GetHiroshima

Let's Help Bring Christmas Cheer to Kids in Rikuzen-Takata

noreply@blogger.com (jjwalsh) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:59:00 +0000

Photos of Rikuzen Takata Devastation @Ikuru Kuwajima

Let’s bring a bit of Christmas cheer to the children of Rikuzentakata, Tohoku!

This area was particularly hard hit by this year's Tsunami devastation on March 11, 2011. The children in the area would be so encouraged and excited to receive a Christmas present to raise their spirits.

The volunteer group, "Aki-Rikuzentakata Dream Support Team" has decided to try and make sure every child in Rikuzentakata city in Iwate gets at least one Christmas present this year, and we’d like your help to achieve this ambitious goal.

According to official figures, there are currently 1043 children in elementary schools, and 601 junior high school students in our adopted sister city and the goal is to collect enough donated Christmas presents to give them all one each. So here is what we are asking people to do: Please buy a gift to the value of up to 1000yen and send it to the address in Hiroshima below. Fresh foods and animals are prohibited by law, but apart from that anything goes.

Size: maximum 10cm x 10cm x 10cm Please wrap the gift yourself but write the following information on a (removable) tag on each gift:

Suitable age range for gift: Choose from: Elementary (6-9yrs old) / 10-12 yrs /12-15 yrs old)
Suitable for Boy/Girl/ Unisex (either boy or girl)
Contents of the package ( toy/book/stationery/candy/clothing etc...)

This information will be removed before the gift is given to the child (it is for the staff who will sort the gifts). If possible, please write this information in Japanese. English is also fine, but please write clearly.

If you would like to add a personal message, please attach a message card for the gift. You can also add your name and address if you like.

All collected gifts will be distributed among the elementary schools and junior high schools of Rikuzentakata city in Iwate Prefecture, which was badly hit by the March 11th Tsunami.

Please mail gifts to arrive by December 15th** to: 〒739-1103 Hiroshima-ken, Akitakata-shi, Koda Shimokobara 12277-1 Takata Concrete Kogyo nai: Aki-Rikuzentakata Yume Oendan Jimukyoku

(address in Japanese) 〒７３９－１１０３広島県安芸高田市甲田町下小原１２７７-１有限会社高田コンクリート工業内　安芸・陸前高田　夢応援団事務局　(*)Tel:０８２６-４５-２６１１

* NOTE The above number is only for shipping invoice purposes, please do not call it for information. For more information in English, please contact Jackie Ikegami 090 7890 9464)

**DEADLINE: December 15th, 2011 (Gifts arriving at the above address after December 15th may not be able to be reach Rikuzentakata in time for Christmas)

Shift in tone by Hiroshima governor Hidehiko Yuzaki on US trip

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:54:00 +0000

The tone of the reported remarks made by Hiroshima governor Hidehiko Yuzaki on his current US trip seems to be shifting in a more conciliatory direction that may prove more effective in persuading people overseas to be more open to Hiroshima's message of peace.

In this WSJ piece

“I would like President Obama to come,” said Mr. Yuzaki. He said all world leaders involved in policy on nuclear weapons should visit Hiroshima “to see the actual reality of what happens if they are really used.”

"I'm not asking for apologies... about Hiroshima, but I think the important thing is to have a forward-looking message. Hiroshima is a place of recovery."

And via AFP

"Hiroshima has been known as a place of tragedy but it is also a place of hope"

"A lot of people, especially from countries in conflict, come and see the beauty and prosperity of modern Hiroshima... and feel they can do the same."

Trash Up!! Yokogawa Grindhouse

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:18:00 +0000

This event at Yokogawa Cinema would have been perfect for Halloween. Those who have not yet had their fill of ghosts and ghouls, and are in the mood for fountains of blood and gallons of gore might enjoy this international underground/cult film night at Yokogawa Cinema on Saturday, November 12 put together by the people who did organized the Anus30H last week.

