Kakkoii Blog　格好いい!

2011-12-16T22:36:00.000-08:00

Some Japanese music I picked up in the last 2 years

2011-12-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbpqZa6qDKA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLHXKQ9LS_A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLv92MtrDN4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=870uOpjJf9g (for my wife)

OK I'm coming back

2011-12-16T22:27:00.000-08:00

I have nothing other than 4 novels to complete so I'm going to try to return to bloggery.

Orgiastic

World Downtown #6

2011-04-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

World Downtown#06[sub] by s7rugg1e

Hanshin Tigers

2011-04-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

Currently 3-2 and 1 draw. Next up is Yokohama Bay Stars, which should be an easy win.

Wait...you have no idea who the Hanshin Tigers are?

Wait. WHAT?

Yeah, I know. Japanese baseball is relatively unknown in America, and that's sad, because while Japanese have no idea (for the most part) how to speak English, they think our country is filled with a bunch of gun slinging gangster (yet think Mexico is a haven), and can't eat much of our food without longing for a good breakfast of fried fish and rice, THEY LOVE BASEBALL.

So let me explain the lay of the land: Japanese baseball has two leagues, Central and Pacific. Central is like the American League (interesting), Pacific is like the National League (not).

The Central and Pacific Leagues both have 6 teams. Ignore the Pacific teams as they are of no importance. The Central League has the Tokyo Yomiuri (newspaper co.) Giants, the Osaka Hanshin (train co.) Tigers, the Yokohama Bay Stars, the Hiroshima Carps, the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons, and the Tokyo Yakult (drink co.) Swallows. Chunichi has been strong lately, and the Bay Stars usually suck.

The Yomiuri Giants are a lot like the NY Yankees: big free agent payroll, big field, and lots of publicity and fans. The Hanshin Tigers are a lot like the Boston Red Sox: less money, less publicity, RABID fans, and a 90 year old stadium. Exceptionally rabid fans - fans so nuts, that if you publicly insult the Tigers in a Osaka bar, you had better be drinking next to a doctor.

You notice that the fans have flags, a bunch of people singing, and a bunch of horns and drums. They also have an official fight song for each batter.

Enjoy some translated World Downtown. WD#5

2011-03-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

World Downtown#05[sub] by s7rugg1e

Earthquake and the American Media

2011-03-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

Ok. Here's what pissed me off.

The Fukushima reactors get hit with a 9.0 earthquake and THEN a 15 meter (50 foot) tsunami. The American news networks run around saying that we're all going to die and what happens?

It turns out it's all ok. F*** the American Media and all the hippies that want us powering windmills with farts powered by their vegetarian tofu.

Gintama

2011-02-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

My wife is a big fan of Gintama (which literally means silver balls), and if you don't get the joke kintama is the Japanese word for testicles (literally, golden balls). I don't really like the series, because it's basically a decently done rehash of the gags in "Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo, Masaru san!" I noticed that one of the voice actors is Casharin from Sugoi yo, Masarusan, as well.

Anyway, Gintama does play a lot on Japanese cultural icons and ideals, and it provides a quick and easy way to fill you with all the Japanese info you never learned anywhere. The Gintama episode I'm watching right now has a simultaneous reference to Gamara (a crappy 60's Japanese monster) and Momotaro (a Japanese fairy tale).

Chahan - fried rice

2011-02-15T09:43:00.000-08:00

Lets back this up to a conversation about rice in general. If you're reading this, you may know a little about making rice, and you may have a rice maker. If you're not Japanese, you may not know how to wash rice:

1. First, put the rice in and put some water in.
2. Slosh the rice around (not hard enough to break the rice) until the water gets white.
3. Dump the water.
4. Go to #2 until the water is pretty clear and match the cup amount with the water amount.

How to make chahan:

1. Put in any raw meat (pork, chicken, beef) and any uncooked vegetables (carrot, onion, etc) and fry it for 2-3 minutes.
2. Take the rice (around two cups or so) and put it in an oiled pan. Sprinkle a half second of mirin (or sake) and soy into the pan. I'm getting a half second of dumping is like 1-2 tablespoons of each. Sprinkle a little katsuobushi or hondashi in it to make it taste even better. * Every cook who tries Japanese should have a pack of Hondashi.
3. Take a whipped egg and dump it on the rice and quickly mix it. Cook while mixinh for about 3-5 minutes until the rice is a light brown.

DONE

The thing about chahan is that VERY GOOD chahan in Japan is a sign of a good cook. Very good chahan usually also means VERY GOOD soy sauce. It's hard to explain the theory, but Japanese believe that the masters of the most basic cooking are also masters of the most difficult.

I noticed....

2010-06-26T05:56:00.000-07:00

There is a Hyatt Regency Curaçao Ad on my web page..... it reminds me of the good old days I spent at Bar Curaçao in Higashi Osaka.

But even better was UK WILDCATS.

The Omelette Rice was awesome...

Hankyu Railfan Backgrounds

2010-06-26T05:35:00.000-07:00

Just about time to renew my wallpaper - Hankyu Railfan is a great site with a monthly updateable background....

http://rail.hankyu.co.jp/railfan/wallpaper/calendar.html

Happy New Year's Batsu Game!!!!

2010-01-01T23:40:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know about the Downtown Gaki no Tsukai Arahende Nenmatsu Batsu game (or the year end punishment game done by Japan's most famous comedic duo Downtown, their friends Kokoriko and Yamazaki Housei) then you have missed out on a lot. I played Mahjong with my Japanese mother and father in law while my VHS faithfully recorded the 24-hour tag and Matsumoto's Haunted Inn episodes in 2001/2002. I still have the tape.

I have faithfully watched ever since. This year's is 24 hour Do Not Laugh Hotel. I'll get to that later, but here is the 24-hour tag game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlglEFrpbZ4

Holy crap, I'm Back!

2009-11-30T12:21:00.002-08:00

I'm finishing my house sale today and moving to a better place.

My favorite Japanese snack is Yocchan-Ika

Yes, that's vinegar and squid in a 30yen pack. If you tear off the corner, and the Japanese "atari" is there, you win another pack. Some people wonder why Japanese live to be 80 - and then they wonder why most Japanese kids eat tons of Yocchan-ika and kombu (seaweed) for snacks and have never tasted hi-sugar content snacks like Skittles.

2009-11-30T12:21:00.001-08:00

Old school Japanese music.

2009-08-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-08-03T23:46:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-08-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

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!

Children love enemas! 　（浣腸）

2009-07-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Well, at least simulated ones. Any English teacher in Japan worth his weight in salt has dealt with large groups of children. It's fun because you don't have to impress anyone, and if you're a good teacher you can get children interested in foreign language and culture. There is one aspect of Japanese culture, however, that will shock the unwary English teacher: THE KANCHO - or the enema.

