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Hello Kitty meets the Mint
2008-04-01 03:43:00
??????In a surprising departure from its usual hidebound ways, Japanese bureaucracy has made a major concession to the country's popular culture in its latest plans for the redesign of the ten thousand yen bill.After a survey commissioned by the Japan Mint in February of 2007, it was found that a mere 22% of Japanese aged 14 or over could state anything about the personage whose figure presently appears on the 10,000 yen bill, Yukichi Fukuzawa, beyond the fact that he was "an historical figure". Of the remainder, 21% had "never heard of" the man pivotal to Japan's late 19th century modernization drive. On the other hand, the same survey found that the "personage" scoring highest in both recognition and popularity was the fictional Hello Kitty character created by Sanrio Co., Ltd. in 1974.The decision to redesign the bill incorporating the image of the near-ubiquitous feline coincides with what the Mint states was a decision to redesign in anyway due to another recent spate of coun...
More About: Money , Tokyo

Japanese Manga in America
2008-03-31 03:49:00
アメリカ��漫画A recent business trip to San Francisco left little time for any sightseeing. Time constraints notwithstanding, manga was easy to find.A book store on Union Square had an entire section, shelf after shelf, devoted to Japanese manga in English translation.Not far away, south of Market Street, the Cartoon Museum has a large collection of work. While it is not specifically devoted to Japanese graphic art, hardcore fans of manga will still find something of interest.I had time to take in an exhibit of Mary Blair, who designed "Alice in Wonderland" and did early work in anime. She was one of the first women to work as an animator at Disney, in the 1940s.The upcoming exhibit is "The Ten-cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How it Changed America ."AccessCartoon Art Museum655 Mission StreetSan Francisco, CA 94105Tel 415-CAR-TOONAdults: $6. 11 am - 5 pm. Closed Mondays.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget...
More About: Manga

Yozakura - night cherry blossom
2008-03-29 20:11:00
??Yozakura means ?night cherry blossom,? and, as such, has a recognized place in the Japanese spring canon. As expected, it has associations with the more seminal aspects of beauty - its forbidden and passionate side.This year?s cherry blossom season is now at its peak (mankai) and Tokyo ?s parks, in particular Shinjuku Gyoen and Ueno Park, were seething with picnickers vying for a coveted place under today?s cascading branches and blue skies. Even by evening the streets were fuller than usual and there was a carnival sheen to the general atmosphere of the city. Nevertheless, the cherry blossom viewing crowds were gone and the cherry blossom were left in solitude, sometimes grand......sometimes wistfulWhether gracing main streets or decorating hidden corners of the city, the sakura-in-shadow each weaving spells of their own. In the schoolyard...By the riverside...and roadside...lightly trembling in the cool, fragrant, dark spring air.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan w...
More About: Night , Cherry Blossom , Cherry

Manga in San Francisco
2008-03-29 05:32:00
????????????A recent business trip to San Francisco left little time for any sightseeing. Time constraints notwithstanding, manga was easy to find.A book store on Union Square had an entire section, shelf after shelf, devoted to Japanese manga in English translation.Not far away, south of Market Street, the Cartoon Museum has a large collection of work. While it is not specifically devoted to Japanese graphic art, hardcore fans of manga will still find something of interest.I had time to take in an exhibit of Mary Blair, who designed "Alice in Wonderland" and did early work in anime. She was one of the first women to work as an animator at Disney, in the 1940s.The upcoming exhibit is "The Ten-cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How it Changed America."AccessCartoon Art Museum655 Mission StreetSan Francisco, CA 94105Tel 415-CAR-TOONAdults: $6. 11 am - 5 pm. Closed Mondays.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodati...
More About: Manga , Kyoto