The first of three feature films kicks off at 4pm with the Icelandic nautical horror The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre (2009) which has dialogue in English, Icelandic, Japanese and French (with Japanese subtitles).

This is followed by the Italian City Of The Living Dead (1980)

Next, after a quick hello from two directors 3 low budget Japanese shorts will be screened (about an hour in total)

Following this, there is a 60 minute panel talk; probably a good time for a break if your Japanese isn't great. The grand finale starting at 9:30pm is original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974.

Tickets are ¥2500 in advance and ¥3000 on the door (both require a additional ¥500 drink order when you arrive), the seating is free though. Tickets are available from Yokogawa Cinema.

Please note that none of the films will be subtitled in English.

Weekend events November 4-7

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 06:15:00 +0000

Anus30H
Friday November 4- Saturday November 5

30 hours of underground music and performance at MUGEN 5160 featuring Hiroshima Taro and the return of Nekomushi.

Read more about this event here.

Viberation Base
Friday November 4

Drum and bass night at Sacred Spirits (aka Cafe Jamaica)

¥1000

Re:wind
Saturday November 5

Eclectic grown up sounds on a soulful, jazzy tip at Edge.

¥2000 (Adv) ¥2500 (Door)

Dubway
Saturday November 5
Reggae night on the second floor of MUGEN 5160
Korean reggae from Windy City and live set by Hiroshima reggae band Dub Zombies and plenty of nice reggae tunes over the Jah Love Is Sweeter sound system.

Rebirth Age
Saturday November 5

Punk night at Slim Chance Studio in Takanobashi.

¥1500 (incl 1 drink)

Green Ground Market
Sunday November 6
10am - 4pm
Organic farmers market and workshops on the grassy riverbank known as Poplar-dori (next to Chuo Park)

http://hirojin.univnet.jp/blog/ggm/ (Japanese)

At The Movies

Fair Game (PG-13)

Showing at Salon Cinema November 5-11 at 11:00, 13:10 and 19:10

The Ghost Writer (PG-13)

Showing at Cine Twin Shintenchi November 5 - December 2 at 11:00, 13:35, 16:10, 19:00 (until November 18 from when showtimes are likely to change).

Hiroshima Taro sings and the return of Nekomushi

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:48:00 +0000

At 6pm on Friday, November 4, thirty hours of local underground music and stage shows kicks off at MUGEN 5610. The catchily named Anus30H runs, non-stop, through to midnight on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

You can see the full line up here (scroll down to find the timetable), but one can imagine that the guest everyone is looking forward to seeing whether he shows up is local icon, the hobo known as Hiroshima Taro, who is scheduled to do a karaoke performance at 21:40 on Saturday night.

Japanese freak show band Nekomushi are also back. Kind of.

Some of our readers may remember seeing the shows by unorthodox four piece band, led by Organza proprietess Goto Izumi and featuring GetHiroshima's own Paul Walsh as the "World's Worst Bass Player", before they imploded shortly after returning from a US tour which included appearances at SXSW. Those who did may be interested in seeing what the band would have sounded like if they had had musicians that could actually play, as this isn't a reunion, but a (politely phrased) "cover band". This shouldn't be missed as queen of the Hiroshima underground is sure to make sure that she out avant gards the nouveau avant garders who may have eyes on her crown. Nekomushi are due on stage at 01:10 on Friday night.

Nekomushi back in the day

Anus30H is at MUGEN 5610

Friday, November 4 18:00 - Saturday, November 5 24:00

Tickets

2 Day Ticket: Adv ¥3500 Door ¥4000 (+ one ¥500 drink order on entry)
1 Day Ticket: Adv ¥2500 Door ¥3000 (+ one ¥500 drink order on entry)

http://viii8.net/111104/

Halloween Costume Party @ Club Chinatown 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 08:28:00 +0000

Another good turnout at the Chinatown Halloween costume party last night. I'm sure there are lot of great photos to come from Flo, Rebecca and others, but here are some of the ones I snapped. You can view and download these shots and more at full resolution from our Flickr page here.

