Lucky us!Kan Masuda quit his job to perfect the art of udon making before bringing his signature recipe to Bentleigh Remove items from your saved list to add more Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime Texture is one of the most polarising qualities in food. One person’s “delightfully springy” is another’s “disgustingly tough”. “Soft and pillowy” could be a compliment or a trashing. Musashino Udon’s fat wheat noodles may draw high praise – “wow, they’re so chewy, I love them” – while the next table is utterly perplexed – “Wow, they’re so chewy, I am not a fan”. Guess which table I’m at? Yes, the loving one. I am ecumenical when it comes to noodles and will pray at any church. Threadlike or thick, cold or hot, wheat or rice, egg or vegan, fresh or dry: just make them good. “Good” means they hold together, suit the dish, the context and, if it’s not too much to ask, there’s a story to go with them. On all these counts, Musashino Udon Kan serves very good noodles indeed. Relive your magical trip to Japan at these nine Melbourne venuesAdvertisementThe humble shop opened in September in ever-improving Bentleigh There are window benches to survey streetlife shelves of Japanese books that bring a homely feeling The main feature is a glassed booth towards the rear If owner Kan Masuda isn’t out the back adjusting his precious broth or frying snacks he will be standing here mixing flour and water folding and refolding dough to develop layers and hand-cutting noodles with an enormous knife Owner Kan Masuda preparing the signature udon.JoeArmaoAll udon noodles are famously thick and chewy as thick as a pencil though rather more squiggly They’re based on a style popular in Musashino Served cold to dip into soy and dashi-based broth Kan Masuda was a railway engineer who became obsessed with chewy noodles He quit his job and learnt the craft at Shijo restaurant – an udon specialist in Saitama Prefecture near Musashino – always with the idea of bringing the concept to Melbourne a place he’d visited many times and felt was open to trying new things Masuda has developed his own special mix of Australian wheat flour that has the right strength and flex to get the texture just right I love the slurp and bounce: these noodles are fun to eat but they also taste wholesome and nutritious The dipping broths work as seasoning and sauce: they’re ballasted with mushroom Drinking the broth is optional – it’s made quite salty to flavour the noodles but you can ask for extra liquid to dilute it at the end Dipping udon with mushroom soupJoe ArmaoIf you aren’t enamoured with the idea of exercising your jaw Miso nikomi udon sees noodles served in a hot broth (pork is traditional They start chewy but soften as the minutes tick by but I can definitely see this version helping me get through winter There’s a friendly feeling but you aren’t coming for the service; the care comes through in the food The tempura is surprisingly great and extraordinary value eggplant and sweet potato could hit the spot How lucky we are in Melbourne to be able to explore the glorious specificities of culture through food If Restaurant A is less than pleasing to you there are always Restaurants B through to Z I will definitely be stopping at U for udon It sounds almost too good to be true but this tiny hole-in-the-wall tucked down a pedestrian-only laneway offers quick and simple Thai noodle box meals for under $15 including free help-yourself chicken broth Try the soup-free version of hot-and-sour tom yam.    Laneway, 306 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/eekcharm The sister restaurant to Misoya Sake Bar opened recently Sit at the counter for gleaming soy-sauce-based broths with sardine dashi and housemade noodles There’s also a vegetarian version plus a small range of snacks and rice dishes 692 Sydney Road, Brunswick, ramen-shouyu-ya.square.site rendang or the different spins on nasi goreng but you could come just for Malaysian noodles There are comfort classics like fried instant Maggi or kuey teow (flat rice noodles) with chicken and vegetables Drinks for the homesick include Milo with grass jelly 2A Princes Highway, Dandenong, instagram.com/dkenyangcafe Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide. This ‘fantastically affordable’ new sushi counter is the answer to our critic’s prayersWhy can you only get very cheap or very expensive sushi asks Besha Rodell. Nori Maki delivers high-quality sushi in a setting that feels special. A cult Japanese noodle shop arrives in Melbourne with summer-ready bowlsEverything you need to know about aburasoba, the “dry ramen” that ditches the soup but still packs loads of flavour into every squiggly bite of noodles. Relive your magical trip to Japan at these nine Melbourne venuesPocket-sized sushi restaurants, old-school Tokyo-style cafes, and affordable delis with build-your-own bentos are just the tip of a rapidly growing and highly specialised Japanese scene. news and the hottest openings served to your inbox TV Asahi announced on Saturday that Haruka Kawachi's Musashino Rondo manga will get a live-action television series which will premiere on the channel's "Oshi Dora (Drama) Saturday" programming block on April 19 at 11:00 p.m The series will star Ae! boy band member Yoshinori Masakado as Ryūhei Agawa, and actress Rin Takanashi as Tamaki Musashibara (both featured in above visual) This is Masakado's first lead role in a drama series Keita Motohashi is one of the series directors, and Yukako Shimizu and Kanna Wakasugi are writing the script The manga's story centers on 25-year-old Ryūhei Agawa the son of a soba restaurant owner who has had a crush on his 35-year-old neighbor Tamaki Musashibara since he was a child He tried to confess to her twice during his teenage years and never noticed him because of their 10-year age difference until a rival suddenly appears and he decides to fight back and make Tamaki fall for him Kawachi launched the ongoing manga in Shodensha's Feel Young magazine in 2020 Shodensha published the manga's first compiled book volume in September 2021 Kawachi's Natsuyuki Rendezvous manga received an anime adaptation on Fuji TV's Noitamina block in 2012 Kawachi launched the Request o Yoroshiku (Welcome Your Request) manga in Feel Young in September 2014 and ended it in 2019 Shodensha published the manga's fifth and final volume in 2020 JManga published Kawachi's Sekine's Love manga in English Sources: Musashino Rondo live-action series' website, Comic Natalie Japanese painter and art expert Toshihiko Isao, a JAPAN Forward contributor, turned 90 in April. In celebration, 20 of his most recent artworks are the subject of an exhibition titled "Toshihiko Isao New Works." From April 14, AKANE art gallery in Ginza will host the show for seven days Isao has made scenes of Musashino, a Tokyo suburb, the subject of his work for more than half a century. During World War II, when the young Isao was evacuated to Nagano Prefecture he kept his sketchbook by his side night and day When he returned to Tokyo for middle school many different styles of art flooded into Japan capturing the eye of numerous Japanese artists non-abstract works from artists such as Georges Mathieu and many other trends captured the imagination of the Japanese art community.  