Tokyo like a Richard Scarry episode

This screenshot doesn't do the video quality any justice.

Usually I have something insightful to say. Today, I'm just gonna sit back and let this beautiful time-lapse video of Tokyo do the talking. This video is called ちちゃな東京 (Chicha na Toukyou), or, Little Tokyo and is by Darwinfish105. Enjoy.

In a related post (by title only), please enjoy the open, yet camaraderic racism that is South Park: Little Tokyo.

Can you hurt water's feelings?

Did you read that? (source)

So this Japanese businessman is a 70-year-old with a strange interest in water. Masaru Emoto believes that water has strange properties that were previously unknown. Supposedly, water reacts differently to different emotions. He has spent a lot of time examining the ice crystals of water exposed to positive or negative verbal content (i.e. some water might develop more crystals, or be cleaner, if praised daily). Some believe he is a quack and their is a general consensus that he practices a pseudoscience. Don't let that disinterest you, though.

This experiment looks legit (source)

This experiment, the one I want to talk about, is a bit different. Basically, he has three jars full of rice and water. He bad-mouths the one jar, praises the other, and ignores the other. The results are interesting. Whether or not they are reproducible under scientific conditions is beyond my point.

I buy these results, to some extent. I don't however, buy the explanation. Rice is not a temperamental food with human emotions. Please, Mr. Emoto, don't anthropomorphize your rice. It is very possible, though, that talking to rice release germs that help ferment rice (which hardly seems like a positive outcome save for the "sweet" smell). Also, I can imagine that rice that didn't have mouth germs spread in its vicinity might react differently. Finally, it's very possible that using different words, or even more emotion can spread a different amount of germs or even a different kind of germs (tongue germs, throat germs, etc.). What's your take on this guy?

Is TEPCO really to blame?

TEPCO, doing what they do best (source)

I imagine you're staring at your computer screen thinking nothing more needs to be said about TEPCO (if you are up-to-date on Japanese events). You might want to read this article, though.

In a similar by-line, I never thought I would post more about TEPCO (or want to) given my prior post: The Beast that is TEPCO. However, here I am.

It is true: TEPCO is a corrupt company, and even after a complete firing of their upper management, corruption is still in the Japanese news. And if it's in the Japanese news that means it was likely OK'ed by the government. (Is it safe to say that?)

The article I recently read was a simple one declaring that the recent indictment charges against TEPCO were dropped because TEPCO could not be held legally responsible as they "could not [have] predict[ed] the real dangers of such a massive earthquake and tsunami." The article goes on to say that the company's "failure to carry out countermeasure construction after it projected in 2008 a scenario of a huge tsunami of more than 15 meters, cannot be considered socially irresponsible behavior."

申し訳ございません. How many times can they apologize? (source)

Yes, the article was simple, but Alas! the implications were great.

The first large implication can be understood through a few analogies. Five earthquakes have occurred equal to or greater than the Tohoku earthquake in the last century (source). I know the the US plans watersheds, zoning, and planning based on at least 100 year flood plains. And that is just for a flood! A nuclear plant, in earthquake-ridden Japan, on an unprotected coast...wouldn't you think they would have to prepare for a bit more? In that situation, the plant owners should have been thricely as cautious and prepared. "Preparedness for a large-scale complex disaster was insufficient; and they were unprepared for the release of a large amount of radioactive materials into the environment" (source). What are (or were) the current standards for the protection wall (which was flooded by a long-shot)? 

In 1964, Alaskan Good Friday earthquake had a magnitude around 8.4 and spawned a 201-foot (67-meter) tsunami in the Valdez Inlet (source). Of course this was a rogue wave with the perfect circumstances, but that happened in the last 50 years. Furthermore, that wasn't the biggest tsunami by a long-shot.

Japan even birthed the word Tsunami! - 津波 (source)

The other great implication is that it is likely TEPCO was only admitted it's negligence when the government forced them—and sometimes the apologies were decades late. Why would a company apologize out of the blue if they had thought their misbehavior went undetected? That's just it. I'm sure the government knew a lot more about the TEPCO follies (essentially having them by the balls). So, when TEPCO didn't cooperate with the government (maybe even in terms of bribes), the government tells TEPCO to admit to past incidents. (Is it safe to guess that?) Also, there are countless other times that TEPCO has hidden illegal incidents. Look for yourself...I'm not even going to try to cover it here.