As i said, it's not a real enema - you put your hands together with index fingers extended (like a gun) and then jam it into an unsuspecting person's anal area. You think I'm joking? I have pictures!

Again, if you are going to teach in Japan, you'll have about a week before the most obnoxious kid in the group tries it with you. BUT YOU WILL HAVE A SECRET WEAPON. When you receive your first kancho, the child that jabbed your rear will expect you to turn around with a shocked face and perhaps run out of the room screaming. "Silly gaijin!" he might be thinking in his perverted little mind. You, however, will turn this into a teachable moment.

You grab the kid, put him on the ground, pull up his legs (revealing his rear), and shout "KANCHO HODAI!" (All-you-can-enema~!) His former friendly playmates will then unleash a barrage of finger strikes that will make it impossible for him to sit for a week.

Any questions? Play the video game.

HEP - the weird ferris wheel.

2009-07-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

One of the coolest places in Osaka, other than Hikakebashi and Namba Walk, is the Hankyu HEP Department store located in Umeda.

Well, let me start over. Osaka has about 8 million people, and the majority refer to the cool areas of Osaka as either Kita (North) or Minami (South). Kita refers to the Umeda supercomplex of Hankyu Umeda Station and JR Osaka Station. Minami is Namba, Nipponbashi (the Akihabara of Osaka, but all the freaks hang out at Tennoji and Osaka Castle Park), Shinsaibashi, and America-Mura. I prefer Minami, and my wife likes Kita.

Anyway, in Kita there is one huge shopping building called HEP that has a HUGE ferris wheel attached to the top of it. Except for one building in Osaka Business Park, this is the best view available in Osaka.

Look, I can see my wife's old college from here!!

Their latest sale commercial.

Hiyashi Rice: The real Japanese Curry

2009-07-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

If AEZ is gonna say that Japanese Curry is the real Japanese curry, well I say no! Hiyashi rice is the real Japanes Curry, simply because Japanese created it in contrast to the diminished taste of English Curry, which serves as a model for Japanese Curry. Hayashi Rice is the true Japanese Curry, because it changes the ingredients and taste considerably from English Curry.

While some might think that Japanese curry is somehow different from English curry, it really is not!

Only hayashi rice is different in taste. But I've been drinking and playing shogi, so who cares!

Eropuri?

2009-07-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

Most people know about Purikura (Print Club) devices and their ubiquity in Japan. Any decent game center has a slew of Purikura devices to take the modified photos of Japanese high school girls and friends. You put $3 in, you get 6-24 pictures back on one sheet.

This, like all other things in this world, eventually becomes corrupt, and thus Eropuri (Erotic Print Club) was born. Most of it is harmless underwear shots:

Some of it, however, can be a real turn on (especially the symbols
"Graduation" there (many young idols "graduate" from their idol group to do their first gravure photobook in Japan):

I owe you man...

2009-07-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

Japanese care about indebtedness and reciprocity, in other words, what they technically owe other people in terms of social obligation, and how much they need to return to be socially acceptable to others. In other words - Japanese have two Valentine's days!

WHAT!?!?!??!

Suppose you are middle level management in a Japanese firm, and Valentine's day rolls around. DON'T GIVE CANDY TO ANYONE! Instead, sit back and relax while an inordinate amount of chocolate is given to you by every female member of the staff. And don't misinterpret it, they're only doing it because it is social obligation (giri - 義理). In fact, all of that sugar-laden sweetness is called giri-choko　(義理チョコ) or obligation chocolate. (Notice, there are no men in this picture)

Wait one month, and White Day arrives on March the 14th. This is when all the men give Giri-choko to all the female members of the staff. Again, NO ROMANCE NECESSARY.

Weird isn't it. But what I REALLY wanted to teach were two phrases:

Osewa ni narimashita - お世話になりました - I'm indebted to you.
Osewa ni shite kurete (familiar)/ kudasatte (formal) arigatou (gozaimasu) お世話にして「くれて・下さって」ありがとう（ございます） - Thank you for taking care of me (or the situation that has direct relation to me)

Osewa （お世話） literally is an indebtedness that you have incurred directly or indirectly due to someone helping you with a problem, or indirectly aiding you (like showing your lost son where home was). It is a very usable phrase, and even when a Japanese person helps you find you way from Ikebukuro to Shibuya by train, remember the phrase: Domo, osewa ni narimashita.

UNIQLOCK!

2009-07-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

UNIQLO (short for UNIQue CLOthes) is one of those Japanese commercial monstrosities that is yet cool to wear even though its everywhere. The store follows the same pattern as OLD NAVY in America, cheap clothes with establish patterns.

UNIQLO started around the early 2000's and I still have jeans and an awesome black blazer that I bought for around $25 at the Shinkyogoku store in Kyoto. Their ability to design fundamental clothing for a cheap price makes them immensely popular with the youth in Japan, and it's quite strange that it hasn't caught on like wildfire here.

They also have a freaking awesome clock that you can widget on your blog.

I'll widget it later... Lemme know if you need help throwing it on your blog.

DONT LICK ME!!!

2009-07-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

One of the funniest phrases in the Japanese insult dictionary is "Namenna-yo!" （なめんなよ！）, which literally means "Don't lick me!" but idiomatically means "Don't f*** with me!"

There are several disrespectful ways to say this very usable phrase when you're dancing with some hot Japanese chick and her boyfriend comes up to you and says "Nani wo shiyagaru, kora!" (何をしやがる、こら！） or "What the f*** do you think you're doing!"

There is the aforementioned: Namennayo! (7/10 on the strong scale)
Or: Namennjaneeyo! (8/10)
Or: Nametennayo! (7/10)
OR: Nemennayo, bukkorosuzo! (11/10) "I'll beat you to death!" was added.

This gave birth in the 1980's to a breed of cat - usually photographed in Bosozoku or high school bancho gear, called the Namennaneko (Don't f*** with me cat). Quite the opposite image of Hello Kitty.

SEX AND CHAREE VIRAPONG

2009-07-12T00:13:00.000-07:00

I consider this the funniest Japanese TV ever. Only because of the wonderful foreigners could these guys make such dirty jokes...

CHAREE VIRAPONG IS AWESOME!

Dating tips in Japanese

2009-07-10T19:44:00.001-07:00

Most Japanese girls are really shy about foreigner guys, so it might be really hard to break the ice. But there are some trusted phrases that will help you get on that baseball diamond without striking out.

So, you're at a bar and want to meet a girl - what do you say?

Attention getters
Sumimasen... (excuse me...)