Isao was inspired by them and experimented with many of these styles it was painting his beloved Musashino that brought him out he has been painting scenes of Musashino ever since Having a passion for the scenery that I want to keep on painting and following this path in my work is an indescribable happiness I wish to carry on drawing Musashino as long as my body moves." These thoughts reiterated his remarks on "The Classic of Meiji era in 7 Series Musashino Heibon/Edited by Hajime Shinoda" (1982 I ended up drawing Musashino for my whole life It was just as if I were controlled by an invisible string If I were to explain even more specifically and the dancing silhouette of children with lime sticks would show in the sunsets I was also in this scene with those children Isao says that he is filled with a sense of mission to see through to the end of the vanishing Musashino By capturing every scene of his old friend its scenery will continue to live on through Isao's art pieces he himself will take root in the flame of Musashino and remain in the hearts of art lovers forevermore The artist who loved and grew up with Musashino as it changed will take you on a long walk deep into its lasting beauty.  an exhibition in honor of his 90th birthday Dates: April 14 (Monday)–April 20 (Sunday) Venue: AKANE art gallery Access: 3-minute walk from Ginza Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line You must be logged in to post a comment ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Affirm spinoff Resolve raised $60m from investors including its parent company.. The $11.4m fund will be co-managed by M&A consultancy Paradigm Shift and it is part of the funeral firm’s 70th anniversary business plan Image of metaverse cemetery Kaze no Rei (Spirit of the Wind) courtesy of Alpha Club Musashino Japanese wedding and funeral services firm Alpha Club Musashino has formed a corporate venture capital arm called LifeShift Innovation Fund 1 The fund is equipped with ¥1.8bn ($11.4m) and will invest in funeral-related technologies and services Japanese business development and M&A consulting firm Paradigm Shift will help manage the fund as general partner Alpha Club Musashino operates wedding and funeral events mainly in the Japanese prefectures of Fukushima The CVC fund is part of the parent company’s Vision70 scheme which celebrates its 70th anniversary through various business initiatives overseas expansion and the launch of a small-scale funeral facility Edison Fu is head of Asia development at Global Corporate Venturing Which corporates are backing which startups Find details about global CVC units in the CVC Directory Comprehensive data on the current trends in corporate investment GCV provides the global corporate venturing community and their ecosystem partners with the information insights and access needed to drive impactful open innovation Across our three services - News & Analysis and the GCV Institute - we create a network-rich environment for global innovation and capital to meet and thrive At the heart of our community sits the GCV Leadership Society providing privileged access to all our services and resources Best Coffee Shops in San Antonio The Best New Restaurants in Austin, May 2025 The Best Restaurants in Austin for Private Dining, Events, and Parties Austin’s sushi game is strong despite being a landlocked city The Japanese specialty is done right in town with local restaurants serving excellent sushi Austin’s best sushi restaurants range from casual to exclusive which served as the training grounds for many of the city’s top chefs strong offerings from neighborhood restaurants like Kome serious omakase spots like Tsuke Edomae that require a miracle to get a reservation For related eats, find the city’s best ramen spots The far north Japanese restaurant is a reliable spot for amazing traditional and fusion sushi (just ignore the bizarre names of the rolls) Keep an eye out for the truly remarkable specials so there isn’t much ambiance to speak of — the focus is on making great sushi Where to Order Fresh Sushi for Takeout in Austin The North Austin sushi restaurant serves substantial sushi for lunch and dinner and is a popular choice for gluten-free and vegetarian diners. The slightly seared selection (aburi-style) is lovely. Dine in at the casual restaurant or order takeout online 20 Great Gluten-Free-Friendly Austin Restaurants This popular North Loop restaurant serves unique rolls an ode to the state made with shrimp tempura and hanger steak and expect a crowd pretty much all the time The Best Splurge-Worthy Austin Restaurants Chef Michael Che is behind one of the best immersive omakase experiences in Austin, hands down. Reservations for this tiny eight-seat indoor sushi bar in Mueller are essential and must be made the second bookings become available — unless there’s a rare opening in the waitlist so there’s little flash and flair — just excellent sushi 11 Fancy Tasting Menus to Try Around Austin West Campus is the perfect setting for this textbook-traditional Tokyo-style sushi and many of the city’s sushi greats trained here 20 Great Post-Running-Trail Restaurants in Austin an unexpectedly great 10-seat omakase spot in West Campus The traditional omakase is a 20-course menu that changes daily but its $99 16-course menu is available on select dates and times There’s also lounge seating to explore the restaurant’s substantial Japanese whisky collection The Best Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants in Austin Owner Kazu Fukumoto is a Musashino alum, which means he pays close attention to the cuts of fish he uses for every single piece through the more casual East Austin restaurant. The yakitori, like the savory tamago or juicy chicken thigh, and specials are worth trying. The dining room is open and airy, so the kitchen is on full display, but takeout is an option The Best Austin Restaurants Open on a Monday Where to Eat and Drink on the East Side of Austin Every Single Eater Austin Eater Award Winner The Best Happy Hours in Austin for Affordable Drinks and Eats Rolls at this Japanese restaurant can be spendy but high-quality, like the decadent salmon with shaved truffles. There’s also great nigiri for a more simple date night. There are two locations — one in South Lamar with a nice patio and the original in Cedar Park that’s indoor-only — and both accept takeout orders online The Best South Lamar Restaurants and Bars in Austin A decision by a famous private art university in Tokyo to take the rare step of hiking fees just for its foreign students has caused a backlash with some of them taking to the streets to protest what they view as a discriminatory step Musashino Art University said in July that it will charge foreign students an extra levy of 363,000 yen ($2,500) the equivalent of around 20 percent of existing tuition fees while keeping charges for domestic students unchanged While the university described the levy as a step to help improve the study environment for foreign students the norm in Japan has been to treat domestic and overseas students equally in terms of fees a number of the university's foreign students staged a protest in front of a train station in central Tokyo Although the charge will only apply to students enrolling in 2025 they said the decision to implement what they view as an effective tuition fee hike was made without consulting them and was "arbitrary" and "unconvincing." I can't bear the fact that only international students are asked to pay more without a detailed explanation," said a Chinese student who identified himself only by his family name Yang He said that while he had chosen to attend the university for its "liberal academic environment," it