So who really is to blame? Sure, TEPCO is a backwards company. Even after the mandated upper-level restructuring (to put it politely) TEPCO continued to be the naughty little boy it always was. Covering radiation-reading equipment with lead? Come on. But there are scumbag companies in every country. America is not one to point fingers. The real question is: Who watches TEPCO? Might I suggest: the Japanese government?

I'm afraid this 1987 epic comic by Alan Moore beat me to the punch.

Yeah, definitely the government. And the Japanese citizens, the 大人しい bunch that they are have mostly rebuilt their homes and lives—most without pointing fingers or theorizing the point of the chain-of-command that may have been a little negligent (to say the least). Besides the few local residents and activists that had filed the criminal complaint against Kan and his ministers (two years after the events) and a handful of other smaller organizations looking for justice, there isn't much Japanese activity surrounding the event that has had a devastating impact on the domestic agriculture, economy, food-supply, power-supply, and general health as well as global effects (some still unforeseen).

Samurai spiders

 
It's been awhile but I'd figured I'd throw up this video on spider fighting. Apparently, anything can be raised for fighting these days. This guy pairs his smaller Samurai Spider up against the larger local stock in Kajiki Japan.

This tournament, known as Kumo Gassen (クモ合戦), has been around for over 400 years and is what one blogger calls "the original Pokemon" (source). Haha! In one of the earlier videos in the National Geographic documentary, there is footage of him blowing a mixture of a Gatorade-like substance to help his spider grow. I wonder if it worked...

Freakonomics and Sumo Wrestling

The Birth of Sumo Dude - a nod to Botticelli

It's almost two years now since the Sumo match-fixing scandal went public. Remember that? A winning wrestler would offer another a victory just so to keep his higher title (and higher-bracket paycheck). This was happening often. In fact, according to Levitt from Freakonomics, there was a 75 percent chance a 7-7 (wins/losses) Sumo wrestler would win against an 8-6 wrestler in a tournament. This means that every time the opportunity appeared for a 7-7 wrestler to lose, not advance in the tournament, and lose money, that wrestler won 75 percent of the time. So, that's like a 50 percent chance of cheating, huh?

The word 八百長, or yaochou, is the Japanese word for "match-fixing". The kanji literally translate to "800 leaders". Hmm, I don't get it. But that often happens when you're learning Japanese.

Prior to the big press stink, often a related skirmish would surface concerning some foreign Sumo wrestler. The truth is though, "the Japanese-born seemed to be just as corrupt as the foreigners" according to the statistics (source). I guess when someone got wind of the cheating, everyone tried to use the foreigner as the scapegoat. Oh, Japan.

This isn't just a problem of xenophobia either. The Japanese media is very conservative and likes to protect the country's image. Here's another clip from Freakonomics:

The moral of the story: go watch Freakonomics and check out their blog.

Japanese man breaks all-fours records

Kenichi Ito just broke the record for the fastest man running 100 meters on all fours with a time of 17.47 seconds. That's right, he utilizes his legs and his arms to run and quite frankly, he looks like a skilled monkey. His time is less than double that of Usain Bolt's 100m dash world record. See Ito breaking the record for yourself...

Apparently, Ito practices moving on all fours everyday indoors and outdoors. He has been studying African Patas monkeys and spent the last 9 years developing his running technique. I guess this is his last 9 years of work coming to fruition. (At least it's not as anticlimactic as some other record breakers.)

African Patas monkeys (photo)

And so I was still wondering, "Why?" When Ito was a little kid, his classmates used to make fun of him for looking like a monkey in the face. He says he was never bothered by the mean comments because he always had an affinity for simians. Check out more footage of him and his training techniques here.

Nintendo woodblock prints (part 2) and video

Illustrator Jed Henry, discussed earlier, is making some progress with his work re-imagining Nintendo characters as woodblock prints. I mentioned the complexity of creating one finished piece of work from this method. Each block of wood is carved in a different way to stamp a different color onto the finished product. Scroll to the video at the bottom to see Jed working on just one of the 11 colors in his Mario Kart piece.