Chotto ii desu ka... (can i talk to you...)

Ano ne... (um...)

Help a girl out
Atarashi dorinku katte agete mo ii desu ka... (can i buy you a new drink)

Baru no mukou kara kimi wo mitte, kawaii naa to omotte sa... (I saw you from across the bar and thought you were really cute)

Kimi no ______ ga utsukushii to omotte sa...(I thought your_____ was really cute....
eyes - me/nose-hana/face-kao/butt-oshiri/boobs-oppai/karada-body

Introductions
Boku ha _______ desu - My name is _________ (kinda humble and cute way)
Ore ha _______ desu - My name is _________ (kinda cool and tough way)
Wagahai ha ________ desu - My name is _________ (Soseki's cat's way)

How to win
Anata no denwa bango kiite mo ii desu ka? (Can I get your phone number?)

Itsu ka meshi tabe ni ikimashou. (Let's go out to eat together sometime)

Orenchi yotte kuretara, tada de eigo wo oshieru yo (If you come over to my place, i'll teach you english for free!)

How to lose
Futari desu ka? Ja, Chikaku no lovehou de sanpi shio! (Are you two girls out together? Lets go have a threesome at a love hotel close by!)

Kyokon desu yo! (I have a big youknowwhat!)

Ore yoku ero bideo wo haiken shimasu. (I watch a lot of porn [polite Japanese])

AEZ's submission:

Daijobu. Kao wa kankei naidesu. Karada ga mokuteki desukara.

It's ok, your looks mean nothing to me, it's your body I'm after.
More later.

Everybody loves Reimen

2009-07-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of summer, which means reimen / soumen time. If you've never heard these words before, reimen is cold ramen and soumen is very thin cold noodles (about half the thickness of ramen). You prepare the two different noodle the same way.

1. Boil water
2. Put noodles in for 3 minutes while stirring.
3. Flip the noodles into a strainer filled with icecubes and run cold water over it for a minute.

Reimen is traditionally prepared somewhat like a Cobb Salad. The very cold noodles are placed in a bowl and adorned with cold ham, sliced tamagoyaki (Japanese style eggs - made like an omelet but with soy sauce), sliced cucumber, and whatever else.　Be sure to pick up some tsuyu (soy/dashi sauce) from the local asian market. Be careful - some tsuyu are different strengths.

This is regular strength. If the container says ３倍 or ４倍, you'll have to split it 1/3 tsuyu 2/3 water or 1/4 tsuyu 3/4 water. The end result looks like this:

Soumen is much easier - all you need to do is put the tsuyu in a cup, dip the soumen in the cup and enjoy. Make sure you add some wasabi or mustard to the tsuyu if you like it spicy.

If you drive way out in the country in Japan, some place will have nagashi-soumen, or flowing soumen. They basically take a large bamboo plant, split it, and run soumen through it while you stand at the end and catch it with your chopsticks. The country bumpkins that do this usually charge an arm and a leg for this, but if you've been hiking in the mountains you won't be able to resist.

AEZ's making me hungry!

2009-07-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

My favorite food? Not unizushi (too expensive), not steak (too fattening), not soumen (too light). Three letters - KYK.

Tonkatsu is a Japanese boneless porkchop that tastes so good I thank God for pigs. My wife deep fries it with bread crumbs (sometimes hand picked). I love that woman.

Tanabata Time

2009-07-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

I remember when I was in my Japanese 102 (1st year second semester) class at OCC, my wonderful, yet strict teacher taught me the tune to Tanabata and brought a bamboo branch that she had bought from Yaohan (before it went bankrupt).

It goes something like this:

Sasa no ha saara sara
Bamboo-grass leaves swish swish

Nokiba ni yureru
Rustling at the eaves' edge

Ohoshi-sama kira kira
All the stars twinkle and twinkle

Kin-gin sunago
Fine gold and silver sand

Get a colored piece of paper, write your wish on it, and tie it to some bamboo! If you have any other questions, Wikipedia has some good stuffas does Yumeji.

Gion Matsuri

2009-07-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

Gion Matsuri is a big carnival in Kyoto during the first few weeks of July in Kyoto. Everything becomes compact and precarious, but who cares, it's a carnival!!

The Kyoto citizens living in the middle section of Kyoto (nakagyoku) bring out these big floats and musicians sit in them and play all night (my bro-in-law Yoshi did it for years) while people walk amongst the different festival stands in their yukata. I hope to take my daughter there someday.

The music is the most important part of Gion Matsuri, as is is played throughout July, even as you walk along Kawamachi Street.

So many years I had to drag my wife (who was born in Kyoto) to Gion Matsuri, because she's the type that gets bored quickly. But the whole event is always a kick in the ass.

タル占い　Fortune-telling barrel

2009-07-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

Near where I used to live in beautiful Arashiyama, Kyoto was a medium-sized Jinja (shrine) by the name of Matsuo. It's one of the oldest shrines in Kyoto, and originates when a major samurai of the Emperor of the time (I think it was Kammu) stopped under a waterfall and noticed a turtle resting at the base of the falls. Well, this was about the time the capital of Japan was being shifted from Nagaoka-Tenjin to Kyoto, nearly 1300 years ago.

The purity of the water was remarkable (as it is everywhere else in Kyoto), so the samurai immediately recommended a shrine be built there to commend the pure spirit inherent in the water. Matsuo Taisha (or large shrine) was built and it remains a place of blessing to local miso and sake producers.

ALL SAKE (I especially like the barrel of Hanshin Tigers sake over there on the right, second row.

There is sake everywhere, and the most fun comes during Hatsumode (the first shrine visit of the year) when they bring out a mixed liquor filled with gold leaf.　This is the shrine to the god of Japanese sake.

One interesting thing about Matsuo Taisha is that there is a "barrel fortune-telling" yatai (stand) during Hatsumode.

You basically take a cumbersome arrow and shoot it at a barrel with all but a small circle cut out and a gong behind it. If you hit the edge of the barrel, you get a "kichi" charm (good luck), but if you hit the very middle and the gong, you get a special "daikichi" (very good luck) charm that also serves as a cell phone strap. My wife and I both shot it - my wife got kichi and I got daikichi. My wife lovingly looked in my eyes that day and told me I was a "yareba dekiru otoko" (a guy who can stand up and do it). Now I wonder if I'm that same guy, there isn't a Taru-uranai (fortune telling barrel) to tell her so!

Dave Specter and North Korea

2009-07-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

Dave Specter is one gaijin tarento who I am really impressed with - he has flawless Japanese and has worked hard to become a very popular variety show producer in Japan. He is the host of this show. On the other hand you have guys like Pakkun (the tall brown haired guy at 2:03 who started a REALLY LAME manzai group called Pakkun to Makkun. They bombed every time.

