Unknown Nichigo

Learn more about the lesser-known aspects of the Japan-Australia relationship.
日本とオーストラリアの関係に隠れた、あまり知られていない側面についてもっと知ってみよう

  • A Seed Of An Idea

    As I touched on over the weekend, I’ve started trying to grow plants from seed and I completed the first round of the process this morning before heading off on my bike. Dwarf wattle seeds that I soaked in boiling water last night were the final group of seeds that can be planted in the winter. I managed to spread the seeds over a tray and put them in the humidity pod. Most of the work was finished yesterday after the ride. The process so far started in September and October of last year (2022) when I collected Australian native plant seeds, mostly from Bunnings. Managing to get the seeds…

  • The Day of the Chicken

    Today, February 8, is The Day of the Chicken in Japan, according to the Japan Anniversary Association. The anniversary was chosen because of one phonetic reading for the date. In Japanese, phrasing today’s date would be 2月8日, which is literally the “second month and eighth day” if rendered in English. One way to phrase the two days making up today’s date in Japanese is “ni,” symbolizing two, and “wa,” for eight. Chicken in Japanese is niwatori, so the bird (tori) of the ni (2nd) and wa (eighth) is clearly the chook, thus The Day of the Chicken. The Association says the anniversary was proposed by Torizen Foods Co., Ltd., a…

  • Koala-ified for Anything

    Tokyo is a city full of surprises. And that is the least surprising aspect of the world’s largest city. Kangaeroo got a pleasant surprise yesterday while pottering through the backstreets of Shinjuku, one of the Japanese capital’s many sub-capitals. For some reason, Lord alone knows why, there was a statue of a koala and her joey in a pocket-stamp sized park in Shinjuku. Japan had something of a mini-love affair with koalas in the mid-1980s when Australia successfully sold itself as a tourist destination to more gullible markets and then got greedy with price gouging to compliment the traditionally abysmal service. Remnants of that adoration for koalas survive to this…

  • Hello Cello, Watch Out Aussies! 2CELLOS Are Headed Your Way

    Japan has given a final farewell to the 2CELLOS, the amazing duo of cellists on a world tour they have promised will be their last. Stjepan Hauser and Luka Šulić are already on their way Down Under, where they will play a series of shows before a final performance together in Auckland, New Zealand, on December 4. As a jam-packed Nippon Budokan attested, this pair are Big in Japan in a totally unironic sense. They’ve brought great delight to music fans of many genre all around the world for over a decade and the tour will bring an end to their collaboration (though it’s hard to see this being permanent…)…

  • Getting Help

    Kangaeroo needs help. Unfortunately, the kind of help that’s needed is an inside job so, despite being surrounded by helpful and supportive people, the only answer is to keep plugging away. Bleak, wet, drizzly weather is not helping the situation, but it’s something that can’t be controlled. Acceptance is the key. Kangaeroo spent 13 months in a psychiatric institution, received weekly treatment there for a further five years and continues to undergo periodic check-ups and will probably do so until the end of days, if lucky enough. Kangaeroo is a multiple suicide failure and recovering drug and alcohol addict. So far, clean and sober for over 11 years. The garden…

  • Spring Has Finally Sprung

    Almost as though on cue, probably the most delightful time of the year in Japan–May, when it’s warm, dry, sunny and with the longest hours of daylight–has been generally bleak and glim by its usual standards in 2022. This year has been subjected a bit to the rule of law: Murphy’s Law, unfortunately. Still, amid a global pandemic when the vast majority of people around the world are feeling the pinch in some way or another, there have also been plenty of blessings. When the sun finally started showing its face with a bit of consistency as May drew to a close, it also enabled Japan’s glorious spring to put…

  • Fantastic Flowers!

    Blessed with great company, brilliant sunshine and time, Kangaeroo got to enjoy the unexpected pleasure of HANA BIYORI. HANA BIYORI is a new type of botanical garden that forms part of the sprawling entertainment complex centered around Yomiuriland in the Tokyo suburb of Inagi. HANA BIYORI was a delight simply to see all the vibrant spring flowers in bloom in a pretty park with lots of greenery, water and the occasional spectacular view. The site also has a magnificent projection mapping show on the half-hour every hour during operation. Also on site are stores with some interesting house plants on sale (mostly beautiful but overpriced), a Starbucks coffee shop that…

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    A Slice of Oz Enchantment

    Somewhere in the backblocks of Tokyo’s Tama district, there’s a little Aussie enchantment at work. It could be coming from this jen, who stands about 1 meter high. She’s nestled in among the bark and grevillias. Her joey is enjoying the ride. And they’re lit up at night. 東京多摩地区裏のある所に、オーストラリアの小さなな魔法場所がある。 由来が約1メートルもある身長のこの雌カンガルーにあるかな？ バークとロベスタの中に寄り添っている。 子カンガルーも楽しく同乗している。 そして、夜になるとライトアップされます。 Koala Colony

  • Amazing Alex’s Aussie Oasis in Tokyo’s Tama

    Sometimes, little miracles come into your life in unexpected ways. Alex Endo has done that for Kangaeroo.com by transforming a little plot of land in Tokyo’s Tama region into a tiny slice of Australia. たまに思わず小さな奇跡が寄ってくる。東京多摩地区の小さな庭を「考えRooコーナー」に変革し、まるでオーストラリアの1画に変えることによって遠藤”アレックス”昭さんがそのような奇跡を起こした。 With a well-laid plan going back a few months and a few hours of hard work, Alex took a plain plot of land in a housing estate and transformed it into a “Kangaeroo Corner,” a glorious Australian garden, delightfully designed and rich in Aussie plants. It brought unbridled delight into the hearts of the Kangaeroo.com family. 数か月前の計画に基づき、数時間の労力によって何とも言えない普通の老人たちが住む団地のい１画を華やかなオーストラリア庭に変革し、考えRoo.com家族の人たちの心にはかり知らない喜びをもたらせていただいた。 Alex lived in Australia and became an expert on Australian plants. Once his career as a salaryman was…

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    Reminiscing: The First Time Australia Mattered in Kangaeroo’s Japan

    Kangaeroo has lived in Japan since the late ’80s, just as the Showa Era (reign of Emperor Hirohito from 1926-1989) drew to a close. Japan back then had possibly an even stronger fascination with English than it does even today, especially as it was far less accessible in a slower, less connected world. But English and overseas meant America and Japan had an obsession for the United States. Occasionally, news would filter through from other powers, such as then recently reunited Germany, France, Italy, Britain and the crumbling Soviet Union and Russia. It was rare, pretty close to unheard of, really, for Australia to attract much attention in a Japan…