Kirby - the finished piece

Pokemon - check out the guy that burnt his hand

Star Fox - Star Fox used to be a bunch of "3D" planes with crappy color (it has come a long way)

Here is the video of Jed Henry in action. Do you think you could make it through 11 woodblock carvings just to add color to one finished product?

Here is the finished Mario Kart piece from the video:

Thanks to Buzzfeed for the update.

Japlish Friday - Ass Man

Now you can say all you want about how the Asians have funny English words and phrases on their shirts unbeknownst to them.

But I'm pretty sure this Japanese guy bought this shirt with some knowledge of the words and their meanings. Maybe, the tight pants will get him the women he wants...the women with the right kind of derrière (because he is a rump connoisseur). Or, maybe his tight pants accentuate his own glutes and he's proud of them. Not that there's anything wrong with either.

For some reason, I'm leaning toward the latter explanation.

Tomato juice helps your liver process alcohol

This may cure hangovers, or by saying so, make Kagome rich

According to a recent study by Kagome and Asahi Group Holdings, drinking tomato juice will help you sober up faster (source). Apparently, the tomato juice helps to cleanse your liver by making it secrete more of the enzymes needed to break down alcohol.

The study included an experiment of people given about two shots of shochu (焼酎, a Japanese liquor similar to vodka). After the two shots of shochu, the control group was given a pint of water while the experimental group was given a pint of tomato juice. Those drinking the tomato juice sobered up an average of 50 minutes faster than those drinking water.

Kagome and Asahi agree that a tomato would most likely work the same way, although it was not studied.

This is great news considering Japan loses an estimated $11.5 billion every year to hangovers according to a recent survey of close to 3,000 people (source). I wonder if Japanese government and businesses will take this news seriously and actively engage in promoting tomatoes after enkai. I could picture the market for トマトパワー (Tomato Power) After-Party Shooters. (Japan is often wont to either fully embrace something or just let it fall by the wayside, e.g., influenza masks; the insurance hikes on those with large waistlines; or even baseball for that matter.)

Beer for all ages! (photo)

Now, for those of you who don't know, Kagome claims to be Japan's largest supplier of ketchup and tomato juice (source) while Asahi is one of Japan's leading breweries with 40% of the Japanese beer market (source). It seems a little suspicious that a leading beer company and a leading tomato company "discover" that tomato juice can reduce the unwanted effects of alcohol. I would have liked to witness that first meeting where the two company heads discussed ways to join forces and increase money.

Did Kagome and Asahi formulate this as a publicity stunt? Or, were there scientists waiting for commercial sponsorship for their tomato juice findings? What are the chances that two companies put their heads together and found a scientific match for both of their leading products? I'll leave the musing up to you the reader.

A battle version of Sudoku for iPhone and Facebook

There's a new application on iPhone and Facebook allowing two people to battle over a game of Sudoku at the same time. This beats the current tradition of one person holding a pencil while the other one tells them they've made a mistake.

The new application, called Challenger Sudoku, became available for the iPhone last December and has just recently gone live on Facebook. The game requires friends to challenge (or be challenged by) friends to a game of Sudoku and allows them to play head-to-head in real time.

As you solve each row or main square (consisting of nine single squares) the field highlights in your home color of blue. If your opponent solves a field first, the field becomes red.There are also various bonuses along the way, even one for the first to 777 points. Making mistakes will also take points away and transfer them to your opponents score. With the real-time spinoff, Challenger Sudoku can be very unnerving, especially if you are watching the puzzle light up red as someone solves it faster than you.

Through winning against opponents of your level or higher, you can raise your own level from Student, Senpai, Sensei, Grandmaster, and, highest of all, Sudoku Samurai. These aren't levels you can just relax at, though. If you lose too much or remain inactive you will drop a level.

If you ask a native Japanese speaker to play "Sudoku", you'll likely get an odd stare. In Japan, they generally refer to Sudoku as nampure (short for "number place"). In fact, the game was only recently titled Sudoku by a Japanese game company and later becoming an game of international popularity in 2005 (source). The Japanese had most likely appropriated it from the French, who apparently have had a thing for number puzzles.

Well, anyone up for a challenge?

Facebook, a difficult community for many Japanese

Oh, so you thought it was a fun social site?

On April 5, 2012, a study was released assessing Japan's views on Facebook. Nearly 70% of the Japanese surveyed said Facebook gives them at least occasional stress (source). The stats are a result of 500 people ages 15 to 59 surveyed in Japan's two biggest metropolitan areas.

