RECYCLE MARKS IN JAPAN

There are so many things around us and all are made from various substances… 

In Japan, we are requested to separate trash according to each ward regulations so that recycling is possible.  To sort them correctly, it’s important that we              understand what the marks below mean and represent.  Trash sorting regulations   vary according to where you live.  Please contact your local ward office for           recycling details of your neighborhood.

A mark made by the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle          promotion council to   urge active participation and  cooperation towards the       3R movement

List of Environmental labels and identification marks

*Have you ever heard of NPO Ecocap Movement? 
They collect caps of plastic bottles and sell them to recyclers. 
The profit is donated to provide vaccine to children in developing countries.          Please see below for more information:

http://ecocap007.com/aboutecocap.html

JAPANESE FUNERALS

Funerals are never happy news.  We all wish that we
do not have to face our beloved ones in such a
setting.  However, when we do, we want to express
our deep condolences by mourning and praying for
them.  Understanding and knowing the traditional
Japanese funeral manners will help us express
respect to the deceased as well as to their families
and relatives.

Japanese religion lies in Buddhism and although details
of practices can vary depending on sects, general
practice is shared.  Also, even when Buddhism is not
regularly practiced in the family, funerals tend to be
based on the Buddhist style when held

FUNERAL WAKES AND MEMORIAL SERVICE

OTSUYA (Wake ceremony)

“Otsuya” is a ceremony where close family and
relatives regret parting of their loved one by staying
up the whole night in the same room with the
departed.  Originally, only the bereaved and close
relatives attended.  However, in the recent years,
it has become so that persons who are unable to
attend the memorial (funeral) ceremony, stop by to
show their condolences.  Make sure to inform the
bereaved of your visit before hand in this case. 
Wake ceremonies are therefore announced and usually
start from 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. and lasts for 1-2 hours.

SOUGI (Funeral ceremony)

“Sougi” is a ceremony where close relatives gather to
pray for repose of the departed soul and peace for its
spirit. 

KOKUBETSUSHIKI (Memorial ceremony)

“Kokubetsushiki” is a ceremony where friends and
acquaintances gather to say their goodbyes.  

“Sougi” is to be followed by “Kokubetsushiki”. 
However, these ceremonies are often times joined
together as one ceremony.  At this time, this
ceremony would be referred to as
“Sougi / Kokubetsushiki”.

*“Osoushiki” (Funeral) refers to the whole funeral process
including the above ceremonies and the cremation
ceremony.

WHAT TO WEAR

Men

Black formal suit with white business shirt, black ties and
no tie pins.  Belts, socks, shoes should also be black

Dark navy or grey suits are okay for wakes.

Women           

Black formal one-piece dress suit or a black formal
kimono.  Bags, shoes, stockings should also be black.
Shiny material such as enamel, as well as leather
and furs are considered improper (Leather bags/
shoes are okay).  No ccessories should be worn
except for marriage ring, and a single pearl necklace,
if any.  Black or dark colored suits or one-piece dress
should be okay for wakes.

OKODEN (Offering/Condolence money)

Okoden started out when incense was offered at funerals
to comfort the soul of the deceased.  This incense scent
worked as a deodorizer after the earth burial.  In the past,
Okoden has turned into rice or vegetable offerings as
well, however, in the present, since the host of the funeral
prepares the necessities, the offering turned to cash as a
meaning to bear cost of the incense and also, as a show
of mutual support towards the bereaved for their
unexpected expense.

Crisp new bills should never be used for Okoden.  This
comes from the thought that preparation of new bills
suggests unfortune had been foresaw.

The amount varies on your relationship with the
deceased.  5,000 yen or 10,000 yen should be
appropriate for friend/colleague.  Be careful to avoid
the numbers 4 and 9 at funerals.  4 can be read as
“shi” in Japanese, which sounds the same as death
and 9 can be read as “ku” and this can suggest the
word “kurushii” which means suffering.

INCENSE OFFERING

Move to the position in front of the altar and bow to the
bereaved relatives.  Move to the altar and bow deeply.

