Archive for January 2012

Setsubun at Taga Taisha Shrine

January 27, 2012 Festivals in Winter, Taga Comments Off

Ogre dancers at Taga Taisha Setsubun. Click image to see more photos.

February 3 is the Setsubun Festival at many temples and shrines in Japan. It marks the beginning of spring according to the lunar calendar. They yell, “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (鬼は外! 福は内!) while they throw beans at ogre to eliminate the evil (oni) of the previous year and bring in good fortune (fuku).

In Shiga Prefecture, the most impressive Setsubun festival is held at Taga Taisha Shrine in Taga town. They have impressive ogre (called oni in Japanese) dancers from Shimane Prefecture to act as the demons to chase away during the festival. The bean-throwing is called mame-maki. They will hold two mame-maki sessions on Feb. 3, at 11 am and 2 pm. Expect a large crowd.

It starts with a ceremony in the shrine’s worship hall. Then a dramatic performance by the ogre on stage where they are chased away by priests throwing beans at them. The main event is when over a hundred people born in the year of the dragon begin to throw soybeans and mochi to the crowd. The soybeans are thrown in little paper bags, so you can still pick them up and eat them even if they fall to the ground. But the mochi are hard as a rock, so watch out. The bean-throwing is fun, but potentially dangerous with beans or mochi hitting your face/head and people pushing you around. Taking pictures is pretty risky as well. One mochi even hit my camera lens. Fortunately, no damage. You should always look up and see where the mochi and beans are flying.

Taga Taisha is near Taga Taisha-mae Station on the Ohmi Railways Taga Line. Google Map here.

Mame-maki at Taga Taisha.

Video link: http://youtu.be/41epqjNMG8s

Taga Taisha Setsubun official Website: http://www.tagataisya.or.jp/info/setubun/index2.html
More photos: http://photoguide.jp/pix/thumbnails.php?album=727

 

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Naomi Koshi, Otsu’s new woman mayor

January 23, 2012 Best posts (most popular), Otsu Comments Off

Otsu Mayor-elect Naomi Koshi.

Otsu’s mayoral election was held on January 22, 2012 with Naomi Koshi (越 直美) defeating two-term (8 years) incumbent Mayor Makoto Mekata (目片信) by almost 10,000 votes.

The 36-year-old Koshi Naomi, a lawyer by trade, is Japan’s youngest woman mayor ever to be elected. She is Shiga’s first female mayor. And it is the first time in Japan to have a woman prefectural governor (Yukiko Kada) as well as a woman mayor of the prefectural capital. She is the third woman mayor of a prefectural capital (the other two are in Sendai and Yokohama). There are currently only 14 female city mayors in Japan.

Ms. Koshi ran as an independent, but was endorsed by the Democratic Party of Japan, Social Democratic Party, and Taiwa-no-Kai (対話の会) which also backs Shiga Governor Yukiko Kada. The 70-year-old incumbent Mayor Mekata, also an independent, was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, and numerous corporate organizations. It is amazing to see such a newcomer defeating a well-entrenched and experienced incumbent.

Ms. Koshi vowed to reform Otsu, especially social services such as childcare and elderly support,  tourism promotion, and financial reforms. She also supports foreign language education in schools. Her youth and symbol of change have appealed to voters who also have high expectations for her and the governor to work together. (The incumbent mayor was not on very good terms with the governor.)

Ms. Koshi received 51,735 votes, Mayor Mekata got 42,232 votes, and the third candidate Masako Higashi (東 昌子) won 22,712 votes. Some 44.15% of eligible voters went to the polls. This is 1.84% higher than the last election.

Governor Yukiko Kada, who congratulated Ms. Koshi at her campaign headquarters, commented that the citizens of Otsu wanted change and that having a woman in office brings the woman’s point of view which is rare in politics and business. She added that there will be a good synergy by having the city and prefecture working together for child care, elderly support, tourism, and other areas. Ms. Koshi does intend to work in tandem with the governor better than her predecessor did. She hopes that by changing Otsu, she can change Shiga, and then Japan. She’s young yet, and if she does well in Otsu, I think she could very well run for governor someday.

Mayor-elect Koshi Naomi was born on July 5, 1975. She grew up in Otsu and attended public schools including Zeze High School. She earned her undergraduate and graduate law degrees at Hokkaido University. In June 2009, she graduated from Harvard Law School in the U.S. This means she speaks English. (Now you know why I’m writing about her.) From 2002 to Nov. 2011, she practiced law for a Tokyo-based law firm and in New York. She specialized in corporate law. Her hobbies are swimming and yoga.
Official Website: http://www.koshinaomi.net/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/koshinaomi

Congratulations to her and I look forward to her policies on promoting tourism.

