Japanese Culture

Hideo Higashikokubaru and Shintaro Ishihara Tokyo Governor’s Race Candidacy Videos

Byjay April 2, 2011April 2, 2011

As I mentioned in a previous post about the Tokyo governor’s election, it’s on between former Miyazaki governor Hideo Higashikokubaru and incumbent Shintaro Ishihashi. Because anyone who is eligible can nominate his or herself for the position, there are a lot of videos on YouTube now in which people declare their candidacy for the election….

Higashikokubaru vs Ishihara in the Next Tokyo Governor’s Race?

Byjay March 30, 2011

Miyazaki Governor Hideo Higashikokubaru, also known as comedian, writer, and TV personality Sonomanma Higashi, has his eyes set on following his stint in Kyushu with becoming the next governor of Tokyo. He announced his official candidacy this week. Incumbent Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, who loves a good (or bad) soundbite, continues to be criticized for…

crime in japan | Japanese Culture | japanese education | Living in Japan

Female Teacher Caught Sleeping With High School Student in Japan

Byjay March 29, 2011March 29, 2011

In the what happens where you live happens where we live category, a 23 year old female teacher at a prefectural high school in Saitama was caught in the act of having sex with an 11th grade male student. The teacher was at the school as a temporary substitute. The teacher had been communicating with…

Japan Tourist Information | Japanese Culture | Kobe Japan | Parks in Japan | Traditional Things to See in Japan

Best Places to See Sakura Cherry Blossoms Around the Kobe Area

Byjapantravel March 28, 2011

If you are lucky enough to be in the Kobe area for the cherry blossom season, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of places you can go. Actually, I will be writing a lot about places outside of Kobe and toward the western side of the Kansai region here because some of the best places to…

Time Magazine Article on Japan’s Bureaucracy and the Slowing of Earthquake and Tsunami Aid

Byjay March 26, 2011March 26, 2011

I usually don’t read a lot of Japanese news in English, but an article in Gendai’s online magazine led me to hunt down an article on Time’s site. Funny that Gendai refers to Time for a hard-hitting story on how the government and bureaucracy in place in Japan has made it hard for other countries…

Japan Earthquakes | Japanese Culture | Japanese Government | japanese news and society

Making a More Stable Japan Prime Minister Tweet

Byjay March 22, 2011

Sometimes tweets from the government here in Japan send up red flags for me. Below is one of those tweets. A very suspicious way of looking at the statement below is that government officials are already rubbing their hands together thinking of things that they can do to make a “more stable” Japan… more stable…

Japan Earthquakes | Japan Entertainment | Japanese Culture | japanese news and society

Japanese Comedy Pair “Sandwichman” Unlikely Heroes in Japan Earthquake

Byjay March 17, 2011

In all the pain, suffering, and uncertainty facing the people in Japan. There have been some heroes. None of the heroes have been so unlikely as the two members of the Japanese manzai pair “Sandwichman”. The pair, Mikio Date and Takeshi Tomizawa, both have popular blogs on the blog site Ameblo. Both also hail from…

Japan Earthquakes | Japan Entertainment | Japanese Culture | japanese news and society | Living in Japan

Hilarious Video of Japanese Guy Playing FPS Video Game Through Earthquake

Byjay March 13, 2011March 13, 2011

People who have seen this video on bulletin boards or the internet have talked about how it gave them something to laugh at and enjoy in these stressful times. The guy in the video had me laughing my head off with these sincere but wacky lines. The video is of from a Japanese guy who…

Japanese Culture | Traditional Things to See in Japan

10 Things Not to Do in a Japanese Bath (Sento) or Hot Spring (Onsen)

Byjapantravel March 9, 2011

This is coming from a lot of experience getting a lot of strange looks during many years living and faux pas-ing in Japan. 1. Don’t Think About Soup I’ve brought non-Japanese friends to a very nice Sento, or public bathhouse, and heard the inevitable reference to “sitting in an old guy soup”. “The only thing…

Japanese Culture | Japanese Fast Food and Chain Restaurants | Japanese Food | Traditional Things to See in Japan

How to Eat Sushi in Japan – Insider Sushi Terminology, Types of Sushi Shops, and a Comedy Video

Byjapantravel March 2, 2011

When you go to Japan to order sushi, you can go to one of the “kaiten” sushi places where the sushi goes around on a conveyer belt, and usually costs about 100 yen or so per plate (usually with two pieces of sushi per plate). This is a very cheap way to get your fill,…

Japan Entertainment | Japanese Culture | Japanese Movies

Work Has Begun on the American Space Battleship Yamato

Byjay February 24, 2011

Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie has begun work on “Star Blazers” according to a recent /Film article. The article also seems to imply that if a Hollywood version is in the works, the states won’t see a theatrical release of the Japanese live action Space Battleship Yamato. It’s hard to imagine the film without the…

Japanese Culture | japanese girls

Cute Japanese Girl Slips in the Snow

Byjay February 15, 2011March 3, 2011

You really have to appreciate how positive this girl is about the snow that recently hit Tokyo. This Japanese high school girl got caught on camera on her way home from cram school. She slips, loses her shoe, slips again, and still seems to be loving the rare winter wonderland around her.