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The December 2006 edition of Alien Times is now online.

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• Articles Published in December 2006

Alien Times is an English newsletter that has been published in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan since 1987. It has been online at http://www.alientimes.org since 2002. All of our writers and staff are volunteers.

More about Alien Times

Did you know there’s a Hello Kitty-shaped vending machine in Moriya City? It’s the first of its kind in Japan, and it officially debuted in Moriya on April 1.

This Hello Kitty vending machine is located in the Moriya Service Area on Joban Express Way. I know this is the service area we, Tsukuba area residents, tend to skip since it’s the first service area from Tsukuba, but I think this vending machine is a good reason to stop there! I know some of you, TsukuBlog readers would LOVE to take pictures of this vending machine to be added to the list of “weird things I saw in Japan”(I would!) ;-> Please note that Hello Kitty-shaped vending machine is only at the service area on the up lane(上り) side.

If you don’t have a plan of going there anytime soon, I’ll tell you a secret: you can actually see the backside of this vending machine from the Tsukuba Express train(yes, I’ve seen it, and it was easy to spot the famous kitten)!

Visit NEXCO East Japan’s Press Release to see what this vending machine looks like.

It’s a bit early to announce this, but I’m doing it anyway since I’ve come across a timely article on Mainichi Daily News.

From April 15 article:

Pottery-clad audio products hit the right notes

KASAMA, Ibaraki — An electronics manufacturer in Ibaraki Prefecture has begun receiving orders for audio products set in local Kasama-style pottery.

The speakers are shaped like a pot and their sound is clearer than that of normal wood speakers.

The amplifier is priced at more than 800,000 yen and each speaker at more than 30,000 yen.

An official from the manufacturer in Omitama said that the firm planned to market cheaper and smaller pottery-covered audio products. (Mainichi)

If this article got you interested in the Kasama Yaki(pottery), then 陶炎祭(ひまつり or Himatsuri), the largest pottery fair in the entire Kanto Region, will be waiting for you!

From Himatsuri Website:

‘Himatsuri’ in Kasama is the biggest event during the Golden Week with 219 potters and ceramic artists participating. Himatsuri can offer much more than other ‘Pottery Fairs’.
Potters have their individual stalls fashioned with their unique works and wares, and visitors can enjoy shopping for special finds. Visitors may also enjoy hands-on experience while interacting with artists.

In addition to Show-and-Sale of Kasama ware, there will be an auction of clay masks by ceramic artists and an exhibit of clay masks made by over 1000 local school children. There will also be brass band performances by elementary and middle school children.

On May 3rd visitors may enjoy ‘Evening Market’ until 7 p.m. and the main attraction of Himatsuri, ‘Evening Fest Live’ with their favorite potters while enjoying delicious food.

Please also visit the Himatsuri Blog if you want to view the flyers. You can view a larger image of “green” flyer just by clicking on that thumbnail, but for the ones in the middle and right, you’ll need to click “ココ” located in the upper left.

Various events will go on during Himatsuri, like hands-on activities for kids and adults, pottery auctions, and live music performances by local brass bands and a professional band. So there are excuses to drag your friends or family members who aren’t into pottery with you…!

I have to warn you though. Since this pottery fair is extremely popular and famous, be prepared for traffic congestion (the parking lots can turn into battle grounds)! Kasama City’s been trying to come up with ways to ease the traffic/parking issues, but it hasn’t found a best solution yet. It’s urging people to use public transportations. There are free buses leaving from JR Tomobe and JR Kasama Stations, but only once an hour at the most.

In Japan, there is a special celebration for people who turn 88 years old. It is called “beiju” （米寿） and it is made up of the characters for “rice” (米) and “long life” (寿). The word is said to come from the fact that the character for rice can be broken down into three parts that spell out 88: 八十八 (eight, ten, eight).

In Tsukuba 361 people turned 88 this year (121 men and 240 women). Also, 14 people turned 100 (1 man, 13 women). There are 15 people who are over 100 years old living in Tsukuba (2 men, 13 women).