Here they are talking about North Korean textbooks, and it really is amusing to see how brainwashed the North Korean kids are:

Dave Specter also has this really strange hairstyle - how does he do it?

ゴリケル・ジャクソン Gorikel Jackson

2009-07-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

ご愁傷様です。

This is a sketch from one of my favorite shows: One Night Rock 'n Roll. This show always came on at 9PM, and then Sui10 at 10PM on Wednesday nights. Both shows were funny as hell. Anyway Gori does Michael Jackson, so the skit is called Gorikel Jackson.

My favorite line: (1:55)
(Prince breaks vase with bat)
Gorikel: Ill buy that!
Bashil: Are you for real?
Gorikel: I just decided I wanted it.
Bashil: But it just got broken!
Gorikel: It's not broken, there's just more pieces of it now.

And then when his nose is removed, he says its not a nose, but a cookie. Either way, Gorikel Jackson really needs to punish Prince.

Keyhole TV - yes you can watch Japanese TV for free in real time

2009-07-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Watch Japanese TV FREE!

What is KeyHole System.

Real Real Time Video P2P and Server based Hybrid Communication System. Free to use.

The KeyHoleVideo encoder provides for streaming Video via the Internet with a necessary bandwidth of 200 K bps only.
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Tsurube revealed.

2009-07-04T01:17:00.000-07:00

Only Japanese people will get this, comment for an explanation.

Kida Taro

2009-07-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

This is the LAST POST TODAY. I promise!
I noticed that the third Okeihan (who has the cute looks of the first one) is paired with Japanese composer Kida Taro (who is known for his outrageous toupee) in commercials.

He has composed hundreds of jingles in Japan (and especially the Kansai area) and is an altogether cool guy. He also used to be in one of my favorite Kansai based TV shows Saigo no Bansan (The Last Supper) with Nakajima Ramo and a few other Kansai celebrities (Including a very young Hirai from American Zarigani and not Ishino).

Anyway, here is a video of him conducting the music he created, and it is all very catchy stuff - all of his commercial music starts around 3:00. Especially the "Toretore Picchipicchi Kani Ryori" for the legendary Kansai crab restaurant Kani Doraku (3:55). He has a Aaron Copland sound that makes him instantly recognizable.

Okeihan

2009-07-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

While I'm talking trains, there was one train company (Keihan) that ran between Osaka and Kyoto. I was actually sitting and watching on the Keihan TV car when 9/11 was occurring and when US beat Mexico 2-0 during the Japan/Korea world cup.

One thing I really liked about Keihan other then the fact that they played the sound of chirping birds near train exits to aid the blind was their marketing program they began in 2000 called "Okeihan." It's basically a Kansai way of saying "Keisan" - a girl named Keiko + san + Kyoto dialect = Okeihan. They used a particularly attractive girl for their first run who I think has a very Kyotoesque beauty (Yamato nadeshiko style beauty). She was played by Reina Mizuno (水野麗奈), a real hottie.

She's pretty, right? They had a lot of good commercials for all the festivals in Kyoto as well...the new Okeihan? Who cares!

おけいはん、おいでやすｗ

Funnier than all heck.

These are the first few commercials. Man, I miss being able to read on trains again. Finally, the new okeihan with "How to Hatsumode". This is the number two okeihan and is NOT ATTRACTIVE.

Learn to be a ninja...

2009-07-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

When Americans think about Japan, the first thing they imagine are samurai and ninja. Well, I've been to the OFFICIAL ninja museum in Iga-Sano in Nara (maybe it's in Mie, I forgot). Anyway the greatest thing about going there - if you are a train aficionado - is the single line Kintetsu track that goes there from Iga-Kobe station on the Osaka line, the official NINJA TRAIN:

After a hour ride to Iga Sano Station, you disembark to the official Iga-style Ninja museum. It's not as cheesy as you would think, they show all of the ways ninjas hid inside houses and the implements and devices they used in order to assassinate their targets.

The most interesting aspect of the ninjas is the finger strength necessary. I remember they had one exhibit that stated a ninja need to lift a 100 lb. rice bale with their pinkie finger in order to have the clutching strength to climb a castle wall. If castle owners were a bit smarter, perhaps they'd find a better way of making walls then this:

At least fill in the cracks with some mortar, you silly daimyo! You're practically inviting the ninjas inside!!

My rant: Kinkakuji vs. Ginkakuji

2009-07-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm gonna say it. Kinkakuji sucks. It's overcrowded, it's not that impressive, it's too far from the middle of Kyoto, and tourists miss some of the great stuff in the Kawaramachi area going all the way up Nishiooji Road to Kinkakuji. Here is Kinkakuji:

When it snows, which is almost never in Kyoto, Kinkakuji is really beautiful. Otherwise, the gaudiness makes it look like it should be an Osaka/Tokyo monument and not a Kyoto one.

It's one of those weird quirks of Kyoto architecture that doesn't belong in Kyoto, like Kyoto Tower.

Ginkakuji, on the other hand, is not only at the base of Daimonji mountain and at the top of Nenenomichi (which goes from Ginkakuji to Tetsugaku no Michi to Maruyama Park to Kiyomisu), but is much more subtle and beautiful.

If you're planning a trip to Kyoto, skip Kinkakuji and take the walk from Ginkakuji to Kiyomizu Temple instead. You'll get a lot more sightseeing done for the same price and time spent.

Umai-bo!

2009-07-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

I gotta stop posting, but I thought I would shoot a quick blog post about the god of all 10 yen (10 cent) Japanese snacks, the quintessentially Japanese Umai-bo. Umai-bo literally means "yummy stick," and after forgoing all sundry sexual connotations attached to this translation, it REALLY IS A FREAKIN' YUMMY STICK.

I comes in a variety of flavors (salad, takoyaki, corn, etc.), each sporting a character similar to the cartoon robotcat Doraemon. If you've never had one, imagine if a Cheeto was expanded into the size of a toilet paper roll core and given different flavors.

You can buy it ANYWHERE, and it only costs 10yen. If you are in Japan right now, take a look at the pavement around you, walk around for 30 seconds, and you'll find the funds to purchase them. Of course, if you can fight off the security guard, you can always just rip one off the Umaibo Eiffel Tower. There is no escargo-flavored Umaibo, by the way.

(translation of sign: 7 workers took around a month to create this 5 meter tall tower consisting of even over 1200 Umaibo's. It is a display of the cultural exchange between France and Japan, and hopes to draw attention from around the globe.)

My favorite kids snack is actually Yocchan Ika. But that will be addressed in a subsequent post.