Take one step forward to offer incense.  After you have
finished offering incense, place the balms of your
hands together in prayer and slightly lower your head. 
Take one step back facing the altar and bow deeply
before returning to your seat.

2 types of incense: MAKKO and SENKO

MAKKO- incense powder

Using the 3 fingers (thumb, index,
middle) of your right hand, take a
pinch of the powder incense. 
Lower your head slightly and bring
it to your forehead before sprinkling
them into the incense burner. 
Repeat this 1-3 times.  The number
of times for this process depends
on the religious sect.

SENKO-incense stick

Pick up the incense using your right hand and light it with
the candle.  Number of incense
here can be 1-3 depending on the religious sect.   Use your left hand to put out the flame.  Take caution never to blow out the flame.

Place it in the incense burner.  
Again, depending on the religious
sect, the incense will be either
laid down or set up.  If you will be
setting up the incense, place it
slightly apart from each other to prevent smoke from
clouding together and also place it in the rear section so
that following attendees will have enough space to place
their incense.

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Tokyo Tower is not just a landmark of Tokyo. 
It was built as a communication and observation tower in 1958. 
At that time, it was the tallest freestanding structure, rising to
333 meters in height, slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower which stands
at 324 meters.
As a result of advanced technology in manufacturing steel and
construction, one-third of Tokyo Tower was built using scrap
metal taken from US tanks damaged in the Korean War.
Therefore, Tokyo Tower is made only by using 55% of steel as
compared to the Eiffel Tower.

The main sources of revenue are antenna leasing and tourism. 
You may be aware that Tokyo Tower provides transmission
signals for television broadcasting and radio, but were you aware that
a part of your mobile phone fee is paid to Tokyo Tower as well.
Since 420 yen per mobile phone is being paid annually, and it is
said that 100 million mobile phones are currently being used, 4.2
billion yen is paid to Tokyo Tower automatically each year.

In 1989 it recorded 100 million visitors in the summer and illumination
service started.  The "Landmark light" is the most common
light up for Tokyo Tower.  Were you aware there is 2 types of
"Landmark light" depending on the season.  From October to June,
the tower will be covered in your most familiar orange lighting,
showing warmth in the cold.  From July to September, the Tower will
be accented with a silver white lighting, offering a cool image in
the hot summer season.
In 2008, the owner company spent $6.5 million to create a new
lighting to celebrate its 50th anniversary, calling it the "Diamond
Veil".  This allows for the 17 levels of lighting totaling to 276 lights,
each with ability to change into 7 different colors, to dress up
the Tokyo Tower during special occasions.  While the "Diamond
Veil" is lit up, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on such occasions, the 180
lights used for the "Landmark light" is completely turned off.
Using the "Diamond Veil" illumination, lighting is changed for special
events such as  National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, St. Patrick's
Day in 2007 commemorating the 50th anniversary of Japanese-Irish
relations, World Cup and Christmas, etc.


　








During the daytime when illumination is not turned on, Tokyo Tower
stands out proud dressed vibrantly in international orange (yes, you
cannot call it red or even plain orange) and white.  Under the Civil
Aeronautic Law, international orange must be used and therefore,
Tokyo Tower gets repainted every 5 years in order to maintain
this color.  34,000 liters of paint is used over a period of 1 year to
complete the repainting. 4,200 painters who will directly brush paint
the tower is only allowed to conduct their work from sunrise to
9 a.m. in the fall and spring only.  No wonder it takes 1 year! 

In July 2011, all television broadcasting will turn digital.
Although 24 broadcast waves, both digital and analog, are currently
being transmitted from Tokyo Tower, unfortunately, it is not capable
to support complete terrestrial digital broadcasting.
Hence we see a newcomer on the scene, the Tokyo Sky Tree, already
stretching past Japan's tallest building for the past 50 years. 
It is aimed to stand as tall as 634 meters at the time of completion. 
While we anticipate the completion of the next tallest structure
in Japan, I hope that Tokyo Tower will forever remain a symbol of
central Tokyo and continue to fascinate visiting tourists with its
beautiful illumination.

