Omotesando, Tokyo is home of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade for Japan biggest city. This year’s parade is on March 14 and starts from Omotesando Hills; it runs from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m.

Tokyoites aren’t the only ones that think they have a little Irish in them. Other areas in Japan also hold parades and more.

Threatened with the disappearance of its culturally iconic cherry blossoms, Japanese scientists have used heavy ion beams to create a new breed of tree that blooms throughout the year.
The Japanese have for centuries celebrated the arrival of spring by sitting beneath cherry trees as their delicate blossoms open each year, but due to global warming and the impact of rising temperatures in cities caused by vehicle emissions, air conditioning units and other forms of pollution, the trees are blooming earlier every year.
Not only are they coming earlier – five …

Japan’s Ai Miyazato has won the third edition of the HSBC Women’s Champions event.

A 69 in the final round to end 10 under for a 278 total saw Miyazato winning the title at Tanah Merah Country Club’s Garden course.

Miyazato, Japan’s No 1 golfer, who won the season’s opening event in Thailand last week, continued her fine form in Singapore, holding the joint lead going into the final round.

Juli Inkster and Ai Miyazato each shot 3-under-par 69 Saturday and are tied for the lead at the LPGA’s HSBC Women’s Champions tournament in Singapore.
Inkster, 49, would be the oldest golfer to win an LPGA event if she can pick up career title No. 32 on Sunday while Miyazato, 24, will be shooting for her second tour title in as many weeks. They are at 7-under 209 after 54 holes.
Momoko Ueda, who tied for Saturday’s best round with a 68, is among four players tied for third two strokes behind …

This spring, TBS will explore the world of men’s rhythmic gymnastics with a new drama series titled “Tumbling.” The show will feature a cast of popular young actors, led by Yusuke Yamamoto (22) in his first lead role in a series.
Yamamoto plays a high school delinquent who has a weakness for women. When an attractive transfer student (Azusa Okamoto) joins the women’s rhythmic gymnastics team, he responds by joining the men’s team and soon discovers a passion for the sport. Since last fall, Yamamoto has been undergoing special gymnastics …

Veteran actor Makoto Fujita has passed away at the age of 76. Fujita, whose real name was Makoto Harada, died at a hospital in Suita, Osaka, on February 17. The cause of death was reportedly a ruptured aortic aneurysm.
Born in Tokyo in 1933 but raised mainly in Kyoto, Fujita was the son of silent-film star Rintaro Fujima. With his roots as a comedian, Fujita hit a turning point in his career when he starred in the comedy show “Tenamonya Sandogasa” (1962-1968), which achieved ratings as high as 60% in the …

So how about a look at Valentine’s Day in Japan?
Chocolate love and the art of giving here is a totally one-way street with men being the receivers, but it has it’s rewards one month later for the women on White Day.

Three female “ambassadors of cute” were appointed by the Foreign Ministry last year to spread the word of “kawii” aboard.
Many youth around the world are fascinated with anime and “cosplay,” or the hobby of dressing up in costumes based on their favorite characters. So, inspired by the characters in Japan’s distinctive “anime” films and “manga”, one of the new ambassadors dresses as a schoolgirl(Shizuka Fujioka) and another as a Victorian doll(Misako Aoki) in voluminous frilly skirts. The remaining of the trio is a very fashionable singer(Yu Kimura) that would …

There are about 70 cases of American parents who are kept from seeing their children in Japan, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell met with several of them in a group earlier Tuesday. He called their situations “heart-breaking.”

In some cases, Japanese mothers living overseas have fled to Japan with their children and kept the fathers from having any contact with the kids, even if court rulings abroad ordered joint custody.

Oni Out, Happiness In!
It’s almost that time of year again, another Setsubun will soon be upon us! So get your fuku mame ready for the throwing and practice your chanting – “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!”
Click here for more about Setsubun.