Weird food from Kyoto

2009-07-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well, now that I finished a few more pages of my master's thesis, I can relax and tell you the tale of two weird foods from Kyoto: Yakisuzume and yakiayu.

Yaki- (焼き-) is the prefix for anything grilled, and if you connect that to suzume (雀) - sparrow - or ayu (鮎) - sweetfish - you get some weird looking food.

What especially disgusted me was my own realization that those cute birds that populated the Arashiyama Station I left to work from every morning could be so delicious...and so damn bony!

Anyway enjoy the following equation:

+焼き＝

Yikes. This delectable treat can be found a bit south of Kyoto in the Fushimi Area, home of one of the most beautiful shrines in Kyoto: Fushimi-Inari Jinja. Somehow this place ALWAYS gets passed over for a mediocre tour through Kiyomizu and Kinkakuji. For those of you that can't conceptualize the awesomeness of the 2-3 mile hike through the Fushimi-Inari Shrine (complete with $3 can cokes at the top), here are some good pictures:

The fox god of Fushimi loves two things: Inarizushi (rice with sweet agedofu) and expensive donations to the shrine - usually anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth depending on the location.

Notice each torii has the name of the company written on it.

The other scrumptious dish only comes in the June-August season. Yakiayu, or charcoaled sweetfish. If you've never eaten a fish like a hotdog, you gotta try it.

The interesting thing about ayu is the way they are fished. Some fisherman use the traditional bait and hook method, but the ass-biting method works better. Ayu are fiercely territorial and bite the ass (or fin) of any fish that comes in the area. Fishermen use a lure that looks like another ayu, and the fish bite the back of the lure and are thus hooked by their own instinctive territorial natures.

I would have fished in Katsura river too - if it wasn't for the 15000 yen ($150) species-specific fishing license.

Fukuzawa Yukichi

2009-07-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

Or Yukichi Fukuzawa - the 10,000 yen guy...

I had to do a research paper on him in college. He led a pretty fascinating life. When he was young, he worked with a group of samurai translators trying to figure out the Dutch language (which was the only language he could study in pre-Matthew Perry Japan). Then Matthew Perry showed up with his black fleet of ships and forced the Tokugawa Shogunate to open Japan so that America would have a supply port for whaling and other trade industries.

Already mesmerized by foreigners and their technology, he hopped the first boat to San Francisco and then around the world - to Europe and Russia - and then returned home. He founded Keio university and a bunch of other colleges and schools.

The point I really want to make about him is his political philosophy - "national independence through personal independence" - this is what freed Japan and made it modern. The horrors of WWII arose when Japan forgot this notion and abdicated the murderous coup of the govt in 1932 by the Japanese military. For some reason, some critics believe that Fukuzawa was a big imperialist. He never was, reather understanding that personal liberty from government coercion was tantamount to national greatness. The gov't leaves you alone, and thus becomes great for having done so.

IF ONLY THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION WOULD REMEMBER THIS IMPORTANT POLITICAL RULE.

Shinichi Osawa

2009-07-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Of course, the guy is from Kyoto (where Kiseru and a lot of other alt. groups come from):

His kick ass track in Lumines

He can do some deadly remixes:

And his own stuff is killer as well:

Damn I love good electro...

Shonen Jump and boobs.

2009-07-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

I noticed that the American Shonen Jump didn't have a girl in a swimsuit.

What's up AMERICA? Pre-teen boys are able to buy this stuff in Japan without a look askance! Ain't culture shock funny?

Nakayama Kinnikun DESU!

2009-07-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

There was this one Geinoujin (芸能人) in Japan during the early 00's called Nakayama Kinnikun or "Muscleguy Nakayama" who was a laugh riot and all the kids LOVED. He even made it on most variety shows and even was a frequent guest on Yoshimoto's Osaka Shinkigeki. Apparently, he was in America last year. Here he is, drunk:

Apparently, he lifts with Yagi from the comedy group "Savanna." Not to name drop or anything, but I used to teach the other member's (Takahashi) family members English.

http://kinnikun.laff.jp/blog/blog_index.html

Anyway, enjoy. I hope Kinnikun does well in America.

If you understand Japanese, this is hilarious.

Hanshin Weekly #3

2009-07-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

試勝敗分率差
1 巨 67 40 21 6 .656 Yomiuri
2 ヤ 63 37 26 0 .587 4.0
3 中 67 37 29 1 .561 5.5
4 広 66 30 33 3 .476 11.0
5 神 65 26 36 3 .419 14.5 Hanshin
6 横 66 22 44 0 .333 20.5

Amazingly, Hanshin is still trending down even after changing management due to Hanshin's bad performance last year where they BLEW A 10 game lead and lost the pennant to the Yomiuri Giants. BATHING APE MADE CLOTHES FOR THEM FOR PETE SAKE!

Places where eels sleep

2009-07-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

Kyoto (where I lived for two years) is a very cramped place, especially the middle part and the eastern part (中京区、左京区). The main part of Kyoto lies somewhere around Shijo (四条) and Kawaramachi-doori　(河原町通), and if you walk a few streets toward Kamo River (鴨川), you'll hit Kiyamachi (木屋町) - where liquor was taken up to the imperial palace from the Fushimi area years ago - and Pontocho (先斗町) - where all the maiko (geisha) are. Even thought these places are very busy, they are also extremely compact, and the tight, confining streets that interlace the area are called Unagi no nedokoro or "Places where eels sleep" (鰻のねどころ) as eels are very slender (and delicious) and therefore can sleep in a very narrow, confining place.

Pontocho:

Unagi no nedokoro:

Gosh I miss Kyoto now and my former home in the Kurotani-dera area...

Speaking of Morning Musume

2009-07-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

They piddled around in the late 90's and were never really that famous until the song "Happy Summer Wedding," in 2000, when Tsunku figured that by splitting the girls into different groups, he could rake in even MORE cash.

I have seen this song sung by 50 year old black guy in a bar in Kyoto before, and believe me, IT'S MAGIC!!!!

Morning Musume - AFTER DARK

2009-07-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I heard a couple of years ago the whole Morning Musume idea was sold to China for them to create their own Morning Musume group so that we can all forget our own ambitions and focus on 10-15 pubescent starlings.

No, I'm not bitter, but I do hate their producer Tsunku♂ (apparently he needs the male astrological sign beside his name, because he's writing all their girlie lyrics) who was lead for Sharan Q.

Tsunku is the second from left. Anyway, in the late 90's the Osaka band Sharan Q decided to "mix it up" with one of my favorite bands, another Osaka group The Ulfuls.