When asked to be more specific about the cause of stress, the most frequently given answer, with 34.3%, was due to lack of privacy when engaging in interpersonal relationships in a frank manner. The second most stressful factor, with 31.1%, was that users felt besieged by meddlesome solicitations (invitations or pitches). Third, with 27.1%, was that they felt they were put on the spot by people’s requests to become “friends” and had difficulty refusing. And fourth, with 26.5%, was that users found it annoying to receive messages or notifications from friends of friends, or other parties with whom they had no direct relationship (source).

Of course, I'm sure Americans are sometimes stressed by Facebook, but there are a lot of cultural differences in Japan that understandably make Facebook a more difficult environment. For a quick reference point: if one of my American friends complained about a friend request and whether or not they should add the person in question I would most certainly transmit the message, "Oh, grow up," in at least my facial expression and/or posture.

While Twitter is still on top, Facebook has a grip on Japanese social structures

In Japan, relationships, community and respect are much more important. Social roles are even more strict for older generations and for certain groups. While teaching an eikaiwa (English conversation class) class in Japan, I remember being irked  by the older students asking each other their class years to establish seniority. Seniority in that eikaiwa class effected everything from who got to talk first to who had to do all the grunt work for special events.

If a community English conversation class can be justifiably manipulated by the seniors of the group, you could imagine what kind of social pressures run rampant on the Japanese Facebook platform. Imagine if you felt obligated to accept a friend request from your boss and a few coworkers and now feel pressured to attend a non-mandatory work function posted on Facebook because most of them are and you don't want to seem like the bad egg. And all you wanted to do was see pictures of your friend's kids.

"I'm sorry I missed the enkai last night, but I was nursing my sick cat. Check my status updates."

In contrast, people in the US tend to not shed a tear for those that are hung up on event invitations or friend requests. I may be speaking in generalizations now but it seems the Western Facebook users are bound more by the survival of the fittest rules in which only the weak are bogged down by social stress; anyone smart enough has learned to navigate Facebook stress free.

I'm sure if the same study was done in the US, the researchers would find the following unimpressive data:

1. Most people are slightly addicted to Facebook.
2. Half of users have complained about certain users complaining on Facebook.
3. 90% of users are sick of getting Farmville requests.
4. 10% of users are sick that no one will accept their Farmville requests.
5. 45% of people are still upset about not getting a "dislike" button.
6. A third of all users are upset that you have to be friends with some people to see their photos.
7. 60% of all college users have spent over 10 hours "stalking" other users.
8. 4% are excited about Mark Zuckerberg's wedding photos.

And maybe, one or two more in-tune users might comment on Facebook's ever-shifting privacy policy. If you get my exaggerated point, the US seems to adopt a use-it-or-don't attitude (in part, because we've had it since 2004) whereas Facebook could potentially trap, coerce or exploit Japanese users for only respecting traditional social norms.

If you'd like to read more including some personal accounts, check out the article.

How to locate castles in Japan

So, where to?

Are you planning a trip to Japan? Are you wondering where to travel on your surplus of nenkyu days? Why not make a pilgrimage to the most interesting castles in Japan?

Luckily, Japanophile Daniel O'Grady has mapped many of Japan's 300 castles for us. For 11 years he has been exploring and documenting Japanese castles culminating in his Japanese Castle Explorer website.  The easy-to-navigate site includes a navigable map of Japan (above) with satellite images of each castle, most with street views.

Each castle has its own profile and many are rated in 5 areas: scale, buildings, earth/stonework, accessibility, and the surrounding area. Many of the castle profiles have a timeline of important events surrounding the castles (some castles have been burnt down or destroyed and completely rebuilt) as well as historical recognition of each castle or components. This site is basically a virtual Lonely Planet guide to Japanese castles.

Okayama Castle, nicknamed the "Crow Castle" because of its black exterior

You can browse the castles in different ways; you can explore the map in Japanese; you can peruse the 190 plus blog articles; you can even flip through castle photos by category (if your in search of something specific). Many of the castle profiles include various pictures and video walkthroughs which are informative and rather humorous. Some profiles even include pictures of ancient wartime maps.