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Nagahama Sengoku Taiga Furusato-haku Expo

January 18, 2012 Nagahama Comments Off

Official poster for the Nagahama Sengoku Taiga Furusato Expo. Click image to see the pdf pamphlet in Japanese.

Riding on the coattails of last year’s NHK Taiga Drama Go and the Azai Sisters, the city of Nagahama is following up on their successful Go and Azai Sisters Expo by holding another feudal history expo this year called Nagahama Sengoku Taiga Furusato-haku (長浜・戦国大河ふるさと博) from March 24 to Dec. 2, 2012.

It can be translated as Nagahama Warring States Hometown Expo. I’m told that as of this writing, they have no plans to provide any foreign language information for this expo (none for last year’s expo either). So I’ll voluntarily provide essential information in English. (My Go and Azai Sisters post (and Go Expo photos) was last year’s most popular Shiga News post receiving several hundred hits.)

Last year’s expo was limited to places in northern Shiga related to Go and the Azai sisters. But for this year’s expo, they are expanding the theme by including major sengoku (warring states) sites. The expo thus covers a larger area than last year, which means you might not be able to see all the expo sites in one day.

Like last year’s expo, Odani Castle is included as one of the expo sites and a shuttle bus will be provided to go up the mountain. A guide will be on hand to conduct tours (in Japanese only). There’s also Mt. Shizugatake (guide provided), Chikubushima island, a pavilion in Kinomoto, the Azai Folk History Museum, and a small pavilion in central Nagahama. First-time visitors should not miss Odani Castle, Mt. Shizugatake (splendid views of Lake Biwa and Lake Yogo), and Chikubushima (Lake Biwa’s most famous and historic island).

Sengoku history fans also should note that Nagahama also has the Ishida Mitsunari Birthplace and the Battle of Anegawa Site, both of which surprisingly are not included in the expo, but accessible by local bus routes. Nagahama Castle is not part of the expo either. It is readily accessible and probably doesn’t need the extra publicity.

Expo admission will be charged. As of this writing, it doesn’t look like they will have a passport-type pass (like last year) to all the expo sites. The sites have been grouped into three areas: Odani-Azai Area, Chikubushima-Nagahama Area, and Shizugatake-Kinomoto Area. Each attraction is charging its own admission. Admission to the pavilions is 300 yen, while going to Chikubushima will cost 2,980 yen for the round-trip boat ride from Nagahama Port plus 400 yen to enter the site. Mt. Shizugatake has a round-trip chair lift costing 760 yen (hiking up/down for free is also possible). There are discounts for junior high school and younger kids. Admission is free for infants younger than elementary school age.

A shuttle bus costing 500 yen will run to all the expo sites. However, the shuttle bus will not run during June 1 to July 22 (rainy season) and the entire month of September (typhoon season perhaps).

After the expo starts and I visit the expo this spring, I will update this page with more details and photos. Till then, make plans to visit Nagahama this year if you haven’t visited yet.

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Shiga’s die-cut postcards

January 17, 2012 Art in Shiga Prefecture, Shiga/Omi Brand Comments Off

Omi-shonin merchant die-cut postcard issued in 2011.

If you’ve been to a post office in Shiga, you probably noticed those unique-shaped, die-cut postcards featuring one of Shiga’s symbols like the Shigaraki tanuki raccoon dog, Hikone Castle, and an Omi shonin merchant. The Japan Post Office has been issuing these charming postcards since 2009. One die-cut postcard per year has been issued for each prefecture. So each prefecture now has three die-cut postcards. Shiga’s three die-cut cards are shown here. In Japanese, they call it gotochi form cards (ご当地フォルムカード).

Each prefecture’s die-cut cards are sold only in that prefecture’s post offices. Each card costs 180 yen and requires a 120 yen stamp for domestic mail. Some cards have sold out, but they will be reissued soon.

If you are a postcard collector like me, you may wonder what the other die-cut postcards in other prefectures look like. Well, there is a Web site where you can see the postcard designs for each prefecture. Just click on a prefecture to see the three cards so far. You can then see the prefecture’s unique symbols and attractions: http://postacollect.com/gotochi/index.html

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Map of Shiga English tourist pamphlet

January 15, 2012 Shiga/Omi Brand Comments Off

Map of Shiga pamphlet in English. Previous version on left, and latest one on right.

