Terrie's Take 926 - Masters of Japan's Beach Trash Universe - the Bonzi's, e-biz news from Japan

Terrie's Take terrie at mailman.japaninc.com
Mon Dec 11 11:32:59 JST 2017


* * * * * * * * TERRIE'S TAKE - BY TERRIE LLOYD * * * * * *
A weekly roundup of news & information from Terrie Lloyd, a long-term 
technology and media entrepreneur living in Japan.
(http://www.terrielloyd.com)

General Edition Sunday, Dec 10, 2017, Issue No. 926

- What's New -- Masters of Japan's Beach Trash Universe - the Bonzi's
- News -- New overseas organ transplant fund
- Upcoming Events
- Corrections/Feedback -- More trash comments, including Yakuza roles
- Travel Picks -- Spectacular illuminations in Mie, Doll-making center 
in Saitama
- News Credits

SUBSCRIBE to, UNSUBSCRIBE from Terrie's Take at:
http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/terrie

BACK ISSUES
http://www.japaninc.com/terries_take, or,
http://mailman.japaninc.com/pipermail/terrie/

+++ WHAT'S NEW

Masters of Japan's Beach Trash Universe - the Bonzi's

Last week we ran a piece on how communities in Ishikawa Prefecture lost 
the chance to host some high-end cycling tours next year, because of the 
ugly concentration of trash along their shorelines. We had a great 
reaction from readers and you can read some of the responses in the 
Feedback section below.

However, one response in particular reminded us that as non-Japanese 
living here, with the high profile that comes from being different, we 
can play a pivotal role in helping to make things better. Additionally, 
if we play our cards right, we can even build a business around being 
civic-minded residents. Such is the case with Alana and Michael Bonzi, 
who since 2001 have run several family businesses in Fujisawa (south of 
Tokyo and certainly right on the coast) and who lead a massive beach 
cleanup each year.

Actually the Bonzi's are a classic study in how non-Japanese can carve 
out a productive life for themselves even outside the big metropolis. 
Michel is from Nice, France, and Alana is a Trinidad & Tobago/Canadian 
dual citizen. The couple are well known in Fujisawa and offer French 
language and French cooking lessons through their school, Soleil 
Provence. They also offer home stays and professional apprenticeships 
for pastry chefs, bakers, and cuisiniers in France, and more recently 
(and connected to their oceanside public works) they are the Japanese 
distributor for Tiwal sailing dinghies.

We ran a short interview with Alana, to find out more about their beach 
clean up activities.

*********************

TT: When did you get started with the Fujisawa Beach Cleaning Project?

Alana: In October 2009, we started the Fujisawa Beach Cleaning Project. 
In 2008, we bought our house in Fujisawa, becoming de facto members of 
the local community. Many of the students at Soleil Provence, our French 
language school, live and work in the local area, so as two foreigners, 
as local business owners, we were looking for a way to give back to the 
community. Our house is 800m from the sea and the marine environment has 
been really part of our lives, so beach cleaning came naturally to us. 
The difference has been how to make it connect to our communities - both 
foreign and local - and make it family friendly and easy to understand.

Luckily, everyone understands a clean beach and everyone loves to make 
new friends. So we added a French touch, with a networking aperitif 
after the actual cleanup. Now, in 2017, the cleanup is a biannual 
activity (in the Spring and Fall, before and after the peak "umi no ie" 
season). Our Fall beach cleanup is also part of Ocean Conservancy's 
International Coast Cleanup Campaign, which takes place in 112 countries.

TT: Almost 10 years later, you have tremendous community interest in the 
project don't you?

Alana: Yes, absolutely. Working with primarily foreign companies who 
sponsor their employees and families as a CSR activity, we contribute 
about 600+ volunteers to each cleanup. Of course it's not just us. All 
over Kanagawa in 2016, 161,671 volunteers participated in beach 
cleanups, removing an amazing 2,557 tons of beach litter! That number 
includes Kamakura (968 tons) and Fujisawa (572 tons).

