12 Responses to 'Places I want to visit in Japan'

1. Mr. Ota Says: October 1st, 2008 at 5:32 pm

   >Diet in session
   How easy is it to get access to the viewing gallery of the Diet?

2. Adamu Says: October 1st, 2008 at 8:28 pm

   Upper House:
   You can get free tours of the Upper House on weekdays or every other Sunday, regardless of whether the Diet is in session.
   Details: http://www.sangiin.go.jp/japanese/taiken/bochou/kengaku.htm

   You can also observe any plenary session or committee meeting if you register up to 30 minutes ahead of time. First come first serve.
   Details: http://www.sangiin.go.jp/japanese/taiken/bochou/bochou.htm

   Lower House:
   No tours.

   They used to have similar rules as the upper house for observers, but they stopped “because of the terrorist attacks in the US.” WTF? Do they not know they meet in the same building as the Upper House? Anyway, you need an MP’s invitation to observe the plenary session, and the committee chairman’s permission to observe a committee meeting. Lame.
   Details: http://www.shugiin.go.jp/itdb_annai.nsf/html/statics/tetuzuki/bouchou.htm

3. Roy Berman Says: October 1st, 2008 at 10:08 pm

   So, Adam, I think it should be obvious that your next goal is to somehow acquire an MP’s invitation. I believe the campaign should involve a series of bad Hollywood comedy style hijinks.

4. Joe Jones Says: October 1st, 2008 at 10:54 pm

   I’m sure Tobias can arrange something if you ask nicely.

5. Aceface Says: October 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 am

   You and Roy have also been to a spot where few gaijin could enter with me as the guide,I believe.

   Inuyama? Why Inuyama?

   And add Iwojima on the list.Great place.

6. Adamu Says: October 2nd, 2008 at 6:59 pm

   I certainly have not forgotten!

   I wanted to visit Inuyama to interview Anthony Bianchi, the English teacher turned naturalized politician (and an occasional reader of this blog, if only of the entries that are specifically about him). About two years ago he ran for mayor and lost but not before receiving a respectable number of votes.

   There is an Iwo Jima memorial in the town where my mom lives so I almost feel like there’s no reason to visit the actual place.

7. Mulboyne Says: October 2nd, 2008 at 7:27 pm

   If you are interested in Aleph and Soka Gakkai, I can recommend the Kofuku no Kagaku office in Gotanda. You should also try and visit their quite remarkable building in Shirogane:

   http://blog.goo.ne.jp/tonton64/e/c3e14acd480ced52897e450346bdacda

   As another blogger wrote (can’t find the link) it looks like the kind of design a manga artist might come up with if they were trying to conjure up a sense of European majesty.

8. Curzon Says: October 2nd, 2008 at 10:43 pm

   I say you, me and Joe hitchhike up to Aomori to see Christ’s birthplace. Even if we don’t make it, you can cross one item off your list.

9. Joe Jones Says: October 3rd, 2008 at 12:04 am

   Kofuku no Kagaku has some interesting buildings. There’s a newer one close to Sengakuji which I used to pass all the time when I was living there. Looks like one of those funky modern synagogues you see in the US.

   I agree that a hitchhike to Aomori would be fun. If we’re feeling less ambitious, I think the 鉄道の日 passes are good for the next couple of weeks, so we could take the local train up the Japan Sea coast….

   Ever seen this guide?

10. Roy Berman Says: October 3rd, 2008 at 12:58 am

    I’d be up for that trip- although I don’t think a group of 4 guys (or even 3 for that matter) are going to make it very far hitch-hiking.

11. Joe Jones Says: October 3rd, 2008 at 12:59 am

    Yeah, I guess with a group of 4 we’d be more in carjacking territory.

12. Roy Berman Says: October 3rd, 2008 at 1:24 am

    Now there’s an idea…

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