had acted in a "dictatorial" way He is among the more than 700 foreign students at Musashino Art University who account for nearly 15 percent of the total Chinese students comprise over half of those coming from overseas with many saying they are attracted by the lack of rules on free expression compared with universities back home and the shared culture of using Chinese characters the university was founded in 1929 as Teikoku Art School a winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for up-and-coming authors The university said it will expand its Japanese language and culture program as well as set up a scholarship system for financially strapped students in tandem with the new charge It will also enhance services to manage the enrollment status of foreign students after another university was found in 2019 to have accepted large numbers of overseas students but lost contact with many of them with some possibly overstaying their visas or working illegally "There is a need for our university to establish a system for accepting large numbers of international students now and in the future," the university's public relations team said via an email an online petition against the new charge had collected over 5,000 signatures as of Aug with the campaign also being backed by foreign students from Tama Art University and Tokyo University of the Arts as well as by individuals in the arts industry The students argue that many foreign nationals enrolling at Japanese universities who are permitted to find paid employment alongside their studies for up to 28 hours a week already struggle to make ends meet despite the general perception that they can afford high tuition fees they question the validity of further boosting Japanese-language education as most foreign students pay for two years of language studies and art lessons before applying to an art university in Japan Another Chinese student at Musashino Art University was concerned that the university's move could drive a wedge between the foreign student population as they seek to oppose the measure and their Japanese counterparts "I no longer feel secure studying here," said the student adding that she had been distressed by a social media post apparently from a Japanese student saying foreign students are being "selfish." "I have already decided to change my plans to pursue further studies at the university" and look for enrollment at another Japanese university The private university's decision follows a government rule change to allow national universities to remove the upper limit on tuition fees for international students as a means to "improve the environment for accepting" them It also comes after the education ministry instructed all universities in April to check the enrollment status of foreign students But while abuse of student visas can be an issue it is unlikely to be a problem at Musashino Art University professor of sociology at Meiji Gakuin University "The announcement can be seen as the university effectively taking advantage of the ministry's rule change to improve its finances" as it struggles like many other Japanese universities with declining applicants amid the country's shrinking population Charging foreign students more seems a relatively easy way out for the university as it cannot hike fees for Japanese students for fear of facing fierce opposition and further losing applicants adding that other universities are closely watching developments and could follow suit Unlike schools in English-speaking countries like the United States Britain and Singapore that are among the most popular destinations to study universities in Japan are not sufficiently aware of the need to make efforts to attract foreign students "Tuition fees should not be recklessly raised for foreigners without convincing reasons," he argued noting that relatively affordable fees compared with those in the United States and Britain is one of the draws of Japanese universities Some Japanese artists and art critics have also raised doubts about the university's decision highlighting the invaluable roles foreign students play at Japanese universities While it is necessary for universities to spend money to support foreign students the burden should be shared by all students "The presence of international students creates diversity at the university and gives other students opportunities to come into contact with diverse values," Kato said adding that improving foreign students' environment would benefit all students "Without recognizing the value of international students Japanese universities could further be isolated and lose their power in the world," he said The school's public relations team said it "will address the opinions of our students as well as those inside and outside the university sincerely." FEATURE: Foreign students spotlight Utoro history, ethnic Koreans in Japan FEATURE: School for underserved Koreans marks 30 years of student empowerment To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription Please check your inbox for a confirmation email Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible the University of Cape Town’s International Office had the honour of hosting a distinguished delegation from Musashino University included Associate Professor Hiroki Nakamura and Mr Nobuyuki Waga Their visit was marked by engaging discussions with UCT’s International Office Director PhD aimed at strengthening academic collaboration and exploring opportunities for future partnerships The meeting provided a platform for both institutions to exchange insights on internationalisation strategies student mobility initiatives and research collaboration highlighted UCT’s commitment to fostering global academic networks emphasising the university’s role in shaping innovative and inclusive educational experiences for students worldwide Professor Nishimoto shared Musashino University’s vision of expanding its global footprint and deepening ties with African institutions the discussions also touched on potential areas of mutual interest UCT’s International Office looks forward to furthering these discussions and exploring opportunities to enhance academic exchanges with Musashino University Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version Whether you’re craving generous bowls of ramen fluffy cheesecakes to go with matcha or affordable yet quality sushi Melbourne now has a spot for nearly every strand of Japanese food AD Apr 12 (Sat) 2025-Jun 14 (Sat) 2025 40 days left Leave a rating/comment#InstallationBack to ArticlesSHARE This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page TUFS concluded a memorandum of understanding for exchange and cooperation with the aim of improving educational activities with Musashino-gakuen Elementary School (Fuchu City The agreement will be in effect for three years from April 2025 The principal of Musashino-gakuen Elementary School and Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa Associate Professor Wakana Shiino both parties expressed their desire to implement projects that would allow children and international students from both schools who come from diverse cultural backgrounds Musashino-gakuen Elementary School is a private elementary school within walking distance of TUFS TUFS has been working to promote exchange with the school including holding multicultural understanding workshops for elementary school students at the TUFS Field Science Commons (TUFiSCo) TUFS plans to further