TT: Where is that trash coming from?

Alana: According to the Kanagawa Prefectural Coastal Foundation, of 
which we are members, 30% of the garbage found on the beach is generated 
on  site. The rest comes from  waterways, runoffs etc. This is not just 
from the sea, but also inland. As would be expected, the bulk of this 
washes up after typhoons and other storms.

We haven't yet seen any specific statistics on sea-borne debris for 
Japan, but just anecdotally, in 30 minutes of sailing  in our Tiwal [Ed: 
a 3.2m  French-made dinghy they are selling in Japan] in Hayama early 
one August morning, it was easy for us to collect one large bag of 
floating debris. This has led us to include an ocean cleaning component 
via a our Community Youth Sailing Program.

Our plan is to use the dinghies like floating labs/classrooms to 
incorporate marine education as well as STEAM education for Japanese and 
international students. In the off-season we plan to move students from 
crewing sail boats to building model sailboats - thus offering a 
stimulating way to learn tech and coding skills as well.

------------ Japan Travel Group Tour Services -------------

Japan Travel's Type-2 licensed travel agency business is one Japan's few 
independent foreign-owned inbound DMCs. Our specialty is looking after
groups of 10-30 people, and we have already assisted schools, 
businesses, special interest organizations, and extended family groups. 
If you are responsible for managing an inbound company incentive tour or 
management training, we can help create unique experiences from a blend 
of memorable destinations, dining, activities, guides, and transport 
options.

If you have a group needing assistance, we invite them to contact us at: 
tours at japantravel.com.
Or visit our pages at: http://japantravel.co.jp/en/about/travel-agency/
-----------------------------------------------------------

[...Article continues]

TT: Mobilizing thousands of people must be expensive, do you get 
government support?

Alana: Nationally, local governments get about JPY3bn for beach and 
ocean cleaning. That's for this current fiscal year, 2017.

TT: You've also spoken publicly about a lesser known beach pollution 
problem...

Alana: Yes, the Japanese public is practically ignorant of the threat of 
microfibers in our waterways. According to the Ocean Conservancy, 
microfiber pollution is a serious problem. This is caused when tiny 
plastic particles are released as we wash clothes made from synthetic 
materials like polyester.

TT: How do potential corporate sponsors contact you?

Alana: Most of our projects now run under the Tokyo2020 Sankaku banner, 
and they can start by visiting us at:

http://bit.ly/2BS7Gff [SEGO URL]

As well, they can watch a short video that we took last April:

http://bit.ly/2AJz5k1 [Cleanup video]

TT: What is SEGO Initiative?

Alana: It's a not-for-profit "shadan hojin" we launched in 2014. The 
goal is to create more opportunities for corporate-community engagement. 
Recently we have been developing an organic farming project in Shonan, 
but the Fujisawa Beach Cleaning Project remains our flagship and we 
continue to actively expand this project. As an NPO SEGO makes it a 
little bit easier for us to qualify for employee giving/corporate 
matching programs. We have been recently accepted by Techsoup (low cost 
software/ hardware) and Benevity (Apple Matching Gifts Program).

Further, since we are based in Fujisawa (official Tokyo2020 Olympic 
venue), SEGO is now part of the Tokyo2020 Sankaku Program for our local 
area.  With the  Games fast approaching, we now have the credibility to 
approach brands and corporate supporters who would like to participate 
from both a CSR and a marketing perspective. BTW, in case you are 
wondering, SEGO stands for themes and concepts in French as well as 
English: Sustainability (Solidarité), Environment/Education 
(Environment/Education), Global Citizenship (Générosité), Outdoors/ 
Open-Mindedness (Ouverture d'esprit)

TT: What was the strangest/most interesting trash you found washed up on 
Shonan's beaches?

Alana: The strangest was a television that washed up in Fall 2011, along 
with lots and lots of car tires. I'm guessing, given the timing, that 
these came from the Tohoku disaster.

