NOVEMBER 2020

November 21: "DOUBLE FANTASY John & Yoko" . The exhibition explored their life story - their lives, art, music and activism - in their own words. Through films, music and interviews, their message echos in my heart especially we are living in the world of turmoil.

SONY Music Roppongi Museum, Tokyo

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• November 4: The movie, “Demon Slayer: Infinity Train”(“Kimetsu no Yaiba”:Mugen Ressha in Japanese”) drew an audience of 11.89 million and box office sales of JPY15.7billion in 17 days since its premier.

The movie became a record-breaking hit.　I went to the movie being immensely curious about it, and I felt refreshed to see such a fun movie. However, I was a little uncomfortable because most audiences were senior high students or younger couples.

In the movie, they employ special breathing techniques (Zenshuchu in Japanese) which increases the amount of oxygen in the blood to enhance the physical abilities and mental concentration. Zenshuchu grant them super human strength like a demon.

It is a “right and wrong” movie and visual effect was amazing.

• November 1: We enjoyed beautiful clear skies of autumn at the end of October. Unfortunately, Shibuya Halloween Festival is not going to occur this year under special safety restrictions. Let us enjoy virtual events instead.

• We have a keen interest in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. Many people are voting by mail this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and counting those ballots takes a lot more time. Every state has different laws about when those votes can be counted, which will delay learning who wins the presidency.

• We are enjoying traveling and eating out all over Japan thanks to Go To Travel campaign, a JPY1.7 trillion initiative encompassing travel, food industries to stimulate Japan’s economy. Of course, we continue to practice social distancing and good hygiene to protect ourselves and others around us.

• Japan’s cumulative coronavirus cases are 100,458, including 30,905 cases in Tokyo. Death 1,755 as of October 31, 2020. (Source: FNN Prime Line)

November 20: Shirakawa-Go’s Gassho-zukuri farmhouses were registered as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995.

• Gassho-zukuri is the architectural style. It comes from the pose of joining hands of the Buddhist monks in prayer.

They are designed to withstand the heavy snowfalls in the region in winter. "Shirakawa-Go" is certainly worth visiting.

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SHIRAKAWA-GO

Take a bus from JR Takayama Station, 50 min. Gifu Pref.

From Tokyo, take a Hokuriku Shinkansen to Toyama. Change local train to Takayama.

Lv. Tokyo 7:20 am Arr. Takayama 11:30 am