Japan Geotechnical Consultants Association has announced the first 83 locations out of about 380 candidate sites to be included in their list of 100 geology spots in Japan, a.k.a., 日本の地質百選 (Nihon no Chishitsu Hayku-sen) last month. JGCA organized this project to raise public interest in local geology and at the same time, give local tourism industry a boost.

According to JGCA’s website, it made a selection based on the candidate site’s importance in understanding the geologic history of Japan and how the particular site will benefit the local education and tourism if picked.

So what’s so unique about the geology of Mt.Tsukuba?

According to Kazuhiro Miyazaki of Institute of Geology and Geoinformation (part of AIST), Mt.Tsukuba is made up of mainly two kinds of plutonic rocks, gabbro around the top of the mountain, surrounded by granite. The famous “Toad-shaped Rock” on Mt. Tsukuba is one big chunk of weathered gabbro, for example. Mr. Miyazaki states that a mountain made up of gabbro is rare. Orbicular granite is another rarity found in Mt.Tsukuba, and it is designated as the Ibaraki Prefectural natural treasure. Orbicular granite can be seen in the Ishioka City side of Mt.Tsukuba. (information based on June 17 issue of Asahi Newspaper)

As you know, or if you didn’t know, Mt. Tsukuba has been known as one of (100 since 1964 after a book called 日本百名山, Nihon Hyaku Meizain, came out that year) notable mountains in Japan since Edo Period (1603 to 1867 a.d.), so this new project has brought a new glory to this much-loved mountain. Mt. Tsukuba is the only site in Ibaraki to be included in the list of 100 so far.

If you love cycling or hiking, you might be interested in looking at the current exhibit called “Rediscover the Nature of Tsukuba” at Geological Museum before you plan your next outing. The exhibit is all in Japanese unfortunately, but you can still see the images of various geologically interesting sites in Tsukuba area. You can pick up magazine-type and fold out-type catalogs there. If you are heading home for summer, these catalogs can also be good souvenirs for your friends and families to show them what Tsukuba is like…, geologically!

catalogs from the exhibit

Rediscover the Nature of Tsukuba
Geological Museum (AIST)
April 17 to July 16
Hours: 9:30 to 16:30
Admission: free

Those who live in or near Tokyo, you’ve either read or have heard of free English-language magazines like Metropolis , Weekender and Tokyo Notice Board. Those are great source of information for non-Japanese speakers or those who are learning English. Though Metropolis has awesome forums for people from various parts of Japan to exchange information, those magazines are Tokyo(Kanto region) -based and they look like the tourist books if people who live outside of the Kanto Region get a chance to pick up some copies (They are great magazines and I love them!).

Well, I have a very exciting news to share with you; a new English magazine just came out in Nagano Prefecture! The name of the magazine is NAGAKNOW, and this is the first-ever free English-language magazine in Nagano!!

(The cover of April 27 - May 25 issue. This image was kindly provided by the representative of NAGAKNOW.)

I was afraid that there wouldn’t be any copies left for me to pick up since their very first issue came out on April 27th and the launch of this new magazine was in several newspapers in Nagano. Despite my concerns, I was able to pick up copies from the tourist information office in JR Matsumoto Station and also from the Matsumoto Tourist Information Center near the Matsumoto Castle during the “Golden Week” holidays.

NAGAKNOW is a full-color magazine about half the size of The Alien Times and is somewhat like The Alien Times (obviously, with more funding). There are articles submitted by local residents, list of events, information on local tourist’s spot and restaurant info.

OK, sounds a lot like The Alien Times, but NAGAKNOW is also a bilingual magazine! They place the English and Japanese articles side by side for those who are learning Japanese and vice versa.

NAGAKNOW also goes out to the streets and interview local residents, Japanese and non-Japanese. In their first issue, they went to Matsumoto Castle for their “Street Talk” section of the magazine. In “Local Flavor,” they interviewed the local ramen shop owner. The ads placed by local restaurants, accommodations and other businesses are also interesting to look at. We definitely don’t see an ad for a lodge located near the peak of 3080 meter mountain around here!

As you can see, their website is still in the making and they are still working on their contents, but if you have friends and families living in Nagano Prefecture, please tell them about this exciting new magazine.