Annual GetHiroshima International Kids Halloween Party

noreply@blogger.com (jjwalsh) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:10:00 +0000

~~Sunday, October 30th 11am to 4pm~~

Due to the rain, we've postponed this event until Monday evening (October 31). Same place starting at about 4:30pm and going until about 8pm.

GetHiroshima will be hosting its annual Family Halloween party in Sorazaya park as a fundraiser for UNICEF this year:

Join us on Monday, October 31st from 4:30pm to 8pm for a fun family Halloween celebration in Sorazaya park for our annual GetHiroshima Family Halloween party.

Please join us everyone is welcome! No reservations are required.

This year is another great chance to help kids in need, 2011's fundraiser is for UNICEF's famine relief for the children in the horn of Africa where millions are suffering horrible droughts and starvation. We are happy to support the efforts of the UNICEF program providing food, medicine and shelter to the children and families affected. We are asking everyone who attends to make a donation (recommended donation : 500 yen per child) and there are no other fees or costs to join this event.

Once again, great prizes are being donated to people who come to the event by FBC: foreign buyers club and Alishan Tengu Natural foods.

Location
Sorazaya park (near Chuo-Koen, on the top left of the GetHiroshima map) starting from around 11am and we will have some games and Halloween activities going on for the kids until 4pm.
We are planning to do the trick-or-treating as the last event of the day around 3:30 pm

View Sorazaya Park: Family & Kids in a larger map

Please donate (¥500 per child recommended) to the UNICEF charity jar and help us raise money for this great cause.
Donating candy: If possible, please bring some wrapped sweets, snacks or small toys to add to the treasure pot for trick-or-treating and the prizes for games. This really helps keep our costs down and provides a nice variety of goodies and makes sure there is enough to go around for all the kids.
Snack Potluck- bring finger-food snacks, cakes or cookies to share with a fun or Halloween theme are always popular.
Costume Contest- there will be 6 prize ribbons for the best costumes of the day: most handsome, most beautiful, funniest, coolest, scariest, and best pair or group costumes. We will do the costume parade and contest around 3pm before the trick-or-treating.
Unfortunately, there isn't any parking available at the park, but there are a couple of 100 yen parking lots nearby.

Halloween Party Night

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:16:00 +0000

A round of up of some of the places holding Halloween shenanigans on Saturday night and the deals they are offering before the big costume party at Club Chinatown.

Club Chinatown
DJs LITTLE FOREIGNER / WINDCHEATER / MISH VAMPIRO / RICHARD (Barcos) and SLEEPYEYE
Costume Contest at midnight with great prizes from local bars, restaurants and businesses, plus spot prizes all night!
Charity photos by Flo with proceeds to UNICEF.
Admission: ¥2000 (incl 1 drink)

Molly Malone's
Get your photo taken and enter their Facebook costume contest. All pics will be uploaded to the Molly Malone’s FB page and whoever gets the most likes wins a Molly’s goodie bag! 3 categories; Scariest, Funniest and Sexiest!

Candy treats for all kids in costume.

Spooky Drinks
Vampire Bite Poisoned Apple, Dragon's Breath, Love at first bite, Brain Haemorrhage All ¥500, or ½ price if you are in costume. Blood red beer too!

Southern Cross
Oct 29th Saturday 6pm-11pm

Wear a costume and win prizes for Scariest Costume, Funniest Costume, Sexiest Costume and All Round Best Costume. Judgement from 10pm to 11pm.

Optional Nomihoudai from 6pm to 10pm for ¥3000. Or just drop in to show off your costume and get ¥100 off drinks (happy hour not included)

The Shack

Saturday Oct 29th 8pm to 4am

No cover charge
All drinks ¥500
DJ Mr Mikami

Midnight Oasis

A free shot to anyone in costume when ordering their first drink!