The inner defensive enclosures, Himeji Castle

Basically, if your interest in Japan is anywhere near that of creator Daniel O'Grady, you might get lost in the site (like I get lost in Pinterest). Enjoy!

You think that's Kobe Beef you're eating?

Real Kobe Beef presented on a geta (photo)

Morimoto, Ruth Chris, Four Seasons, Bellagio, Toscana 52...what do these higher-end restaurants all have in common? They all serve various dishes including Kobe Beef. Furthermore, they all currently serve Kobe Beef that isn't real Kobe Beef.

Dun dun dun. Apparently, since 2010 the USDA has deemed all slaughterhouses in the Kobe and larger Hyogo region to be unfit for US importation. This was also true from 2001 to 2005 when some speculated if Americans even gave a crap (source).

The truth is trademarks like "Kobe Beef" are only a nationwide observance. So, in Japan, no one sell Kobe Beef from cows raised anywhere else than Kobe, Japan. But in the US, we could ground up some hotdogs and Spam and legally slap a Kobe Beef sticker on it. (Of course, that's not where this article is heading...)

What the US is doing is marketing things like wagyu beef and even Kobe-style beef as Kobe Beef. Whereas wagyu beef (literally, Japanese cows) should be from cows at least descendant from anywhere in Japan and Kobe-style beef could be any cows from anywhere with food and preparation that might hint at a Kobe Beef flavor, the real Kobe Beef comes only from Tajima cattle in Kobe.

Real Kobe Beef has a marbling ratio, or BMS, of at least 6

Let me go further to say that while wagyu beef is considered better and even healthier than US prime, the Japanese cattle it comes from have probably been crossbred with Angus to fit the American taste (source). While "domestic alternatives" to Kobe Beef might be just as marbled with fat as their Japanese counterparts, the US stock may be corn-fed (leading to all sorts of undesired health and environmental proponents (source) including but not limited to flatulence) and are definitely not given beer (see video below).

Larry Olmsted from Forbes Magazine breaks it down for us:

Giving everyone involved the benefit of the doubt and assuming they were [sic] starting with an actual quality Japanese breed, after crossing both grandparents with American cattle, then doing it again with the parents, you are talking about selling Wagyu from a cow that is potentially less than half “Wagyu.” To me, that’s like selling orange juice that is less than 47% oranges. Except you go to jail for the juice scam (source).

Being someone who has tried Kobe Beef, I must tell you it is rich and delicious. It was so rich and savory that my stomach almost couldn't handle it. In the US, I have only tried a Kobe burger from Toscana 52 in late 2011 (during the current Kobe Beef ban). The burger was very delicious, but not near the grade I had tasted in Kobe. What's funny is that I had written this off to the fact that it was a burger, and of course a burger shouldn't be as rich as a steak. Now I realize that was a gross miscalculation due to the included American condiments, alcohol, dim lighting and generally peculiar atmosphere to which most higher-end restaurants subject us.

Now, I don't plan on explaining to you the massages,  and other strange things they do to the cattle in Kobe, Japan, but I will provide a highly entertaining video with all that information.

Read more here and here.

Tokyo Sky Tree now open with old and new design

Japan now boasts the second highest building in the world with their Tokyo Sky Tree. The tower was finished after almost four years of work and reached 2,080 ft. in March of this year. The building was just opened to the public days ago on May 22, 2012.

The $806 million structure is a broadcasting, restaurant and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo. It's design encompasses three main concepts including:

• Fusion of futuristic design and traditional beauty of Japan,
• Catalyst for revitalization of the city,
• Contribution to disaster prevention "Safety and Security" (source).

From triangle to circle (photo)

The design is actually quite crazy. To optimize the plot of land at ground level, the base is triangular, but floor by floor the tower slowly molds into a cylindrical shape reaching a full circle at 1,050 ft. Also, with earthquakes a major factor in building such a tall tower, the structural design mixes the best of ancient and modern architecture. Mimicking ancient Japanese pagodas, there is a thick center shaft that runs up through the whole structure. Apparently, none of Japan's pagodas have ever been toppled by the centuries of earthquakes (source).

The modern spin-off is that this center shaft is relatively unconnected to the outside steel frame of the building reducing swaying high up. Also, the foundation of the tower, rather than straight poles, is more like roots that dig deep and fan out. Simulation tests suggest that the Sky Tree would suffer almost no damage even in the event of a major 7.9 magnitude quake (source).

