Planning That Big Overseas Trip

Cheap flights have meant that more and more people are taking off and heading overseas.

Here is some great advice from the folks at Lonely Planet for planning that big trip.

Song of the Week Kono Chikyu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterundayo! by Morning Musume

This week’s Song of the Week is Kono Chikyu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterundayo! by Morning Musume which has debuted at number 2 on the Japanese Jpop Oricon chart.

Morning Musume (モーニング娘) also called Momusu (モー娘) for short is a Japanese idol girl group managed and produced by Tsunku. The groups name basically means Morning Girls and they are part of the Hello! Project stable. The group has gone through many line-up changes since first formed in 1997. It seems that every year there are new graduations from the group and new auditions bring in new members that it can be hard keeping track of the line-up.

Picture of the Week Halloween in Japan

Halloween in Japan has started gaining in popularity with more and more cities, towns, shopping centers and theme parks displaying colourful Halloween decorations and having fun events. Like most things in Japan, Halloween starts quite early and places will start with the decorations in September through to October.

One of the fun things I enjoy around this time of year in Japan is the Halloween special edition of Japanese treats and snacks. This includes such things as Halloween Pumpkin Kit Kat to Koala no March Halloween.

Annual Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival in Olinda

Spring is upon us in Australia with warmer temperatures and the beautiful spring flowers and blooming cherry blossom trees. In Japan, spring is the time for hanami or cherry blossom viewing. The sakura or cherry blossom is Japan’s unofficial national flower and every March in Japan, thousands of cherry blossom trees come to life as they cover Japan, signifying the start of the annual Hanami season.

The National Rhododendron Gardens in Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria pays homage to this ancient Japanese tradition with their own version of hanami, the Annual Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival with cherry blossom trees captivating the landscape. Enjoy the beauty of the blossoms along with the myriad of other plants such as azaleas, magnolias and rhododendrons.

Song of the Week Fighters by J Soul Brothers

This week’s number one single on the Japanese Jpop Oricon charts is Fighters by J Soul Brothers.

J Soul Brothers started in 1999 before changing their name to Exile in 2001. Exile went on to become one of Japan’s best known groups. J Soul Brothers was later revived by the group’s leader Hiro again in 2007 and merged with Exile in 2009 to form a 14 member group. They released their first studio album on December 2, 2009.

This song reminds me very much of Exile with some cool martial arts thrown in for the video clip.

Picture of the Week Former Kaichi School Matsumoto

The Former Kaichi School in Matsumoto City, Nagano, Japan is a Meiji era school that was founded in 1873. The school was used as a functional school for 90 years and is one of the oldest elementary schools in Japan. The building is a mix of Japanese and Western styles of architecture and was designated an important cultural property in 1961.

In 1965 the former school was opened as a museum of education. The museum inside the fantastic looking building showcases the history of some of the education material and architectural materials of the period. The education materials contain some old textbooks that were used during the Edo period as well as textbooks, diaries and certificates from the Meiji era.

Tsukimi Burger

September in Japan usually brings with it Autumn or Aki (秋) with cooler weather, beautiful fall leaves and Autumn food and drinks. One of my favourite Autumn foods in Japan during this time is the Tsukimi burger. When this starts appearing on The McDonald's menu I know for sure that Autumn has arrived in Japan. The burger is only available for a limited time during the Autumn and is currently on the menu again.