Tsukiji Uogashi Sandaime（築地魚河岸三代目/Tsukiji fish market wholesale the third）is the popular comics. It has been  translated into Chinese and has published in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Moreover was filmized and is showing at the Shanghai Film  Festival.

movie site
http://www.uogashi3.jp/movie/

The advisers of the comics are Koichi Ogawa(the former wholesale/the chef of Chiaki Japanese fish restaurant) and his wife  Fumi Hirano(writer/anime voice actor).Fumi is famous for acting Lum Invader(拉姆)in Uruseiyatsura(山T女福星福星小子) .

千秋（chiaki)
http://www.3daime.jp/chiaki.htm

I went to the Chiaki restaurant to interview her and took the lunch with fresh fish from the Tsukiji market.

Tuna & horse mackerel bawl(800yen)

Ladies lunch(950yen):tuna bawl, long green onion and tuna soup, boiled spinach seasoned with soy sauce and tuna powder, desert(a bracken-starch dumpling)

Tokizake(salmon) from Hokkaido

I learned some hangs of fish cooking by Fumi.
-to remove the smell from fish, salt on it just before boiling and grilling.
-to prevent oil splash, soak cuttlefish and  prawn in milk, dip them in batter and deep fry it.
-a fresh fish cuisine just caught from a fish preserve is not yummy, because too fresh fish need some time to mature.
-Tokizake(salmon) from Hokkaido, sea bass, flatfish are in season.

     
Tsukiji 350th aniversary / Fumi Hirano

The Tsukiji fish market was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu just 350 years ago. In recent years becomes a popular attraction for foreign travelers. There are  "inner market" (licensed wholesale market)and "outer market"(mixture of wholesale and retail shops). After the interview, I dropped by my favorite shop to get some.

松露（shoro): omelet specialty store established in 1924
http://www.shouro.co.jp/shouro.php

Which omlet do you like best?

On June 6th the hula dance group, “Obama girls", left to Honolulu,　the hometown of candidate Obama, to participate in "Hawaii Festival". Actually it was made up by "The residents' group which supports candidate Obama unofficially" in Obama-shi,Japan.

Obama (小浜 means small shore in Japanese), is a small fishing town in Fukui Prefecture. The residents of Obama-shi have supported Barack Obama only because the pronunciation of the town "Obama" was the same. The residents also put various souvenirs for sale to promote the town with officials. In fact not a few people criticize them for making a fool. However I am no judge on the issue.

Well, would Obama-shi succeed in getting big international attention?  How do you think about their sense of humor?

Video:

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=JZOQFX2ozKQ

Here is the list for donation to China and Myanmar from Japan. Make releif contribtions to help them. (sorry, only in japanese)

日本国内でもネットで店頭で、募金活動が広がっています。

■nifty internet donation
http://www.nifty.com/tokusetsu/index.htm

■yahoo japan internet donation
http://volunteer.yahoo.co.jp/donation/detail/1301007/

■Mainichi newspaper 毎日新聞東京社会事業団
http://www.mainichi.co.jp/shakaijigyo/mai_contents_saigai.html

■NHK　日本放送協会
http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkvnet/spot/2008-china-eq/

■Japanese red cross 日本赤十字
http://www.jrc.or.jp/sanka/help/index.html

■店頭募金（seveneleven,itoyokado,seibu,sogo,etc)　
http://www.itoyokado.co.jp/company/news/spcl/2008/pdf/20080513.pdf#search='

■Ｐちょコム e-money
http://www.pchocom.jp/topics/news_index.html#080508_2

There are large crowds in the precincts in these holidays called "Golden Week".

Well, what photograph do they take all together?

The answer is・・・azalea！　It's the azalea festival.

Nezu shrine(根津神社）in Tokyo is noted for its azalea and about 50 kinds, 3,000 stocks bloom at  a garden. The shrine was originally commissioned by Japanese legendary prince about 1900 years ago.

There are several rules for a worshipper, though many people does not follow them.　At first, enter the precincts after bowing lightly at a Torii(鳥居）.

Pure water on your hands with a ladle and rinse out a mouth  to purify yourself.(手水)

Bow twice, clap your hands twice in prayer, then bow once.(二拝二拍手一拝)

After woship is over,enjoy foods at venders.

corns from Hokkaido

boiled konnyaku from Yamagata ; a gelatinous food made from devil's-tongue starch

japanese beans pancake

candies. micky the left.

dried cuttlefish

locusts,small fish boiled in sweetened soy sauce

beans coated with sugar

grilled garic and mashroom from Aomori

the noted  shop of "Sake (alcohol) Manju(steamed bun)" in this shrine.

While I took pics, they were sold out!

and games!!!

What do they aim at with guns?

hahaha...

Here's a flea market

It says "How about this for the present of Mother's Day?"