Weekend Events & Movies October 21-23, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 01:15:00 +0000

Bon Voyage First Anniversary (Friday, October 21-Sunday, October 23)

Shohei and Co celebrate getting though their first year running Bon Voyage down at the end of Nagarekawa-dori this weekend with 3 days of discount drinks - all alcohol ¥500 and a party on Saturday.

Saturday night party 6:00pm - 4:00am
Admission : ¥1500 (incl 1 Drink & Food)
DJs, band & more

WunderBar Stevie's 13th Anniversary Party (Saturday, October 22)

Soul bar Stevies also celebrates an anniversary this month; its 13th!
Part one takes place this Saturday with an "All You Can Dance !!!!, All You Can Drink !!!!" night from 8pm-3am. Tickets are ¥3000 in davance and ¥3500 on the door.
(All you can drink is 8pm-1am)
DJs
KAMACHI （SKILLHEARTS）
HIDEAKI OKA
JOE （BrownSugar）
IMARU（Discotique a GoGo）
COB
MICHIO
Teddy-KUMA

Live music at Kemby's and Southern Cross

Friday, October 21 at Kemby's
Local Musicians Paul & Chris, Kit, Jamie and Jason
8:30pm - 11:30pm

Saturday, October 22 at Southern Cross
Local Musicians Paul & Chris and Jason are at it again.
Doors Open 6:00pm
Live music starts at 8:30pm

BEGGARS BANQUET (Saturday, October 21)

A bunch of local live bands for the price of drink at PICO - just down the hall from Bon Voyage.

Bands are 酔屋ちどり, 金属バット, EYESCREAM JET SET, Lily

Kanguruwanguru, Usagi Bunny Boy, Circus Sands

At the movies

Cowboys vs Aliens

Playing at 109 Cinemas, Wald 11 and Warner Mycal from Saturday, October 22.

Serial arsonist suspected in Funairi blaze

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 06:59:00 +0000

The Chugoku Shinbun reports that police suspect that a serial arsonist is responsible for a fire Nishi Kawaguchi-cho (Funairi area) early in the morning of October 19. The fire spread from a two story apartment building to a larger condominium building (mansion), destroying a total of 80 square meters of property.

The Fire Department say that of the four buildings affected, three were unoccupied.

It follows another fire on the same block on October 8 which also occurred early in the morning. On that day bicycles and other things were also set fire in a nearby car park.

Local residents are understandably concerned.

Original Japanese article here:

１９日午前０時５５分ごろ、広島市中区西川口町の木造２階建てアパート付近から出火、隣接するマンションや空き家に延焼し、４棟計約８０平方メートルを焼いた。８日未明にもすぐ近くで同じ時間帯に火災が発生しており、広島中央署は連続放火事件の可能性もあるとみている。市消防局によると、４棟のうちアパートを含む３棟は空き家。付近住民が火事に気付いて１１９番した。現場付近では８日午前０時２５分ごろ、アパート西隣のリサイクル店舗兼住宅が全焼。その約１０分前には近くの舟入幸町の雑居ビル駐車場で自転車などが燃える火事があった。広島中央署はいずれも付近に火の気がなく、狭い範囲で集中発生していることなどから、同一犯による連続放火の疑いもあるとみて不審者の目撃情報がないかなどを調べている。現場は戸建てやマンションが立ち並ぶ住宅街。度重なる火災に付近の住民は不安そうな表情を浮かべ、消火作業を見守った。

Harakiri: Death of a Samurai (Ichi-mei)

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:47:00 +0000

Often controversial film director Takashi Miike tones things down in his remake of Masaki Kobayashi's 1962 classic Seppuku (Harakiri). The "subdued and grown-up" Ichi-mei follows last year's highly entertaining, far more exuberant (and characteristic), redo of Thirteen Assassins, and gets a thumbs up from the Japan Times' Mark Schilling in this review in spite of the 3D bits.

