Ueno Park (上野公園) is a spacious public park located in the Ueno section of Taito, Tokyo, Japan. It occupies the site of the former Kan’ei-ji, a temple closely associated with the Tokugawa shoguns, who had built the temple to guard Edo Castle against the north-east, then considered an unlucky direction. The temple was destroyed during the Boshin War.Wikipedia

Ōsaki Station (大崎駅) is a railway station in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward. It is one of the stations where trains on the Yamanote Line loop are put into and taken out of service. Therefore, it has four tracks (two in each direction) for that line so as not to interfere with continuing trains (trains go several rounds before being taken out).Wikipedia

Maid cafes are a popular, totally geeked-out phenomenon centered in the back alleys of Akihabara’s electric town. Their specialty? Girls dressed like French maid who say, “welcome back, master!” when you enter, delicate cakes and dainty dishes that make you feel like you’re in a fairytale, and walls lined with comic books, video games, and figurines that’s like chicken soup for the the otaku’s soul.TokyoMango

Shinagawa Station (品川駅) is the first major station south of Tokyo Station and is a major interchange for trains operated by JR East, JR Central and Keikyū. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen and other trains to the Miura Peninsula, Izu Peninsula and the Tōkai region of Honshū pass through here. It is known as the southern gateway to Tokyo. Despite its name, it is not located in Shinagawa Ward but just to the north in Minato Ward.Wikipedia

The word “Salaryman” can be found in many books and articles pertaining to Japanese culture. Immediately following World War II, becoming a salaryman was viewed as a gateway to a stable, middle-class lifestyle. In modern use, the term carries associations of long working hours, low prestige in the corporate hierarchy, absence of significant sources of income other than salary, wage slavery, and karōshi.Wikipedia

The area was mainly agricultural in the Edo period. In 1651, Kozukappara, the Tokugawa’s largest execution ground (now located next to Minami-Senju station), was built. Beginning in the Meiji era, the area became industrial as factories were built on the water front.Wikipedia

Uguisudani station is noted for its proximity to a large number of love hotels. A love hotel (ラブホテル) is a type of short-stay hotel found in Japan operated primarily for the purpose of allowing couples privacy to have sexual intercourse. Similar establishments also exist in other East Asian countries and regions such as South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Wikipedia

Ueno (上野) is a district in Tokyo’s Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Station and Ueno Park. Ueno is also home to some of Tokyo’s finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Science Museum, as well as a major public concert hall.Wikipedia

Omotesandō (表参道) is an avenue, subway station and neighborhood in the Minato and Shibuya wards in Tokyo stretching from Harajuku station, the foot of the famous Takeshita Street, to Aoyama-dori where Omotesandō station can be found. Zelkova trees line both sides of the avenue. Around 100,000 cars drive down the main street daily.Wikipedia

Meiji Shrine (明治神宮), located in Shibuya, Tokyo, is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. When Emperor Meiji died in 1912 and Empress Shōken in 1914, the Japanese people wished to pay their respects to the two influential Japanese figures. It was for this reason that Meiji Shrine was constructed and their souls enshrined on November 1, 1920.Wikipedia

Ueno Station (上野駅) is a major railway station in Tokyo’s Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park — which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and other famous cultural facilities. Wikipedia

The University of Tokyo (東京大学, abbreviated as Todai (東大)), is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university in Japan.Wikipedia

I recently found out about AlienSkin Exposure 3 software, which is a very nice tool to emulate a huge amount of old films. This is just a test I did to try it, some results are really impressive.

There are two types of Japanese traditional dance: Odori, which originated in the Edo period, and Mai, which originated in the western part of Japan. Odori grew out of Kabuki drama and is more oriented toward male sentiments. Mai is traditionally performed in Japanese rooms instead of on the stage. It was influenced by the Noh Drama. A variation of the Mai style of Japanese dance is the Kyomai or Kyoto Style Dance. Kyomai developed in the 17th century Tokugawa cultural period. It is heavily influenced by the elegance and sophistication of the manners often associated with the Imperial Court in Kyoto.Wikipedia

Ochanomizu is famous for its many musical instrument stores, as well as ski and snowboard shops located a short walk from the station; it is known as the “go-to” district for bargain-conscious musicians and sportsmen. Ocha-no-mizu literally means “tea water”, after the nearby Kanda River from which water was extracted to make the shogun’s tea during the Edo period.Wikipedia

Ochanomizu (御茶ノ水) is a neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan. It extends from the Yushima section of Bunkyo-ku to the Kanda section of Chiyoda-ku. Meiji University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and Juntendo University all have main campuses in the area. Ochanomizu Station on the Chūō Line is the transport hub of the district. Prior to the Great Kantō earthquake, Ochanomizu University was also there; after the earthquake, it moved to its present location in the Ōtsuka neighborhood of Bunkyo-ku.Wikipedia

Shibuya is famous for its scramble crossing. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikō exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Three large TV screens mounted on nearby buildings overlook the crossing. The Starbucks store overlooking the crossing is also one of the busiest in the world.Wikipedia

The line was nationalized in 1907 under the Railway Nationalization Act, and double-tracked from Ryōgokubashi to Chiba till the next year. Pedecessor of Japan National Railways (JNR) planned to connect with other lines inside Tokyo. In 1932, new passenger line was opened from Ochanomizu to Ryōgoku (with new platform besides the original terminal facility), and frequent service of EMUs commenced. Electrification to Chiba was completed in 1935, and trains has run through from the Chūō line as local since then. But, except a few trains, no rapid service was operated on this line.Wikipedia

The west side of Shinjuku, a seismically stable area that escaped the last earthquake with nary a scratch, is Tokyo’s skyscraper district featuring (among others) the gargantuan Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices and the curved form and webbed façade of the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower. The east side of Shinjuku is devoted to shopping and nightlife, including Tokyo’s largest red-light district Kabukicho (歌舞伎町) and gay nightlife central Shinjuku ni-chōme (新宿２丁目). WikiTravel

The Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo (三菱一号館美術館) is a recently completed art museum in Tokyo’s Marunouchi district. Construction was completed in 2009 and the museum open April 6, 2010. The museum includes approximately 800 square metres (8,600 sq ft) of exhibition space, spread over 20 rooms, throughout the building’s 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft) floorplan.Wikipedia

Japanese teenagers, like the young in the U.S. and other countries, go out of their way to create their own clothing fashions and forms of communication. The 1,423-page, 2003 edition, of Gendai Yogo no Kiso Chisiki (Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words) has five pages of new terms created by teens, many of which are contractions of common words. Some examples: kimochi ga warui (unpleasant or disagreeable) becomes kimoi. Muzukashii (difficult) is shortened to muzui. Jikochushin (self-absorbed to an annoying degree) becomes jikochu. Japan Zone