Did you know that the Biwako Visitors Bureau publishes a Map of Shiga in English? Most likely not, as it is never displayed on any tourist pamphlet rack. You have to ask for it. But not only that, it’s normally available only at the tourist info office at Otsu Station. It’s not even distributed to other tourist info offices in other cities/towns in Shiga. I asked them why, but got no straight answer.

The latest edition is A4 size (folds out to A1 size) instead of the compact size of the previous edition (left in above photo). It has all the train lines/stations so it can be useful for first-time visitors. Unfortunately, the English is not so good, and it has not been improved at all from the previous edition(s).

One side of the sheet has the map in English, and the reverse side has listings of sightseeing attractions and hotels. I think the reverse side should have more detailed maps of the major cities. But instead we see embarrassingly short introductions of a woefully inadequate list of attractions  (see photo below). Lake Biwa is mentioned here and there (on the cover even), but not explained anywhere as an attraction. Chikubushima and Omi-Maiko are not even mentioned. The map is slanted toward Otsu and there are cities/towns which are not even mentioned (such as Takashima) in the attractions. No festivals either.

It seems that they are trying to have the Map of Shiga double as Shiga’s tourist pamphlet in English. This obviously won’t work since there’s simply not enough space for Shiga’s many attractions. They need to make a separate foreign-language pamphlet introducing Shiga’s tourist spots and improve the map to show our National Treasures and other important things that they have neglected to emphasize.

But why am I telling you this? I should be telling this to Biwako Visitors Bureau. Well, that’s what I’m doing right now on their Facebook page in Japanese.

Map of Shiga 2

Sightseeing and hotel listings in the Map of Shiga English pamphlet. Click on the image to enlarge.

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滋賀の英文観光地図パンフレット

January 15, 2012 English Tips, Shiga/Omi Brand, 日本語 Comments Off

左が旧版、右が最新版の英文Map of Shiga。

社団法人びわこビジターズビューローが発行したMap of Shigaの英文地図のパンフレットを拝見しました。旧版と比べると英文が全然改善されてない。形だけが変わっていて中身がそのまま。

旧版のMap of Shigaのよくない英語をそのまま流用されている。むしろスペルミスや間違っている文法が増えている。Native speakerによるcheckがやっていない。

地図には近江八景と琵琶湖八景が強調しているけど、これらは観光の目玉にならない。残念ながら、広重が見た詩的な近江はもうありません。琵琶湖八景を当てにする観光客も少ないと思います。県庁の英文観光ページにも同じです：http://www.pref.shiga.jp/multilingual/english/about/attractions.html

地図（と県庁のHP）に強調して欲しいのはまず国宝。寺院と神社は勿論、高槻の国宝の観音さんもいかが？そして戦国時代の史跡。特に大河ドラマに登場した場所。広重が好きなら宿場町もハイライトしよう。あとは各市町の観光案内所(電話番も)、自転車が借りれる駅（載れる道も）、道の駅（物産センター含む）。なぜJTBやKinki Nippon Touristのofficeがあるけど自分の案内所と物産センターが載ってないのか？

地図の裏面(下の写真)は滋賀の観光スポットを簡単に紹介しているけど、とても物足りない。滋賀の魅力が十分に伝わってこないし、全市町の名所が載せていない。高島市、米原市、日野町などが全然載ってない。お祭りの紹介もゼロ。英語もずさん。”Biwako Hana Funsui”にある”ajutages”っていったい何？

そしてなんと琵琶湖も全然紹介してない。どういう湖とか、基本的な説明なし。近江舞子も竹生島も全く紹介なし。Biwako Visitors Bureauの名称にも地図の表紙にも「ビワコ」があるのに紹介してない。あんだけ「Biwako, Biwako, Biwako」ばかり言っているのに。

しかし、滋賀は琵琶湖だけじゃない。県民も「琵琶湖」より「滋賀」の名称が圧倒的に好んでいます。Shiga Lakestarsのプロバスケチームの名前も投票で決まったけど、Biwako Lakestarsは全くダメだった。琵琶湖は国立公園にもなっていないし、摩周湖や十和田湖のように「美しい湖」というイメージが全国的にありません。滋賀県すら聞いたことない外国人にBiwakoと言ってもピントこない。Ninja, samurai, National Treasuresの方がずっと通じやすい。

滋賀の総合的な観光案内パンフを作りたい場合、別紙にするべき。地図は地図だけにして裏面には主な市街の拡大地図が望ましい。

Map of ShigaはやはりBVBのHP/FBと同じ性質である。形だけで中身が不十分。企画と実行がよく考えていない。せっかく奇麗に印刷したのに、もったいない。