Here is the trailer for the Masaki Kobayashi's original (with English subtitles)

Ichi-mei is playing at Wald 11, Warner Mycal and TOHO Midorii and 109 Cinemas from Saturday, October 15 in Japanese with NO subtitles. Click here for more movies and events this weekend.

Weekend Events & Movies October 14-16, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:54:00 +0000

FRIDGE at Edge (Friday, October 14)

DJs Windcheater, Paul (GetHiroshima), RINN and Jin playing house, UK bass, tech-house from 11pm.

No cover charge

Kids Kagura at Toshogu Shrine (Saturday, October 15)

After 3 years of repairs, the scaffolding has come down from Toshogu Shrine in Futaba-no-sato near the Shinkansen Station. Kids will be performing kagura in the shrine courtyard and there will be food stalls. 2pm-6pm

View Toshogu Shrine [広島東照宮] in a larger map

80s Night at Southern Cross (Saturday, October 15)

Saturday October 15, Saturday from 8pm
Timewarp to the 80s at Southern Cross
80s music, live bands with 80s covers, costume contest and drinks specials

No cover charge

Live Celtic & Blues at KeMBY's (Saturday, October 15)

Sean O'Connor, Japan based Irish musician, brings his own Celtic entertainment. He is joined by virtuoso blues and rock duo King & Hobo, Shin playing old classics, and folk-rock combo Paul Williams & Chris Knobler

7pm-11pm
No cover charge

Malalai Joya lecture (Sunday, October 16)

Malalai Joya, Afghan human rights campaigner and antiwar activist, speaks at Hiroshima-shi Machidukuri Shimin Koryu Plaza (next to Fukuromachi Elementarty School)
Starts at 2pm in Kenshu-shitsu AB
Admission: ¥1000

Captain America: The First Avenger

Playing at 109 Cinemas and Wald 11 from Friday, October 14.

Denjin Zaborgar (Karate-Robo Zaborgar)

"PART MOTORCYCLE, PART KARATE EXPERT, ALL ROBOT! WHEN THE SAFETY OF THE WORLD IS AT STAKE, ZABORGAR WILL SAVE THE DAY!"

Over the top film adaptation of a popular 1970s Japanese TV series, by former porn director Noboru Iguchi who brought the world such gems as Machine Girl and RoboGeisha. Not quite as much blood and severed limbs (though there is some acid diarrhea) but still plenty crazy.

NB This is the international trailer. The version being shown in Hiroshima has no English subtitles.

Playing at Wald 11 from Saturday, October 15.

Denjin Zaborgar on Wikipedia
Karate-Robo Zaborgar on Wikipedia
Review on Variety.com here

Hiroshima Tube Map

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:41:00 +0000

by Windcheater

Read more about the iconic London Underground Tube Map at Wikipedia here and see some more maps inspired by it here.

Updated to lastest version (October 13, 10am)

Trace amounts of cesium found in Hiroshima breast milk

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 03:44:00 +0000

According to the Chugoku Shimbun, local group Tsunagarou Hiroshima (Unite Hiroshima) has found trace amounts of radioactive cesium in the breast milk of two mothers. In a very small sample, the breast milk of 4 mothers who relocated from the Kansai area after the March 11 earthquake and 2 mothers who have been resident in Hiroshima Prefecture since before was tested for radioactive substances. Trace amounts of radioactive cesium were found in the breast milk of one of the former and and one of the latter. The paper states that the actual amounts have not been released, but are said to be well below the upper limit set by the Ministry of Health of 200 bequerels/kg.

The group says that this indicates that even those who have been resident in Hiroshima since before the Fukushima crisis began may be absorbing radioactive material from food, and call for the government to set up facilities of the testing of breast milk and urine to monitor amounts of radioactive substances in foodstuffs.

An alternative (better?) translation of the Chugoku Shinbun article with original Japanese text can be found <a href="skf.blogspot.com/2011/10/radioactive-cesium-from-breast-milk.html">here</a>.

