An interesting graphic was recently released showing the number of twitter users per 10,000 residents. There were not too many surprises here as prefectures with large, busy cities tended to rate higher. However after a second look at the data, I also tend to think that cities with a large number of universities fared well…
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,…
Aeon will be consolidating the naming of all of its Jusco, Saty, and Aeon starting March 1st 2011. Despite the tough economic times in Japan, Aeon has grown into one of Japan’s largest retailers. 92 Saty stores and 294 Jusco stores under the Aeon umbrella will be known as Aeon stores. Many shops have already…
The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a pretty common bird around Asia. It’s a cute bird, a small bird… I’d use many words to describe them, but delicious is not one of them. Many Japanese people (most?) have not tried the grilled sparrow served on a stick at certain restaurants. I have even seen questions on…
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…
A live action version of the popular manga and anime Gantz has been made and stars some of Japanese most popular young actors – Kazunori Ninomiya and Kennichi Matsuyama (known as Matsu-Ken). Fans of Japanese films may know Kennichi Matsuyama best for his portrayal of L in the Death Note series. Here is a comprehensive…
I previously recommended Curry House Coco Ichibanya as a great inexpensive restaurant to try on a trip to Japan. Well, if you live in the right place, you may be able to save the price of an airline ticket to Japan soon. The continental United States’ Coco Ichibanya has opened in Torrance, California. The address…
Sometimes the cheapest airline tickets to Japan require someone to go through Narita airport, even if you come from a major airport such as Kansai International. At first thought, a 7 or 8 hour layover in Narita Airport can seem like a daunting pile of steaming boredom. However, there are some really great ways to…
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.
Given the number of people moved by public transportation each day in Japan, some things are bound to go wrong. The ticket machines in Japanese train stations, and the wickets, or ticket gates, are also generally well-maintained. Even the most well-oiled machines may go wild at times. Here are a few videos of Japanese train…
The “mimamori keitai 005Z”, or the “protection cell phone” (my translation) is set to be released in March 2011. The phone has a crime prevention buzzer built in, and only has 1 button on it. The display is a tiny 1.2 inches, and was designed with young children in mind. It will also be equipped…
So I had some time on my hands and I was playing around with Google Translate, which I think shows a lot of promise, but still has some weaknesses as well. The main weakness is that it’s well a machine. I don’t know what possessed me to do this but in the Japanese to English…