Interesting and fun facts about Japan

Shinjuku Station World’s Biggest Chalkboard Art

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To celebrate the release of the new Dragon Quest Heroes II, Square Enix has asked RenaRena to reproduce a chalk mural on a giant 14 meters long blackboard in Shinjuku station. Already known for her previous chalkboard work around the game Dark Souls, it took RenaRena a month to complete the mural and the final result is just stunning.

On display from May 23rd to May 29th, the installation uses the power of social media, once tweets containing the hashtag #DQH2 exceed 5,000 by the end of May 24th, the blackboard will be wiped clean of monsters from the following day.

Images Eiga.com

G-cans The Underground Temple

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You have already visited every Tokyo temples? So why not go to G-cans, an underground temple.

Built between 1992 and 2006 and located on the outskirts of Tokyo, the “Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel”, more commonly known as the G-Cans is an underground storm drain system that consists of five containment concrete silos 65m high and a diameter of 32m, connected by 6.4 km tunnels, all 50 m beneath the surface.

G-can The Underground Temple But mainly a huge reservoir 177m long, 78m wide and 25.4m high, nicknamed “The Temple” and which with its pillars looks like a majestic and mystical temple.

The G-Can is a fascinating tourist destination and when not flooded, tours are conducted twice daily, Tuesday to Friday, but only in Japanese.

Contact us for a guide.

More information or simply watch this video.

Drainspotting – Japanese Manhole get collectible and spotting cards

Street-art sometimes prompt where it is least expected.
In Japan, since the early 1980s, manholes has become art, the drawings being determined with public participation, decorated and painted with designs representing a specialty of the city, a local mascot, local cultural sites where they are installed or honoring workers/civil servants who use them, such as firefighters.
The popularity of these manholes has even spawned a new type of tourism – “drainspotting” – where travelers try to find the 6000+ different models currently in Japan. Then in few days will be collectible cards, with the designs and explanation on one side and the geographical coordinates to find them on the back.

Tokyo streets Real-life Mario Kart drive

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This service, proposed by “Maricar”, allow you to rent karts and race through the streets of Tokyo. Every kart is equipped with mirrors, a bumper and a small flag so you do not get rolled over by the first truck. You are allowed to ride on the road and anyone having a Japanese or international driver’s license can drive these karts. Wearing a helmet is not required, you can choose a costume, rent a Go-pro to record your trip and it is a very nice way to explore Tokyo. Karts are available for rent at a price of ¥2.700 per hour or ¥10.800 for the whole day.

More info: https://kart.st/