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Natsuyuki Fujimori, who works with a Tokyo based Non-Government  Organization Along the banks of Arakawa River in Tokyo, a group of people are huddled together as they listen to Minoru Igarashi's instructions on color coding for garbage separation and safety. The group, employees of a local company, gathered to clean up the banks of the river, assisted by Arakawa Clean-Aid Forum, a Tokyo-based non-government organization. "We are working for a common cause: to clean the river bank," said Natsuyuki Fujimori, a 20-year-old, who is one of the five full-time employees of the NGO. Fujimori, who chose environmental protection over a corporate job, said that their team organized 159 cleaning exercises in 2015 and collected 5,602 bags of garbage - including from PET bottles, shoes, cans, baseball and tennis balls, tires, and insulin syringes. It is a collective and community exercise. The NGO, to fund its operations, organizes cleaning exercises for companies that have environmen...

Ono river and town of Sawara.  "What I found out was ... ," said Moeko Kita, " ... there are cats here and there!" Given the significance of cats in Japanese culture – they symbolise good luck and fortune – the town of Sawara was a booming business hub. Kita, who works at Association for Promotion of International Cooperation, is an avid photographer. She was accompanying Floyd Takeuchi, a senior photographer, veteran journalist and author. Sawara, a historic trading town, is 90 minutes north of Tokyo by express bus. "It has a well-kept historic district, with the canals once used for trading boat freighters that took rice and sake to Tokyo," said Takeuchi. The preservation of history and character makes this beautiful hamlet a photographer's dream. Back to the cats, Kita said. There were not many of them in the historical district, but one could see them as one walked into the town. A black cat resting at a small shrine "There was one cat that al...

A manhole cover with sea, sun and a ship in Oami-Shirasato-city, Chiba prefecture, Japan. There are a couple of things that strike a chord with a visitor to the Land of the Rising Sun such as cleanliness, politeness, patience, meticulousness, precision and, there is creativity in every nook and corner of the country – from food presentations, to architecture to garbage receptacles and even manhole covers. No, the latter two examples are not raising any stink. They are reminders the beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder. Japanese love to walk. In Tokyo, sidewalks of the city that is home to 13 million, has a sea of humanity striding to and fro dressed in their impeccable, stylish, traditional and contemporary couture. One cannot help but set one’s sights to the ground and notice tastefully designed metallic circles making a ‘fashion statement’. On a normal day, these round covers would be best avoided, oft scurried past, with face covered – but then this is Japan, and there are c...

Photo Courtesy JTB Media Creation: A panoramic view of the metropolis of Tokyo with the Tokyo Sky Tree standing tall. TOKYO, Japan: Tokyo Sky Tree literally kisses the stratosphere, rising 634 metres above the ground, and the view of the vast expanse of one of the world's most vibrant cities from Tembo Galleria, the observation deck that culminates at 451.2 metres, is awe-inspiring. This towering marvel of engineering is the transmission hub for major television and radio channels in Tokyo, and, of course, a tourist hotspot. "The need to construct this tower arose to facilitate smooth and uninterrupted radio transmission as a lot of buildings in Tokyo were 200 metres high," informed Hiroyuki Ami from Secretariat of Public Relations, Tobu Tower Skytree Co Ltd. Sky Tree, rising above the expanse of a city inhabited by more than 13 million people, has been recognised by the Guinness World Records Company as the tallest tower in the world. Tokyo Sky Tree rises tall The prist...

Godaido temple - Matsushima Matsushima, Japan: The land of the rising sun has distinct nuances that permeate the air and meet the eye – humility, meticulousness, precision, and spirituality - each intertwined by threads of unequivocal faith, woven by the invisible hands of the Supreme Being. Godaido, an icon of the city of Matsushima, in north Japan, sits on a small island off the coast. This area is one of the country’s most scenic spots and is also famous for the cultivation of oysters. There is something magnetic about Godaido temple, which attracts scores of visitors, who cross a wooden bridge that connects the island where Godaido stands with the mainland. Walking on this bright-red painted bridge, which is a simple structure – spaced wooden boards attached horizontally to the two railings and over them two long long vertical planks, over which the visitors walk to and fro from the temple. One can see the sea splashing on to the rocky edifice. The intentionally precarious red brid...

Mao Hosaka, JICA volunteer in Environmental Education at Manchester 4-H Club hands out sticky notes and coloured markers to students of Morgan's Forest Primary School in Clarendon, their task was to write things they are thankful for. Mao Hosaka has perhaps done it all – from delving into the uber megapixels of animation in Tokyo, finding eternal bliss meditating in a temple in Thailand, to kicking up a storm as she brushed up her Muay Thai (Thai boxing) skills, learning Bahasa (the official language of Indonesia), and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. “Even though the work experience didn’t last long, it made me realise that this kind of life in a big city was not for me,” she said. “Since then I started looking for something that I’m passionate about, something I’m happy doing as a part of my life.” In her quest for finding purpose and meaning, Hosaka travelled to Zimbabwe and also volunteered in a wildlife conservation programme in South Africa. Now a Japan International Co...