The Ulfuls are still going, and have a few of the best Karaoke songs ever made: "Guts da ze!" (It takes guts!), "Baka survivor" (Idiot survivor), and my personal favorite, "Osaka Strut." How this conversation evolved from Morning Musume into Osaka pride issues? Well, Morning Musume, one of the biggest franchises in Japanese history? Run by a guy from Osaka. All comedy acts in Japan? 90% are run by a company in Osaka. Yours truly? Lived 2 years in Higashiosaka - where Tsunku grew up. Enjoy the video. I was

Ulfuls - Osaka Strut
Uploaded by valemon. - Explore more music videos.

Secret Sushi

2009-06-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

While there are a lot of well known types of sushi - many Americans do not know that sushi rolls (makizushi) are rare in Japan except for the ubiquitous tekkamaki (tuna meat roll) and kappamaki (cucumber roll). Almost all other sushi is nigirizushi (sushi on top of rice). Anyway to further that, there are some types of sushi that people know little about and are very rare (or non-existent) in America. One of my favorites is Uni (sea urchin):

It doesn't look that appetizing, I admit, but there is something about the taste that makes me willing to shell out the $6 for a couple of these babies. And if you're ever snorkeling in Japan - do what I've done. Find a purple sea urchin, break off its spines, break it open, and dip its reproductive organs in the sea water for survivor sashimi:

If that makes you a bit ill, try basashi - horse sushi. It's usually raw too!

My favorite, destined to piss off the liberal, sushi-eating type, is kujirazushi, or whale sushi. It's very good.

On a side note, 99 (the Japanese comedy group has a segment in their show where Yabe, the tall one, introduces some weird sushi idea he thought up. Some of them were actually sold at Kappa Sushi. I ate Yabe's Corned Beef Sushi and Tofu Sushi, and both were ok. Here's an example segment:

suki

2009-06-26T00:55:00.000-07:00

The definitive history of Japanese Hip-hop

2009-06-25T23:42:00.000-07:00

Since it's late and it's time for Japanese rap, maybe we should start with the basics. That's right, there is no other Gaijin instructor that could teach you better - lets begin with Buddah Brand - BTW DJ Masterkey, DevLArge and NIPPS started this group when NO ONE in Japan knew what was happening:

Ok, Buddha Brand was pretty unpopular, because they started it off in the early 90's and not many Japanese could understand what was going on. After that m-flo and Dragon Ash kinda pushed it a bit until crappy groups like KICK THE CAN CREW and good groups like Rip Slyme pushed it a bit:

Again, many rap groups needed some kind of support to make their music popular - then Rip Slyme suddenly got famous as hell with "Rakuen Baby," a song that played in every convenience store in Japan:

This hit like crazy in 2002, and Japan had finally been initiated into hip-hop. But J-hop was all dance, because there was and never was a ghetto to derive hate against the establishment from. KICK THE CAN CREW attempted to be different, but it was more crappy music:

What does fencing have to do with rap? WTFK! Anyway, so then Rip Slyme started dropping some crazy stuff that included interesting mixes from DJ Fujiya and good lyrics:

Again, J-hop began to expand with real talent, but even EGG-MAN and his ilk couldn't defeat Rip and their industry inspired compatriots.

Now that's pretty awesome and different from the dance inspired KTCC and RipSlyme type backbeats. In fact, MURO almost made a East Side (Tokyo Style) J-hop with his music. The hardest fact for most Americans and Japanese to understand is the abject difficulty in trying to translate the roaming and beat-driven English into the very restrictive linguistics of a verb-ending language:

This is probably the biggest hit in J-rap simply because of its original sound. SOUL SCREAMS Tokyo suddenly abandons all other sounds in J- and A-rap and becomes its own chill dance style while not being totally dance or rap. As crappy D/South rap blossoms (or rather rots) in America, Japan starts its own sound. Ironically, the sound splits into the indie Tokyo sound and the capitalistic Rip Slyme dance style, just as American rap splits in to the sellout/dirty South (boosey, h chris, 3.6 mafia) style and the real East Coast style.

Rip selling computers.

MURO selling nothing. And he seems to need O.C. (whoever he is) to do it. Anyway - it's still better than Rip until you consider some of Rip's old school sounding stuff like Nettaiya - where they'd rather dance with one another than the hot women around them:

I hope you enjoyed this informational program. NOW GO TO BED.

SAMBOMASTER PART 2

2009-06-25T23:36:00.000-07:00

Forgot the best video they ever did.

SAMBOMASTER

2009-06-24T01:29:00.000-07:00

I shouldn't be up this late...but I was listening to Sambomaster. How can you not be positive after hearing their music???

"The days of a beautiful human being"

"Becoming a flower that blooms in the moonlight"

And God forgive the Japanese record company bastards that never released the band with at least 30X the amount of talent that Sambomaster had: Clingon.

僕らはきっと　変わらずにずっと

Boring Car Sets...

2009-06-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

I've searched American hobby stores just hoping and praying that there will be a Gundam Pro Model set sitting there in the same way that manga suddenly appeared on bookstore shelves in the mid 2000's. I've made about four when I was living in Japan: Gundam, Zakku, Zock, and Char's Red Comet Zakku:

For the complete Pro model Newb out there - you need at least glue and paint for a lot of the models, but some of the Gundam ones come as paintless snaptogether kits. I found a dirt cheap example for sale:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BANDAI-MSZ-006-ZETA-GUNDAM-HG-1-144-MODEL-KIT_W0QQitemZ180372725693QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item29ff0d5fbd&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50

Or you could always get one of these...

Beer Posters

2009-06-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

If you have ever been to an 居酒屋 (izakaya - somewhere between a bar and a restaurant) or a 食堂 (shokudoh - a kind of community drink&eat), you've seen the beer poster with the hot swimsuit gravure idol. I think that you can tell the quality of the establishment by the quality of the beer poster. A ratty old poster from the 80's denotes a stubborn and unrefined cook. A new poster fresh from the beer company says that the cook keeps his store clean and that you'll never get salmonella. But a carefully kept Yuko Aoki poster, clean as the day it was hung, says that this guy has taste and runs a clean store. Something like this, but with beer:

Here are some examples of good Japanese beer posters:
Sapporo:

Asahi Super Dry Bottle:

Asahi Draft:

I couldn't find any Kirin, but I'm hoping SOMEBODY gets the joke!

平凡 (mediocre)

2009-06-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

試勝敗分率差
1 巨 62 37 19 6 .661
2 ヤ 58 36 22 0 .621 2.0
3 中 62 32 29 1 .525 7.5
4 広 61 29 29 3 .500 9.0
5 神 60 24 33 3 .421 13.5
6 横 61 19 42 0 .311 20.5

Screw the Giants and their overspending!!!
Hanshin still way 4.5 behind Hiroshima
TIGERS ARE LOSING TO CARP FOLKS!!!!