A's, Red Sox get MLB show on the road
2008-03-28 10:05:00
Major League Baseball created a lot of buzz in Japan when it opened its 2008 season in Tokyo with two games between the World Series champion Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics on March 25 and 26.The teams split the series, Boston winning a dramatic encounter on opening day 6-5 in 10 innings and the A?s holding on to win Game 2 by a score of 5-1. Both games were played at Tokyo Dome.Former Seibu Lion right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka became just the second Japanese native to start a season opener following Hideo Nomo, who did it three times, once for the Detroit Tigers in 2000 and twice for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2003-2004).Matsuzaka was also making his first appearance in Japan since joining Boston for 51 million dollars at the end of the 2006 season. Dice-K, as he is known stateside, went 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA in his rookie MLB season and topped that off with a World Series ring.Matsuzaka?s homecoming was a bit of a letdown, however, as he struggled with his control early on ...
More About: Show , Kyushu , Nagoya

Japan in Washington, Spring 2008
2008-03-28 00:49:00
????????????Spring is slowly but surely coming to Washington , DC.The most obvious signs of that are the yellow forsythia and pink cherry trees that were coming into bloom around the city.At right is the National Cathedral, just prior to Easter, with a willow cherry gracefully bending in a garden just outside the nave.Other signs of Japan ese presence in the capital are the many tourists enjoying the strong yen--and the ubiquitous sushi bars and other Japanese restaurants.Following a visit to the Cathedral, we headed down to Georgetown to a sushi bar near the intersection of Wisconsin and M Streets.The staff was nearly all Korean and the food was delicious.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Washington Spring
More About: Sushi , 2008

Abunai!
2008-03-26 23:13:00
???You don?t need to live in Japan long to hear the word abunai (ah-boo-NIGH), or ?risky,? ?dangerous,? ?hazardous,? or, as an exclamation, ?Look out!?. It is used for:- (potentially) unsafe situations: Mado kara atama o dasu nante - abunai yo! (?Sticking your head out the window like that is dangerous!?)or, when followed by tokoro (or, ?place?), for:- ?touch and go? situations: Jikan ga sematte kita yo ne. Abunai tokoro da yo! ?Time?s run out on us, hasn't it. It?s touch and go if we?re going to make it.?- ?close call? situations: Sono torakku ni ga tsukanakute abunai tokoro datta yo ne! ?Not noticing that truck, it was close call, wasn?t it!?, or,Abunai tokoro desu ga, Tanaka-san wa tsuyoi hito dakara daijoubu desho."It?s too early to say, but Tanaka-san is basically strong, so I?m sure she?ll pull through."A colorful phrase using abunai is abunai hashi o wataru, literally ?to cross a dangerous bridge,? meaning to walk a thin line, live on the edge, play a dangerous game, play wi...
More About: Tokyo , Language

Yokkaichi
2008-03-25 18:54:00
???Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture on the Kintetsu and JR Lines west of Nagoya Station is definitely off the beaten track.Best known as an oil-refining city, you can smell the petrol from Yokkiachi's refineries if the prevailing breeze is blowing inshore. Thankfully on the day we visited it wasn't. Yokkaichi means "four days market" and was a thriving international port in the late 19th century. During the 1960s the chemical industries in town gave rise to Yokkaichi zensoku - a kind of asthma caused by the sulphur emissions from the town's many chemical plants.Congested during the week, Yokkaichi is pleasantly relaxed on Saturdays and Sundays. I could not find a tourist office at either the Kintetsu or JR station, separated by about 700m on the town's grand boulevard, so I gave up sightseeing and just walked the town.Unless you draw the short straw and are posted here as a JET assistant high school teacher or lecture at the respected but failing Yokkaichi University, there is little...

