Black Women Thrive: Interview with Jewelry Marker and English Teacher Breann White

Jewelry maker and English teacher Breann White.

(Cross-posted on The Blasian Narrative).

Becoming a professional artist takes determination, dedication, an indefinite ride on the daily grind train. Additionally, more times than not, to pay the bills an artist must hold down a solid job, which may or may not fall in the realm of their interests. 

This isn't the case for Breann White. She loves arts and crafts and is able to use her talents as a preschool teacher at an international school in Tokyo. "[B]eing a preschool teacher fits my personality," she says.

While working during the week, she is growing her jewelry business, Rozen Stones. She makes her wares at her apartment work desk.

"My dad really got me into music and I loved writing and drawing...I dabbled in crochet, sewing, painting, and I love them all...I love making things so...I decided to start making fashion jewelry...I wish I could do it all day."

Although working with children is quite a vocal job, growing up White was on the quieter side.

"I was...[a] shy girl. I loved to...read all the time. My first 'job' was volunteering at a library...I kept getting in trouble for reading and not shelving [the books]."

Nevertheless, she never felt isolated as an only child.

White's workstation.

"I never felt lonely, my parents were always very loving and I had my friends who were like sisters to me. I was pretty active in school activities as well."

White's reason for relocating to Japan three years ago after obtaining a degree in English was, like many, motivated by her interest in the culture. Aside from her love for the anime Sailor Moon, White's contact with an exchange student from Tokyo at her high school was a major impetus for her choice to see Japan for herself.

"She taught me all about Japan and the culture, and I knew I had to visit one day...after high school we stayed in contact and I decided my Sophomore year [of college] to study abroad in Tokyo. I got a chance to reunite with her again when I was studying, and I just fell in love with the city."

The Summer Palace: A World of Color

The gorgeous Marble Boat, also known as the Boat of Purity and Ease,
which sits on Kunming Lake.

A map of the Summer Palace
(click to enlarge).
Source

The Summer Palace（Yiheyuan; 頤和園）is a 1.1 square mile (2.9 square meter) compound of temples, residences, and gardens formerly occupied by Chinese nobility. Longevity Hill（wanshoushan; 萬壽山）and Kunming Lake（kunminghu; 昆明湖）dominate most of the land. Like many antiquated areas of Beijing, nature is the focal point of the Summer Palace, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. However, I didn't find this to be the case in the Forbidden City, which has a more solemn feel in my opinion. 

People taking a rest.

While the location of the Summer Palace goes back as far as the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), the palace as it's known now was established during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). After part of it was destroyed during the Second Opium War (1856-1860), the infamous Empress Dowager Cixi used money allocated for the navy to rebuilt it for her 60th birthday.

In regards to ancient sites, the Summer Palace was my favorite stop in China. Unfortunately, my class suffered time restraints like we did when visited the Forbidden City. As a result, we only had about two hours to explore the massive palace. Nevertheless, my classmates and I somehow made it work and we were able to see several of the main temples and halls in the palace.

頤和園：色的世界

石舫在昆明湖上。

頤和園的地圖。
Source

我班在頤和園的情況跟參觀故宮一樣；時間太少了！我們只有兩個鐘頭而已參觀頤和園。怎麼在兩個小時之內享受頤和園？你不可以...夏天的時候，要等一個小時以上坐昆明湖船。

雖然我們時間太少了，但是當復習我在頤和園拍的照片的時候，發現了我看到了大部分頤和園。我們聰明地用了我們的時間！

休息的人。

我覺得頤和園的景色比故宮的好。有多樣的花，也有很多种多彩建築。說實在的，故宮給我沈悶的感覺...