Event: International Conference: Effects of Radiation on the Human Body"

noreply@blogger.com (jjwalsh) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 01:15:00 +0000

HICARE (Hiroshima International

Council for Health Care of the Radiation-exposed), which supports
medical care of A-bomb suvivors and other radiation-exposed people,
is holding an international symposium on November 23 & 24 this year at the
International Conference Center Hiroshima.

The theme is "Effects of radiation on the human body".

A top official from the IAEA will be giving a lecture, and we'll have some
other lectures to be done by a Hiroshima University Hospital professor, and other doctors.

Nov. 23 is free and open to public (everyone is welcome).

There will be simultaneous interpretation on the 23rd. The 24th is only for people working in medicine.

We have just put information on our website: in English is http://www.hicare.jp/en/16/symposiumpage1_en.html

"Creation of Freedom" at Border, Sunday October 9

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 04:46:00 +0000

If you like your music loud, fast and played with feeling, you might like the kine up at Border tonight. Personally, I'm not much of a punk fan, but I think the THE ROOM'S are quite something. Music starts at 6:30pm and it's ¥1500 on the door (plus a ¥500 drink order).

Ace In The Hole

Kiwotsukero

Never Again

The ROOM'S

HDR Hiroshima City

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:29:00 +0000

Great shot by Freedom II Photography posted to Flickr.

HIS & GetHiroshima Halloween Events for Kids

noreply@blogger.com (jjwalsh) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:09:00 +0000

Saturday, October 29th 5-7pm

HIS (Hiroshima International School) is organizing a trick-or-treat event along Hondori on Saturday, October 29th

The organizers write: Please join us for the popular HIS Halloween Trick or Treat evening. Bring the family for an evening of fun together: dress up and collect your goodies along one of our treasure hunt routes (you’ll get a map on the day). Have fun making a costume or see what you can find in the stores – scary, funny, cute, REALLY scary – bring your family and friends and have fun!!

Date：　October 29th,2011　16:30 – 18:30（Reception-Alice Garden- will close at 17:45）
Location：Hondori, Naka-ku, downtown Hiroshima.(Reception: north side of Alice Garden, behind PARCO）
Fee：1,000 yen per child（Children should be accompanied by an adult at all times）
Entry: Contact Mr. and Mrs. Shimamura: moto39yasu@ybb.ne.jp Please write「Halloween」in the subject line
※ In case of rain the event will not be cancelled. Hondori is undercover.
※ We will only use your personal information for this Halloween event.
※ Volunteers are needed to support and help so if you have some time, please let us know: moto39yasu@ybb.ne.jp
※ No refunds. If you are unable to make it to the event, please call to arrange when and where you will collect your candy from.
Please note: participation in this event is at parents’ discretion. Hiroshima International School(HIS) and the HIS PTA take no responsibility for any accidents which occur during the event, nor for any allergy, or problems arising from the treats handed out

Sunday, October 30th 11am to 4pm
GetHiroshima will be hosting its annual Family Halloween party in Sorazaya park as a fundraiser for UNICEF this year:

Join us on Sunday, October 30th from 11am to 4pm for a fun family Halloween celebration in Sorazaya park for our annual GetHiroshima Family Halloween party.

Please join us everyone is welcome! No reservations are required.

Weather?
Clouds and light rain will not put us off, but if it is rainy heavily or stormy it will be canceled, sorry.

Check List

Please donate (¥500 per child recommended) to the UNICEF charity jar and help us raise money for this great cause.
Donating candy: If possible, please bring some wrapped sweets, snacks or small toys to add to the treasure pot for trick-or-treating and the prizes for games. This really helps keep our costs down and provides a nice variety of goodies and makes sure there is enough to go around for all the kids.
Snack Potluck- bring finger-food snacks, cakes or cookies to share with a fun or Halloween theme are always popular.
Costume Contest- there will be 6 prize ribbons for the best costumes of the day: most handsome, most beautiful, funniest, coolest, scariest, and best pair or group costumes. We will do the costume parade and contest around 3pm before the trick-or-treating.
Unfortunately, there isn't any parking available at the park, but there are a couple of 100 yen parking lots nearby.

