higher league.”

Although Japan is a baseball-obsessed nation, women have had a tough time getting on the diamond. While there was a professional baseball league for women in the 1950s, it folded after just two years.

In fact, the country’s professional baseball federation did not lift its ban on female players until 1991, and Little League teams only started accepting girls this millennium. Of course, the Kobe 9 Cruise aren’t exactly the New York Yankees – or the Tokyo Giants for that matter – and it’s going take a bit of time for young Yoshida-san to have her big shot at the pros.

In the meantime, the Japanese are celebrating a crack in the glass ceiling that looms over professional sports. The Asahi Shimbun, one of the country’s top papers, even ran a detailed analysis of her unique pitching style. However, Eri is trying to keep her grip a secret, so you’re going to have to catch a farm game over here in Kobe if you want to see this rising star in action!

(Special thanks to my Dad for uncovering this bit of J-news in the local Vegas paper!)

** Image of Eri Yoshida taken by the Associated Press (AP). All other images courtesy of the WikiCommons Media project **

Big in Japan: 5 tips for eating veggie in Japan

by Matthew Firestone on

From beef, chicken and fish to horse, jellyfish and whale, the Japanese are fierce carnivores that love their meat raw, red and occasionally bloody…

Of course, this can present something of a problem for vegetarians in Japan, especially since fish stock is a classic cooking staple that can appear in the most seemingly meat-free dishes – we’re looking at you, miso soup!!

Fret not however as it is in fact possible to eat cruelty-free meals in Japan. And, you can still enjoy the high level of quality that makes Japanese cuisine justifiably famous the world over.

So, without any further adieu, here are some author-tested tips for eating veggie in Japan:

1) Learn to love the convenience store. You don’t have to look very far in Japan to find a convenience store, which is a good thing as these one-stop shops are packed with non-meat goodies. You’ll certainly want to stay away from the pre-packaged dinners, though salads are decidedly meat free, along with most chips, cookies, crackers and candies. With that said, shrimp-flavored snacks are popular with Japanese kids, so give a product a pass if it’s got smiling crustaceans on the packaging.

Keep reading as the list goes on…

Here are some more tips for eating veggie in Japan:

2) Find the local Indian restaurant. Indian food in Japan is surprisingly popular, which means that you can find a local curry house even in small cities and towns. Although a good number of dishes are meat based, they’re fairly easy to avoid, especially since Indian restaurants [generally] stock English menus and [generally] employ English-speaking staff. When in doubt, ask for dal, a hearty stew of spiced lentils, or saag paneer, a blend of Indian-style cheese and braised spinach.

3) Dust off your cooking skills. If you’re either staying in a hostel, or living in your own apartment or guesthouse, you can easily continue your veggie lifestyle by self-catering. If you want to pack on the protein, extremely high quality tofu is available at supermarkets everywhere in Japan, and it’s much, much tastier than your average North America garden variety. Miso paste, which is sold in small tubs, can quickly spice up a pan-fried block of tofu, and you can top off your dish with fresh bean sprouts and bamboo shoots alongside a bowl of brown rice.

4) Slurp down some soba, but skip the soup. Soba, a high-fiber buckwheat noodle that is as delicious as it is healthy, is available in shops all over Japan. Unfortunately for vegetarians, soba is often served in a fish stock made from dried tuna flakes. However, you can always order zaru-soba (ざるそば), which is simply cold soba noodles served with spring onions and a soy-based dipping sauce.

5) Sample some authentic shōjin-ryōri (精進料理). While Buddhism might have lost its hold on the younger generations, there are still some remnants of this ancient Asian religion, particularly on the menu. At a good number of temples throughout Japan, you can sample shōjin-ryōri, which is traditional Buddhist cuisine that is completely cruelty-free, and designed to be both physically and spiritually invigorating.

Got any tips for eating veggie in Japan? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

** All images courtesy of the WikiCommons Media project **

Big in Japan: Japan’s best medieval castles

by Matthew Firestone on

Modern Japan may be an über peaceful place of happy shiny people, but it certainly wasn’t always like this…

On the contrary, medieval Japan was at times a conflict-stricken land of warring clans and spirit-breaking feudalism, which gave rise to some truly monolithic castles.

Sadly, most of Japan’s medieval structures were either burnt to the ground during the Meiji era of ‘enlightenment,’ or destroyed during WWII by Allied bombing.

However, there are still a few places in Japan where you can stand in awe before imposing castles that look as if they’ve jumped straight out of a Miyazaki anime.

On that note today’s post is all about Japan’s best medieval castles. While our list certainly isn’t comprehensive – and may in fact leave out some of your favorites – keep reading to check out which ones made the cut.

In no particularly order, here are some of Japan’s best feudal castles:

Osaka-jou (大阪城) Reigning over the megalopolis of Osaka, this regal castle has seen its fair share of bloodshed over the centuries. In 1614, Lord Tokugawa sieged Osaka-jou with a 200,000-man army in an attempt to oust Lord Toyotomi. Although he and his men were outnumbered 2 to 1, Toyotomi managed to keep the advancing army outside the outer walls. In the end however, the castle was rendered defenseless when Toyotomi literally filled in the castle’s outer moat with dirt!

Himeji-jou (姫路城) A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of Japan’s ‘Three Famous Castles,’ Himeji-jou is the epitome of Japanese feudal architecture. An hour outside of Osaka by train, Himeji-jou has the bad ass distinction of being Tiger Tanaka’s secret ninja training school and rocket weapons development center in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Although it’s not nearly as good of a flick, Himeji Castle was also the film location of Tom Cruise’s historically flagrant The Last Samurai.

Kumamoto-jou (熊本城) You’ll have to head all the way south to the city of Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu, though it’s worth the bullet train trip to see one of Japan’s most impenetrable castles. Kumamoto-jou pioneered several military advancements including its signature-curved walls and wooden overhands, which easily repelled would-be attackers. As an added deterrent, defenders of Kumamoto-jou could also drop piles of rocks on anyone who attempted to scale the keep – not a pretty way to go…

Matsumoto-jou (松本城) Nicknamed the ‘Crow Castle’ because of its black walls and spreading wings, Matsumoto-jou is arguably Japan’s most magnificent feudal building. The centerpiece of Matsumoto, a small city in the heart of the Japanese Alps, Matsumoto Castle was built specifically for war. Although it appears to have five floors from the outside, there is actually a hidden and completely unexposed floor for stockpiling munitions. The castle is also lined with lethal trapdoor windows that were designed to accommodate both crossbows and muskets.

Did we forget any castles? Most Definitely.

With that said, please feel free to chime in with your own favorites, and be thankful you don’t live in an era of warring city-states…

** All images courtesy of the WikiCommons Media project **