Nagano is already a very popular destination for those who enjoy winter sports and mountaineering, but there are more reasons to visit Nagano this year! Did you know the City of Matsumoto in Nagano is celebrating its 100th year this year? If you are planning a visit to Matsumoto City, please also plan to pick up a copy of NAGAKNOW. You’ll love it!

Related website:
Matsumoto Welcomes You! - Official Tourist Information of Matsumoto City in Nagano, Japan

A few weeks ago I was surprised to see that there were policemen at each corner of every intersection along Higashi-Odori (one of Tsukuba’s main thoroughfares), for as many kilometers as I would travel down it. Each of these officers had a little decoration on his shoulder, so it was clear that this was VIP related. Since I had read that Prince Charles was in Japan on that day, I assumed that he had made a surprise visit to Tsukuba.

Well , it turns out that the Prince of Wales never did come to Tsukuba. However, I was not very far off the mark. Royalty, was in fact coming, and in heavy doses.  What I had seen was merely a dress rehearsal. There would be still more rehearsals (not only for the police) after the one I had seen — because this was going to be MAJOR == the Emperor and Empress of Japan (representing the longest continuous dynasty in the world) would be visiting Tsukuba. This in itself would merit a rehearsal or two, but putting more pressure on security services and Tsukuba City officials, they would be bringing along two very special guests, also of very ancient lineage: the King and Queen of Spain. (The King is a successor to the Capetian Dynasty which is the oldest in Europe. He is a descendant of Charles V, Louis XIV and Queen Victoria, among others.)

Though we have had a Nobel Prize winner or two among us, since the Tsukuba Expo of 1985, when a whole slew of world leaders and royalty whipped in and out of town, there have been few such occasions to excite our local royal and celebrity watchers. 

I was surprised to learn (since I come from a very security conscious country) that a detailed itinerary of the visit was released in advance, and even more surprised to eventually find that it was followed, to the minute.

The plan to visit Tsukuba certainly came about due to a shared interest on the part of the Emperor and the King in science and technology. But by this I do not necessarily mean the space and robot technology that they would be shown at the Tsukuba Space Center or at Tsukuba University. It seems that the planners of this trip took into consideration both monarchs’ particular affection for a more classic technology — TRAINS! (I was glad that Juan Carlos was not taken to indulge in one of his favorite pastimes: BEAR HUNTING!)

The two couples would be setting out from Ueno Station after having boarded the Imperial Family’s new PRIVATE TRAIN, several cars long, which would let them off at Tsuchiura Station. Later, they would be going back to Tokyo by TX (with the whole train specially reserved, of course).

The day of the royal arrival was dark, drizzly and a little cold. This did not deter lovers of the Imperial Family from waiting by the road, for an hour or two, at various locations along the route of the Imperial procession, so that they would be able to watch as it passed by. They came, mostly women over 60, by the busload (many of these women also volunteer, at no small personal expense, to clean the grounds of the Imperial Palace every year — the subject of a future entry).

However, with all the blue blood seated in their specially made limousines, these women were mostly interested in catching a glimpse of a commoner. Of course, I’m talking about Empress Michiko, the first woman of non-aristocratic lineage to marry into the family of the Sun-Goddess. I have found that many Japanese, again, usually women of a certain age, are deeply moved by what they consider to be Michiko’s kindness, patience, concern for the people, and beauty.

(I have my own Michiko moment. In Tokyo, on another drizzly day near the Empress’s alma mater, Seishin, we found a street lined with policemen. I asked what was going on, and was told that Michiko would be passing by soon, on the way to a class reunion. We asked if we could wait and were told that by all means we could. A plain-clothes officer then proceeded to talk into his radio. I couldn’t overhear him, but I assumed he was reporting our presence for security. I was wrong, however. He had informed the procession that some foreigners were standing and waiting outside in the rain to greet the Empress. Anyway, I guess that is what he said, because the car Michiko was in (in the middle of a convoy, of course), came to a near halt. The window then rolled down and we were given a very elegant nod by Her Majesty. I’m almost embarrassed to say that it was a MOVING experience and that I’ve had a special feeling for the COMMONER EMPRESS ever since.)