この他の指摘と意見は下記にまとまりました。今度の改訂版に参考になればと思います。

表紙

  • Map of Shigaの名称をMap of Shiga Prefectureに。なぜかというと、信州の志賀高原とよく間違われる。
  • Lake Biwa JapanをLake Biwa, Japanに。
  • 相応しい滋賀の観光キャッチコピーがあったらいい。
  • 滋賀は日本のどこにあるか分かるように日本の地図に滋賀がマークされた小さい地図もあるといい。

裏表紙

  • “Access Map”の”Access”は和製英語です。正しい英語は英文ガイドブックなど参考してください。
  • By Train, etc.の見出しですが、etc.は見出しに使わない。アクセスの説明も不十分。新幹線駅の利便性や京都からの電車乗車時間などもっと優しく説明しよう。
  • Tourist SectionをTourist Information Officesに。県内にある全ての観光案内所を掲載してください。文字をもっと小さくしたら入ると思う。なぜ高島市が載っていないのか。あんなでっかい市の観光案内所の案内が何でない？
  • 英文住所にある”City”や”Town”は不要。でもShigaが必要。
  • コロン（：）の後に必ず一個のスペースを入れる。Tel: Address: など。

表面（地図）

  • ローマ字やスペルミスが多数。よくチェックしてください。
  • 県内と県外の部分が両方緑色となっているため、県境が見にくい。旧版の地図の方が見やすい（県外が白い）。市町の境も非常に見にくい。
  • 強調している近江八景はローマ字で英語になっていない。Karasaki no Yauの意味は分かる訳ない。分からないものを載せても意味がない。
  • サイクリングロードも色付きで表示するとより使い物になる。（この他の指摘は上記。）

裏面（下の写真を参考）

多数言い回しが悪い英語がある。たとえば：

  • “Hikone Castle”にある”350,000 koku”と言ってもkokuの説明が必要。”Hikone Castle is considered”もおかし。2007年の400年祭（開催中）のこともまだ載っている。
  • Enryakujiに”registered as a world inheritance”はWorld Heritage Site。
  •  Sightseeing Guidance of Shiga PrefectureとMajor Tourist Sightsの違いが分かりません。同じことですよ。

その他

  • 旧版の地図と比べるとA4版は不便。例えばサイクリングしているとき。
  • 地図には観光スポット、ホテルなどの紹介は大津に片寄っている。湖北の方が湖が奇麗のにあまり強調されていない。大津に関しては大津市観光協会の英文パンフで十分。
  • 英文地図や外国語パンフは県内の全ての観光案内所へ配布するべき。大津駅の観光案内所だけに置くことは不公平と不便。
  • 観光案内所に外国語でEnglish map availableのような標識も置くか外国語パンフレットを誰でも見えるところに置く。
Map of Shiga

Map of Shigaの裏面。クリックすると拡大できます。

上記のアドバイスは別に素晴らしいアイデアではなく、ごく当たり前の常識事項です。僕はなぜここまで気にしているというと、滋賀へ訪れる外国人の友人にこんな英文パンフレットを上げると恥ずかしいからです。滋賀ってしっかりしていない印象がする。悪いイメージに繋がる。例えば、変な日本語の観光パンフレットを日本人の友人に上げたいと思いますか？

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Lake Biwa article in Daily Yomiuri

January 15, 2012 Lake Biwa, Nagahama, Omi-Hachiman Comments Off

The paper article in The Daily Yomiuri is more impressive than the online version. Click to enlarge.

A short article about Lake Biwa titled, Japan’s blue pearl / Views of Lake Biwa is in today’s The Daily Yomiuri English newspaper (Jan. 15, 2012 issue). It was written by Christal Whelan in her monthly column called KANSAI CULTURESCAPES. She is a cultural anthropologist (Ph.D) living in Kyoto.

She writes mainly about Biwa pearls which are ironically obscure now, but quite famous outside Shiga among pearl fans. During New Year’s, I met with Christal when she visited Nagahama and Chikubushima for the first time. She visited Shiga a few times to research this article and has seen many more places (such as Harie in Takashima) than she writes about. She told me that she enjoyed Shiga and would definitely come back and visit again.

Thanks to Christal and The Daily Yomiuri for the article.