promote the planning of events for Musashino-gakuen Elementary School students and events for parents and children to gather together Japanese version Japanese version Japanese version Painter Toshihiko Isao has been capturing the scenery of the Musashino region in Tokyo's suburbs for over half a century. His retrospective exhibition, which runs from July 2 for six days at the Nerima Art Museum's community gallery It will showcase Isao's artistic journey from his earliest sketches Isao is also renowned as a collector of ukiyo-e prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi and as an author of books on ukiyo-e His ten major oil paintings were well-received when displayed alongside his ukiyo-e collection at the exhibition "Kuniyoshi-ism: Utagawa Kuniyoshi and His Lineage" at the Nerima Ward Art Museum in 2016 Isao's column on JAPAN Forward, "A Visit to the Atelier," shares insights on ukiyo-e and the allure of Musashino from both an artist's and collector's perspective Musashino has been celebrated in poetry since the Heian period (794–1185) Literary master Doppo Kunikida (1871–1908) describes the region in a short story titled Musashino (1901) as a vast beautiful landscape where nature and humans coexisted harmoniously with the development of Tokyo and its surrounding areas "The old Musashino is described in a classic poem: 'On the Musashi plain/There is no mountain/Behind which the moon disappears/It rises and sinks among the grass,'" Isao reflects in his writings "Doppo's Musashino was a place where nature and humans blended harmoniously as we live in a new chapter of Musashino's long history we need to reconsider the relationship between nature and humanity." (Read the article in Japanese.) You must be logged in to post a comment you will need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser GO TOKYO The Official Tokyo Travel Guide Detailed search: You can do a detailed search by keyword open calendar Search and parks abound in the Mitaka and Musashino area—a short trip outside Tokyo Step back in time at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum take a look at the unique and inspiring Reversible Destiny Lofts Mitaka make a reservation and head to the Ghibli Museum or relax in one of the many beautiful parks such as Inokashira or Koganei A twenty-minute walk (or short cab ride) from Mitaka Station is Inokashira Park This oasis of green offers a variety of attractions including a small zoo Enjoy the park during different seasons by renting a row boat Grab some refreshments from a shop and go for a stroll or just have a seat and enjoy the scenery the park is a great spot for cherry blossom viewing in spring At one end of Inokashira Park, you’ll find Mitaka no Mori Ghibli Museum the official museum of the Studio Ghibli animation studio The museum building was designed by Hayao Miyazaki himself and be sure to check out the large robot soldiers from “Castle in the Sky” in the rooftop garden and original short animated films are shown monthly in the Saturn Theater take a break at the Straw Hat Cafe and enjoy some home-style cooking Make sure to book your tickets ahead of time If you're looking for one-of-a-kind photogenic architecture make sure to visit Reversible Destiny Lofts Mitaka inspired by Helen Keller and dedicated to her memory These colorful buildings are part apartment They were designed by Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins and are meant to challenge the way people live and interact with their surroundings To experience the Reversible Destiny Lofts Mitaka you can join a private architectural tour in English so please check the official website for details visit the Mitaka Campus of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan a great spot for anyone interested in astronomy Part of the site is open to the public for tours offering a chance to view the seasonal scenery and the historical astronomical observatory facilities Solar observation sessions are sometimes held in the First Equatorial Chamber Please check the official website for details Tripadvisor Copyright © Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau Return to top of page Nicolai McCrary While sushi trends come and go, Musashino is a place that feels like it hasn’t changed or batted an eye at all the newcomers in decades. It’s classic and reliable, and it’s a place we hope never changes.  East Austin Fukumoto is a sushi restaurant and izakaya located on East 6th Street JapaneseSushi South LamarSouth Austin Uchi on South Lamar is an adventurous sushi and Japanese fusion restaurant SushiJapanese Uroko is a casual handroll sushi spot at Springdale General in East Austin Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Tokyo Celebrate the coming of autumn with the 52nd Kichijoji Autumn Festival on September 14 and 15 The event will be taking place in the bustling Sunroad and Daiyagai shopping arcades in front of Kichijoji Station’s north gate.  See portable mikoshi floats departing Musashino Hachiman shrine at 11am on Saturday as they are led by a priest riding a sacred horse heading towards Kichijoji Station via Sunroad Street The procession will meander its way around the shopping arcades and return to the shrine the next day.  The biggest spectacle however will be the combined procession of 11 mikoshi floats on Sunday at 2pm in front of Kichijoji Station’s north exit Floats from various local neighbourhood associations will gather here for a spectacular showcase.  Notable highlights include the Musashinobayashi folk music show a heritage that has been taught and passed down through generations in the Musashino Hachiman shrine for over 160 years.  For the procession map and event details, check the festival website. facebooktwitterpinterestinstagramAbout us forces’ B-29 bombers that took part in air raids that hit the city during World War II please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent a military factory located in then Musashino Town The Musashino Furusato Rekishikan history museum exhibition is titled “War and Musashino 10 — The B-29 as seen from video footage.” It is part of a series of exhibitions held every year focusing on the relationship between the war and the city The factory manufactured parts including engines for Zero fighter aircraft and other Japanese military planes during the war B-29 bombers conducted the first air raid on Musashino on Nov The town was bombed and damaged nine times until the end of the war More than 200 people were said to have been killed in the precincts of the factory alone Exhibition visitors can watch a U.S.