Night views of Tokyo Tower
http://tokyoyakei.jp/tokyo/tokyo-tower/tokyo-tower.html
http://www.tokyotower.co.jp/english/

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International Moving

     Santa-Fe

         Phone: 03-3589-6666

         http://www.santaferelo.com
        

Local and International Moving

Art Corporation

         Phone：0120-0123-88
              http://www.the0123.com/english/home.html

Asian Tigers Premier Worldwide Movers

         Phone: 03-6402-2319

           http://www.asiantigers-japan.com/

Crown Worldwide

         Phone：03-5447-2301

         http://www.crownworldwide.com

Nissin Corporation

         Phone: 03-3238-6512
              http://www.nissin-tw.co.jp/nissine/move/index.html        

NITTSU (Nippon Express)
              Phone: 03-6251-6300
              Phone: 0120-1504-22 (Toll free)

         http://www.nipponexpress.com/moving/index.html


Local Moving

Tokyo Helping Hands:

         Phone: 090-6289-5824

http://tokyohelpinghands.com/

      Quoz:

Phone: 03-5932-7777

http://www.quoz.biz/default.asp     


Search for Local Movers:

http://tokyo-movers.com/

Search for international movers:

 http://www.intlmovers.com/ 

 

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FIREWORKS (HANABI) FESTIVAL
IN TOKYO and KANAGAWA 2010

Fireworks displays and events are held at various places
in Japan mostly in hot summer evenings.
Japanese pyrotechnics are very famous and even

have been used to light up Olympic ceremonies.


Here are some of the major fireworks with over 10,000
displays.

July 24, Saturday
The 29th Chofu Fireworks
19:20 ~ 20:30
Place: Tamagawa Kasenjiki
Access: 15 min. from Chofu Station, Keio Line
12,000 displays

July 27, Tuesday
The 44th Kasai Nouryo Fireworks
19:20 ~ 20:20
Place: Katsushika Shibamata Baseball Field
Access: 10 min. from Shibamata Station, Keisei Line
    15 min. from Shinshibamata Station, Hokuso Line
    20 min. from Kanamachi, JR Joban Line
10,000 displays

July 29, Thursday
The 32nd Adachi Fireworks
19:30~20:30
Place: Arakawa River Area
Access: 15 min. from Kitasenju Station, JR Line and
   Tokyo Metro Lines
12,000 displays

July 31st, Saturday
The 32nd Sumida Fireworks
19:05 ~ 20:30

Area 1: 15 min. walk from Asakusa Station, North Exit
   on Tobu-Isezaki Line
        15 min. walk from Asakusa Station Exit 5 on Ginza
          Line/Toei Asakusa Line.
Area 2: 5 min. walk from Asakusa
Station Exit A2 on  Toei Asakusa Line,
 5 min. walk from Kuramae  Station 
Exit A7 on Toei Oedo Line.
20,000 displays

http://sumidagawa-anabi.com/index_eg.html

August 7th, Saturday
The 35th Edogawa Fireworks
19:15 ~ 20:45
Place: Edogawa River Area
Access: 15 min. from Shinozaki Station, Toei Shinjuku Line
14,000 displays

The 52^nd Itabashi Fireworks

19:00 〜 20:45

Place: Arakawa River Area
Access: 30 min. from Takashimadaira Station,
      Toei Mita Line
11,000 displays

The 64^th Atsugi Ayu Festival Fireworks

19:00 〜 20:30

Place: Junction of Sagami-gawa, Nakatsu-gawa
      & Koayu-gawa River Area
Access: 15 min. from Hon-atsugi Station, Odakyu Line
10,000 displays

2010 Yokosuka Fireworks

19:30 〜 20:30

Place: Mikasa Park & Umikaze Park
Access: 15 min. from Yokosuka Station, JR Yokosuka Line