夏天的時候，頤和園跟別名勝古跡一樣，看起來有五千左右的遊客參觀。可是不算是擠的環境，頤和園很大。再說，有很多可以休息的地方，人有空間可以坐。頤和園真的是在世界上最好玩的休閒公園之一，怪不得它是一個UNESCO世界遺產。

4 Ways I Use Chinese to Study Japanese

Chinese Foreign Minister Jiechi Yang shakes hands with
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.
Source

While I am not a Chinese or Japanese language expert (far from it), I did commit almost three years of my life to the study of language learning, specifically cognitive linguistics (CL). Accordingly, when I teach English or engage in language learning myself, I tend to use cognition-based techniques; they are logical as they relate to how the mind works. I also love that CL centers around semantics; meaning is the focus, not syntax or grammar rules.

Nevertheless, although it is CL-based, this post is not meant to be an exploration of CL. I'd simply like to share my thought process and some of the methods I use now that I am trying to reinforce and learn more Mandarin while acquiring the basics of Japanese.

Naturally, I've written this post as a person who studied Mandarin first, then Japanese. However, if you're only studying Chinese or Japanese, you might find some of these methods useful as well. Hopefully, this will encourage you to pursue both languages. As ancient Japanese was derived from Chinese, if you're currently learning one of those languages, you have already built a great foundation for the other.

1. Pay attention to on-yomi readings of kanji, they will be easier to memorize

As anyone studying Japanese should know, kanji（漢字）are identified as either on-yomi（音読み）or kun-yomi（訓読み）readings. The former are extracted from Chinese (not just Mandarin, but the many regional dialects in China), while the latter are derived from Japanese meanings. Thus katakana, the writing system for foreign words and onomatopoeia, is used to write the pronunciation of on-yomi because they're not from Japanese. Of course, there are sub-classifications under each, but they're not important to know in order to understand how to read kanji.

Chinese learners know there is a Simplified and Traditional writing system. Simplified as its known now began its development in the 1930s as a response to illiteracy (some Chinese characters are so elaborate they have over 10 strokes). It's used primarily in Mainland China and the Chinese departments of Western universities. Unfortunately, much of the meaning behind Chinese characters are stripped away in Simplified, but luckily, the two systems of writing have an overlap of over 50%; there are several characters that look the same in both scripts.

Now, for those of us who'd like to learn both languages, we get to be utterly confused as Japanese kanji uses both Simplified and Traditional Chinese writing. Well, perhaps I'm exaggerating. I actually find this double-dipping as a reinforcement to my Chinese as I learned Simplified in college and Traditional in Taiwan.

Still, when studying, you have to be conscious of the differences. On-yomi sticks in my brain almost immediately because of its closeness to the original Chinese words. However, not all on-yomi is Mandarin-derived, so there's more brainpower needed to remember the ones formed from other Chinese dialects.

Take a look at the chart I made below:

Japanese (kun-yomi)	Japanese (on-yomi)	Chinese (Simplified)	Chinese (Traditional)	English
病 （や.む、-や.み、やまい） (ya.mu, -ya.mi, yamai)	病 （ビョウ、ヘイ） (byõ, hei)	病  (bing4)	病  (bing4)	ill; sick; sickness/disease
試 （こころ.みる、ため.す） (kokoro.miru, tame.su)	試 （シ） (shi)	试  (shi4)	試  (shi4)	test; try; attempt; experiment; ordeal (Japanese);  fit (Chinese)
学 （まな.ぶ） (mana.bu)	学 （ガク） (gaku)	学 (xue2)	學 (xue2)	study; learning; science (Japanese); subject/-logy (Chinese)
n/a	不 （フ、ブ） (fu, bu)	不 (bu4)	不 (bu4)	negative; non-; not; bad (Japanese); ugly (Japanese); clumsy (Japanese); neg. prefixes (e.g., "ir-"; "im-"; "in-") (Chinese)

Black Women Thrive: Interview with Freelance Writer Dara Tafakari

Freelance writer Dara Tafakari.

Imagine ditching the structured nature of the corporate world in order to blog and write freelance full time in the midst of supporting your husband's journey toward earning a Ph.D. and moving cross country. Sounds pretty hectic, right? Now, add being a mother of a three-year-old while expecting a second child to the mix! It's a lot to juggle at once, but freelance writer Dara Tafakari is currently handling these events rather gracefully.