-made movie “Birth of the B-29,” which the museum procured from the U.S The film shows the manufacturing processes of B-29 bombers and how the planes operated The movie also mentions the women and elderly who were mobilized to work in U.S manufacturing wings and cockpits of B-29s and construction of bases for attacking Japan To get an idea of the size of the B-29 aircraft visitors can see an almost life-size picture of one side of its horizontal tail — about 6.6 meters long — printed on the floor of the exhibition room Items in the exhibition include a notebook that Yuji Nakazawa “I watched the film about the B-29 bombers’ manufacturing process for the first time,” said a 75-year-old visitor from Komae I comprehended the situation during those years.” The museum is closed on Fridays and national holidays Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun 03 August 2018 - Mushasino University (Japan) announced two upcoming activities directly related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the institution will launch the Musashino SDGs Award aimed to encourage all individuals on campus to participate in the actual implementation of the SDGs with their own ideas such as making donation for poverty alleviation clean-up activities near campus and volunteer service to assist areas impacted by natural disasters The overall purpose is to encourage personal actions to foster the SDGs The winners to be selected by a special committee created for that purpose Essential sushi restaurant Musashino is on track to move into West Campus by mid-May, according to a Facebook post Renderings so far for the new location depict bar seating The restaurant is set to take over Fino’s space, the shuttered longtime Mediterranean-inspired restaurant Fino from owners Lisa and Emmett Fox, which shuttered last April on San Gabriel Street the owner of Musashino's upstairs neighbor Chinatown will take over the eventually-vacant space for an unannounced concept There are two other locations of Chinatown around Austin Musashino has been making traditional sushi and other Japanese dishes for over 22 years Alums from the staff have gone on to open their own sushi- and Japanese-centric places Tatsu Aikawa and Takyua Matsumoto of Ramen Tatsu-Ya and Kazu Fukumoto with his namesake place on East 6th Street Musashino’s current upstairs neighbor Chinatown will take over the sushi restaurant’s ground floor spot for a new concept Owner Ronald Cheng is planning on an Asian street food focus Chinatown also has two other locations in Austin Musashino, open for over 22 years, has been the training ground for some of Austin's most well-known chefs, including Uchi/Uchiko's Tyson Cole, Ramen Tatsu-Ya's Tasu Aikawa and Takuya Matsumoto, and Kome's Take Asazu. Fino owners Lisa and Emmet Fox shuttered the longtime campus restaurant Fino last spring but the couple still run the Italian spot Asti and cafe Cantine Designed by multi-award-winning architect Kengo Kuma and Associates this museum was created to look like a giant rock floating on water It uses an impressive 20,000 pieces of granite Although the outside looks like a huge boulder the inside feels airy and is full of wood and natural elements one of Japan's largest publishing companies there is a strong influence and major focus on manga and anime throughout the complex The fifth floor is home to the Mushashino gallery which presents information about the area using 3D maps and virtual reality It also houses a restaurant featuring local produce Be sure to leave this floor by the Attic Step which is a nook gallery of about 3,000 titles that author and yokai (Japanese monsters expert) Hiroshi Aramata has selected from his private collection a space containing 25,000 books from around the world so visitors can immerse themselves in books and ideas from far-flung places Also on this floor is the stunning Bookshelf Theatre complete with 26-foot (eight-meter) tall bookshelves that house 50,000 books the whole floor is dedicated to the EJ Anime museum.  while the first floor is home to more temporary exhibits.  Visitors can enter the building for free and wander around the public spaces but the library and exhibition areas require a ticket this is a great place to hang out for the day with the last admission at 5:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday The library houses an incredible collection of some of the world's most impressive books and manuscripts This gorgeous reading room houses the oldest and largest art history library in the Netherlands This Manhattan museum houses one of the largest collections of Spanish art and manuscripts outside of Spain An Oxford museum where visitors can have tea with the Mad Hatter and climb through the wardrobe to a fantasy land A Victorian synagogue-turned-museum chronicles centuries of Jewish life A former church transformed into a public library This unassuming brick building contains the last purpose-built drill hall in the United Kingdom The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission GeothermicsCitation Excerpt :Water-rock interactions and aquifer minerals dominate the formation of groundwater hydrogeochemical components (Frape et al. Water-rock interactions occur continuously in the seepage process of groundwaters The hydrogeochemical reactions in the aquifer are usually affected by many factors Science of the Total EnvironmentCitation Excerpt :Presently remediation is largely through monitored natural attenuation Redox zones are believed to constitute important chemical frameworks for natural attenuation of contaminants in groundwater leachate plumes (Appelo and Postma 2020) and are responsible for minimising the extend of spreading of contaminants from landfills (Han et al. This explains why many of the groundwater remediation technologies closely mimic redox processes (Tandon and Singh All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. Japan — Memories of an American military housing area that once stood where Imperial Japan built aircraft during World War II are on display at a history museum in western Tokyo service members and their families at a time an archivist at Musashino Furusato Rekishikan The museum is displaying old copies of Stars and Stripes documents and objects related to the factory and the housing area The exhibit includes images of daily life at Green Park in Musashino Stars and Stripes in May 1962 described Green Park as one of the largest military housing developments of its kind in the world A vast apartment building there was “so completely equipped that a housewife can obtain practically every living necessity and convenience without going outside the building,” the report said The housing complex included a 28-room elementary school The four-story structure had a children’s playground on its roof and a base exchange in the basement Air Force veteran and his wife who lived at Green Park in the early 1970s The people living there worked at Yokota Air Base near Fussa and the nearby Tachikawa and Fuchu air bases Takano said during a tour of the museum Tuesday built engines for the Japanese army navy on the site that became the American housing area The museum exhibit includes aerial photographs that U.S forces used to plan nine bombing raids on the factory during the war There’s a piece of rusty metal from a bomb dropped on the factory Navy F-4U Corsair fighter-bombers that launched from the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill to bomb the factory on Nov A copy of the deputy factory manager’s diary explains the bombings Locals opposed the plan for an American housing area on the factory site because they feared it might become a military target Green Park closed and the land was returned to Japan in 1973 Today the area is a green space amid Tokyo’s concrete jungle — Musashino Central Park —which opened in 1989 ‘musashino place’ is a public facility offering support to the entire community of the tokyo suburb from which it takes its name. designed by kw+hg architects the building functions primarily as a library but also provides spaces for youth activities it is easily accessed by a wide population and is complemented by the adjacent kyōnan fureai hiroba park the structure is organized as a repetitive framework that different programs can occupy flexibly are consistently treated with radiused corners breaks in the floors create spacious double and