Category Beyond Baseball
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Beyond Baseball: teamLab Borderless
teamLab is an interdisciplinary group of artists formed in Tokyo in 2001. But the disciplines of group members are not traditional ones like painting, sculpting, or photography. Members are called “Ultra-technologists” because the troupe is composed of programmers, engineers, computer…
Beyond Baseball: Cherry Blossom Picnics
Traditionally, during Japan’s spring season, thousands of people flock to parks around Japan to see the cherry blossoms and experience a traditional hanami, or “blossom viewing.” A typical cherry-blossom picnic takes place in March as the flowers start to bloom. Friends, families,…
Beyond Baseball: Overview of Buddhism and Shinto in Japan
According to the Government of Japan’s Agency for Culture Affairs 2018 study on religion, 69% of Japanese people practice Shinto, 66.7% practice Buddhism, 1.5% practice Christianity, and 6.2% practice other religions. No, that’s not a typo – the total exceeds…
Beyond Baseball: Kentucky for Christmas – Japan’s KFC Tradition
As we’ve discussed before on the JapanBall site, Kentucky Fried Chicken’s Colonel Sanders has a special place in NPB lore. The Hanshin Tigers were supposedly cursed by the Colonel after a group of fans celebrating the team’s 1985 Central League…
Beyond Baseball: Notable Places to Visit in Kyoto
Estimates say there are 1,600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines in Kyoto. Regardless of precise numbers, many of Japan’s best-known temples and shrines reside in the former imperial capital. Images from many of these places grace guidebooks and brochures…
Beyond Baseball: Notable Shrines and Temples To Visit in Tokyo
Although numbers are unclear, estimates say that Japan has approximately 75,000 Buddhist temples and 80,000 Shinto shrines. Many of the most popular shrines and temples are found in Kyoto, but Tokyo has plenty that are also historically significant and equally…
Beyond Baseball: Akihabara, Tokyo’s “Electric Town”
Heading to Tokyo? Want a truly unique shopping and cultural experience rolled into one? Akihabara should be at the top of your list. Easily accessible via the Akihabara JR and Metro station, this district is the hub of the modern…
Beyond Baseball: Shinjuku and Golden Gai
In a megalopolis such as Tokyo, there obviously is no one spot where one can see everything, but a visitor can see a lot in Shinjuku. Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo – special wards being largely autonomous subdivisions…
Beyond Baseball: Yasukuni Shrine and Yushukan War Museum
The hundreds of Shinto shrines of Japan are revered for their tranquility and spirituality, but only one is a frequent spiritual haven for violent yakuza members and is internationally known for its controversial nature – the Yasukuni Shrine and accompanying…
Beyond Baseball: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Of the many tourist attractions in Japan, perhaps the most moving and relevant is the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, a 120,000-acre area dedicated to the memory of the approximately 140,000 people who died as a result of the atomic…