Sunday, I headed out to the convention to check out one of its highlights, a performance from Jishin Taiko Ensemble…Continue reading at LAWeekly.com

Liz Ohanesian is a Los Angeles-based journalist covering music, media and club culture. She is a staff writer for Club World and her work regularly appears in such publications as the L.A. Weekly, Razorcake and Outburn. She has written for such publications as Punk Planet, PopMatters, Santa Monica Mirror and others. Follow her on Twitter!

© The Anime Blog

For anyone who’s never sat in the gentle rain of cherry blossoms in spring, I encourage you to do so. It’s an incredible sight to watch as millions of pink petals slowly tumble to the ground and then cover it with a pastel carpet. Profuse amounts of cherry blossoms, sakura, are a rare sight in America (unless you live in Washington D.C.) but in Japan, cherry trees line streets and are common in parks.

It’s a Japanese rite of spring to travel to parks and boulevards filled with sakura to drink sake, sip tea and hang with friends during what’s known as hanami, “flower viewing”. This ancient rite of spring is a way to celebrate the end of winter and to rejoice in one of Japan’s national symbols, the cherry blossom.

Hanami is an old tradition which is hugely popular. Everyone enjoys hanami in their own way, but most hanami-goers can be put in two categories: those who go to silently contemplate the drifting pink petals and those who bring their stereos, a barrel of sake and as many friends as can sit on a tarp. The latter mostly adhere to the popular adage, “hana yori dango“, translated as “dumplings over flowers”, alluding to the preference of eating dumplings over admiring the flowers.

Hanami is such a big deal in Japan, it continues into the night, when it’s then called “yozakura“, night viewing. I have yet to experience yozakura, but who knows? Maybe this year is my year to see cherry blossoms under the stars.

© The Anime Blog

Personally, I enjoy both sides of hanami. I like to stroll through MoBot’s Japanese Garden, sit in the mossy alcove by myself and imagine I can hear the sound the petals make as they drop. Then I’ll go home, call my friends, pack a lunch and hightail it to a park to giggle like schoolgirls in the slow warmth of the new season.

There’s much to be enjoyed during hanami and even if you don’t have a groove of cherry trees handy, you can still celebrate hanami by enjoying a picnic under some dogwoods or other local blooming trees. The spirit of hanami is to have fun, relax, and reflect on the beauty of the season. Create your own hanami this year!

If anyone’s interested in reading more about hanami or in a recipe for one of the star confections of the season, hanami dango, check out my article on Sauce magazine’s website! The article includes a recipe for delicious hanami dango in the right side bar!

*Note: The ingredients which have an odd symbol in front followed by “1/2″ should be noted as being “1/2″.

I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to discuss Japan’s Cool Biz Initiative, which aims to reduce Japan’s emissions of greenhouse gases! Actually, this turned out to be perfect timing – I was driving to work the other day and listening to National Public Radio. Suddenly, science reporter David Kestenbaum was on the air discussing the Cool Biz Initiative! He discussed his recent trip to Tokyo, where he did a full-feature on the Cool Biz Initiative.

Japan Trades in Suits, Cuts Carbon Emissions

“Two years ago, the Japanese government essentially with the stroke of a pen instituted a new policy that has so far trimmed more than two million tons of greenhouse gases from the country’s growing emissions.”

Yuriko Koike, the previous Japanese Environmental Minister started the Cool Biz Initiative, Yuriko Koike is currently the Minister of Defense (First Abe Cabinet).

Cool Biz Initiative Facts and Figures

• Since 2005, Japan has trimmed more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gasses
• Office air conditions must be set no cooler than 28 degree Celsius = 82.4 degree Fahrenheit
• 95.8% of respondents knew Cool Biz
• 32.7% of 562 respondents answered that their offices set the air conditioner thermostat higher than in previous years.
• set summer office temperatures at no lower than 28°C as well as work to have the Cool Biz concept take permanent root in society.
• 460,000-ton reduction in CO2 emission, the equivalent volume of CO2 emitted by about 1 million households for one month.

Dress code suggestions for the Japanese workplace

• Starch collars so they stand up
• Wear pants that breathe and absorb moisture (like cotton)
• Wear short-sleeved shirts
• Don’t wear jackets or ties to work

Additional Cool Biz Initiative Reading

• The Cool Biz Look Sweeps Japan. Sort Of.
  

  The Japanese government has officially launched the Cool Biz initiative, designed to promote more casual business attire and save energy during the summer months. While you would expect to hear cheers from Salarymen around the country, the reaction to the new program has been decidedly mixed.

• Official Cool Biz Intuitive website (Japanese only)
• ‘Cool Biz’ dress code spreads through halls of promotion
  

  “Cool Biz” has received a bigger response than the “Energy-Saving Look” campaign of 1979 did, when then Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira encouraged people to wear short-sleeved shirts and take ties off in the office to cut down on air-conditioning during the world’s second oil crisis.

• Cool Biz Initiative on Wikipedia
  

  The Japanese Ministry of the Environment (MOE) began advocating the Cool Biz campaign in summer 2005 as a means to help reduce electric consumption by limiting use of air conditioning. This idea was proposed by then MOE minister, Yuriko Koike under the Koizumi cabinet.

While we’re thinking about the environment and how it impacts our Japanese friends (and our own environment), I encourage you to watch (or discuss) these two Hayao Miyazaki films:

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke is about the struggle between the guardians of the forest and the humans who need it. “Mononoke” is Japanese for “spirit of the natural world”. It’s a really exciting, action-filled story with a really deep heart. Miyazaki’s main theme of the film centers on the effects of humans on the environment.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

The story of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind takes place 1,000 years after most of the Earth’s ecosystem and the entire human civilization was destroyed by ‘Seven Days of Fire’. There were a few groups of humans who survived. The main character Nausicaa, is princess of the Valley of the Wind, a peaceful community. Nausicaa can talk to bugs and is very close to nature. When another group threatens war, Nausicaa must fight for the creatures and her people.

What sorts of tips can you think of to help out our environment?