triple height cavities throughout the building reading areas are left open with plentiful light throughoutphoto by shimizu ken the library collection includes more than 140,000 books and 600 periodical titles as well as a 400 seat reading area there are six community rooms ranging to serve between 10-200 people at a time aimed to engage youth with various activities through its openness and mixture of available functions certain areas are dedicated to youth activitiesphoto by shimizu ken openings between rooms and to the exterior are consistently treated with radiused cornersphoto by shimizu ken double and triple height spaces produce an openness throughout the buildingphotos by shimizu ken large windows create a visual dialogue between interior functions and the city’s contextphotos by shimizu ken civic action support centersite area: 2,166.2 sqmbuilding area: 1,571.47 sqmtotal floor area: 9,809.76 sqmphotography: shimizu ken AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style Chinatown will debut a new concept in that space The focus of Chinatown owner Ronald Cheng’s new project hasn’t been announced yet. It is set to open sometime next year. There are currently three locations of the restaurants: downtown (which debuted an izakaya menu last December), Mopac, and Westlake Eater has reached out to both restaurants for more information Cheng is "thinking of Asian street food," according to a Chinatown rep Oddly, the café turns into the bar Kakutokyo after 7pm, where you can enjoy alcoholic drinks starting at a mere ¥500. During evening hours, you can only observe the owls from a separate room not interact with them. What’s even more peculiar is that Kakutokyo also doubles as a gym for you to learn martial arts (reservations required; from ¥1,000/10min).  Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information The Musashino municipal assembly in western Tokyo on Dec 21 rejected the city’s proposal to allow foreign nationals Fourteen assembly members voted against the proposal while 11 were in favor Proponents said the plan would lead to a more diverse society and gives a voice to more people living in the city But critics argued that the required period of stay in the city was far too short for the right to vote They also said information about the proposal had not been effectively distributed to the public The proposal said those eligible to vote in public referendums must be 18 years old or older and listed in the city’s basic resident register network system for at least three straight months The plan included foreign students and technical trainees “I have seriously taken the result of the vote to heart,” Musashino Mayor Reiko Matsushita said at a news conference after her proposal was rejected “I have listened to various opinions from the assembly and residents,” she said “But I have noted that (such an effort) is not enough and the issue needs more publicity before we can implement a public referendum system.” Matsushita also addressed criticism of the three-month-stay requirement and indicated that she will submit another proposal after a review “There are voices that say certain conditions are needed such as the length of stay or a permanent resident status,” she said “I want to think about that together from now on and find a better way.” the city assembly’s six-member general affairs committee was evenly split on the proposal The committee chair tipped the scale by voting “yes,” sending the proposal to a full vote from the assembly After the city announced the proposal in November Diet members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and others voiced opposition Some argued that such a plan “will grant quasi-voting rights to foreigners without any careful consideration.” Xenophobic groups have also rallied in the city’s downtown area and around city hall using a propaganda vehicle to blare out their opposition Supporters of the proposal said of such rallies “Coercive promotions and extortion-like behavior have been prevalent.” (This article was written by Keiichiro Inoue and Atsushi Takahashi.) Musashino’s foreign vote plan squeaks through assembly panel EDITORIAL: Giving foreigners referendum vote step toward inclusive society Opponents raise voices against Musashino’s foreign vote plan Tokyo suburb to grant voting rights to foreign residents Hokkaido town to hold vote on nuclear waste disposal site Ishigaki bylaw revised in apparent bid to block referendum Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission National Report A western Tokyo city’s proposal to grant local voting rights to foreign residents has sparked a backlash from legislators and noisy protests around city hall said the proposal to allow foreign residents to vote on the city’s policies in referendums “will lead to a society that accepts diversity.” The Musashino city assembly’s general purpose committee was to vote on the proposal on Dec a Lower House member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party whose electoral base includes Musashino “The will of the people itself could be distorted (by the proposal),” he said during a soap box speech delivered in front of JR Kichijoji Station on Dec City assembly members who belong to an LDP parliamentary group joined Nagashima’s speech to protest the proposal a city assembly member who chairs the LDP parliamentary group said he and his allies plan to make the city government resubmit the proposal The city’s proposal would allow the initiation of referendums without an assembly vote if the signatures of a quarter of eligible voters in the city are collected must be 18 years old or older and listed in the city’s basic resident register for at least three consecutive months Foreign nationals who are staying in Japan as students or technical interns will also be allowed to vote under the proposal Many opponents see the proposal as a problem because of the “three-month” requirement Allowing such short-term residents who are typically not permitted to vote in mayoral and other elections to participate in a public referendum is problematic “It is necessary to have a requirement that a foreign resident must live in the city for more than three years at least,” Nagashima said Nagashima also described the city’s proposal as “fast and sloppy,” saying there has not been exhaustive discussions on the issue Mayor Matsushita denied that argument and said the city has had many talks about it since several years ago In a survey conducted by the city government in March this year 73.2 percent of respondents said foreign residents should be qualified to vote in referendums a propaganda vehicle and other protesters have been blaring criticism about the proposal in the area around the Musashino city hall An organization consisting of conservative LDP Diet members on Dec 9 issued a statement opposing the proposal saying it “can be a substitute for the enfranchisement of foreign residents.” Those in support of the city’s proposal include Koji Aikyo a professor emerita at the University of Tokyo they said that having foreign residents’ opinions reflected in the city government “will deepen and improve local governing.” They also said of the protests that “coercive publicity and extortion-like behavior have been widespread.” A 35-year-old resident of the city also backed the plan foreign nationals will have no place to express their opinions But a 64-year-old female part-time worker is against the proposal “You can’t understand local issues unless you live