I had no particular plan to watch the processions, but as it turned out I was able to see both couples clearly, on at two different times of day, as they slowly drove by, waving to the crowd from open windows. I was also able to snap some pictures with my cell phone camera, which by shear luck (I held the keitai high over the crowd and shot at random) captured the moment.

An important impression which remains after any imperial sighting of this sort is the sheer sense of thrill in the air – exuded not only by the older women who had come by chartered bus, or by the few 30-ish, male amateur paparazzi (though they seem to be just ardent fans of the Imperial Family) mounted on tall step ladders with very long and expensive-looking telephoto lenses who proudly show off their shots to the excited ladies after the procession has passed (to cries of “Michiko’s face really IS kind and gentle”), but also the local policemen who show genuine emotion which lingers strongly even after the royals have been long gone. They bow, to the well-wishers and give an emotional thanks to all those who came out in the bad weather - ARIGATO GOZAIMASHITA!

For me, this double royal visit was less thrilling than thought provoking. Of course ,one cannot be but baffled at what makes blue blood so captivating for the public in this day and age. I would recommend reading a little about Juan Carlos- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain                                                                         

and the current Emperor of Japan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihito

and then tying to imagine what they spoke about sitting side by side during the train rides from Tokyo and back.

The visit also gets one to reflect on the history of Japanese-Spanish relations,which go back to the16th century.  Spain in fact  had  an immense impact on the course of Japanese history. It was distrust of the motives of the Spanish and the missionaries who came with them (fuelled of course by the opinions of the Dutch and English), which led to the banning of Christianity, and the more than 200 years of National Seclusion(sakoku) which followed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakoku .

Ibaraki Prefectural Police warns people about the recent chain e-mails

I didn’t think this was relevant to the foreign community since the contents of those chain e-mails are in Japanese, but I now feel that I should warn Tsuku Blog readers about those e-mails because they have prompted many people in the area to inquire about them in the local message boards, mailing lists, and even in my work message board.

The “basic” content of the recent chain e-mails is something like this:

A small child who went to the rest room alone at XX (a name of the actual grocery store or other shopping facilities) in XX (the name of the actual city), XX (prefecture name) was assaulted (in some versions, sexually assaulted). Do not let small children use public bathrooms alone. This is important, so please forward this message to many people immediately.

There are many variations, but one variation I’ve seen went on to say that a toddler ended up having her uterus removed due to the injuries she received. I’ve seen other sick contents, but all I can say is that some sick people are enjoying their literary talent too much, I guess.

I totally agree about not letting small kids go use the public rest rooms alone, but the recent chain e-mails just went too far. Area police stations are flooded with inquiries regarding those chain e-mails. However, the Ibaraki Prefectural Police states on its website that it has not received any report on the cases mentioned in those chain e-mails, and they are asking anyone who know about that crime (if it ever happened) or the recent chain e-mails to come forward with the information.

According to ひばりくん防犯メール (Skylark Crime Prevention Mail), the similar e-mails went around last year. So now you know!

I wrote earlier about thieves stealing faucets from rice fields. Now it seems that they are also going after antique fire bells. It’s a weird, weird world we are living in.

Apparently there is a faucet bandit running around Ibaraki stealing taps from rice paddies in Ibaraki. Seven have been stolen from rice fields in Tsukuba.

Investigators suspect that thieves stole them in order to make some cash, as metal prices are on the rise. Ditch gratings along roads and bells on fire-watching towers have been also been stolen in the prefecture.

Read the whole article: Wet bandits make off with 56 faucets from Ibaraki rice paddies

Did you know that there has been a series of crimes in Tsukuba that made national headlines lately? A 32-year-old man was arrested last week for aggravated assault. This man went to a 20-year-old Tsukuba woman’s residence at night, and begged her to make him her slave. He then tried to grab her through a gap in the chained door when she refused. This man said that he had fallen in love with a 20-year-old woman at first sight about a month prior to this bizarre case.

