Not Just for Play Mobile Game Devices Evolve

Mobile game devices are now enjoying a boom among adults in Japan. Although they were originally designed for playing games, interest is now focused on the wide variety of software applications available for them, including English language instruction and cooking guides. Museums and art galleries are also paying attention to the use of the devices. The National Museum of Western Art in Ueno, Tokyo, is experimenting with a guidance system to explain the exhibits to visitors. In Kyoto, several makers have cooperated to create an interactive museum where visitors can enjoy the 'Ogura Anthology of 100 Poems by 100 Poets', playing the traditional card matching game using mobile game devices. This segment introduces the latest applications of the devices that continue evolving beyond the bounds of the existing framework.

Global Oysters Supported by Forests

Kesennuma is located on the northeastern edge of Miyagi Prefecture. The coast has a beautiful ria shoreline and the peninsula, with an intricate network of inlets, faces the sea in three directions. Since 1989, Shigeatsu Hatakeyama, who makes a living here from oyster farming, has been involved in tree-planting activities with his fellow fishermen. He also set up work-study programmes that invite children from all over the country to experience the importance of the relationship between forests and the sea. His philosophy is that in order to protect the marine environment, you must not only think about the sea itself but also care for the upstream forests and the rivers that run into it.

Tokyo One-Day Trip

In this segment, two young foreign students experience a one-day trip around Tokyo using an economical ticket that allows unlimited travel on the Tokyo Metropolitan subway system as well as bus and train services all day for just 700 yen (around 6 US dollars). They visit various popular Tokyo spots, ranging in style from an ancient Edo atmosphere to the most advanced cityscape, as well as places where visitors can get a taste of the life of ordinary Tokyoites. Their first destination is Tsukiji Wholesale Market, where they enjoy fresh sushi at a very reasonable price. Then they visit Ameyoko in Ueno, Asakusa, and Hamarikyu Detached Palace Garden. After enjoying the atmosphere of old Edo, they end their one-day trip in a club in Roppongi that is right at the top of universal youth culture.

UDON ~Noodles Fostered by Nature~

This segment introduces one of the representative Japanese slow foods and how it is made. In the Inland Sea of western Japan, ferries weave their way through around 3,000 islands of different sizes. The calm mirror-like sea is the result of the mild climate that is unique to the Inland Sea area throughout the year. Sanuki udon, thick wheat noodles, is a popular 'slow food' dish from Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku Island that has been drawing attention nationwide in the last few years as the 'final noodle boom'. The prefecture has low rainfall and shallow underground water supplies that provide the mineral-rich well-water ideal for producing udon noodles. The Kagawa noodle-makers are very particular about the preparation techniques: carefully mixing white flour with water and treading on the dough to help generate the distinctive 'body' of Sanuki udon. People from all over Japan visit the prefecture searching for that special taste.