TT: What's the most common trash?

Alana: Sadly, cigarette butts on a non smoking beach...

[Ed: End of interview.]
*********************

Next week will be our last Take for 2017, before going on holiday for 4 
weeks. As we start the countdown for Christmas and the New Year, it's 
appropriate that we spare a thought for those less fortunate than 
ourselves, with the help of another selfless member of the foreign 
community, Charles McJilton and his Second Harvest program, which feeds 
the homeless and poverty-stricken in Japan.

As Charles notes frequently in the media, poverty in Japan is not, 
despite western media reports, really about homelessness. In the last 
five years the number of those living on the street has dropped from 
15,000 to less than 6,000 - and this is nationally, not just Tokyo. 
However, not all is good news. There are nearly 20 million people living 
below the poverty line in Japan, with 13 million of them living on less 
than JPY100,000 per month.

At the same time, Japan destroys over 5m tons of unexpired, perfectly 
edible food each year (the equivalent of 13bn meals). The challenge is 
the lack of infrastructure to get this surplus to those in need. Unlike 
New York City (for example) with 1,100 places to access emergency 
groceries each each week, Tokyo only has 10 weekly distributions (not 
including groups handing out onigiri in parks). Even Hong Kong nearby 
has 160 distributions. Second Harvest Japan is the largest food 
re-distributor here, doing five weekly distributions of its own and 
supplying food to another five organizations.

While you make plans for your own Christmas/New Year's break, you can 
help make the festive season a bit nicer for stressed local families by 
donating to Second Harvest Japan. Right now they are running a campaign 
called "No Hunger for Holidays" where every JPY1,000 you donate 
facilitates the delivery of 40 meals. Additionally, 2HJ is also looking 
for churches, temples and other NPO locations to host a distribution. 
They have an immense amount of food available to them, but lack 
distribution points. If you are interested, send an email to their CEO 
Charles McJilton (charles at 2hj.org).

http://bit.ly/2C2hqUK [2HJ site, that goes straight to the campaign]

Lastly, you can catch Charles and the team on an hour-long TV program on 
December 14th (Thursday) on Cambria Kyuten hosted by Nobel Prize 
laureate Ryu Murakami.

http://bit.ly/2yXvL5L [URL for TV program]



...The information janitors/

***------------------------****-------------------------***

--------- Micro Loans Program in South Pacific ------------

SPBD and MicroDreams seek to combat poverty in the South Pacific by 
enabling women to become entrepreneurs. These women apply for small 
loans, as low as US$120, to launch, grow, and maintain small businesses. 
Previously, many of our clients did not have a stable source of income 
to support their families. We work alongside these hardworking women, 
teaching them essential business and financial skills to expand their 
businesses and generate steady income and improve their quality of life. 
With our program, these women turn dreams into reality as they reap the 
rewards of their efforts.

Read about our remarkable clients at 
http://www.microdreams.org/success-stories. You can also donate to the 
program at: http://www.microdreams.org/donate-today.
-----------------------------------------------------------

+++ NEWS

- New overseas organ transplant fund
- One-year startup visa - much ado about nothing
- Bureaucrats to to start "appropriating" unclaimed land
- BoJ stock pumping may slow down in 2018
- Japan-EU finalize trade deal



=> New overseas organ transplant fund

Due to the fact that there are only about 100 organ donations a year in 
Japan, and yet 14,000 sick people in need of transplants, most 
transplant patients are traveling abroad to receive surgery. As a 
result, only wealthy patients can afford transplants as an option 
because on average the cost is JPY200m~JPY300m per operation. The health 
ministry is now considering paying up to JPY10m of the expenses incurred 
for such operations, so as to give hope to a greater range of patients 
looking for replacement organs. ***Ed: While it's good that the health 
ministry is being realistic about overseas transplants, we wonder why 
they don't address the real problem - which is why only 100 organs in 
all of Japan are made available each year?** (Source: TT commentary from 
Japantimes.co.jp, Dec 10, 2017)