"I'm somewhat unable to post publicly because [of] relocation, pregnancy [etc.]...But I can still write without posting."

Tafakari also handles the occasional confusion regarding the pronunciation (Tah-fuh-kah-ree) and origins of her last name quite well. Interestingly, Tafakari was born into a Pan African Christian community in Houston which stressed the assimilation of various African cultures into daily life. Therefore, members created and adopted African names and raised their children as a community rather than in rigid family unit structures.

"The Pan African Orthodox Christian Church was started in the 1960s by Rev. Albert B. Cleage in Detroit, very much a response to the Civil Right Movement[,] what he perceived as a wrongheaded approach to organizing the Black community...[The community] sought to live communally and share goods, services, wealth, and child rearing amongst themselves."

The church still exists in cities like Detroit, Atlanta, and Houston. Several community members changed their names and gave their children names from African tribes or languages. While her unique beginnings were harmless, Tafakari left the community at around age two after her parents split and her mother joined the army.  At the age of five, Dara’s mother changed her name from "Tafakari Tumaini" to "Dara Tafakari" as a tangible steps toward assimilating back into mainstream American culture.

Tafakari's experiences growing up give her an interesting vantage point regarding current debates about whether African Americans can appropriate African cultures. She feels African Americans have a strong desire to connect with their roots; however, they have the responsibility to learn about the different cultures across the continent.

"As an African American, I do not know much about my roots or my ancestry beyond maybe two generations. There's a very real pain from that, especially since I understand the violence underscoring this separation. Accordingly, I understand acts of reclamation from other Black Americans. I also think there is a way that the African Diaspora...can educate and share cultures, because there is so much we already do have in common that has been passed down, despite colonialist and white supremacist efforts to prevent that."

Walking Across Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge, as seen from Odaiba.

A map of the major points in Odaiba.
Source

Odaiba（お台場）began as a collection of islands created during the Edo Period (1603-1868) as a place to build forts to protect Tokyo. Now, it's one of the largest leisure centers of the city with several entertainment complexes (i.e., Decks Tokyo Beach, Aquacity Odaba, DiverCity Tokyo Plaza). Odaiba is the perfect place to spend an entire day. Between playing games in Tokyo Joypolis, catching a 3D movie, chowing down at the ramen food theme park, relaxing at the hot springs (onsen; 温泉), and posing for the perfect selfie in front of the life-sized Gundam robot, you won't need to leave Odaiba for hours once you get there.

Part of the Odaiba skyline.

Fuji TV headquarters as seen from
Rainbow Bridge.

One of the biggest attractions in Odaba is Rainbow Bridge (reinbo burijji; レインボーブリッジ), the link between Tokyo-proper and the island. During the daytime, why it's called Rainbow Bridge might boggle the mind, but at night the 798 meter (2,618 ft) long suspension bridge lights up with the colors of the rainbow. 

The base of the bridge can be reached from Shibaura-futõ or "Shibaura Pier" Station（芝浦ふ頭駅）on the Yurikamome Line or Tamachi Station（田町駅）on the Japan Railway Company's East Line. I chose the former station. From the station exit the base of the tower, which leads to the bridge's walkway, is only about a five minute walk. 

Music Musings: Chara (1990-1997)

Chara with her children Himi and Sumire
in the background, 2015
(Source)

Music Musings: Chara (1998-2005) can be found here.

My love for songstress and actress Miwa Watabiki—also known as Chara—began when I heard "Yasashii Kimochi" over a decade ago. As I've lightly recapped her history before, there's no need for me to gush too much about her here. 

After her school days, a time when she was a well-known chatterbox or charachara (ちゃらちゃら), Watabiki left for the big city. After working as a rollerskating waitress and backing musician in the 80's, she gave her first solo live performance in 1990 and released her debut album in 1991 as Chara, the shortened form of her old nickname "Charabiki". 

This post chronicles Chara's main releases between her debut and 1997, the undisputed peak of her career in terms of popularity.

