The Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità)

What are YOU looking at?!

Mouth Of Truth in Odaiba, Tokyo

One of the common things that I often noticed in Tokyo, especially in game centers, was this circular rock-like sculpture of a scary-looking man's face. The mouth and eyes are darkened holes within the sculpture, which make you wonder what could lie beyond if only you were to reach out and...

I see these faces every now and then, but often wonder what the meaning behind them is. Today I am happy to announce that I have finally found the answer...and also that I don't know anything about classic Hollywood movies.

In the beginning, I thought this face was strictly part of the Japanese culture, but to my surprise, after a little bit of research it actually originates from the Roman Empire (now Italy) as far back as the first century AD. Some scholars believe that during this time, the circular sculpture was actually just a decorative manhole cover back in ancient times. The "Bocca della Verità" is now located at the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, Italy.

Famous Lie-Detector

During the Middle Ages, a new myth rose up around the sculpture which stated that if you were to place your hand inside the sculpture's mouth and told a lie, the scuplture would then promptly bite your hand off!

Apparently, the Mouth of Truth became immortalized in a famous scene from a Hollywood movie entitled Roman Holiday, which I have never seen or heard of before, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. For those of you like me, who have never seen the movie, I've included a video of the scene here:


Largely due to this endearing scene, the famous mouth has been reproduced in many different forms in Japan and I believe it is also why so many Japanese couples "test" their love by placing their hands in the mouth of the man that may or may not bite their hands off.

There is an exact replica of the Bocca della Verità (made in and shipped from Italy) here in Tokyo, Japan! It's located on the second floor entrance of the popular Venus Fort shopping mall in Odaiba.

Water, Water, Everywhere...Except in Tokyo

Flood Prevention in Tokyo 

Second post in a week...NOT BAD! I decided that I'd post some educational articles about Japan on here from other websites that I found interesting, and didn't want to write all over again...so I'll provide a link to it below:

 CNN - How Giant Tunnels Protect Tokyo From Flood Threat (written by Alex Zolbert)

Tokyo is a BIG CITY! Over 13 million people live here (as of 2013)! If you include the entire Greater Metropolitan Tokyo area that would be over 35 million people!

In addition to the danger caused by earthquakes, there is another destructive force of nature that has the ability to cause even more damage to this enormous cosmopolitan city...FLOODS! Japan is a country full of mountains...which funnel massive amounts of water towards the low-lying coast...where it happens that in one place, the capital city of Tokyo is located. How does the city stop all this water from causing destruction year after year? Check this video!

   

Here are some interesting facts about the giant tunnels:

• found in the Saitama area (just 40km north of Tokyo)
• build time: 9 years (1993 - 2006)
• cost: $3 billion 
• length: 6.3 km tunnel
• power: 4 jet engines can drain 200m3 of water in 1 second

For more recent information about how Tokyo is currently UPGRADING their flood prevention structures, check out this article from Bloomberg.com and their own video report:

Bloomberg.com - Tokyo Prepares for a 1-in-200 Year Flood 
(by Chris Cooper and Kiyotaka Matsuda)

If you liked this post, and would like to see more educationally informative posts like this, please let me know, be leaving me a message! If not, I'll keep doing it anyway!

Off to see a Landmark...(and restarting my blog!)

Visit to Yokohama's Landmark Tower

Arriving back in Tokyo for my third year of teaching...so I've decided to put in a lot more effort into updating my blog. To motivate me, I'm planning on purchasing a GoPro Hero 3 camera (exciting in itself since photography and cinematography are a few of my hobbies which have been put on hold due to being lazy).

I just realized that I haven't posted anything on here for over a year and a half! 

I went to Yokohama to do some shopping and check out the Landmark Tower on the weekend. Coincidentally, it was also the 20th anniversary of the building being built.

It's the tallest building in Japan!

Some of you might say, "But what about the Tokyo SkyTree?!" Well, the SkyTree isn't actually considered a "building" where people reside and work, however SkyTree is the tallest "man-made structure" in Japan. The Landmark Tower would only be the third tallest man-made structure, behind the SkyTree (634m) and Tokyo Tower (333m).

The Landmark Tower dominates the harbour area with its futuristic look, which can even look a bit ominous in the later hours of the evening.


Landmark Tower Facts:

• completed in 1993
• tallest building in Japan (296m)
• 70 floors (Sky Garden observation deck is on the 69th floor)
• fastest elevator in Japan (750m/s)
• elevator time from bottom floor to top floor (about 40 seconds)
• Mount Fuji can be seen on a clear day
• 5 star hotel, shops, and restaurants included
• Cosmo World Amusement Park is located right beside it
• 1000 yen for a ticket to the Landmark Tower Sky Garden observation deck

How to get there:

• Closest train station: Minatomirai Station on the Minatomirai Line
• only about 30 minutes from Tokyo

 Here are some miscellaneous photos from the short outing:

Tokyo Bay from the Sky Garden (69th Floor) of Landmark Tower

Apparently Yokohama is famous for curry...?

Obligatory Sky Garden Stamp

Cosmo World

Night View of the Landmark Tower