http://bit.ly/2B5Tgv8

=> One-year startup visa - much ado about nothing

The Japanese government is apparently getting ready to create a 
nationwide one-year visa option, to allow young entrepreneurs to gain 
access to Japan to start new companies. Currently there is already a 
so-called "entrepreneur visa" but it's only for 6 months, and is only 
available in Tokyo and Fukuoka. Like the 6-month option, the incoming 
entrepreneur will need to have a business plan, open an office, hire two 
or more permanent employees OR have investments exceeding JPY5m in 
Japan. ***Ed: While Japan says it is trying to make it easier to let 
foreigners gain a foothold here, the reality is that this entrepreneur 
visa is virtually the same as a Business Manager visa, but without the 
benefit of a 3-year launch pad. So what's all the fuss about? It's still 
more beneficial to get a Business Manager visa.** (Source: TT commentary 
from zdnet.com, Dec 8, 2017)

http://zd.net/2BsILCK

=> Bureaucrats to to start "appropriating" unclaimed land

Japan's archaic land inheritance laws coupled with punitive taxes on 
unused land practically guarantee the increase of unclaimed property 
around the country. As a result, apparently about 11% of Japan's land 
area is currently unclaimed. The ministry of land is now looking at new 
legislation which will allow national and local authorities to skirt the 
normal procedures to appropriate unclaimed land and make it available 
for "the public good". Practically this means appropriation for any 
purpose other than business or residential. ***Ed: We find this to be a 
troubling development. Although the current system is terrible, in that 
tracking down the dozens of potential claimants of a plot when someone 
dies is both time consuming and expensive (it happened to our Kyushu 
family recently), the idea that local authorities can simply take the 
land themselves will surely create conflicts of interest. Japanese 
public authorities have a poor track record of respecting the public 
good and instead are prone to feathering their own nests. City and Ward 
offices putting up holiday condos in the countryside for their 
residents, but which are hard to reserve, is a good example.** (Source: 
TT commentary from asia.nikkei.com, Dec 10, 2017)

http://s.nikkei.com/2ydfbLb

=> BoJ stock pumping may slow down in 2018

Financial analysts are predicting that the Bank of Japan will 
substantially reduce its stock buying program, which it has been 
conducting through local Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The currently 
JPY6trn in annual stock purchases, which has been criticized for 
distorting the market (you think?), may fall by 30% to 50%. The BOJ cuts 
follow a substantial recovery in the Japanese stock market, which is now 
trading at its highest prices in 26 years. ***Ed: We always found it 
strange that the public would buy into the concept of a "recovering" 
stock market, when it so obvious that the increased prices are a direct 
result of the BOJ (essentially the JP government) pumping the best part 
of US$200bn into the markets over the last 3 years. Without this, the 
markets would most certainly be a smoldering heap.** (Source: TT 
commentary from bloomberg.com, Dec 10, 2017)

https://bloom.bg/2BQdMfO

=> Japan-EU finalize trade deal

Even as the USA becomes more protectionist, the rest of the world still 
sees trade deregulation as essential to the health of the economy. Such 
is the thinking of Japan and the EU, which have arrived at a set of 
mutually agreeable trade measures to show the USA how it's done. ***Ed: 
Essentially the agreement is the reduction of trade barriers for cars 
(into the EU) in exchange for easier access for soft cheese and pork 
(into Japan). We feel this is really just a politically cosmetic 
exercise, but still, for those of us partial to Camembert and brie, 
we'll be happy to see prices fall by 30% or more.** (Source: TT 
commentary from the-japan-news.com, Dec 10, 2017)

http://bit.ly/2iP9azm


NOTE: Broken links
Some online news sources remove their articles after just a few days of 
posting them, thus breaking our links -- we apologize for the inconvenience.