1st Album: Sweet スウィート (1991)

Sweet (1991)
Source

Chara's debut album barely sold over 10,000 copies. Nevertheless, I personally consider this album to a be a diamond in the rough and rank it as one of her best. From the beginning of her career, Chara has played a major role in the formation of her songs, especially the lyrics. Similar to many of her future albums, Chara had a hand in writing the lyrics for all the songs on this record.

Although her early 20-something cheekiness peaks through, this album also marks the establishment of her trademark contemplative, heart-wrenching love songs.

"Rainbow Gossip" is a strong opener with a funky tune which talks about the power of love and female confidence (I used it for my Character Street video). Aside from "No Toy"—the weak link of this record—its fast-paced nature contrasts the majority of the tracks on this album. The rest are slower tempo songs or ballads.

"Sweet", the title track, has a distinctly 90's pop sound and funny lyrics about a girl who loves a guy even though he's ridiculously arrogant and obnoxious. I believe everyone can relate to puppy love; it's a cute, peppy song.

Although they're all wonderful, out of the ballads "Usotsuku no ni Narenaide (Don't Get Used to Lying)"; "X-Mas"; and "Break These Chain" (yes, the grammar of the title is incorrect) are my favorite. The title of "Usotsuku no ni Narenaide" is pretty clear. The song speaks of the pain of being lied to by a lover, but loving them anyway. Chara's childlike voice brings home the emotion and makes the song all the more painful. Similarly, "X-mas" is a saccharine balled which speaks of heartache in the form of unrequited love.

"Break These Chain", about a painful relationship, is a fan favorite and the star of the record for me. Chara's voice switches from babylike to raspy without transition on this track, so its an acquired taste. Nevertheless, I love the emotion in the song, which truly transcends language. 

Top picks: With the exception of "No Toy", I love all the tracks on this album. 

Soul Kiss (1992)
Source

2nd Album: Soul Kiss ソウルキス (1992)

Despite the innocent look of the album jacket, Chara ditched the innocent exterior she presented in Sweet for an edgier, almost risque vibe by the release of Soul Kiss. At this point, she was well-known for her skimpy outfits and onstage grinding.

This album was considerably more successful than Chara's debut, but I have less favorites from this record. Still, its a solid album with a good balance between soft rock songs and ballads.

"Are wa ne (Is that right)" and "Soul Kiss xxx" are my favorite ballads. To me, "Are wa ne" sounds like the voice of a girl who's been led on a number of times. It's a sombre song, but the music is lovely. Like many of Chara's songs, "Soul Kiss xxx" refers to uncertainty in regards to relationships, namely the difficulty of finding the right person.

"Ai no Jibaku Souchi (Love Suicide Bombing Gear)" is the crazy number of album (if not apparent by its title). The song features famous Japanese guitarist Rolly Teranishi (Suicide Club) who also lends his vocals on the track. Everyone wants to be in the sweet "strawberry land" of love, but sometimes we self destruct on the way there or soon after we arrive!

Top picks: "Are wa ne (Is that right)"; "Ai no Jibaku Souchi (Love Suicide Bombing Gear)"; "Soul Kiss xxx"

Black Women Thrive: Interview with English Teacher Melissa Da Costa

Da Costa (left) at the summit of Mt. Fuji with friends.

Without a doubt, Fujisan （富士山）or Mount Fuji is the most salient symbol of Japan. It dominates a large area of Honshu, the nation's "Main Island", and at 12,888 ft (3,776 m) it is the highest point in the country. Unsurprisingly, the majestic mountain was designated a UNESCO Worth Heritage Site in 2013.

Many dream of climbing Mt. Fuji and reaching its summit, and the Japanese believe reaching the top of Fujisan will bring the climber good luck. But despite the sacred nature of the climb and its popularity, Melissa Da Costa, an expat English teacher in Japan, wasn't that interested in the climb, "It was never something that I considered doing."

Nevertheless, she went on the trip to Fuji, and despite the difficulties on the way, made it to the top.

The climb to the summit of Mt. Fuji is just one of many adventures Da Costa has experienced since moving from the UK to Japan. She come to Japan in 2013 since she was interested in the culture. Like many, her introduction to Japan came through anime; however, her interests eventually began to revolve around Japanese history rather than pop culture. 