Okinawa jamming in Nakano, Tokyo
2008-03-24 16:02:00
????????????? I was walking back to Nakano Station from a yoga lesson in Heiwa-no-mori Park in Tokyo ?s Nakano ward at about 5pm yesterday (Sunday). The street fair I had noticed on the way was still in full swing, and the sounds coming out of it made me check it out.Being late in the day, several people were crashed out on the ground, but it was still buzzing. Stalls were selling food, booze, photos, jewelry, second hand books and magazines, and promoting one or two worthy causes.But the focus of attention was on a three-piece musical unit from Okinawa : bongos, electric guitar, and trumpet/vocals. They were good! Check out the video I put up tonight on YouTube. Be prepared not only for music, but some words of wisdom, too!Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Tokyo Nakano Okinawa music fair
More About: Music , Fair

Nagoya Friends - Spring Celebration 3/29 at Tsurumai!
2008-03-24 06:14:00
Nagoya Friends is holding it's 50th party in Nagoya! Date: Saturday Mar. 29th, 2008 Time: 18:15 - 20:45 Drinks will be served between 6:30pm-8:40pm. Place: Nagoya Tsurumai City Public Hall, 1-1-3 Tsurumai (very close to JR Nagoya Station) Fee:3000 Yen Gentlemen, 2500 Yen Ladies 1st 15 foreigners 2000 yen each! Dress code: Anything (Casual, etc) Reservations: Not necessary but recommended and appreciated. Just show up to the party! Over 25,000 Yen worth of exciting prize giveaways each month! There will be free food along with free drinks (beers, wine, cocktail drinks and juices). Our party is not a dinner party, but we will have light food & snacks. Quantities are limited, so please come early! Please free to come alone or bring your friends. EVERYBODY is welcome to join regardless of nationality/gender. Reservation is greatly appreciated. About 125-150+ people are exp...
More About: Japan , Spring , Celebration , Nagoya

Japan This Week 23/3/08
2008-03-23 13:46:00
?????Utagawa exhibit in Brooklyn, USA.NY TimesJapan ese Everest climber in limbo because of Tibet troubles.GuardianJapanese interrogations to be taped.Daily YomiuriForeign visa stays to be increased from 3 to 5 years.Daily YomiuriUS sailor's credit card found in murdered cab driver'scab and suspect apprehended by US authorities.Japan TimesJapanese navy boss sacked.BBCStabbing frenzy in Tsuchiura.BBCDelay on appoinment of new Bank of Japan (BOJ) head.BBCBoston Red Sox in Tokyo.Yahoo! SportsJapan's Pan-Asianism and the Legitimacy of Imperial World Order, 1931?1945.Japan FocusCoin shower in downtown Tokyo offers more than soap andwater.MainichiLast week's Japan newsJapan StatisticsJapan's population fell during the period October 2006 to October 2007. The number of births during the 12 months was 1,101,000 compared with 1,103,000 deaths.Japan's GDP growth rate in 2006 was 2.2%.Japan's GDP is world's second largest at approximately USD4.6 trillion in 2007.In 2004, the annual cut ...
More About: Politics , Week

Nob & Pecker Sakae
2008-03-21 17:01:00
?????????Shop signs written in English in Japan can still cause merriment and wonder to visitors with a grasp of English language slang.Here are a couple of classics seen in the Sakae district of Nagoya .Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Sakae Shop sign Nagoya Japanese language
More About: Pecker

Keihan Railways
2008-03-21 06:05:00
????Keihan Railways is a private rail company that has service from central Osaka to central Kyoto. It was the first private railway to offer service between the two cities, which began in 1910.Its terminus in Kyoto is Demachiyanagi Station, which is under Kawabata Street, and convenient for Kyoto University, Doshisha University, and many other schools and businesses.From there it runs parallel to the Kamo River to Marutamachi, Sanjo, Shijo, and then through the southern suburbs of Kyoto and on to Osaka.In Osaka, it currently ends at Yodoyabashi Station, which is next to City Hall and along the city's one elegant boulevard, Midosuji.Construction is currently under way to extend the line farther into Osaka. This fall, service will continue from Yodoyabashi on to Nakanoshima.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Keihan Osaka
More About: Train