The main temple building of Zuigan-ji Matsushima, Japan: There is something about Zuigan-ji temple that touches the soul. Serenity permeates in the temple compound - the cedar-tree-lined dirt path, rows of caves carved on the rocky cliff with some moss-covered memorials for the departed souls - cool October breeze and blooming hydrangeas - bliss. One of the holiest and revered sites in Japan, Zuigan-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple that opened its doors to the world in 828 AD, attracts visitors from across the world. Zuigan-ji is Matsushima town's hub of activities - visitors, believers, some in awe, others in peace, yet others putting their best pose forward to take selfies - this pious spot sees them all. Statues and caves which are memorials to the departed souls line the path at Zuigan-ji Located at Matsushima-kaigan, a sea-face town that is revered as one of the scenic spots in Japan, Zuigan-ji was made the site for burial by the ruling Date (pronounced Dah tay) fam...

Decked hina doll of the empress on display on the occasion of Hinamatsuri "I have always decorated the dolls since my daughter was small,” recalled Sayoko Takase, pointing  to the elaborate display of hina dolls, Hinamatsuri – or the Doll Festival, celebrating girls – which is about good health and future happiness.  Elegantly attired in traditional Japanese finery – silk kimono and jewellery – the hina dolls were intricately placed on a pedestal on March 3. “It (Hinamatsuri) is the celebration of health and happiness of girls, it does not matter how large the display of the dolls are, it is the thought that matters,” said Mrs Takase, wife of Japanese ambassador to Jamaica, Yasuo Takase. Her daughter, Yuria, is grown up now, studying in a University in Tokyo, but this occasion still finds relevance. “It is a celebration of being a girl, and I feel proud,” Yuria exclaimed. Hina doll of the Emperor The dolls, are not only pretty faces and grand attires, they ha...

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it," says Confucius, whose words of wisdom are embedded in the crystal-clear brew from the Land of the Rising Sun. Sake, the potent confluence of spring-fed water and grains of rice, has been an integral part of Japanese society, and Noriyoshi Nagai's family tradition for six generations. "It (Sake) is a historical beverage consisting of rice and water; it is not just a business, everything I produce are like my children," Nagai said. Nestled in a valley among the snowcapped Mt Hotaka range, Kawaba village is a postcard-perfect setting. Lush green foliage, crisp cool air and the clear spring water flowing down the streams, which Nagai recalls, became the source of inspiration for his ancestor Shoji Nagai, who founded the Nagai Sake brewery in 1886. The idea for the brewery came from the inherent desire to preserve the sanctity of the nature and purity of water. "The water is so pure that you can ...

What does one get when one combines ivory, silk threads, red sandalwood, dog skin and tortoise shell? No, it is not a part of any ritual or ingredients out of a horror flick. They are the raw materials for the traditional Japanese plucked lute - shamisen. "The word 'shamisen' means three strings," explained Hidesaburo Abe, founder of Abeya folk music group. In the land of the Samurai, the shamisen is an integral part of the country's traditional folk culture. "There are a variety of shamisen in Japan," said Hiromoto Oyama, first secretary, Embassy of Japan in Jamaica. "The instrument has variants, according to the region and the kind of folklore that it is being played with." INDIAN ROOTS Shamisen traces its origins to Okinawa, south Japan, where it is said to have come from India. Musical instruments similar to the shamisen have been excavated in Mongolia. "The shamisen has a variety of sizes, but the shape is almost simi...

"The characters that we draw do not have any nationality. They are a work of unlimited imagination," professed Masami Suda, one of Japan's most prolific and famous animators and character designers. This, according to Suda, is a conscientious move away from the stereotype that everything from the east has to have an Oriental tinge to it. Suda is revered as sensei (teacher, master) of those colourful creations of the virtual world which have spread worldwide. In Japan, he said, these illustrated characters live beyond television screens and book leaves. "Anime and manga (loosely defined as animations and comic books) are an important part of Japanese life," the sensei said. "They live in the bloodstream of the people." Almost 40 per cent of magazines and books sold in Japan are manga, which have a market worth of over 448 billion yen (US$4.3 billion approximately). On a recent visit to Jamaica, Suda said he was impressed by the creative thoug...

Mobile Suit Gundam “Whenever there were problems that could not be solved at work, we always said if Doraemon could come and fix them,” said Mieko Araki, cultural officer, Embassy of Japan, pointing to the caricature of the robotic cat from the future. Doraemon may never have come to Araki’s rescue, but the unequivocal faith and she and almost all Japanese have on the manga, (translated “impromptu sketches”), makes them more than cutie pies with cutie smiles and more profound than mere figurines of a plasticated pop culture. integral part of culture “These cartoons and characters are an integral part of Japanese culture,” Hiromoto Oyama, first secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Jamaica, who grew up eptomising the gigantic robot Manziger Z. “Through them,” Oyama continued, “we get reinforced key and core values and customs.” Oyama said that through manga, every Japanese learns the way of life, how to make friends and learn basic human instincts. Aspects of manga in ...