OK. Able to withstand a 7.9 on the Richter scale. But wait, 15 of those can happen a year anyway. Let's rewind a year to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. That was a 9.0. On average, an earthquake equal to or greater than 9.0 happens ever year in the world (source). And lets remember that the Richter scale isn't linear. It's exponential. That means this tower is built to withstand 10 to 15 megatons of seismic energy, but may encounter 480 megatons of energy. I guess the March 2011 earthquake changed a lot of perspectives (and plans). Add this "earthquake safe" monstrosity to the list.

The tower is so high up that from the top observation tower you can see not only the entire Tokyo region, but also the curvature of the earth (source).

Apparently, the admission to reach the observation towers are just as sky-high as the structure itself. Also, merchandise and food at the observatories will be equally as expensive. Prices are not stopping the lines of eager tourists, though; tickets are sold out through mid-July, leaving visitors keen to ride up the capital's newest landmark in a very long queue (source).


As the second highest structure in the world, the Tokyo Sky Tree is outdone only by the height of Burj Khalifa in Dubai at a whopping 2,723 ft. which was opened in January 2010.

Burj Khalifa - figures that the tallest building in the world is in an oil-rich country

"The Japanese Tradition - Sushi" mockumentary

Here is a comical video on eating sushi at a sushi bar. There is a lot of culture here, but, a lot of the things these comedians do are downright absurd so it might be hard for some of us to pick up on. Guess what is wrong in this video in the comments below!

Here's my favorite part:

In the case of business colleagues the lower ranking staff must pour for their superiors first. "Maa maa maa maa". You must say this when pouring a drin.k The person receiving the drink must say, "Oh toh toh toh." "Maa maa maa maa." "Oh toh toh toh." "Maa maa maa maa." "Oh toh toh toh." "Maa maa maa maa." "Oh toh toh toh."

Maa maa (まぁまぁ) means something like "Now, now" or, in this situation, "Here you go, have a lot." Otto (おっと) means something like "Oops" or, in this situation, "That's far too much." So, while the one guy pours a lot and says, "Here, drink up," the other guy is saying, "Ok. Ok. Woah. Too much!" While it is Japanese tradition to pour for others and offer lots, you might see how this over-the-top repetition and insistence is not exactly customary at a sushi restaurant—or anywhere for that matter.

We're soon approaching Japanese Giant Hornet season again

Here is a new thing to add to my Kirai Japan list.

The Japanese Giant Hornet season is coming around again which is a shame because these guys are a force to be reckoned with. 90% of stings occur from July to September due to the worker bees increased size and activity especially around August (source).

An average of 40 people die from their stings every year making it the most lethal animal in Japan (video below). These Godzilla hornets have poison that is actually less venomous than the average honeybee, but they inject much more: 4.1mg compared to a honeybee's 2.8mg (source).

The Japanese call these guys Oosuzume bachi (オオスズメバチ, 大雀蜂) which literally means "Large Sparrow Bee". They grow up to 2 inches long and, with their ferocity, put normal hornets to shame. They have super-bee strength, too, being able to life up to 6 pounds each. 

Check out this video of a colony of bees outsmarting one of these Japanese Giant Hornets. Apparently, the beehive can handle a scout and hide the evidence of any foul play. 

This time the bees have won. But if one of these Japanese Giant Hornet scouts successfully alerts his friends with a pheromone, there will be blood. Here, 30 of these hornets wipe out a nest of 30,000 bees to get at their young. 

What should you do if you ever encounter one of these suckers? 

Well if it seems like it's coming near you, you should lower voice and and lower yourself to the ground as to not seem offensive. Then you should make your escape (source).

Apparently these guys have amazing endurance.They can fly faster than you can run (25mph)...and fly about 60 miles in a day. That's a scary thought. Also, with their pheromone capabilities, they could technically spray you with bulls eye for any other one of these hornets to hunt you down.

Their endurance is so phenomenal that the Japanese, as well as a few others, have marketed drinks made from these hornets' food.

Vaam, which stands for vespa amino acid mixture, contains the same amino acids that are in the liquids secreted by hornet larva (source). The hornets feed their colony larvae with the most meaty parts of other insects. But then, in a very unique occurrence, they actually get fed by their larvae as well.