here for a long time.” According to the Musashino city government about 40 municipalities nationwide grant foreign nationals the right to vote in local referendums Some of these municipalities require such residents to live in there for at least three years But it is rare for a local government to grant voting rights to foreign nationals without any “period of stay” condition Only Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture and Toyonaka in Osaka Prefecture are using the same conditions proposed by Musashino Musashino’s proposal is based on the basic autonomy ordinance which defines the idea of running an autonomous community It was established around the country in or after 2000 when the Omnibus Law of Decentralization was enforced About 400 municipalities have adopted the basic autonomy ordinance put a brake on the movement by distributing a document to its prefectural chapters The document said the autonomy ordinance underlies a “denial of the nation.” a political organization seeking to revise the postwar Constitution a constitutional law professor at Reitaku University who was a strategist on the LDP’s project team The movement to prevent the establishment of such ordinances strengthened and attempts to come up with public referendums based on the ordinance slowed down The city assembly of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture removed a clause regarding public referendums from its basic autonomy ordinance in June this year One member of Nippon Kaigi was surprised by Musashino city’s move and started urging people to voice their concerns and objections to city officials an assistant professor of multicultural society theory at Rikkyo University said a movement by xenophobic groups that opposes the basic autonomy ordinance became active about 10 years ago “Although other municipalities’ movements have slowed down Musashino city submitted its proposal—and became a target,” Akedo said a professor of local governing at Waseda University stressed the importance of the basic autonomy ordinance pointing out that “participation and co-production” were often mentioned when it was established During times when the economy shrinks year after year it is necessary for citizens to carry out tasks that a government cannot perform but the fact remains that the basic autonomy ordinance constitutes the bedrock of rules for citizens’ participation,” Kohara said a professor of constitutional law at Keio University said: “The opponents’ argument that (the proposal) can be a substitute for enfranchisement of foreign residents is a far-fetched conclusion “The Constitution certainly guarantees the right to vote in national elections to people who have Japanese nationality But it does not prohibit voting rights to foreign residents in an election for mayor or city assembly members Yamamoto mentioned a court case that defined such voting foreign residents as people “with an exceptionally close relationship with a local government.” “But it cannot be said forthrightly that ‘living (in the municipality) for three months or longer’ is problematic,” he said “Each municipality should make a judgment on the range of foreign residents in terms of granting voting rights That really is the autonomy of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution.” (This article was written by Takuya Miyano Neighbors in Hokkaido object to plans to store nuclear waste Pandemic crisis sent unaffiliated voter support to Yamanaka EDITORIAL: In-depth debate key to ads on constitutional referendum 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have emerged as key technologies for decision-making in various fields such as automated driving Current ML and AI models have even surpassed human intellectual capabilities in some regards it is important to understand how these technologies predict and estimate results and which features of the data affect their outcomes the most in an intuitive and comprehensible way interpretive ML algorithms and explainable AI (XAI) models such as local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME) and shapely additive explanations (SHAP) These methods construct and observe an approximate simple model and attempt to explain how different features in the dataset contribute to their predictions and estimations existing interpretive ML and XAI solve the forward calculation to derive an explanation for the black box and it can sometimes be difficult to derive an explanation estimating and constructing an inverse operator for an ML or AI model This operator helps estimate the significance of both local and global features on the model's outputs this method also introduces a representative similarity distribution plot that uses special representative estimation instances to identify how a particular prediction is related to other instances providing insights into the complexity of the target dataset distribution The study found that explanations obtained from AIME were both relatively simpler and more intuitive than those provided by LIME and SHAP It proved effective for a wide variety of datasets including tabular and handwritten images of numbers and text the similarity distribution plot provided an objective visualization of the model's complexity The experiments also revealed that the AIME approach was more robust in handling multicollinearity "It is particularly relevant in scenarios like explaining AI-generated art self-driving cars will soon have self-driving recorders like those in airplanes which could be analyzed by AIME to ascertain the cause of accident through post-accident analysis," remarks Dr This development can bridge the gap between humans and AI Title of original paper: Approximate Inverse Model Explanations (AIME): Unveiling Local and Global Insights in Machine Learning Models DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3314336 About Associate Professor Takafumi NakanishiTakafumi Nakanishi is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Data Science at Musashino University in engineering from the Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering at University of Tsukuba He also served as an associate professor and chief researcher at the International University of Japan's Global Communication Center from 2014 to 2018 He is currently researching and developing systems using the unique explainable AI (XAI) technology AIME Media Contact:Takafumi Nakanishi+81 90-2239-9471[email protected] Do not sell or share my personal information: A Musashino city assembly committee on Dec 13 narrowly approved a proposal to allow short-term foreign residents to vote in local referendums an issue that has divided this western Tokyo suburb The six members of the general affairs committee were evenly split on the plan The committee chair then cast a ‘yes’ vote to break the tie The proposal will be sent to the city assembly’s floor for a vote on Dec Musashino will become the third municipality to allow foreign residents listed in a city’s registration system for three straight months to vote in local referendums following Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture and Toyonaka in Osaka Prefecture The 108-seat public gallery at the assembly chamber was nearly full by the time discussions started just after 10:30 a.m who are at least 18 years old and have been listed in the city’s basic resident registration system for three straight months can vote in local referendums The main issue of dispute at the committee was the three-month