Japan's No.1 Flip Book ★ Tekken's 'Parapara' Manga

(From: http://www.amazon.co.jp/絵がうごく-こんな○○は××だ-DVD-鉄拳/dp/B0000QX420/ref=sr_1_13?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1361545170&sr=1-13)

The guy in above picture is called 'Tekken'.

He is a Japanese comedian and an outstanding artist for the flip books.

Tekken created an emotional 3 minute flip animation titled 'Pendulum', 'Furiko' in Japanese, for the British rock band Muse last year.

The model of the 'Pendulum' is an average middle class Japanese family and the story describes ordinary days for ordinary Japanese people.

... the happiness, anger, sadness, forgiveness, regrets, praises, compassion, compromise, thankfulness ... all you could experience through the lifetime.

A three minute video with 1038-page flip book along with the swings of a pendulum reminds you something which may have been forgot.

The life in the 'Pendulum' is not irrelevant to you all in and outside Japan.
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'Yuru-Kyara' ★ Town Revitalization with Animal Suite Mascots

Kuma-mon (A black bear mascot from Kumamoto Prefecture; the picture from Kuma-mon official site: http://kumamon-official.jp, Japanese only)

On the day after the Valentine's Day, an article caught my eyes; "'Hikonyan' received the record high 228 chocolate gifts on the Valentine's Day across the country. One was even from Germany. 'Hikonyan' said he would eat all chocolate and he is planning to send the thanks gifts in return on the White Day." in the major national wire news and newspaper. 

Who is 'Hikonyan' and why he is so hot?

The big wave of the animal suite mascots has been nationwide and it is gaining the popularity throughout the country. 

These giant mascots are called 'yuru-kyara' (a registered trademark), literally means, 'yuru' is a shorten word of 'yurui', meaning 'loose' and 'soft', and 'kyara' comes from an English word 'character'. 

The hot guy on the Valentine's Day in the article was one of those 'yuru-kyara' mascots, 'Hikonyan' as below.

Hiko-nyan (from Hikone City in Shiga Prefecture; a white cat wearing samurai helmet with yellow horns; http://hikone-hikonyan.jp)

Those mascots are created by local governments and regional business groups as for PR tools to attract the tourists and to boost the local economy. Most of the mascots are characterised with local attractions such as castles and landscape and the images of local specialities. The mascots even have their own accounts on Facebook, Twitter, blogs with many followers and they often appear in media coverage.

'Yuru-kyara' mascots are often cute, cuddly, but unsophisticated. They are friendly, approachable and people seek healing from a stressed-out society.

There are hundreds of 'yuru-kyara' mascots and here are some:

Fukka-chan (from Fukaya City in Saitama Prefecture; the character is associated with a local speciality, 'naga negi' or long leek. http://www.fukkachan.com)

Takino-michi Yuzuru (from Minoh City in Osaka Prefecture; with an image of local speciality, citrus fruits and the name 'taki' - waterfall - came from the local tourist attraction; wearing samurai costume with a sword on the belt; http://www.yuzuyuzu.jp)

The annual yuru-kyara Grand Prix has been held since 2007 and 'Bari-san', the chicken from Imabari City in Ehime Prefecture won the 2012 Grand Prix. 'Yuru kyara' mascots show up in many places and we even encountered in Tokyo the other day.

'Yuru kyara' turned from a merely artless design character to the proud local brand.
They dance, they sing and ... kids love them!

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All-You-Can-Eat ★ Strawberry Picking in Chiba

Have you done enough winter sports with kids this year?

Are you looking for something different to entertain kids comfortably in cold winter?

Then, the strawberry picking in greenhouse may be a way to go.

Most of the Japanese strawberry farmers grow the strawberry plants in greenhouse, called 'vinyl house'.

The season for strawberry picking starts as early as January and it ends before the 'Golden Week' Holidays (late April) depending on the area.

Chiba is one of the most popular strawberry picking destinations for the people living in Tokyo.

It only takes a few hours by car, crossing to the other side of Tokyo Bay by driving the underwater Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line. 

The further to the south you go in Boso Peninsula, the fresher the air gets.
Here is a place my family went for strawberry picking. (Michi no Eki Tomiura Biwa Kurabu: http://www.mboso-etoko.jp/navi/e/, In Japanese: http://www.mboso-etoko.jp/top/ichigo/index.html)

Most of strawberry picking requires the booking in advance so that all the guests are guaranteed to pick enough strawberries in any rows in a greenhouse.

Pick, eat and keep eating in a given time because you are not allowed to bring them back home.

The average admission fee for the strawberry picking is about 1,500 yen per head and it is 'pick-your-own' and 'all-you-can-eat' system for 0.5 hour (the charge and conditions vary depending on the place and the season).

The greenhouse owner will give you a small disposal plastic container at the greenhouse entrance. 

One side of the container is filled with sweetened condensed milk and the other is an empty space to spit the caps of strawberries.

People don't spit on the walkway between the strawberry rows so it is always clean.

This greenhouse offers 5 different types of strawberries in one place.

One is sweeter than the others, one is rounder than the others, etc.

Kids can learn so much from visiting the farm.

After we filled up our tummies with a lot of strawberries, we had a little walk along the river. 

The sky was crispy clear and the air was so fresh.

The field of fully bloomed rapeseed blossoms was just beautiful.

The contrast of yellow flower, blue sky and green tree is the indication for the arrival of spring.

Returning to the tourist information centre after strawberry picking, my daughter had a lesson for strawberry jam making.

It was an easy-quick cooking lesson for kids but the taste of the jam was brilliant!

Why not pick your own red, plump and juicy strawberries in all-you-can-eat farms in Chiba?!

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