Some athletes swear by these drinks. I had always seen Vaam in Japan, but had no idea of its contents. Now, I really want to test it out.

What a strange world.

Japlish Friday - Horny Care

Apparently, they offer the total package. Anyone else make reservations?

The problem with the mistake on this shop window is that this shop may never know it—unless of course some amused ex-pat or tourist informs them.

What image was this shop really looking for? If you look up "horny" in in English you find that it also means "strong" or "callous" similar to "rough hands". If you look up "horny" in Japanese you probably find that it has a relation to "keratinized skin" in that it needs to be exfoliated. 

Hence, HORNYcare = exfoliation treatment.

New Japanese bra for the warmer months

In wake of all the post-Fukushima energy reduction under their Cool Biz campaign, Japanese underwear firm Triumph Japan has unveiled their iced bras. Given showing this amount of skin is very rare in Japan, the unveiling has been deemed a publicity stunt (source).

The Super Cool Bra, as it has been titled, also happens to be a pun that most Japanese will miss. This "cool" as a Japanese loan word is not connected with the meaning "hip" as it is in most English speaking countries.

The company, which has a long tradition of novelty launches that are never made available for public sale, said it conceived of the bra in response to a need to save energy during the hot summer (source).

The Cool Biz campaign is known by over 96 percent of the Japanese public, 33 percent of which work for companies that actively engage in turning up thermostats on their air conditioners to reduce consumption of electricity.

The ice pack bra also come with a sprig of mint and a Japanese wind chime, maybe seemingly just to make the wearer feel refreshed. The Japanese wind chime, or furin, is usually hung from the eaves of a house. The music produced by the chime is said to have a psychological cooling effect. The chime is moved by a long card called tanzaku on which is usually written a traditional poem.

It is currently unknown, though, how wind will sound the chime unless women are walking around with only their bras on. This, of course, would never happen given Japan's general fear of the sun due to the generally pale Japanese skin. In fact, this is more often the case:

Japanese sun protection - visor and sleeves (photo)

Japlish Friday - Jesus

What's going on? This kid has no clue. (photo)

Having taught English in Japan in the Jet Program for 2 years, I have seen my fair share of "Engrish" shirts. The same way that some otaku in the US wear shirts with Japanese kanji (which probably translates to gibberish or is printed backwards), the Japanese have English shirts. The only difference is, of course, that for the most part Japan loves American culture, fashion, and they even think our English words look cool on their shirts...regardless of what it says.

In honor of the prevalence of this hilarious cultural burp, I present to you the first of my new weekly set "Japlish Friday". If you didn't already guess, Japlish is a mixture of Japanese and English. Kinda like "Spanglish". I know it's kind of a stretch here. Deal with it. Enjoy

Are cats in pots cute?

Japan definitely has a thing for cute things. Unfortunately, when these cute things finally reach the US they're usually watered down to their commercial basics (e.g. magnets, Hello Kitty pins, stationary, etc.) until most of us think Japan is just shipping over it's factory refuse.

I'm not usually a guy that gets all mushy over cute things. But after being exposed to Japan for two years, and my wife for almost another, the kawaii-craze is starting to rub off on me. The Japanese idea of "cute" differs from that of Western countries—the only problem here is that I can't quite remember my perceptional roots after being exposed to Japan for so long (feel free to help me here).

This show here definitely embodies all of the TV aspects to "cute" programming. They have a bunch of small kittens—some of which are a little sleepy—romping around in an area full of various sized pots with no objective in mind beside celebrating cats that successfully pick a bowl and look cute. There is "cute" music in the background, and Japanese TV, almost notorious for their use of sounds and slapstick humor (think 1930's America) supplies a plethora of cute sounds.

The concept sounds really lame. And to be honest, if I would have read this description a few years ago I would have avoided the video. But having been accustomed to Japan (the culture, their mindset, their TV programming) I find this to be the audio/visual equivalent to crack. I would sometimes peruse my TV in Japan for shows like this one to learn the easy Japanese language they use but inadvertently expand my sense of kawaii. 

Can anyone tell me why this is not so cute in the Western hemisphere?

Here is another reel of the same show in which they insert different things into an area with cute dogs or cats including a blow-up dolphin while it's being blown up, and the neko-nabe from above. (Be sure to take the player off mute.)