THE ROBOT DOLL MASTER

Interviewed Tamaya Shobei the 9th this week.  I first met Shobei San about 18 years ago when I was doing TV reports for "Nagoya Weekly", and have often worked together on various cultural events.
Shobei san is the last remaining Karakuri (mechanical doll) craftsmen in Japan. The mechanical dolls date back to the early 1600's when his ancestors made a mechanical doll that can deliver a cup of tea to a guest, and then return the empty cup to the server. The gearing was intricately carved wood, and the spring was made from whale whiskers. This was the first robot. See the interview on Web Magazine Japan World  http://japanworld.info/

BOOK LAUNCH EVENT

 With co MC, Harada Satomi on stage for Professor Ito Masanori's recent book launch party. The professor has released two books simultaneously regarding Nagoya's design, marketing and cultural heritage identity.

           Over 350 people gathered for the evening event, held high in one of Nagoya's cultural icons....

                                      The top of the TV Tower, Japan's oldest broadcast tower....

                                         With the other interviewees featured in the books,...

VIDEO SHOOT WRAP UP PARTY

 Its been a year in the making! SoHo Japan, along with G-Factory and my company PPF have been involved in the making of a special DVD video pack for World Heritage Site, Shirakawa Mura. PPF was involved in writing the scripts, casting the talent and having all the scripts translated into various languages. The shoot, editing, recording and mixing have all been completed, and so all involved had a wrap up party...

                                 With SoHo Japan's President, Oshiro San and his wife, Naomi

STUDIO SNOOZING

Absolutely exhausted! Had to have a 15 minute snooze before going On Air...

PAPER CASTLE

A friend of mine, Ishihara san makes 1/ 300 scale Japanese Castles in stiff card like paper. My company, PPF is the international distributor for his product. There are 17 castles available now, and more planned in the near future. More details on this coming soon. Keep your eyes on this site, or on
the Japan history, culture and information magazine site:    http://japanworld.info/

MOONRISE OVER THE GREAT SETO BRIDGE

 Been filming a TV show this week with NHK International on Honjima, a small island in the Seto Inland Sea and just beside the world's longest double suspension bridge. On the final day, as I was about to catch the ferry back to the mainland, this huge, white moon started to rise over the bridge and surrounding islands....

Once aboard the ferry on the 30 minute trip to Marugame, the reflection on the waters was amazing...

CAR COOKIE

Took my car in for its annual service,...and how's this for service, while I was waiting for the paperwork to be completed, I got a cup of tea and a small, original Audi cookie too! 

HERE IS THE NEWS,...

               Did a guest commentator spot on the "Super News", evening news show on Tokai TV...

                                           After the news, the crew wanted photos together,...

Presenter Shono San and I used to do a regular weekday mid morning show on Toaki TV together about 15 to 18 years ago. Good to work with him again, and looking forward to more in the future!

HOT AND COLD

 In Kyushu all this week on a TV soot for the natural hot springs of Kyushu, including Kurokawa and Beppu. The shoots involve hopping into about 5 hot springs a day. The average temperature is 42-45 degrees, while outside it's freezing,... Some shoots were at outdoor hot pools, and so it was snowing while I was "relaxing" in the steaming waters.

Snow became a problem by the 2nd day of the shoot, so much so that the TV crew van got stuck in the snow at Kurokawa, and we couldn't get up the slight hill to get out of town. Snow chains were fitted, and we spent an hour in the heavy snowfall trying to fit them to the front weels,...still the van wouldn't climb the slope,...not until a passing truck driver pointed out that we were in a rear wheel drive van,...and the chains should be fitted to the rear,... D'oh!

MAGAZINE APPEARANCE

Last months magazine interview about education in Japan has hit bookshop shelves...looks something like this...

NAGOYA CASTLE PALACE REVEALED

For the last 7 years, work has been steadily advancing on the rebuilding of the palace at Nagoya Castle. The first section to be completed will be open to the public this coming March. Slowly, parts of the palace, originally destroyed in the wartime US air raids of 1945, are starting to be revealed!