The majestic Fujisan with vibrant flowers.
Source

"I like my [H]istory; I've been to various sites in Japan and do like my castles...Nagoya Castle was pretty nice."

After visiting the blogs of people who have taught English abroad, Da Costa decided relocate to Japan and do the same. She is currently based in the small city of Odawara, yet previously lived in Hiroshima.

"My favorite city will always be Hiroshima. I lived there for one year. I like that [al]though it was a city, it wasn't crazy like Tokyo. It's a kind of charming place and if I could go back I would."

During her Hiroshima days, she used to travel to a different prefecture nearly every month. So far, she's been to several places in Kyushu (i.e., Kagoshima, Oita, Fukuoka) and Chugoku (i.e., Yamaguchi, Okayama).

"I realise that I've travelled to more places in Japan than I have in England," Da Costa says.

Hawaii State Art Museum

"Hanauma Bay Series: Ronin Samurai" (1982), a watercolor by Masami Teraoka (1936-).
This piece is done in Japanese Ukiyo-e influenced style and is my favorite piece in the museum. 

The Hawaii State Art Museum is comprised of four galleries—the Diamond Head Gallery, the Ewa Gallery, the Sculpture Lobby, and the Sculpture Garden—and features the work of over 100 Hawaiian artists, most of which are Asian American (i.e., Chinese or Japanese), or who moved to Hawaii and spent a significant time in the state. Although the majority of the pieces were created in the 1960s, there are a few newer works of art. 

The history of the museum is quite interesting. The building began as a hotel in 1872, which was converted into a YMCA in 1917, then subsequently used as a military outpost during WWI. Since then, it has became the Hawaii State Art Museum and the home of the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. It is also a popular wedding venue, likely because of the gorgeous scenery.

Patrons can visit the museum for free; therefore, there is no excuse not to stop by if you're in downtown Hawaii! While the gallery is small, the artwork is beautiful and rich.

Yingge Ceramic Town

A ceramic street sign in Yingge.

The huge ceramic dishes!

When I lived in Taiwan, one of my favorite activities was tour biking. Almost every week, I logged over 100 miles on my bike, visiting interesting parts of Taipei and New Taipei City, some of which are somewhat inaccessible by public transportation. One of my favorite places was Yingge District（鶯歌區）in New Taipei City, also known as "Ceramic Town" because the area produces the most ceramics in Taiwan. There are over 800 ceramic shops in there!

Yingge literally means "Golden oriole". As the legend goes, there was a Golden oriole rock that used to spit a miasma at travelers. One day, a General Koxinga ordered his army to shoot at the rock which allowed his men to pass by. Every since, the town has been called Yingge.

While it's easy to get to Yingge by train from Taipei Main Station, you might miss some of the interesting things in the outskirts of the city. Biking to the area is a cool way to enjoy everything. At some points the trail can become rough, but there are clear signs that direct riders to the "family trails" which are safer, especially if you're riding with children.

One of my favorite aspects of Yingge's outskirts are the large ceramics. To give a reference, I'm almost 5'7" and the plates are nearly twice my height! I really wanted to sit in the spoon and take pictures, but unfortunately there was no one around to take one for me because I came on a weekday when it isn't busy at all.

鶯歌陶瓷城

鶯歌城的跡象。

我住在台灣的時候，我每個禮拜，一，兩次騎自行車去參觀在台北有意思的地方。我兩次從淡水騎到鶯歌！我在鶯歌休息和逛街。因為普通用陶瓷很便宜，所以我常常買了一些。

我要一個！

在我的看法，傳樹林區以後，自行車道不但輕鬆，而且安靜。有很多小小的在山上的村，也有一些野生動物。別著急，不算太危險。如果你騎車跟小朋友的話，你可以選容易騎的自行車道。

在鶯歌的自行車道旁邊有很多有意思的雕塑。我最喜歡的是大大的陶瓷盤子，杯子，和勺子。我很想座在大勺子裡然後拍照片，但是人不在，沒辦法問別人拍我的照片。那天，在自行車道的人很少，可惜吧！

Black Women Thrive: Interview with Photographer Ashley "AshB" Badie

Photographer AshB cosplaying as

Super Sonico, the mascot of Nitroplus.