15 min. from Yokosuka Chuo Station East Exit,
    Keihin-Kyuko Honsen Line
10,000 displays

August 14th, Saturday
The 23rd Tokyo Bay Fireworks Festival
19:00~20:20
Place: Harumi Event Area (Harumi Athletic Field
       5-9 Harumi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)
Access: 15 min. walk from Kachidoki Station on
      Toei Oedo Line, or
          20 min. walk from Toyosu Station on Yurakucho Line.
12,000 displays

August 19th, Thursday
The 31^st Jingu-Gaien Fireworks Festival
19:30~20:30
Place: 4 different Parks in Gaien
-Jingu Kyujo Ballpark
-National Kasumigaoka Athletic Field
-Chichibu-no-miya Rugby Field
-Soft-Ball Park
Access: Sendagaya Station or Shinanomachi
    Station on JR Sobu Line;
    Gaienmae Station,  Aoyama 1-chome Station, 
      Omotesando Station on Subways; and
       Kokuritsu Kyogijyo Station on Toei Oedo Line.
12,000 displays
* Tickets are required to enter each venue.

August 21st, Saturday
The 32nd Setagaya-ku Tamagawa Fireworks Festival
19:00 ~

Place: Futako Tamagawa Ryokuchi Area

Access: 15 min. walk from Futako-Tamagawa Station,
      Den-en-toshi & Oimachi Lines, or
                15 min. walk from Futako Shinchi Station on
      Den-en-toshi Line.
12,000 displays



Please note:
*In case of bad weather, fireworks may
  be rescheduled  to the next day.
 *Details may change without any notice.

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Did you know that Japanese license number plates have lots of
information? 

          

  
On the top line, name of the issuing office is indicated mostly by
Kanji and a vehicle class code in numeral.  Tokyo is divided into
five regions, Adachi, Hachioji, Nerima, Shinagawa and Tama.  
You may notice many cars with number plates indicating 品川
in the central and southern area including Izu Islands , 足立 in
the north-east, 練馬in the north-west, and 八王子or多摩 in
the suburb of Tokyo. 

Vehicle Class Codes- 2 digits or 3 digits

         10 – 19, 100 - 198         large trucks

         20 – 29, 200 – 298        buses

         30 – 39, 300 – 396        private cars, over 2000 cc

         40 – 49, 400 – 479        small trucks, less than 2000 cc

         50 – 59, 500 – 579        private cars, less than 2000 cc

         80 – 89, 800 – 879        special purpose vehicles

         90 – 99, 900 – 998        special large sized vehicles

The bottom line contains a Hiragana character and a four-digit
serial number divided into two groups.  There are certain
regulations for using Hiraganas such as れ and わ for rental cars.  
English alphabets are used for vehicles owned by US military
personnel instead of Hiraganas.

Colors are used as another classification;

         White plate with green characters: Private vehicles

         Green plate with white characters: Commercial vehicles

         Yellow plate with black characters: Private vehicles,
                                                                     less than 660 cc

         Black plate with yellow characters: Commercial vehicles,
                                                                     less than 660 cc

These number plates are issued by the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport of the National Government for
most vehicles while ones with smaller engines are issued
by the local municipality.

What you should remember in case of emergency are the
4-digit numbers, issuing office and color of the car to help
police identify.

Other types of number plates categorized for official use are:
     Blue plate with white characters: Foreign Diplomats

     White plate with a red diagonal line: Temporary number

     White plate with black characters: Military

Official vehicles of the Imperial household are exempt from
displaying number plates.

For more details, go to an article in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Japan

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'The Weather News' has predicted the flowering dates of cherry
blossoms.
The best time to view cherry blossoms will be late March to early April.
However, it depends on the weather and temperatures. 

As temperatures have been comparatively high this year, the trees
will begin blooming several days earlier than usual, around March 22
in Tokyo and Yokohama according to The Weather News.








Here is a list of popular locations for cherry blossoms:

TOKYO

LIST 2









TOKYO

LIST 3

TOKYO