VALENTINE'S RADIO CM

Recording a radio commercial for department store Takashimaya's special Valentines Day Chocolate Campaign... The commercial air on Central Japan's number 1 radio station, 77.8 ZIP-FM!...Of course!

SHITTOKO TV SHOOT

A TV crew from Osaka came to interview me for weekly Saturday morning national TV variety show, "Shittoko" about my interest in Japanese history, in particular samurai and samurai armour. I won't be able to see the show On Air, as I'll be in Kyushu filming with another TV crew for a programme about Hot Spas!

BOOK INTERVIEW

With Professor Ito Masanori... Professor Ito is about to complete his book on City Design, Marketing and Culture, centering on Nagoya. One of his books interviews is with 19 year Nagoya resident and professional Gaijin,...me! Book comes out early February!

SEKIGAHARA ON TV

 Oh look, ...this evening on Tokai TV News (Channel 1 in Central Japan) they'll be interviewing some foreign radio DJ who happens to be a Japanese history freak and is about to release an e-book and Print On Demand version of an English book on the Battle of Sekigahara...Oh, it's me!

The Tokai TV News crew in my office "armoury" filming parts of the interview for this evenings news report.... 10 minutes of pre recorded footage, 3 minutes of live cover... Good promotion for my up coming book!  See more at:   http://www.sekigaharabook.jp/

EDUCATION INTERVIEW

I was interviewed today for a magazine about Japanese education standards..... What would I know? I haven't been to school in years! My brain became so full of useless trivia some years back, I decided to delete old files, and most of what I learned in Primary School was trashed! Anyway, the main point was, that while Japanese educational standards seem high, the students only learn for passing tests, not how to apply the learned techniques or information. If the teacher holds up a banana and says "This is an apple", Japanese students will not question authority, and will write in the test that yellow bent fruits are called apples, because the teacher said so. I suggested teaching open thought, and learning to appreciate this country (Japan) it's unique history and culture.... I guess I sounded like I knew what I was talking about, coz the interviewer looked impressed. And that, I guess is the main thing. OK,...Next!

NEW YEAR

 Went to Atsuta Shrine, Japan's second most important shrine to pay my respects to the gods of the island nation at New Years, and on the 5th also attended Hatsu Ebisu, prayers for the continued success in business at the Ebisu Shrine (above) in the southern precincts of Atsuta.

 It was cold, and I didn't feel well, so I was looking like a terrorist, dressed in a black leather trench coat and woolen cap, thick scarf, unshaven and looking dazed... nothing out of the ordinary really....

The crowds were like this! All the way from the entrance way, right to the main shrine itself, and this was on the 5th! You can imagine what it was like on the first three days of the year!

WEDDING BLISS

 Went to a friends wedding this week, everybody scrubbed up well and turned up on time,...Mike, me, Harry, Ray and Chris.... Good to catch up with everyone again!

 The Happy Couple, Robert and Chie surrounded by members of our table...

Won a digital Photo Frame in the weddings' game section which I MC'd as well,...first time to ever win anything of value! Woo Hoo,...the year is off to a good start!

INUYAMA CASTLE

With Australian Exchange Student Courtney visiting Japanese National Treasure, Inuyama Castle. Courtney is on a 6 week exchange so I took her to see some historical sites around the local area.

SAMURAI UMBRELLA

Walking to the ZIP-FM studios required an umbrella recently, and my new samurai themed umbrella got a work out! The handle is shaped like a samurai sword with tsuba, or hand guard fitted. Around the outer edge of the umbrella are the family crests of a number of famous samurai,...

And when the umbrella gets wet, the cloth umbrella attracts the water and the crests of other samurai magically appear !!

COVER ART

For the last 15 years I have been working on writing a non-fiction book about the greatest samurai battle, Sekigahara. That book is nearing completion for publication soon, and so I asked a friend, Yamauchi Biho, one of Japan's most respected Japanese Calligraphy artists to write the characters for Sekigahara in a manner expressing the books image and contents. She has done a brilliant job, and I look forward to seeing her work grace the cover of my book soon!