Her article is online, but as of this writing, the five photos in the newspaper article are not included in the online article: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/culture/T120109001338.htm

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Shiga’s Internet TV channels

January 14, 2012 Hino, Lake Biwa Comments Off


I didn’t find out until recently that the Shiga Prefectural government has finally created a YouTube account where they are posting videos. They should’ve done this a long time ago. The prefectural government’s Public Relations Dept. has the YouTube username of shigakoho. As far as I can tell, at least one of their vids is in English (embedded above). It’s about Lake Biwa, and it’s quite informative.

Another Internet TV channel is called Konbanwa Shiga (Good Evening Shiga), a local TV news program broadcast in Shiga Prefecture by the Biwako Broadcasting Co. (BBC) on Thursdays from 8:55 pm to 9 pm. Also rebroadcast on Saturdays from 6:35 pm to 6:40 pm. The 5-min. program is in Portuguese hosted by a Brazilian who works at Shiga Prefecture’s International Affairs Office.

They also upload each edition to YouTube in multiple languages. They have a separate YouTube channel for each language besides Portuguese (click on the link to go to the respective channel): English, Tagalog, Chinese, and Spanish. I’ve embedded one of their vids below. It is about an American well integrated in Hino town working to preserve and improve the town’s traditional architecture and townscape.

The problem with both the shigakoho and Konbanwa Shiga channels is that they fail to provide a description of each video uploaded. So you don’t know what the video is about unless you start watching it. This makes it impossible for us to decide which video we would be interested in. But at least they are doing something to reach out to us. Even for a 5-min. program, translating and narrating all that in multiple languages is a major undertaking. Hope it continues.

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Fire festivals in Moriyama

January 10, 2012 Festivals in Winter, Moriyama Comments Off

Video link: http://youtu.be/n-SfD9DFxOg

Katsube Shrine (勝部神社) and Sumiyoshi Shrine (住吉神社) in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture will hold their annual Hi-matsuri fire festivals (火まつり) on the evening of Jan. 14, 2012. Saturday.

The twin fire festivals are related to each other and held at the same time. You can only see one of them, but I recommend Katsube Shrine’s fire festival because they burn more torches.

The festival starts with a Shinto ceremony at the shrine at 6 pm. Then they march around the neighborhood while beating a taiko drum. You can see the giant torches made of straw at the shrine. The climax is when they light the giant torches at 8:30 pm. These half naked men then dance around in front of the fire. The torches are doused with kerosene so they light up and burn out very quickly. It gets very hot so don’t go too close.

According to one legend, 800 years ago during the Kamakura Period, Emperor Tsuchimikado (土御門天皇) fell ill and a fortune-teller said that a monster dragon-serpent (orochi 大蛇) living in a marsh in present-day Moriyama was to blame. When the dragon was finally slain and burned by hunters sent by the Emperor, the body fell on Katsube Shrine and the head fell on Sumiyoshi Shrine. The young men danced wildly around the burning dragon and the Emperor recovered. That’s how the festival supposedly started.

Unfortunately, you cannot see the festival at both shrines since they are held around the same time. Katsube Shrine’s fire festival is bigger with more torches, twelve of them. While Sumiyoshi Shrine’s fire festival is smaller with only six torches which represent the head of the slain dragon.

And remember, this is the year of the dragon, so the festival might be more special this year.

Both shrines are a short walk from JR Moriyama Station. Katsube Shrine is easy to find on the west side of the train station and Sumiyoshi Shrine is on the east side. Map here.

More photos of Katsube Shrine Fire Festival here.

Giant torches at Sumiyoshi Shrine for the Fire Festival. Click on image to see more photos.

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Moriyama map in English

January 8, 2012 Moriyama Comments Off

I finally created a Google map of Moriyama in English. It shows most of the city’s major places of interest. Direct link: http://g.co/maps/ecfhf

View Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture in a larger map

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Go and Azai sisters merchandise sale

January 7, 2012 Nagahama Comments Off

Go and Azai sisters goods at half price at Heiwado in Nagahama.

The year-long NHK Taiga Drama “Go” broadcast in 2011 ended along with the Go and Azai Sisters Expo (江・浅井三姉妹博覧会) held in Nagahama until Dec. 4, 2011.

When such an event ends, the value of and demand for related merchandise plummets. So I see that Heiwado in front of Nagahama Station has a corner selling Go and Azai sisters merchandise at a 50 percent discount. Yep, half price for Go, Chacha, and Hatsu dolls, note pads, pens, hand towels, mugs, key chains, stickers, etc., etc.

It’s a bargain, so if you’re a fan, good deals are to be had.

Go and Azai sisters dolls, large and small. also at half price.

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