…OK, guys. Hang in there. Japan’s infamous muggy weather is too much to handle, even for a Japanese guy obviously, but it’s going to get worse. If you are new to Ibaraki or Japan, you might want to note that the season after the rainy season is actually the 暴走族 (bou sou zoku) or motorcycle gang season. Several days ago, some people, possibly high school kids were setting off bottle rockets… at two in the morning! These kinds of troublemakers come out when the weather gets nicer, and they’ve definitely become the unwelcome seasonal tradition of Japan.

On a more serious note, there was also a murder in Tsukuba last week. The owner of a pachinko parlor in Takamihara, which is the area adjacent to Ushiku City, was murdered last Tuesday night. The killer is still on the loose.

What may affect many of TsukuBlog readers is a series of motorcycle thefts in the area. As Shaney wrote in her post “Increase in Bike and Motorcycle Theft in Tsukuba,” bike and motorcycle thefts are on the rise at an alarming rate. Three Namiki residents found their beloved motorcycles stolen last Tuesday morning. Four other motorcycles were stolen in Tsukuba between June 15 and 16. All were large-size motorcycles such as Harley-Davidsons (very popular targets!), and all were safeguarded against theft. The police suspect that a professional motorcycle theft ring(s) is behind these cases. This website, “バイク盗難 情報局 (motorcycle theft information),” is also cautioning all motorcycle owners in Japan about the recent motorcycle theft cases. The website is specifically warning those motorcycle owners who live along/near the following Routes: Route 17, Route 16, Route 14, Route 246, Route 408, Route 125, Route 4, and Route 354. As you know, Routes 408, 125 and 354 go through Tsukuba.

Some of you may already have signed up for this, but the Ibaraki Prefectural Police launched a service last month that informs Ibaraki residents of crimes and crime prevention information by e-mail. The service is called ひばりくん防犯メール(Hibari-kun bouhan mail), or Skylark Crime Prevention Mail. Skylark is the prefectural bird of Ibaraki, by the way. My son’s school handed out letters about this new service a couple of weeks ago, but I was too lazy to sign up. However, the recent motorcycle thefts in Tsukuba got me to sign up for this service because just the thought of a professional theft ring roaming around in my neighborhood made me sick and made me very worried about neighborhood safety.

The registration process is VERY simple. Just send a blank e-mail to add[AT]mail1.police.pref.ibaraki.jp and click on the URL in the message sent back to you. It won’t ask you to enter your residential address. All you need to do is to click and choose the city, then choose which information you’d like to receive. I picked Tsukuba, and selected both “crime prevention information” and “traffic accident information” to be sent to my e-mail account. The only message I’ve received so far since I signed up for this service last week was about a suspicious man in his 50s in Mito who’s been approaching kids. Subscribers will receive traffic accident information, break-in/purse snatcher/bicycle theft reports and announcements from the Ibaraki Prefectural Police. Watch your bikes and motorcycles… and kids!

Atop Mt. Tsukuba with Five mm of Difference from valerian

Sunset on Tsukuba from Pacific Islander

Swine Seminar in Tsukuba from piotrowskisatos in Japan

Tsukuba Univ. to commercialize robot suits from the Daily Yomiuri

See also this list of Tsukuba-related blogs.

I just saw this information on ACCS(Tsukuba’s cable TV/ internet service provider) website.

A prominent Indian film maker Aparna Sen (spelling?) is shooting her film called “Kite” right here in Tsukuba!! The filming in Tsukuba started on March 30, but I don’t know how long she’ll be in Tsukuba. According to ACCS news, the filimg is taking place in 神郡(Kan-go-o-ri) area of Tsukuba, which is just south of Mt. Tsukuba or I should say just north of Hojo area, near the Hojo Lake. The film is not scheduled to be released in Japan, but the Japanese title would be “Japanese Wife” if it ever comes to Japan.

I tried to look for more information, but all I could find was the information for the 1994 Indian film by the same title. Tsukuba City’s Film Commission office hasn’t even mentioned this on their website.

Does anyone have more information about this, and if you do, would it be possible to share that information here? I’d LOVE to know more about it!