Romaji
2008-03-20 04:13:00
????Previously we looked at the Japan ese syllabaries hiragana and katakana. The Japanese language is also represented in Latin script and this is referred to as romaji (literally "Rome letters"). Thus the sentence: ????????? is transcribed in romaji as "watashi wa amerika jin desu - I am American."Romaji, and by extension English, is all around you in Japan, used in road signs, station names, advertising, magazine titles, company names, shop fronts and of course, on those wacky "Engrish" T-shirts.The Hepburn romanization system dating from the late nineteenth century is still the most widely used method of transcription of Japanese into the Latin alphabet. At elementary school Japanese children are taught to read and write romanized Japanese and romaji is widely used to imput Japanese text into computers, electronic dictionaries and mobile phones.Some romanization can, however, be puzzling to the Western reader. For example, the sound sho, or jo, is sometimes alternatively written s...

Omotesando Subway Station
2008-03-19 02:43:00
??????????This chic, aerodynamic subway exit is at the corner of Omotesando and Aoyama Dori.It is located in Aoyama, which is one of the playgrounds of the very wealthy of Tokyo .Befitting the style and elan and elegance of the neighborhood, the subway stop has a clear glass roof.Climbing up the steps, you are bathed in light. For the matrons and o-jo-o-chans (rich girls) out for an afternoon of boutique-hopping, there is not a whiff of urine, no month-old wads of gum to get stuck on your Jimmy Choos or Manolo Blahniks, and not even trash--and it was sparkling clean!.Even the railings were spotless.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Omotesando Subway
More About: Station

Akasaka Sacas
2008-03-18 02:39:00
?????Tokyo ?s newest luxury shopping experience is about to get underway. Akasaka Sacas is a sprawling, tasteful, expensively-done shopping/café/restaurant complex that gets its ?Grand Opening? on March 20 ? although most of it is already actually open for business.Sacas is conveniently and very adeptly segued into Akasaka subway station on the subway Chiyoda line (exits 1, 3a, 3b, and 7). It comprises four main buildings: an office skyscraper ?Akasaka Bix Tower,? (above photo) which also houses most of Sacas?s many shops, cafes, bars and restaurants (top photo), another building housing the Tokyo Broadcasting System Headquarters, a high class apartment block ?Akasaka The Residence,? and a theater called ?Akasaka Blitz? (below photo).The restaurants of the main shopping area include a number of ethnic options, plus everything else from the painstakingly posh to the streetest of terraced chic.Akasaka Blitz is a welcome addition to what?s on in Tokyo. A perusal of the fliers showed up ...
More About: Shopping , Japan

Myoshinji Temple
2008-03-17 04:30:00
???On a stroll through Myoshinji Temple in the fall, I took a picture of one of the many sub-temples whose gate happened to be open.Unless there is a special exhibit or occasion, the sub-temple gates are usually shut tight.As a working temple that is less interested in tourist lucre than in its stated mission--zen--Myoshinji manages to maintain a very other worldly feel and a very down-to-earth feel.Priests scurry about in robes while children play in the (almost) car-free paradise of the grounds.Students and older people use the temple--which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year--for walks or to cut through on the way to Hanazono Station or school.The grounds are vast, and the thrum of traffic soon recedes as you enter the gates.AccessTake the Saiin Line four stops on the local line from Kyoto Station. Get off at Hanazono Station. From there it is a five-minute walk to the south gate.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget ac...

Japan This Week 16/3/08
2008-03-16 17:19:00
?????Yen's rise against the dollar is hurting exports.Washington PostWar-time Asian workers seek compensation from Japan ese government.NY TimesSisters who hid GBP29m in shed face tax charge.GuardianJapanese government in insurance plan to aid Mitsubishi jet.Daily YomiuriUltraman the hero, again.Japan TimesJapanese space probe sends high-definition movies of the Moon's surface back to Earth.BBCBoston Red Sox ace pitcher's wife gives birth to son, so Dice-K heads for Tokyo.Yahoo! SportsNuclear power in Japan.Japan FocusTeenager runs "delivery health" prostitute business.MainichiAmerican congressman Michael Honda sponsored the resolution calling for an apology for Japan's wartime sex slavery.International Herald TribuneLast week's Japan newsJapan StatisticsSingle member households reached 14.71 million in 2006, more than 14.55 million households with one child or more.Source: National Institute of Population & Social Security ResearchThe number of people using file sharing sof...
More About: Politics , Week

