Old school Japanese music.

Yeah, one of my posters asked for an old Japanese song I liked.

Chara's Swallowtail Butterfly is a good example.

The original Gaki Tsukai Batsu Game

Seriously, what is up with MTV remaking Gaki Tsukai Arahende's Silent Library?



I'd suggest the idiots at MTV might want to use "Shizukani!" instead of "Damare" for their scene edit flash, it sounds more librarian-esque. And, the show isn't funny. Here's to hoping Viacom actually payed Downtown for the idea, but knowing MTV, they probably thought they weren't breaking copyright because the idea is VASTLY different (Sarcasm off).



Nothing like Yamachan freaking out to insects.

KOSHIEN HAS BEGUN!

I won't be able to access the internet much BECAUSE I'LL BE WATCHING THE JAPANESE HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT.

I have seen some wonderful Koshien in my life:

I watched Matsuzaka beat PL Gakuen when he pitched for Yokohama High

I watched Saibi High win sempatsu.

I watched Toin win last year.

I was part of the huge party that erupted when Wakayama Chiben won Koshien in 2000.

Watch the drama yourself.

Pure, unadulterated baseball. A team, a dream, and a prayer that you will be the one singing your school song while the other team collects dirt from the field.

Live stream

Rumiko Takahashi - best served old....

I am a big fan of Rumiko and her OLD anime, and yes, Inuyasha sucks. Why would someone watch a poorly conceived anime that (used to) come on Mondays at 7pm until it was eventually canceled in 2004? (I gleefully watched only one episode - THE LAST ONE)

Here in America, Inuyasha is like crack for the newbie anime watcher; they can't get enough of it, and it's basically a cheaper, less refined form of the original. It's a shame that Inuyasha viewers don't get a dose of the cocaine that is the REAL RUMIKO. In other words, time for Urusei Yatsura:

Urusei Yatsura is perverted, there is a lot of Osaka dialect, and it shows the old school dirty Japan (you know, when Shimura Ken still had boobs during his Baka-Tono show and there were Porori Mizugi Taikai every summer).

The saddest fact about Urusei Yatsura is that NOBODY (outside of Japan) KNOWS ABOUT IT. The music is addicting and the plot makes no sense, but it's lecherous and fun as hell to watch!　Keroro Gunso steals their scene cuts from this intro to the degree of plagiarism! My favorite line? "If only this child was never born!" (said by Ataru's mom)



This dude doesn't have a playlist for Urusei Yatsura, but he has all the Ranma 1/2 too!



There's also Maison Ikkoku and Mermaid's Forest:



I'm an educator, after all...

Moving.

As you can tell, my posts are getting sparser as I am about to move from one part of America to another.

So let me tell you a little about moving and apartments in Japan.

First of all, if you are not Japanese, you can't get a regular apartment without a guarantee from a Japanese citizen. There are some exceptions: a few apartment complexes might make the guarantee for you if they are foreigner-oriented, or they are gaijin houses (usually small apartments with communal toilets and baths).

If you have a guarantee, or just want to try your luck, bring money - LOTS.

You have to pay 礼金 (reikin), or key money - this is a non-refundable deposit equivalent to 2-3 month of rent. It is 礼 (rei) which means it is a thank you to your wonderful apartment owner for being so nice as to provide you with a living space. Yes, Japanese actually think like this. Your landlord might also require you to repay it every 2 years, or evict you.

You have to pay a 敷金　(shikikin)/保証金 (hoshoukin), the same as a deposit, and can range from 1-4 months of rent, as the trend of using reikin is slowly decreasing. This will be refunded if YOU clean the apartment (replace the tatami mats, carpet, wallpaper, and fusuma). Otherwise the hoshoukin will go to fix this. There is a good chance that upon leaving the apartment when the landlord inspects, he'll find a spot of mildew and choose to keep the money.

Finally, you have the 家賃 (yachin), or the rent. This usually depends on where you live, how close it is to the train station, and how good your 紹介 (shokai - introduction) was. If you have a very influential member of the community introduce and recommend you to a landlord, you can get away with murder. I knew a Canadian girl who had literally over 3,000 sq. ft of apartment on a building and had huge parties of gaijin EVERY WEEKEND - she paid 5man yen ($500) a month. The only reason she got it was because she was hot and both the vice chief of police and a member of the city council liked her, A LOT. One drunken excursion with the landlord, and this girl got apartment space reserved for commercial use, at a fraction of the price.

Around $500, btw, is a very good number for a foreigner. If a landlord wants more, just say you had seen another apt. for $500 in the same area. The landlord might drop the price. $500 is an excellent price, and you should pay about $1500 to $2000 15-20man yen, for your first payment of deposits and rent.

And remember, be a good renter. I knew an Australian fellow in Kyoto that was so rambunctious, his landlord actually burned down his own apt. building to collect insurance money and flush the guy out of the apartment (or so it was said). A landlord can't evict you until contract renewal (usually 2 years), in most cases.

CHINTAI, btw, is a great place to find apartment info if you can read Japanese.

PS: I was farting around with Chintai, and I found that my old apartment is up for rent! Feel free to apply. Since I, a foreigner, have already been there, maybe the landlord will allow another gaijin to live in beautiful Arashiyama, Kyoto!