requirement for foreign residents Two committee members belonging to a Liberal Democratic Party group of the city assembly strongly opposed the proposal it is nonsense to treat people who have lived in Japan for a long time and foreigners who have only stayed in Japan for three months at the same level,” said one of the opposing members Kikuchi also pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has limited the opportunities for residents to hear the city’s explanation of the issue The proposal “is controversial and has divided the city in half,” he said warned that the proposal could give short-term foreign residents a say on national security issues or energy policies in a public referendum The city’s public referendum ordinance proposal “is in a broad sense an enfranchisement,” Dojo said He explained that his stance is not about “excluding and discriminating against foreigners” but he believes “a distinction is necessary.” A representative of the city government countered Dojo’s argument “It is not appropriate to prohibit a resident’s will to express a certain opinion on a matter even if the city does not have jurisdiction over that matter,” the representative said the third opponent of the proposal who belongs to junior coalition partner Komeito said various opinions were expressed over the issue of granting voting rights to foreigners when the basic autonomy ordinance was established to promote decentralization Ochiai said those discussions went nowhere He also questioned the timing of Musashino city’s proposal He noted that the city started designing institutional arrangements for public referendums after the basic autonomy ordinance took effect in 2020 “Residents have since struggled in their daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic many of them are wondering for the first time A city representative acknowledged the need to pass more information about the ordinance to residents The three committee members who voted in favor of the proposal included a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and a member of the Japanese Communist Party They spent much of their time asking the city questions about how it can ease concerns about possible ramifications from granting voting rights to foreign nationals in referendums asked about the processes that Zushi and Toyonaka went through to establish systems that allowed voting by foreign nationals listed in the basic resident registration system for at least three months A Musashino representative said both cities did not face exceptional opposition to their plans from residents or assembly members and the municipalities also did not see a sudden increase in foreign resident numbers Some xenophobic groups have argued that Musashino’s ordinance would result in an influx of special-interest foreign nationals seeking a say in Japanese policies But a Musashino official said that such an attempt would be unsuccessful “in a city with a high population density.” an independent politician on the committee said of such criticism: “Residents of foreign nationalities are shared members of the community I feel uncomfortable with discussions on whether they are suitable for acceptance in this community or not.” Sakurai also asked Musashino officials if there are any administrative services that are limited to people with Japanese nationality a requirement for voting in mayoral and city assembly elections “There is no distinction by nationality in terms of services,” a city representative said said statements made by city assembly members who oppose the proposal as well as certain media “have misled citizens” by saying that the right to vote in public referendums “is practically a right to vote in local elections.” “Public referendums are close to petitions defined under Article 16 of the Constitution and this is different from local election voting rights.” The committee also rejected a petition with 5,277 signatures asking that the proposal be scrapped or tabled for further discussions who heads a group that organized the petition said about 70 percent of the signatories live in Musashino The group has argued that granting foreign residents the right to vote could result in the adoption of opinions that are different from those of the electoral constituencies “It can lead to a decline in the functions of the city assembly whose members are elected by residents with Japanese nationality,” the group said Group: Use ‘plain Japanese’ in vaccine info for foreign residents Language barrier hinders care for infected foreigners Kawaguchi city to vaccinate unregistered foreigners Kawaguchi city aims to vaccinate Kurds but can’t locate them At Gome Pit in Tokyo, customers can enjoy a cocktail with a view: the bar’s bay window overlooks a deep pit where tonnes of waste are piled up before being incinerated and the Musashino Clean Center remains open to visitors all year round continuing its educative and preventative mission to encourage the public to recycle more of their everyday waste The waste treatment centre has installed solar panels on its roof and created a vegetable garden where the compost is made entirely from waste a Delicious Franco-Japanese Union in Paris Dreamin Man Treats Its Coffees and Customers with Care Traditional tattoos were strong signifiers; murderers had head tattoos The series 'Hysteric Ten' by photographer Sawatari Hajime revisits one of the most sulphurous relationships in Japanese art Nagisa Oshima made Sada Abe the heroine of his film defying the codes of 'pinku eiga' that make men the focus of attention This rice soup seasoned with miso is served by a monk to Ashitaka one of the heroes in Hayao Miyazaki's film we interviewed its founder and chief representative Dr Weeks moved to Tokyo to take up a professorial position in the Department of Political Science She is responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Japanese politics and peace studies and readings in political science mostly in Japanese language she was a lecturer in Japanese Studies and International Relations at the University of the Sunshine Coast Her areas of expertise include Japanese politics and foreign policy Australia–Japan relations and women in politics She represented academic staff at USC on Academic Board and University Council and was the Honours Coordinator for the Schools of Communication and Social Sciences (exluding Psychology) Dr Weeks has taught language and politics at the University of Queensland and Griffith University and held appointments as Project Officer in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and research officer for a Queensland Senator She has enjoyed extended periods in Japan as a graduate research student at Daito Bunka University Tokyo (Law Faculty) the University of Tokyo Graduate School and Visiting Research Fellow at Waseda University Dr Weeks' publications include chapters and articles on Australia–Japan relations Japanese politics and auxiliary texts for young learners of Japanese language Current projects she is working on include a book on the East Asia security community 'unpopular culture' in Australia–Japan relations she was a Harold White Fellow at the National Library of Australia examining the Japanese language collections for early Japanese impressions of Australian political and cultural life; and she was selected to participate in the inaugural Asia Policy Assembly through the National Bureau of Asian Research in Washington DC She undertakes regular commentary in the media