***------------------------****-------------------------***

+++ UPCOMING EVENTS

No events this week.

+++ CORRECTIONS/FEEDBACK

Lots of feedback to our beach trash article last week.

Reader 1:
Hi Terrie - loved the article - I was visiting my in-laws in Katsuura 
over the summer and was saddened by how much trash there was on the 
beach. The surfers love the high tides but seem to leave a lot of waste 
behind. Maybe it is washing up from the ocean - who knows? I was also 
surprised that there were no trash cans nearby. I hope that this article 
can raise awareness about this issue.

Reader 2:
I recall being at Kumei jima - one of the Okinawa Islands a year ago and 
I was astounded at the amount of plastic and rubbish on the beach. So 
being a good Aussie, I started collecting it in boxes - masses of boxes 
and sorted out the recyclables and separated all. The Japanese I met 
while I was collecting the rubbish on the beach or in the sea thanked me 
BUT no one offered to help like in Oz! It goes without saying that I 
also have not seen as much junk on Aussie beaches.

Reader 3:
Pollution of the oceans is a global phenomenon as far as I can gather 
but then I haven't been to a Japanese beach for ages...

Tokyo is reasonably clean because through peer-group pressure each 
property owner cleans in front of their property. Further, most people 
walking in the streets would be ashamed if seen throwing garbage. 
However, after the subway gas attack 20+ years ago the authorities 
decided to remove all the public garbage bins in Tokyo of fear for such 
places could hide bombs, gas, whatever. Fast forward a few years and we 
find that garbage bins did return to subway/train stations but not in 
any great abundance and even in heavily trafficked Tokyo Station, they 
can be hard to find. I don't know
if more garbage bins would help improve the situation, but at least the 
big cities in Europe have trash receptacles everywhere - in the streets 
and even on the beaches. A further ugliness is that in Tokyo drivers 
have no problem throwing garbage or cigarette butts out of the car when 
stopping for red lights.

Reader 4:
Related to latest edition I saw this recently: The smaller video pane 
with David Attenborough (run time is: 1min)

http://bit.ly/2ATYfi6 [D. Attenborough video]

I recall, too, being quite shocked while at a beach in Okinawa a couple 
of years ago, at all the flotsam and jetsam from locations unknown that 
was washed up on shore (despite my being an enthusiast as a beach-comber...)

Reader 5:
Three years ago, in the summer of 2014, I had several irritating 
experiences in a row regarding trash and being a tourist. The first was 
at a famous tourist spot on the Sea of Japan. To get to that spot, you 
have to walk through a gauntlet of about a hundred shops selling food, 
drinks, souvenirs, etc. There were zero trash cans... none, anywhere. 
Not in the shops, not in the stores, not in the parking lot, not even in 
the restrooms. Curious, I made dozens of inquiries and was told by 
everyone I asked, including one booth that sold me a yakitori stick but 
refused to accept the stick back, that I was supposed to "take it back." 
Take back to where, I asked everyone... Iowa? All I got was blank looks 
and the stock answer "That's the way it is," with no one able to tell me 
who decided it, or why. Meanwhile, I was horrified, but not surprised, 
to find out where most of the garbage was going. That's right: on the 
beach, all over the famous tourist spot, ruining it to a great extent. 
In the end, I literally wound up taking that yakitori stick back home to 
Nagoya, maybe 4 hours' drive away!

Another was a family picnic at a park in Gifu. Attendees included my 
in-laws from Yokohama and family friends from Kansai. We all rented, at
considerable cost, a BBQ pit in a lovely area that, curiously, we had 
almost all to ourselves. We bought a huge amount of our food and drinks 
at a Circle K about 5 km away. After our BBQ, which was great, we were 
stunned to discover that there was no waste disposal in the park. None. 
Zero. There were 8 of us and a dog in a minivan, with no room for an 
extra beer can, and we were staying in a ryokan about an hour's drive 
away. We returned to the Circle K, although it was out of our way, but 
despite having bought most of our stuff there we were told that we could 
not throw away even the trash from what we had just bought, such as 
empty beer cans! (It is for this reason, BTW, that I no longer shop at 
Circle K if I can help it. Now, it turns out, they're being bought out 
by Family Mart...and I like to think it's because of their unhelpful, 
rude, and customer-unfriendly trash policy).