Long weekend events October 8-10

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:05:00 +0000

Saijo Sake Matsuri (Saturday and Sunday, October 8-9)

200,000 people flood the streets of Saijo in Higashi-Hiroshima City for this two-day annual festival. The big sake breweries (kura) open their doors to the public and there are bands, parades, street stalls and more all over the small town. The big draw for many, however, is the chance to "appreciate" some of the 900 kinds of sake from all over the country on offer in the "Sake Hiroba".

Tickets for the Sake Hiroba are ¥1500 in advance and ¥1800 on the day (open 11am-8pm on Saturday and 10am-5pm on Sunday. Last admission 30min before closing)

The Sake Matsuri homepage is here sakematsuri.com but they seem to have given up on providing any English information.

If you are still up for it after you get back to town Southern Cross are offering a free sake if you show your cup from the festival (until it runs out).

Hiroshima Umeshu Festival (Monday, October 10)

If sake is a but strong for you, or like a sweeter tipple, why not head down to Alice garden (the concrete park behind PARCO in the city center) for on Monday, October 10. For ¥1000 (Adv) or ¥1500 (At the event) you can sample as many of the 130 or so varieties as you can stomach. The event runs 12pm-6pm.

Onomichi Akari Matsuri (Saturday, October 8)

If you are looking for something quieter and more contemplative, head to Onomichi for their candle light event on Saturday night 6pm-8pm (cancelled if it rains). No English on this homepage either (you can find some English info here however).

Early Halloween Party at Sacred Spirits (Sunday, October 9)

Dance Music Connection 3 (Sunday, October 9)

Loads of DJs spinning in four venues for one all-inclusive price.

Movies

Get in the mood for the early Halloween party with The Last Exorcism which starts at Wald 11 (Soleil Mall) from Saturday, October 8, or the latest Planet of The Apes at from Friday, October 7 Wald 11, Warner Mycal and TOHO Midorii.

Cosplay event at the Former Bank of Japan Building (Sunday, October 9)

Join in or just go along to take some pics (though it's advisable to read the guidelines on the website <a href="http://cosquerade.com/2011/09/472/">here</a>).

ETJ Hiroshima Expo (Sunday, October 9)
Mini conference for ELT professionals and those interested in English language learning and teaching 9:30am-6pm at Hiroshima Kogyo University downtown campus. More details here.

World Cup Rugby Quarter Finals (October 8-9)

Live on screen at Southern Cross and Molly Malone's

Saturday October 8th
Ireland vs Wales from 2:00pm
England vs France from 4:30pm

Sunday October 9th
South Africa vs Australia from 2:00pm
New Zealand vs Argentina from 4:30pm

Hiroshima Carp vs Yokohama Baystars (October 10-12)

The Carp take on the Yokohama Baystars in three night games starting at 6pm at Mazda Stadium starting on Monday, October 10.

Know of anything else going on this weekend? Share the info by popping it in the comments below.

Downtown Sake Festival, Saturday October 1st

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:57:00 +0000

Apparently, the first day of October is Japanese Sake Day and to commemorate this auspicious occasion the Hiroshima Prefecture Sake Association is holding an event in Alice Garden (the Legoland-looking park behind PARCO).

40 varieties of Hiroshima sake will be on offer. The event runs from 5pm to 8pm and its ¥1000 all-you-can-appreciate or ¥500 for 5 cups. Not a bad deal at all.

GetHiroshima dot Gone

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:47:00 +0000

If you came here looking for the full, though long-wounded, GetHiroshima site. You are likely wondering where the heck it has gone.

It's dead.

The site had been living on borrowed time for a while. The half of with magazine pretensions was frozen in time for over two years. The forums had gone long before; a victim of legal wrangling. And the labor of hate that was the cinema listings succumbed to the cries of our other, human, babies.