Japanese for Beginners - Lesson ONE!

2009-06-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, since I'm in the middle of doing something productive - my master's thesis - let me do something completely unproductive like teach you Japanese!!!

Here are the first five syllables of Japanese (and you need to learn their sounds as they are the root vowels used in EVERY JAPANESE syllable following):

ALL LINES ARE WRITTEN FROM TOP TO BOTTOM OR FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

あ (ah) - draw the horizontal line, the vertical, then the curly one

い (ee) - draw the left line, then the right

う (oo) - draw the top line, then the backward "c"

え (eh) - same as う

お (oh) - draw horizontal line, then vertical into curly one, then little mark.

Say these words
いえ　- ee-eh - House
あい - ah-ee - Love
あう - ah-oo - to meet
あおい　- ah/oh/ee - (say each sound separate but fast) Blue
いう - ee/oo - to say
いい　- eee - good
おい　- oi! - Hey!

Practice speaking and writing these on your own time!!

Supercar - the best Japanese music group.

2009-06-20T10:00:00.001-07:00

This group of four from Aomori were my favorite when I was living in Japan, along with Rip Slyme, Sambomaster, and a few other small indie bands (Art School, Kiseru, and so on). You can't find a ban with abject originality like Supercar in Japan - most groups like Orange Range, Gackt, Dir en Ciel, and the like are just cut copies from either visual-kei molds or industry inspired groups that are one step away from being the rock version of Morning Musume.

I was in a bar in the Kansai area in 2000 when this song came on and I fell in love:

I can remember what I was drinking (Yebisu draft) and what I was eating (shelled peanuts) and what the bartenderess looked like, only because the music was so new to me that it made an indelible impression of that particular moment.

Nagoya July Sumo Tournament

2009-06-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

The clay, the salt, the sake, the wonderful tradition of sumo will continue this July (12-23rd) in Nagoya. My favorite wrestlers are KotoOhshuu, Takamizakari, and Ama. I've been following Kotooshuu since his entry in the early 2000's, and he's always been a very powerful wrestler, but he lacks the ability to really surprise his enemies with anything other than brute strength. He is, or is near, 7 feet tall. He's next in line for Yokozuna, and if he wins a couple of tournaments we might have the first caucasian Yokozuna.

Takamizakari is a mediocre wrestler, but he's beaten Asashoryu (probably the strongest wrestler in the last ten years) before, so he has the element to surprise. He's nearsighted almost to blindness (big coke bottle glasses outside the ring) and he does a really funny opening kiai (an athletes way of powering up) that makes the crowd go wild.

Asashoryu (yokozuna) is in black and Takamizakari is in blue. Takamizakari starts pleasing the crowd from 4:55 and he gets a lot of applause for an exciting tachiai (fight). Takamizakari really doesn't have much of a chance though against Asashoryu.

Finally, I really have liked Ama from the beginning because of his somewhat small stature but awesome technical skill. He's almost the opposite of Kotoohshu. In this video, you can see Hakuho (the other yokozuna) has about 100lbs on Ama, and Ama puts up a very strong defense. Hakuho is out of strength, but gets Ama in a headlock and delivers him down to the dohyo.

Any sumo questions? Ask me. I've loved the sport since I first started watching it in the Akebono/Musashimaru days.

Reimen - Cold Ramen

2009-06-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Man I wish there was a machine that could send me back to Kyoto for a quick sit down lunch at めしや (Meshiya). They had the greatest seasonal food, and reimen (cold noodles) are awesome.

Ways of saying "tired" in Japanese.

2009-06-17T01:01:00.000-07:00

しんどい shindoi - Osaka way of saying tsukareta/kurushii
疲れた tsukareta - Tired (usually from work)
眠い nemui - sleepy (not from being tired)
苦しい　kurushii - tired because of an oppressive weight (heat, exhaustion)
死にそう shinisou - close to death
寝ぼけてる neboketeru - half-asleep

And me in 10 minutes:

熟睡 jukusui - deep sleep.

2009-06-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

セントラル・リーグ順位表（6月16日現在）
試勝敗分率差
1 巨 59 35 18 6 .660
2 ヤ 54 32 22 0 .593 3.5
3 中 59 29 29 1 .500 8.5
広 57 27 27 3 .500 8.5
5 神 57 23 31 3 .426 12.5
6 横 57 18 39 0 .316 19.0

Hanshin is second to last. You've GOT to be kidding me.　阪神どうなるやろう。

Will Saibi win Koshien this year?

2009-06-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

I started watching this team after they won Senpatsu 2004, and they are awesome. Saibi High School, located in the relatively rural Ehime prefecture and formerly an all girl's school, has a great high school baseball team (two years old when it won senpatsu, since boys entered the school in 2002) and could be a contender again. Maybe people were expecting Tohoku High to win the 2004 Senpatsu (even though Yuu Darvish was pitching) and the coach made the mistake of putting Darvish in the field.

One 3-run home run later, one of the most meaningful high school songs was played over the sound system as Saibi went home with the Senpatsu flag.

By the way, as a former Osaka resident, I certainly don't mind Osaka Toin winning again like they did last year (17-0), but it's refreshing to see teams like Saibi win.

Awesome 70's Anime

2009-06-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, I wish I could bestow upon you the ability to instantly understand Japanese, but I can't. But for all of you anime freaks out there that think they know something about anime, well, I hate to disappoint you, but I win. After all, I AM A HUGE DORK!

So, without ado, I present to you the greatest anime of the 1970's. Before the commercialism, before all the toys, and before anime was based less on a salespoint than the artist pushing a great idea.

#1 - 未来少年コナン Mirai Shonen Konan - Future Boy Conan

I'm sorry, but this has got to be number one, even over Gundam and Ashita no Joe. This anime is so well written and never has a dull moment. You never even question Conan's ability to stay underwater for dozens of minutes or rip sheet metal off of a plane. The best thing about this anime is that if anyone marketed this in English it would be golden. It's ecological, anti-war, and it teaches kids they can do anything. It also spawned Miyazaki's career, which says the most.

#2 明日のジョー Ashita no Joe - Tomorrow's Joe

Yeah, I'm sorry to say that Joe and his legendary battle with Rikiishi beats Amuro and Char. There is no way anyone can deny the power of the musical track, the battles Joe and Danpei fight against others and themselves, and the pure realism of the boxing match and it' smetaphor for life. Japan was emerging from recession and the loss of WWII, what to do next? Fight.