We finally had to take two huge sacks full of trash back to our ryokan, 
which at first refused to accept any of it, and could tell us of nowhere 
in the prefecture we could take it (again, they insisted we should "take 
it home with us"). Things got a little heated and in the end they 
relented after we threatened to leave (we still had two more nights 
there). At every stop: in the park, at Circle K, at rest areas, we heard 
the same refrain, repeated as if everyone had been taught by the same 
instructor: "Take it back with you." To where, we asked again. Yokohama? 
Kobe? Gifu? To that, no one had an answer.

Long story short, since I get to do research for a living, I spent about 
a month doing some research on trash disposal in Central Japan. I 
quickly learned that garbage disposal is something that no one -- and I 
mean no one -- wants to talk about. In part, apparently, this is because 
the industry, in all of Japan's large cities where the matter is quite 
well regulated and paid for, is apparently largely set aside for, ahem, 
segments of the population that are socially taboo (frequent readers 
will know what I'm talking about). Plus, it's just not really a "cool" 
subject, although frankly, given the state of the planet, the state of 
the trash market, and all of the possible business opportunities that 
exist, it ought to be.

Anyway, and after being blown off and ignored by dozens of private 
companies, third sector parties, and local governments, a special tip 
led to a big part of what I suspect is the ultimate answer. Until about 
15 or 20 years ago, apparently, garbage disposal outside of Japan's big 
cities was something that was virtually "set aside" for Japan's 
organized crime (yes, the yakuza). They took care of the problem for a 
reasonable price and no one asked any questions. Two things changed all 
this. First, with globalization, a realization that doing business with 
gangsters (especially if you were a local government entity) was bad PR, 
leading, as we all know, to a slow but steady pushing of Japan's less 
reputable organizations off to the side. Two, several high-profile 
scandals brought to the surface what everyone already knew: some of the 
trash was being disposed of properly, yes, but much of it was simply 
being dumped in out-of-the-way places, which a growing popular consensus 
agreed had to stop.

So, over the last decade or so, the yakuza have been pushed out of the 
trash business. However, local governments have subsequently found out 
that legitimate trash disposal is very, VERY expensive, no one else 
wants to do it, and no one wants to pay for it (the taxpayers). So the 
"answer" has become to simply tell everyone to "take it home." With odd 
timing, if that's was it was, 9/11 and a highened fear of terrorist 
attacks provided a terrific excuse for everyone who wanted to to get out 
of the trash business. Instantly, almost overnight, 99% of Japan's 
garbage cans in public places vanished: parks, stations, and restrooms, 
tourist spots, everywhere. Rather than deal creatively with the problem, 
the powers that be told everyone to merely tell everyone else to "Take 
it home with you," without any consideration at all for tourists, 
travelers, or even locals who might have more than a can or two.

Bottom line: trash disposal in Japan is a huge problem that suffers from 
several structural barriers to solution. First, it's taboo and no one 
will talk about it willingly. Second, now that the "Just take it home 
with you" mindset is firmly entrenched, it will be hard to get rid of it 
(this does not bode well for leisure, tourism, travel, parks, and many 
other things). Thirdly and perhaps most depressingly, it throws a harsh 
spotlight on the lack of critical thinking in this society. Many of the 
non-answers I received to my research questions -- including from some 
very senior people -- were stupifyingly illogical and unhelpful. When I 
pushed back, using logic (my Japanese is pretty good), instead of a 
reasoned reply I always got instead a look or response that meant: "I 
don't want to think about it, I don't want to take any responsibility 
for it, I certainly don't want to put any effort into it, and what I 
want most of all is for you to go away so that I may continue to ignore 
the entire thing as I have been doing happily until now..."