Tsunoshima
2008-03-15 04:17:00
??Viewers of Japanese TV may recognize this bridge as it is the setting for a car commercial that is currently being shown. It is the 1780m long Tsunoshima Bridge , and when it was built in 2000 it was the longest toll-free bridge in Japan. Since then a longer bridge has been built in Okinawa.Tsunoshima is just off the coast of north eastern Yamaguchi Prefecture. A little over 4 square kilometers in size, and with a coastline of 17 kilometers, less than 1000 people live there, but the bridge cost a staggering 15,000,000,000 yen, which works out at about 150,000 USD per inhabitant.Tsunoshima means "Horn Island" and refers to the shape of island like a pair of cow horns. Cattle have been raised here since the eighth century.There is a fine beach on the island that attracts swimmers and even surfers.The first modern lighthouse on the Japan Sea coast is here, it was the last of 26 lighthouses built in Japan in 1876 by the "Father of Japanese Lighthouses", Briton Richard Henry Burton (184...
More About: Shimonoseki

Kansai International Airport
2008-03-14 03:11:00
??????Serving the Kinki region of western Japan--which includes Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe , and Nara--Kansai International Airport is the most elegant airport in Japan. Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, it is also the largest airport in Japan after Tokyo's Narita. In addition, it is both easy to use and easy on the eyes.Whereas Narita calls to mind a very large, very crowded bus terminal, Kansai is all light and space and a dramatic swooping roof. The ceiling looks like outstretched wings, an apt metaphor, with its airfoil roof.The terminal building also can boast that at 1.7 km from end to end it is the longest in the world. Taking advantage of all that ceiling space, the design team has installed mobiles throughout the terminal.The soft color scheme of the interior also seems have been chosen to ease pre-flight stress a bit.Shopping at Kansai International Airport does not compare to Centrair, in Nagoya. However, there is the usual selection of stores: a drug store, electronics ...

Japanese onomatopoeia
2008-03-13 13:20:00
???Japan ese is rich in onomatopoeia ? words that try to directly capture the sound or feel of something. English has no shortage of it either: vroom, clip-clop, titter, bang, etc. But whereas many of them are considered somewhat inappropriate in ?serious? English (e.g. eentsy weentsy, hoity toity, woof woof, etc.), in other words, peripheral, they are at the very heart of the Japanese language.One of the first you will hear when you start learning Japanese is part of the compliment ?Pera-pera desu ne!,? or ?You?re fluent, aren?t you!?. While pera pera can have a slightly negative meaning too, it is usually reserved for bera bera, which always means something like ?glib voluability? or ?easy prattle?.The real appeal of Japanese onomatopoeia is how they make such a direct non-grammatical appeal to be understood. Many of them, once heard, can never be forgotten. For example, metcha kutcha (the ?ku? pronounced ?coo?), meaning ?a complete mess,??totally mixed up,? ?in utter disorder,? et...
More About: Word , Vocabulary , Language

Korankei
2008-03-12 03:50:00
???Korankei (lit. "Fragrant Storm Valley") is a known beauty-spot outside Toyota city not far from Nagoya .Korankei gets very busy in October and November, when visitors flock to see the autumn leaves. In summer, families with children come here to cool down in the river, in winter the fresh fish and soba noodle restaurants are the biggest draw.There are over 4,000 Japanese maple trees in the area and the pathways and bridges are illuminated at night during the leaf-viewing season.There are Meitetsu buses to Korankei, which is in an area called Asuke, though they are not frequent. If you are coming by car take route 153 from Toyota city.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Korankei maple leaves Nagoya Aichi