#3 機動戦士ガンダム - Kidousenshi Gundam - Gundam (the Original)

There have been more interpretations of this series than necessary, in my opinion, and a lot of the newer Gundams lose sight of the original point of the old one: self-sacrifice for freedom in the face of insurmountable odds. It teaches another lesson, it's ok for the enemy (Char) to be way cooler than you (Amuro) and you can still whoop his butt. Give up all the Gundams with the extra letters tacked on to them and watch the only real one.

Yeah, Amuro's a REAL MAN. Actually this scene is pretty deep.

#4 うる星やつら　Urusei Yatsura - Lum

You know, a lot of people watch Rumiko Takahashi's Inuyasha and don't realize that she used to make good animation. It's true! Anyway, I love this series. It's so irrelevant and I need a comedy anime somewhere in this list. Plus, most guys know (or remember) how much women turned us on in the old days with just the slightest burlesque flourishes, and Lum is the master of them. Also Lum's not technically a 70's anime, but it is a 70's MANGA DANGIT! The final OP almost sounds like the Cardigans stole their material from UY.

#5 どかべん　Dokaben

This is the hidden beauty of this sports anime lies in its wacko characters and the determination and spirit of Tarou Yamada (who has one of the most boring names in Japan). Through heart work and constant encouragement of his teammates, they make it to Koshien three times, and lose the last time. It's extremely rare to find, but I am madly in love with it.

(trans)What is youth? It's a white ball, that flies to the heavens. Because we have dreams, we are young. We hit and we throw with all the strength that we have. The time to set our life on fire is now, like that faultless white ball. Such is the way of youth.

I guess I'll do 6-10 later.

Kansai Talk

2009-06-16T10:26:00.001-07:00

I sent an email recently to Trevor Corson (Sushi Concierge) about basashi (horse sushi) and such and he told me he had trouble with Kansaiben (Osaka area dialect). I'm not near my Japanese enabled computer right now, but I can certainly give some pointers into kansaiben using romanji.

First is verb endings:

Wakaranai (I dont understand) -> Wakarahen
Wakarimasu (I understand, polite) -> Wakarimasse~ (polite w/ emphasis)

Kyoto variety (-haru) - A lot of older women in the Kansai area have picked up the Kyoto dialect varient that is considered quite polite for that area

Wakatteru (I understand it) -> Wakkatteharu (polite Kyoto ben)

Kobe variety (-toru) This is more prevalent in the Kobe area and sounds a bit rude to my ears.

Wakatteru -> Wakattoru

Some common words:

Tokyo -> Osaka
Cho (very ) Meccha - and mecha is getting much more popular these days
~ja nai (not ~) ~ chau - also more popular recently
Honto ni (really) Homma (ni)

And then there is the change of sentence emphatic ending from ~jan to ~yan, along with other words.

Kyo ga cho atsui kara honto ni kurushi jan! (Tokyo for "It's so hot today I feel really tired!"
Kyo ga meccha atsuiyanka~ homma ni kurushiyanen! (Osaka)

Ramo Nakajima

2009-06-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

I did the wiki page for him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramo_Nakajima

I love his books, and I think he's one of the weirdest raging alcoholics ever to be arrested for marijuana possession and die falling down some stairs while walking out of a bar. My favorites from him are "Tonight, From Every Bar in Town" is a semi-autobiographical look at a raging alcoholic dealing with recovery, his short essays, and "Gadara no Buta" (The pigs of gadara - the ones that jumped off the cliff after Jesus exorcised Legion from the insane man) which is a very deep and beautiful look at religion's stupidity as well as its necessity. He also was on some TV shows in the late 90's early 2000's, and my favorite was a collection of Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe) comedian's called "Saigo no Bansan" (The Last Supper):

If you can understand Japanese:　http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygFP78_5z24

You can tell all the liquor and drugs have destroyed his speech permanently.

Ramen - Types

2009-06-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

I guess today is ramen day.

There are four basic types of ramen, and some types are more prevalent in certain areas of Japan (Shio is big in Tokyo, but not so big in Osaka). So lets go through them, shall we?

Shio Ramen (Salt-based):This ramen is one of the lightest and easiest to make, and comprises maybe about 20% of the ramen market. Its a little more popular in Tokyo, and is made by taking a secret mix of bones, veggies, and salt and slowboiling or simmering it over night to make soup. I don't like to eat shio unless it's highly recommended by some magazine - it tends to be thin and while many Japanese love it because of the subtlety of its taste, I usually will end up dunking garlic or shichimi (a type of spice) in it to make it taste better. The soup is usually a thin color.

Shoyu Ramen (Soy sauce-based):

Shoyu is the same boiling process for the soup with less salt to compensate for the salty soy sauce, and the soy sauce is added either in the soup-making stage or right before the noodles are put in. As far as I've seen, this type is quite popular and has about a 35% share in the market. Its got an easy to distinguish brown color.

Miso Ramen (Bean paste-based):

Now we're starting to get into the thick stuff, and miso really brings a lot of thickness to the soup. Some miso can actually get almost chowdery with viscosity, and this makes miso ramen a very powerful weapon against winter colds (and cold itself!) Green onions and garlic compliment this ramen very well. Notice the lack of seaweed as well, you don't see it that often in miso ramen.

Tonkotsu Ramen (pig bone-based):

Tonkotsu is pig bones boiled with miso, shoyu, or salt to get all the fat in the bones out in the soup. During winter, this soup will literally force all the phlegm out of your lungs due to the warm fat that sits adjacent to your lungs - pulsating and loosening all the mucus in your lungs. Needless to say, this soup is very thick and if mixed with miso, can be almost like a cream based soup. This pic is of my favorite ramenya in Kyoto - Hakata Ramen Miyoshi.

There are several others:
Tantan men - hot noodles with ground beef as topping
Kimchi men - hot soup with a kimchi/miso base
Champon - seafood ramen
Butter ramen - usually miso/shoyu with a slab of butter on top.
Reimen - cold ramen

My first post...about Ramen.

2009-06-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

Well, welcome to my humble blog. I'll try to talk about everything that I know about Japan, which is a lot. In fact, I know too much. But anyway...I was watching this cheesy movie called "Ramen Girl" the other day with that one really skinny Brittney Murphy girl. It was looking to be a cheap "Lost in Translation" movie without the talent, but I was surprised that Nishida Toshiyuki of Tsuribaka fame (YES IN ITS 19th MOVIE) was in it...

The thing that really depressed me about the movie was not Brittney Murphy's beat-up New Jersey girl look, but the fact that the ramen always looked pretty bad: always one or two slices of
yakibuta, a little bit of moyashi, and virtually no fixins or anything (Kimchee, tongarashi, goma). I never even was informed what kind of ramen it was (shio, shoyu, tonkotsu, miso), which is absolutely critical.

Tampopo was much better.

Kakkoii Blog 格好いい!