Categories
JapanGuide

The Statue of Liberty in Tokyo

In Odaiba there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty. Japanese people love to bring the best things in the world to Japan and adapt them according to their needs and tastes. Apart from the Statue of Liberty replica, in Tokyo there is also a red color replica of the Eiffel Tower called the Tokyo Tower, but in this case the Japanese replica is a little bit higher than the original.
The interesting thing is that the Japanese Statue of Liberty is NOT a copy of the American statue. It is an almost exact copy of the statue located in the Sena river in Paris. Japanese people built it in Odaiba to celebrate and strengthen Franco-Japanese relations.

The Japanese Statue of Liberty is located next to the sea in front of the Aqua City building in the Odaiba island (the best way to get there is using the Yurikamome line and stop at the Daiba station). The best photo of the statue can be taken during sunset, as the Sun appears on the left side or behind the statue depending on the season. If you take a picture in Summer there is also a lot of ships on the bay, which will give you the opportunity to take even a more original photo.

This is the best shot I have been able to get until now:

Odaiba
Maybe I played around with Lightroom too much and the photo ended up with some exaggerated halos!

Categories
Various

Excessive flirting forbidden

One of the rules at the entrance of a club in Shibuya caught my attention:

“Excessive Nampa (trying to pick up a member of the opposite sex) will NOT be tolerated.”

Flirt
This is the mentioned sign. Notice the other funny rules like “No sleeping”

“Nampa” (軟派 [なんぱ]) can be translated into English as “hitting on someone”, “flirting” or, as explained in the sign, “trying to pick up a member of the opposite sex”. I wonder where is the limit between “Nampa” and “Excessive Nampa” 🙂

Categories
Cinema

Shogun Assassin

The other day I was watching the movie “Shogun Assassin” which is based on the manga by Kazuo Koike Kozure Okami (Lone Wolf and Cub). The movie was released in 1980 and the truth is that, having read the manga, I wasn’t expecting too much of it, however I have to say that I loved it. Pure adrenaline!
The plot is based around a samurai (ronin) father and son who are looking for revenge. The father, “Lone Wolf”, is played by Tomisaburo Wakayama, one of the best martial arts actors at the time. His performance in battles is brilliant and gives the movie a lot realism in some parts.
Don’t miss it if you enjoy samurais and revenge stories, like for example The Vengeance Trilogy or Kill Bill. In fact, Quentin Tarantino admits loving Shogun Assassin and that he watched it several times before and during the production of Kill Bill.

Shogun Assassin