***------------------------****-------------------------***

+++ TRAVEL DESTINATIONS PICKS

=> Nabana No Sato Winter Illuminations, Mie
Be amazed by a spectacular show of lights

Winter is here and one of Japan's best illuminations displays is Nabana 
No Sato, in Mie prefecture. Even though these light-up events have been 
ongoing annually for more than ten years, visitors are still mostly from 
within Japan, and Nabana is not yet popular internationally. With more 
than 8 million LED lights, there is certainly no holding back, turning 
the area into a massive winter wonderland. Illuminations in most cities 
are usually constrained by lack of space, but Nabana No Sato has a 
massive amount of space to showcase their skills.

The theme changes every year, and this year the popular Kumamon 
character from Kumamoto prefecture is the star of the show. Previous 
themes include "Nature", "Waterfalls", "Aurora" and "Flowers".

Upon entry, you will be awestruck by the vast amount of lights, and the 
urge to start taking masses of photos will begin. There is a recommended 
route to follow, and as you move forward the lights get more and more 
amazing. One feature that remains every year is the tunnel of lights, a 
very popular photo spot, whereby you can walk through a tunnel 
surrounded by colored lights, which stretches for 200 meters. A new 
addition in recent times is the sakura light tunnel. Shorter at 100 
meters, it is beautifully decorated with pink LED lights.

https://en.japantravel.com/mie/nabana-no-sato-winter-illuminations/41495

=> Iwatsuki Doll History Museum, Saitama
Traditional and modern examples of the doll making art

You can meet elegant court ladies, fierce warriors, sweetly smiling 
babies, shrine maidens, feudal lords, entertainers, and people in period 
dress - all in Iwatsuki Ward, Saitama City, which is the historic home 
to Japanese doll making. Iwatsuki Ward is actually a former castle town 
that has been the center of the nation's doll-making industry since the 
17th century. Today, the town has hundreds of shops displaying the works 
of local doll makers who produce everything from charming folk art to 
great masterpieces of doll making.

For example, immediately outside Iwatsuki Station is the Togoku Doll 
Museum on the fourth floor of the station front building. This museum 
displays rare and historical dolls that document the changing styles of 
doll making over the centuries. The museum features imperial court 
dolls, hina (girl's festival) dolls, and works by contemporary doll 
artisans. Admission to the museum is just JPY100.

https://en.japantravel.com/saitama/iwatsuki-doll-history-museum/41516

***------------------------****-------------------------***

***********************************************************
END

SUBSCRIBERS: 6,358 members as of Dec 10, 2017 (We purge our list regularly.)

+++ ABOUT US

STAFF
Written by: Terrie Lloyd (terrie.lloyd at japaninc.com)

HELP: E-mail Terrie-request at mailman.japaninc.com with the word 'help' in 
the subject or body (don't include the quotes), and you will get back a
message with instructions.

FEEDBACK
Send letters (Feedback, Inquiries & Information) to the editor to 
terrie.lloyd at japaninc.com.

ADVERTISING INFORMATION
For more information on advertising in this newsletter, contact 
ads at japaninc.com.

SUBSCRIBE
Get Terrie's Take by giving your name and email address at 
http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/free_sign_up, or go straight to 
Mailman at:
http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/terrie

BACK ISSUES
http://www.japaninc.com/terries_take or, 
http://mailman.japaninc.com/pipermail/terrie/

Copyright 2017 Japan Inc. Communications Inc.

----------------- Japan Inc opens up Japan ----------------

J at pan Inc authoritatively chronicles business trends in Japan. Each 
posting brings you in-depth analysis of business, people and technology
in the world's third largest economy.

Visit www.japaninc.com for the best business insight on Japan available.
-----------------------------------------------------------




More information about the Terrie mailing list