Yesterday was the entrance ceremony for Tsuchiura Nihon University Secondary School(土浦日本大学中等教育学校) , and it made the news. Why? Because it’s the first 中高一貫校(chuu-kou-ikkan-kou, or a junior and senior high schools combined six-year education system) in Ibaraki Prefecture*.

*There are already Meikei Junior and High Schools in Tsukuba, but it looks like they are not considered a “chuu-kou-ikkan-kou” because their junior and high school program aren’t integrated.

Tsuchiura Nihon University(Tsuchiura Nichidai for short) Secondary School is about 15min drive from Joban Expressway Sakura Tsuchiura Exit, so I know A LOT of kids from Tsukuba take the entrance exams for Tsuchiura Nichidai High School every year. This is a VERY competitive school, so it won’t be easy to get into this school. Now that the Tsuchiura Nichidai is a 中高一貫校, it’ll be even harder to get in(gosh, I can hear the parent’s outcry)!!

What’s making the parents in Ibaraki more excited is the opening of the first PUBLIC “chuu-kou-ikkan-kou” in Namiki here in Tsukuba next year! According to the newspaper article I read, 2600 parents flocked to one of the informational meetings held earlier this year. What’s scary about this is that the informational meeting was open ONLY to the parents of 5th graders(currently 6th) in Ibaraki who will be the inaugural members! Another public 中高一貫校 will be in Mito City, but that won’t be open until the spring of 2010. The new school will offer school bus services to students who live far away from school, so the parents from all over Ibaraki are desperate to find out more about Namiki Chuu-kou-ikkan-kou.

So where will this new school be? It’s actually already in Namiki. The current Namiki High School will become the first 中高一貫校! The official name for the new school hasn’t been announced yet, but is scheduled to be announced around September of this year. The first 120 students will enter this new secondary school next spring, but in exchange, the new school will gradually reduce the number of high school students that they’ll accept. In 2011, they’ll completely stop accepting high school students, so there’ll be no more infamous high school entrance exams for this new school. In fact, there are some parents who are interested in this new school only because there’s no entrance exam when their kids advance to 4th year of education, or high school part of the secondary school system.

If you live in Namiki area, and if you (or your kids) aren’t interested in going through the hassles of school entrance preparation or don’t see the benefit of going to this new(unknown) school, then the kids who live in Namiki area will enter Namiki Junior High School as usual. No, Namiki Junior High School won’t be closed when the new school starts, so there will still be a junior high school for the area kids to attend.

Quite a lot of new public chuu-kou-ikkan-kous will be opening next spring, and more and more 中高一貫校s, both public and private, are scheduled to be opened in the near future. Why all this hype all the sudden, you may ask. It’s because a legislation was passed in 1998 which enabled the introduction of lower and upper secondary school in 1999. Besides, many kids and parents aren’t happy with the current Yutori-Kyoiku(ゆとり教育, or “more relaxed/less pressure” education system), so the parents want to choose where their kids get their education. I’ve talked to some junior high kids before, and even they told me that they were envious of current elementary school kids who have more options.

So, what do you think, parents? If you are going to be in Tsukuba area for long time, this is something you’ll need to worried about. Tour of the school will be held for prospective students this summer. You may be getting something in the mail if your kids are in 6th or 5th grade, so don’t miss out important notices!

Shaping our future along with robots

Yoshiyuki Sankai is a professor of engineering at Tsukuba University in Ibaraki Prefecture and a front-runner in the field of “cybernics,” which combines robotics with a wide array of academic disciplines, including neurology, information technology, behavioral science and psychology. Now aged 48, he is most famous for developing HAL, a “robot suit” that moves with its wearer by detecting the subtle electrical changes in muscles as they move. HAL, which stands for “hybrid assistive limb,” can help wearers to perform tasks they would not normally be capable of, such as lifting 180 kg on a leg-press machine, or assist those with disabilities in numerous ways.

Ministry Web site to put child safety first

In cooperation with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture-based research institute that examines accidents involving children, medical and engineering researchers will analyze children’s physiology and behavioral tendencies to determine how accidents occur and then propose preventive measures to the government.