Although they might oblige their request for a new Playstation game or to watch just one more episode of Dragonball before dinner, most parents simply don't understand their children's love for video games or anime, Japanese animated shows.

However, photographer Ashley "AshB" Badie's parents certainly don't fit that mold. Seriously, she has two of the coolest parents ever. If it weren't for them, AshB and her three brothers—whom she admits influenced her tomboyish nature—probably wouldn't have discovered their passion for anime and games. When they were growing up, their parents, while not too keen on video games, weren't above watching their favorite shows with them.

"The first anime I got into was Dragonball Z...my parents would rush me and my little brother home from daycare so that they could watch it with us. And if we had to miss an episode, they used a VHS player to record it...One of my older brothers even drew a huge picture of Super Sayian 2 Trunks on his bedroom wall. My parents were upset, but couldn't stay mad because they knew it looked cool."

Not only did they encourage their children to pursue everything awesome and nerdy, but they have kind, loving hearts as well.

"After I became an adult my parents adopted four more kids so now I have all together five brothers and two sisters."

AshB with a crew of
Eevee (Pokemon) cosplayers.

Naturally, AshB wasn't beyond sharing her love for anime and gaming with one of her younger siblings, "I'm passing on my [hobbies] to my 13-year-old sister who is working on watching every anime available on Netflix."

YuYu Hakusho, Sekirei, FairyTail, and Death Note are some of AshB's favorite anime shows; she's working on rewatching the last title. As for video games, her interest in them began during the winter of 1996.

"I got hooked on games when I got my N64 for Christmas...Super Mario 64, Banjo and Kazooie, Kirby and the Chrystal Shards, Smash Bros 64, and Mario Kart 64 are my favorite[s] on that console."

Nonetheless, she admits she no longer has the patience for some titles and prefers mobile platform games.

"I tried to play Super Mario Sunshine again [recently] and...I am not as good as I used to be...I just got bored with it."

AshB in civilian clothing.

She is especially looking forward to Pokemon GO, a Pokemon game, expected to be released in 2016, where players can catch "real" Pokemon on their smart phones while they're out and about. AshB's favorite Pokemon are Vaporeon and Squirtle; both creatures are under the "water-type" classification. "I am 100% a water trainer," she says.

In 2012, AshB attended Katsucon, one of many anime conventions in the country for anime, gaming, and Japanese pop culture lovers; they usually span over two to four days. It was her first "con" as many anime convention goers call them. Aside from being surrounded by like-minded people, AshB was extremely impressed by the cosplayers in attendance.

"I was just amazed at all the kick-ass costumes and beautiful people. I felt at home with fellow nerds but out of place because I wasn't in a costume."

Cosplay—a term developed in Japan from the combination of the words "costume" and "play"—involves the creation or purchase of a costume, representative of a fan's favorite character, to wear at a con. Cosplayers have helped AshB meld two of her biggest passions—anime and photography—into one. She began shooting in 2009, but cosplay has been her inspiration since the past couple of years, and she has become well-known in the New England area.

"[At first] I actually felt really shy going up to cosplayers to ask to take their photo. I['ve] definitely grew[n] a lot since then."

And it goes without saying that her super-cool parents support her, "When I started getting into cosplay photography, my family thought it was really cool! I'm thankful I have their support and interest in what I do."

Music Musings: Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (1990-1996)

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, 2015
Source

Music Musings: Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (1997-2003) can be found here.

Since hearing their track "Lupin the 3rd '78" when I was in junior high, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra has became my favorite Japanese instrumental group, as I've expressed before. Now a nine-piece band, TSPO began as a collective of musicians in the mid-1980s, which essentially whittled itself down to 10 members by 1990. Over the years, there has been changes in the line up; as of now, six of the original members remain.