In Internet time, the code with which the GetHiroshima built is ancient, and, after 10 years, the powers that served the site were getting increasingly cranky. Earlier this month, they decided that enough was enough, and pulled the plug.

A new version of GetHiroshima.com has actually been in the works for a few years now. In fact, two versions. However, reality caught up with both of the developers who were so kind to offer their services pro bono, and they had to quit their projects before completion.

So, what next?

For a few days Joy and I did mull over the idea that, after over a decade, this might be a sign that it was time to call it a day and move on to something else. The thought of that 10 years' work just disappearing started to eat at us, however, and we turned our minds to what realistic steps two people with very little (read none) coding ability could take to salvage as much as we could.

The current plan is to put up a replacement site using what knowledge we have. It will host place reviews, rudimentary event listings and features. We will also launch a new classified ads page.

We had hoped that GetHiroshima 2.0 would blow everyone away. Now, that isn't going to happen, but it should at least be fully functional, which we see as an improvement. In theory, this will be a stopgap measure while we work on a better replacement (though we would advise against holding your breath).

We are making progress, but it will be a little while longer before we can launch the new stuff. In the meantime we will endeavor to keep the info flowing through this blog, our Facebook Page and Twitter feed. Keep an eye on any of these pages for news of the new site.

Cheers and thanks for your patience,

Paul

Monsters

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:29:00 +0000

Monsters is a 2010 low budget British Sci-Fi film edited on a laptop. It has been very well received and described as a breathe of fresh air by those on the verge of a Hollywood blockbuster over3Dose.

The film is showing at Cine Twin Shintenchi at 16:50 daily until this Friday (September 30).

Review in the UK Guardian here and reviews at Rotten Tomatoes here.

Kumano Fude Matsuri

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:31:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the annual Kumano Fude Matsuri, one our favorite local festivals of the year. We highly recommend checking it out at least once while you are in the area.

Review by Sofie Ivan Andersen from 2008 here.

Photos

Videos

Pecha Kucha is coming to Hiroshima

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:12:00 +0000

PechaKucha Night was started in Tokyo back in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. The name comes from the Japanese expression used to convey the sound of 'chit-chat', and PechaKucha Nights use an interesting formula for turning often dry slide presentations into simple, fun, and (perhaps most importantly) short performances.

The format is simple,

Presenters talk while 20 preselected slides forward automatically every 20 seconds.

The event has grown from a small gathering in Tokyo into a worldwide movement.

Hiroshima's first PechaKucha night is taking place at Southern Cross on Wednesday, October 12 and the organizers are looking for presenters. You can contact them <a href="http://pechakuchahiroshima.jimdo.com/contact-us/">here</a>. For those who prefer just to watch, things kick off at 7:30pm and there is a ¥1000 admission charge.

Miyajima kayaking with Paddle Park

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Walsh) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:08:00 +0000

After picking up a flier and checking out their website months ago, we finally got down to Paddle Park near Miyajima to try out one of their short sea kayak tours. We did a 3 hour paddle from their store on Route 2 just past the Aki Grand Hotel to the giant torii gate in front of Itsukushima Shrine and back. We set out at low tide so we weren't able to paddle right under the torii gate as you can at high tide (as a rough guide, around the full moon mornings are best, and around half moon, afternoons). Even on a grey day and some light rain on the return leg, we had a great afternoon. It's a completely different way to experience Miyajima, and good exercise too.

We hauled the kayaks up onto the bright green seaweed covered mud in front of the torii gate, leaving them to be watched over by the many people out digging for clams while we headed up the beach for a warming cup of tea at the very friendly Kiyomori Cafe.

Kubota-san offers half day and full day guided tours as well as overnight trips which include sleeping on some of Miyajima's beaches inaccessible other than by boat. During the summer, Paddle Park also offer shorter sessons for kids at the Tsutsumigaura Beach Park. As the weather is milder during the year we highly recommend trying it out.