Linimo
2008-03-11 05:51:00
???Built for Aichi Expo 2005, Nagoya 's Linimo service is a Maglev (magnetic-levitated) train and claims to be the first such urban Maglev service.The Linimo runs on an elevated track via nine stations on the approximately 9km-long Tobu Kyuryo Line from Fujigaoka Station on the Higashiyama Subway Line to the terminus at Yakusa Station, which has connections to the Aichi Loop Line.The smooth-running, driver-less trains are not built for speed, unlike the new Maglev service in Shanghai, reaching just 100kph. The service also has to be shut down during strong winds.The Linimo serves the eastern suburbs of Nagoya, Nagakute, and is convenient for visiting the Toyota Automobile Museum near Geidai Dori Station and the Ai Chikyu Haku Kinen Koen (the former site of Aichi Expo 2005 and now returned to a park).The Linimo is not cheap and a ride from Fujigaoka to Yakusa costs 360 yen. A one-day Linimo pass is 800 yen for adults. The first train from Fujigaoka towards Yakusa departs at 5.50am wi...
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Nagahama Railroad Square
2008-03-10 04:23:00
????????There is much to do on a fine day in Nagahama, on the eastern shores of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture. There are good views of Japan's largest lake from the restored Nagahama Castle, shopping at the flea markets and crafts stores in the Kurokabe Square area and for train buffs, Nagahama Railroad Square is Japan's oldest preserved railway station.Built in 1882, the old Nagahama Station, just a short walk from the new station, has been transformed into an interesting museum. The original brick Meiji-era station building stands intact and new buildings in the same style have been built housing old trains, including a D51 steam train and an early ED70 diesel locomotive. There are also rooms with model trains for the kids and exhibits of historic railway artefacts including the original station clock imported from the US, uniforms, lanterns and photographs.Nagahama was on the old Tsuruga Line (now Hokuriku Line) that linked Tsuruga, an hisoric port on the Japan Sea coast in Fuk...
More About: Train , Museum

Japan This Week 9/3/08
2008-03-09 16:15:00
?????Fitting in, Japan ese style according to a female American executive at Shiseido cosmetics.NY TimesMarunouchi, the area near Tokyo Station is now a fashionable pleace to be.NY TimesAnti-whaling protester claims to have been shot by Japanese coast guard.GuardianProfessor creates an online "bully detector."Daily YomiuriNagoya University researchers recreate a dog's jaw bone from stem cells.Japan TimesDisney to produce anime in Japan.BBCMariners' Ichiro in spring slump.Yahoo! SportsThe Japanese and US economic bubbles.Japan FocusKansai swindler rips off hostesses.MainichiYurika Nakamura wins today's Nagoya International Women's Marathon with Q-chan, Naoko Takahashi, a lowly 27th.International Herald TribuneLast week's Japan newsJapan StatisticsThe Japanese National Police Agency reported 153,972 cases of shoplifting for the year August 2006 ? 2007. This marks a decline of 3% from the previous year, but is still 36% higher than 5 years ago. The major victims are home centers an...
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Toyota Automobile Museum
2008-03-08 05:52:00
??????Nagoya has two outstanding museums - the Tokugawa Art Museum and the Toyota Automobile Museum. The first displays the riches of the Tokugawa shogunate and its founder, local boy, Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Toyota Automobile Museum showcases the area's new wealth and prestige based on the huge production of cars by local manufacturer Toyota Corp.Drunken salarymen will tell you the success of Toyota is based on the same "Mikawa spirit" that produced the long rule of the Tokugawa. Be that as it may, if you have time, visit the Toyota Automobile Museum - its a superb tribute to the automobile and surely one of the best museums of its type in the world.Situated in Nagakute, to the east of central Nagoya, the Toyota Automobile Museum has exhibits of European and American cars on its second floor and Japanese cars on the third floor. The displays are carefully themed with sections dedicated to historic automobiles, luxury cars and mass production models. The Japanese section has high perf...
More About: Cars