If you are looking for articles about Tsukuba that have appeared in newspapers in the past few years, look no further than Tsukuba Public Library. Library volunteers have created an archive of Tsukuba-related posts taken from five national papers and three local papers dating back to August 1994. If you are working on a history project about Tsukuba, this archive will be a treasure trove of information. (Of course, all of the articles are in Japanese, but perhaps a kind Japanese friend could help you find what you are looking for if you cannot read them yourself.) Ask at the reference desk for details.

Mitsuki Gunji, a 15 year-old from Tsukuba won the third place at the World Rubik’s Cube Championship 2007 that was held in Hungary last weekend. According to the Ibaraki Shimbun, Mitsuki is a freshman at the Tsuchiura Nihon University High School.

I learned about another Japanese high schooler who won the world championship in the same competition on TV, but I didn’t know about another winner from our neighborhood!

Congratulations to Mitsuki!

Learn more about the World Rubik’s Cube Championship:
World Rubik’s Cube Championship 2007 Official Results
World Cube Association (WCA)

Tsukuba in the news:

“Tsukuba, the town that prides itself as Japan’s most hallowed scientific research centre, is the site of perhaps the world’s worst electricity wind farm: in the 12 months it has operated, its windmills have consumed 43 times more power than they have generated.”

Read the full article:
Calm days are a bit of a blow for wind farm

This is indeed unfortunate.

A Japanese architect from Tsukuba City will be on TV tonight (January 23, 2008). Akita is an award-winning architect with many interesting designs mostly in the Ibaraki, Tokyo, and Karuizawa areas. The company’s main office is in Tokyo but there is a research lab here in Tsukuba with foreign staff.

The show will be on from 6:55pm on Channel 6 (TBS). If you have time and are interested in seeing the residences of actors/actresses, then you might be interested in watching the show. Mr. Akita will be the design trend consultant for the show.

Also, for those Tsukuba residents who have some architectural projects in mind (new construction, renovation, property purchase) you can contact the office in both English and Japanese.

If you didn’t know, there was a major change in the Road Traffic Law last year, and the surveillance agents from the designated private companies can now ticket you for parking in a non-parking zone. Many major cities have introduced this new system called 駐車監視員制度 (chuusha kanshi-in seido), but Tsukuba hasn’t done that… until yesterday.

According to the surveillance guideline by the Tsukuba Chuo Police Station, the surveillance agents check for illegally parked vehicles between 10am and 2am, and the entire “city-part” of Tsukuba City is under surveillance as you can see on the map.

Most heavily monitored areas are:
the Tsukuba Station area, Azuma 1, 2 and 3-chome, Amakubo 1-chome and its surrounding areas.

Other heavily monitored areas are:
Amakubo1 and 2-chome, Kasuga 1-chome, Azuma 1, 2, 3 and 4-chome, Hanamuro, Higashiarai, Takezono 1, 2 and 3-chome, Sengen 1and 2-chome, Ninomiya 1 and 2-chome and their surrounding areas, Techopark Sakura area, Sakura 1 and 2-chome and their surrounding areas, Amakubo 3-chome, Kasuga 4-chome, Higashi Hiratsuka and its surrounding area, Inarimae, Higashi 2-chome, Umezono 2-chome, Kurakake, Namiki 2, 3 and 4-chome, Sasagi, Shimohirooka and its surrounding area.

The surveillance agents will always work in pairs. They will carefully assess each parking violation by taking measurements and photographs before they issue a ticket, which is different from the tickets that the police issue, but don’t take that lightly. Fines are 9,000yen to 25,000yen, and you won’t be able to take 車検(shaken) if you don’t pay the fine. Furthermore, the repeated violators who fall behind in their fines may have their property seized or may receive the order of car usage restriction.

The surveillance agents are treated as civil officials while they are on the job, so anyone who tries to argue with those agents in an aggravated manner could be arrested for interfering with civil officers in the act of duty.

I think this system will drastically reduce the illegal parking in the Tsukuba Center area (and in my neighborhood!), so I think this is a good news even though most people don’t like to see those surveillance agents in their neighborhood.

Ref:
Sankei Web (July 03 article)
Surveillance Guideline(pdf) from the Ibaraki Prefectural Police website