Like any band, TSPO's sound has also changed and evolved over the years. This post focuses on the years between their major debut in 1990 to the mid-90s, a time period marked by their progression from an unapologetically ska and jazz sound to a little more mainstream.

Skapara Tõjõ (1990)
Source

1st Album: Skapara Tõjõ スカパラ登場 (1990)
Debut albums are sometimes a dark point in the discography of even the most popular musicians as oftentimes they reflect an unrefined air—not the case with TSPO. While modestly named Skapara Tõjõ or Skapara's Introduction, TSPO's first album is explosive and uncompromisingly in-your-face. The unfiltered background noise of TSPO clapping, cheering, and enjoying their music as they play it, characteristic of this time period of their discography, gives an interesting live effect to tracks like "Vampire", "Kozo no Koshin", and "Uhan no Hito".

Although it isn't the best reflection of his singing ability, "Nigai Namida" is a great introduction to Cleanhead Gimura's vocals. "Getsumen Butou", "Inishie no Hana", and "Kimi to Boku", the more tranquil tracks on the album, give the listener a quietly sinister, relaxing seaside vacation, and lullaby feel respectively; although lower tempo, all three songs are as charming as the heavier numbers. "Tin Tin Deo", my favorite song on this album, is a great mixture of subtile and upbeat. A great cover of Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack" is also included on this album.

Top picks: "Getsumen Butou"; Inishie no Hana"; "Tin Tin Deo"

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (1990)
Source

2nd Album: Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ (1990)

A prolific year for TSPO, the band's self-titled second album of 1990 is a short collection of six songs. "Skaravan" has become a fan favorite and the upbeat track marked by it's distinctive solos (my favorite being the piano solo) finds its way into most TSPO live concerts even now. "Pedorazu", a cover of the Tetris theme, makes for a great album opener and is an awesome rearrangement of the original. "Christmaska", a cover of "Joy to the World", is also a lovely homage to its predecessor. "Just a Little Bit of Your Soul" is a tune rooted in funk, and makes a reappearance on Grand Prix (1995).

Top picks: "Pedorazu", "Skaravan", "Just a Little Bit of Your Soul"

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra Live (1991)
Source

1st Live Album: Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra Live 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラライブ (1991)

The garish cover of TSPO's first live album is an honest reflection of its sound. The band's ability to entertain through their sound is apparent in their constant freestyling and explosive harmonies. Vocalist Gimura shines in this live album with his authentic cover of Bobby Bland's "36-22-36". Although short, "Youkai Ningen" is definitely my favorite track on this album and shows off Gimura's unique vocal range beautifully.

Top picks: "Shot in the Dark", "36-22-36", "Youkai Ningen"

Ameyoko (アメ横): A Sweet Tooth's Paradise

Ameyoko's North Entrance.

Source

On my first full day in Tokyo, I visited Sensõji Temple, Kappabashi, Ueno, and Tokyo Character Street. Aside from the large Ueno Park, I believe Ameyoko（アメ横）is the most well-known tourist spot in the Ueno area. From Asakusa, I walked to Ueno, then took the train from Okachimachi to Tokyo Station.

A man selling chocolate and other candies.

On day 1, I was out and about for nearly half the day. Unfortunately, somewhere between Kappabashi and Ueno, my portable charger and wi-fi device both died! As a result, I was unable to send pictures and videos on my phone to my Dropbox, and my phone was too full to take pictures. So, I was left with my cheap, nearly decade old point-and-shoot...which also ran out of batteries! Thankfully, I was able to score new ones from the Yodobashi Camera (an electronic store chain) close to Ueno Station.

Ameya-Yokochõ（アメヤ横丁）—Ameyoko for short—is situated along the metro tracks between Ueno and Okachimachi stations. It used to be a marketplace for goods from America （america; アメリカ） right after WWII; however, these days Ameyoko sells discounted clothes, street food, dried goods, and sweets. Candy is a popular item sold in the area, and I doubt you can find it cheaper in any other part of Tokyo.