Book Review: Japanese Dishes for Wine Lovers
2008-03-07 01:45:00
????????????Japanese Dishes for Wine Loversby Machiko Chiba112 PagesKodansha International While Japanese food has traditionally been paired with saké, and later shochu and beer, only recently has wine begun to catch on as a pairing for Japanese food. Japanese Dishes For Wine Lovers is the perfect primer for people wanting to make simple and modern Japanese dishes at home and enjoy them with a variety of wines.Machiko Chiba presents fifty-eight delectable and easy-to-follow recipes accompanied by two or three suggested wines and other wine advice for each recipe by J.K. Whelehan and mouthwatering color photographs by Tae Hamamura. Chiba?s recipes are flavorful and yet readily accessible to even the novice home cook.Most of the recipes are simple enough for a weeknight dinner yet delicious and rich enough to serve at any dinner party. A short appendix explains basic preparation techniques ranging from how to cook rice to how to clean a whole squid. The repertoire of dishes reveals a ...
More About: Food , Book Review , Review , Book

so desu ne
2008-03-06 16:31:00
???????????There?s a very useful phrase in Japan ese that goes: ?So desu ne? ("so dess nay"), as in the following conversation between a Boss (A) and a Worker (B). If not convinced, click each "so desu ne" to listen, reading the "translation" in parentheses.SO DESU NEA. Come in, come in. It?s a little cool today, isn?t it? B. So desu ne! (Yes, it is a bit.) A. Looking at the forecast I expected a bit of sun today. B. So desu ne. (Yes, guess I did too.)A. Pull up a chair. There?s one over there. B. So desu ne. (Oh, so there is.)A. Now, how are the March sales figures so far? B. So desu ne. (Hmm, yes, well, erm ?)A. What? You mean this is it? B. So desu ne. (I?m afraid so.)A. We?d done a lot better last year at the same point in time. B. So desu ne. (Yes, I know.)A. What do you think?s the problem? B. So desu ne. (It?s got me beat.)A. Well, That?s it for now then. Forward me that mail you said you got from HKL, won't you. B. So desu ne. (Yep, sure thing.)A. See you at lunch then. B. S...
More About: Japanese , Language

Azusa & Super Azusa Trains
2008-03-05 03:06:00
??????????If you are heading north west from Tokyo towards the delights of Shinshu: Matsumoto Castle, Yokota Onsen, Hakuba and Kamikochi the most comfortable and affordable route is on the Azusa or Super Azusa trains from Shinjuku Station to Matsumoto.These frequent JR trains (about once an hour from Shinjuku Station) take around 2 hours, 30 minutes to reach Matsumoto via Kofu. The service, named after the Azusa River in Matsumoto, started in 1966 with the tilting, 130kph "Super Azusa" commencing service in 1994. Both trains have been completely no-smoking since 2007, something of a rarity in Japan.There is some wonderful countryside to enjoy on your journey from Tokyo to Matsumoto. Fares are around 6500 yen and a JR Rail Pass is valid on this route.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Tokyo Matsumoto Azusa Super Azusa
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Peruvian Music At Kanayama Station
2008-03-04 04:28:00
?????Listen to the music of Peruvian buskersAichi Prefecture along with nearby Shizuoka Prefecture has the largest numbers of South American residents in Japan. Many of them live in small satellite towns surrounding Nagoya , working in the automotive industry, toiling long hours at low pay to produce parts for such giants as Toyota and Mitsubishi.Sunday is usually the only day off during the week for these workers to relax and persue their interests. Occasionally it is possible to see a couple of Peruvian guys performing a duo of guitar and nosepipe outside the gents' toilet at the main entrance to Kanayama Station . Busking is illegal in public places in Japan and the police turn a blind eye depending on how they feel. Yakuza gangsters may also drop by to take a share of street performers' meagre takings.Copies of the guys' CD are on sale if you ever catch them live.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in Japan...
More About: Music , Podcast