Tokyo Motor Show is now being held. The officials announced that the total number of present went over 300,000 in the middle of the duration.

But this number is far below the expectation.  1 million people are expected all through the duration but it seems impossible this time although the last several shows collected more people with ease.

This unfavourable result is of course because of the recession of the world economy. At the same time, Japanese car market is not such big any more compared to some new market in Asia, China, India or Indonesia.

Japan was long believed the best market in the world because of single ethnic group with common sense and knowledge.  That integrated market character was a very good target for major companies as they can reach the people through one concept of advertisement.  For the makers, it was easier to let the people feel like they wanted to buy.

Now the one concept goes wrong because all the people don’t want to buy anything.

Still the Japanese motor companies technology is high and we expect the leading role for the world.  If we pick up the worst point from the present situation of the industry, Japanese companies are losing their own market and they need to go out of Japan to keep the present sales.

X Japan is probably the best known Japanese band in the world.  They are not such a new band but they lived long in the Japanese music scene. The Guitarist, Hide, already died some years ago and that was a sudden farewell for fans.  Even after that, X Japan kept high popularity both in Japan and in the world.

Their sale points are mainly looks for visual impact, high note of the vocalist, and attractive character and dramatic play of Yoshiki, the leader of the band.

Yoshiki recently took surgical operation for his neck, which suffered from hernia for a long time. On the stage, he plays not only the piano but also the drums.  His drum play is really wild. He rolls his head and beats the drums at incredible speed. That made his neck bad.

He stayed in a hospital of LA for the recovery time, and he seems to be becoming OK now. Fans are expecting the new world tour when Yoshiki comes back in harness.

Kumamoto ken or Kumamoto Prefecture is situated in Kyushu district, the southern island of Japan. In Kumamoto ken, there is a famous Ramen noodle style. 

Keika Ramen is from Kumamoto and it’s very popular in Tokyo.

Some who are from Kumamoto say this ramen is not exactly what they like in Kumamoto, but for us in Tokyo, this Keika ramen is good enough to eat repeatedly.  For the first time we have, we often think this tastes a little thick or heavy, but after several time trials, we understand it’s not thick at all, it’s very smooth taste.

I remember the first time this restaurant came up in Tokyo, people did not like it very much. However, some days later when I visited, what I saw there was a long line of people waiting to eat.

Most popular menue is TARO men, which has a melting tasty boiled pork in Japanese style. It also has boiled tasty egg, and some cabbages on the top ( see photo).  Especially the pork is really delicious. To be honest, I can’t eat pork usually because of the smell and fat part.  But I really like this pork. The taste of this pork is a kind of different form of food art. Here pork is like a foie gras ( or the goose liver ).

If you visit Tokyo and if you like ramen, Keika Ramen is a real recommendation. You can find this restaurants in several places in Tokyo but the most popular place is maybe the Sinjuku Keika Ramen restaurant.