Famous Australian people and landmarks on Burke’s Backyard
While in Japan, Don looked at some astonishing, hi-tech toilets. Top of the range was the INAX Satis 118A, costing Yen 280,000 plus installation (around A$4,000). The first thing you notice about this toilet is that the lid opens as you approach! There are many other...
Tenryuji is one of the major temples of the Rinzai school of Zen. It was built in the 1300s by shogun Ashikaga Takauji to appease the spirit of Emperor Godaigo. Through the centuries it was destroyed by fires and warfare and rebuilt on a number of occasions. Most of...
Don visited Mr Masao Kato, a koi breeder in the Niigata Prefecture who has bred some of the best koi carp in Japan. His breeding farm is a huge property, with large breeding ponds stretching over hundreds of metres of land. Mr Kato has been breeding koi for...
Don visited Akihabara, Tokyo’s ‘Electric City’. Akihabara is the electronics district, where the latest hi-tech gizmos and gadgets can be tried and tested for free. There are hundreds of shops, ranging from tiny specialist stores to large electrical...
Rippongi Hills is a major urban development incorporating modern architecture with pre-existing traditional features. Opened in April 2003, it is located on a 28-acre site and includes the Mori Tower, the Asahi Broadcasting Center, hotels, cinema complex, residential...
Don visited a pet shop in Tokyo and found that it was very different from Australian pet shops. It was full of snakes, every sort of lizard, huge tortoises, turtles, chameleons and colourful horned toads. There were enormous tarantulas, coloured mice, toucans and just...
Don visited Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto to see one of the greatest masterpieces of Japanese culture – a superlative Zen garden. Thought to have been created around 1488, the garden is 30m long from east to west and 10m from north to south. Five groupings of rocks...
Sumo wrestling is a national obsession in Japan, and is followed by millions of fans on national television. It has the same profile as rugby league or AFL in Australia, and the master Sumo wrestlers, or Yokozuna, are revered as sporting heroes. Basic Rules of Sumo...
Don visited some houses to find out how the Japanese actually live. The first was a 20 year old country house, and the second a town house in Kyoto. Country house Some parts of this house were quite traditional, with paper walls and floor matting. Other parts were...
Don visited Mr Kazuo Miyashita, who is a shop owner dealing in rice and Japanese sweets. He is also a fowl hobbyist, and for the last 15 years has bred around 50 different kinds of chickens, including the rare Japanese Long-tail fowl (Onagadori). Honourable fowl...