Samurai Yujiro, Japan Broadcasting.net Nagoya correspondent

Nobody goes to Nagoya

Japan has entered its so called the poignant ‘Sakura season’.

I recently visited Nagoya, a city of 2.26 million located in the ‘center’ of Japan’s largest Honshu archipelago. The world’s largest automobile maker TOYOTA is headquartered there as some of you may already know.

The fastest Shinkansen ‘Nozomi’  connects Tokyo and Nagoya in just over 90 minutes. But if you are not in such a hurry, ‘Hikari express’ would be fast enough with a comfy ride of approximately 120 minutes.

Despite the fact, this medium sized city (about a half the population of Singapore) is widely ‘ignored’ by the majority of foreign tourists unfortunately. Spaniards and Canadians heading for Kyoto-Osaka from the capital don’t care to bother hopping off the Shinkansen on its way to explore the ‘TOYOTA HQ CITY’ which is a big pity.

I say so because the place is not only about ‘cars’ . It’s like a ‘box of chocolate’ with extraordinary originality and cultural history. Moreover, taking into account that ‘quite a few’ of you foreign tourists purchase  the Japan-Rail-Pass, I don’t understand why you don’t make the best of it – yep, no matter how many times you hop and off the Shinkansen, the price stays the same!

Let us move on.

Since now is the famous cherry blossom season, if you dare to visit Nagoya I recommend you drop by the Tsurumai-Park, the oldest western style park in the region that was set up way back during the Meiji era in 1907.

That’s only two years after Japan prevailed over the Russians in the pivotal Russo-Japan war. Though the victory may have been skin thin deep, it was indeed a historic game changer that crucially influenced the course of modern history. ‘North Korea’ probably wouldn’t have even existed had Japan been vanquished in that battle led by the legendary Japan Navy admiral Togo Heihachiro.

Anyways, here’s one pic I took.

 

Though the sky was a little cloudy, the pink petals were ready for Japan’s intrinsic entertainment.I didn’t see any Russians with a can of Asahi, but I did see quite a few foreigners – which to me looked as though they weren’t ‘tourists’ but residents. They all smelled so ‘local’.

Hop on the Chuo-line from JR Nagoya station, and you’ll arrive at the Tsurumai station in just 15 minutes. The huge park is right there the moment you hop off!

 

‘America First’…..a hoax.  Is Tokyo going to disappear by Mr Kim’s ‘Kimchi Crotch?’

U.S President Trump has done it again.

He bombed the Syrian air force base with 59 Tomahawk missiles while having dinner with ‘his friend’ Mr Xi jinping of China in his private retreat in Florida.

The latter must have been totally appalled to hear the news, to say the least. However, as Mr Xi and his friends in Beijing feared ‘losing face’ on foreign soil – or arousing that sort of image to circulate in the media, the autocratic leader of the world’s 2nd largest economy kept on smiling and grinning inexplicably all the way like Sponge-Bob, during his 48 hours visit at Mar-a-Lago.

Sakura’s ‘life expectancy’ is merely just 7 days or so.

North Korea has existed for nearly 70 years.

American voters hilariously found out that they had been completely duped by Donald Trump’s so called the ‘America First’ policy, when he struck Syria a few days ago with his toy. Professional opportunist as he is, Trump is ready to take on Pyongyang it seems, to erase it off the map like the petals of a Sakura tree.

The flamboyant real estate tycoon ‘knows how to win’ – according to himself, unlike Mitt Romney. But we’ve all got to bear in mind that he has never fought a real ‘war’ – like WW2 or Vietnam or the Gulf war nor has he ever been drafted by the U.S military.

This means that Trump’s war is akin to ‘Playstation War’ (ex. Metal gear solid). Virtual, digital and in a way ‘spiritual’. As long as Mr President argues ‘This is a war that will make America Great Again! That’s our spirit!’ – the show is on. And the mighty Americans will ‘hail’ Trump, and though initially divided, they will unite in the face of war ostensibly for ‘human rights and democracy’- just like Iraq 2003.

We all know that WMD were not hidden in Sadaam’s underpants.

But yes, I do acknowledge that Kim Jong un does have not only a bravado, but also a toy called ‘Tepodong’ in his Kimchi pot, or by his crotch. I am a Japanese national stationed in Tokyo, and am clearly aware of the fact that Kim’s toys can reach my home in less than 10 minutes whether or not its capped with a nuclear warhead.

And then, I ask myself.

 

‘The Unpredictables’

‘Hard evidence does not exist regarding Syria. We all don’t REALLY know whether those despicable chemical attacks on civilians were actually perpetrated by Asaad or Putin. All we can do is presume so.

But we do know that Pyongyang is equipped with a ‘time bomb’. Well, at least I do. I haven’t seen it with my naked eyes or felt it with my thick fingers, but am convinced that big fat dictator is an imminent threat.

He didn’t think twice about killing his half brother.

Then, it is simply no surprise for him to press the ‘button’ targeted for Tokyo and Nagoya’s Tsurumai-Park.

Sakura’s life is short, so live hard – the old Japanese saying goes. But then, is the future of the Japanese as a race also ‘short lived’ as we confront the next ‘Hiroshima’?!

Will the mighty Nippon disappear from the map!?

Never be overly pessimistic of course, but believe me, we do live in an era of the unpredictables. If Mr Robert De Niro was the ‘Untouchable’ – then Putin (Crimea robber), Xi (South China Sea robber), Kim (Half-brother’s life robber) and Trump (Presidential election robber) are all unpredictables.

Man, are the Samurais dead.

The Japanese no longer have the balls.

 

Good Rising!

 

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