While searching for videos on Youtube which perfectly encapsulate the experience of Japan's culture, media and lifestyle, I stumbled across the following videos and couldn't choose just one for my Tops Tuesdays post. Enjoy some funny videos from Japan...
I took a week off last week but now I'm back with today's Tops Tuesdays post. This week during my Internet travels I found this video on YouTube and decided to share it here. There are plenty of DDR videos out there but this is by far the most mind-blowing in my opinion. Enjoy!
YAMI: Inside that building are the answers to questions I've been asking myself ever since the series began. Finally, I'll know the truth about my past.
I'm a little unsure of the origins of this video but I spotted it during my travels of the interwebs and thought it was awesome. In it, a girl test runs a "Kid's Walker Cyclops" constructed by Sakakibara Kikai. Will the Japanese love of robots ever cease to be? I hope not.
Here's some music to listen to simultaneously with the video above...
Cherry blossom season is upon us and the days are warming up. Join me for my top 5 hanami spots in Japan as you decide where to stake out for your own cherry blossom-viewing itinerary...
Today's Tops Tuesdays post is dedicated to everyone's favourite time of the year... St. Valentine's Day.
Here in Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated with the practise of girls giving small chocolates to their male friends. As opposed to Western customs surrounding Valentine's Day, the giving of chocolate to associates other than one's boyfriend is called "giri-choco" (obligatory chocolate) as most girls feel obliged to extend the act of giving beyond their current love interest.
The boys' turn comes on White Day in March, when receivers of Valentine's Day chocolates are expected to reciprocate in kind to the girls in their lives.
Merry Christmas and welcome to a very special edition of Tops Tuesdays where we take a look back at the top five best Tops Tuesdays posts of 2012 (click the image to see the original post)...
I'm back from my travels and it was amazing! Stay tuned because I'll be making some posts soon about my adventures in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. For now, please join me for another edition of Tops Tuesdays.
On July 14th, director Mika Ninagawa's film adaption of Kyoko Okazaki's manga "Heruta Sukeruta" (Helter Skelter) was released in theatres across Japan. In the manga, Okazaki explores the dangers of beauty culture through her main character, LiLiCo (played by Erika Sawajiri in the film), a model who dabbles in plastic surgery and extreme dieting. The desire for perfection is slowly killing LiLiCo. Ninagawa's opulent sets and eclectic soundtrack combine to form a confronting assault of the senses. Check with your local cinema (in Japan, of course) for screenings of Heruta Sukeruta.
Last weekend I went to Hiratsuka for their annual Tanabata celebration. Tanabata festivals usually begin on or around July 7 and last up to August 7. So this week's Tops Tuesday post is dedicated to the wonder of Tanabata and its iconic paper streamers. I definitely recommend attending a Tanabata festival while in Japan; its an experience you will never forget.
(I took this image with Instagram. You can can follow me on Instagram by searching for username, "AussieOnTheIzu.")
Sorry this is coming a day late! Happy Hump Day everyone!
Tops:
Tokyo SkyTree
Its all anyone can talk about. Having opened just one month ago, getting tickets for the newest tallest structure in Tokyo can be difficult so I'm sure most of us are looking forward to July 11th when it will be possible to purchase tickets on the day of the visit instead of through a lottery. Click the image for more information!
I know this didn't strictly take place in Japan but anime and cosplay originated in Japan so this dude and his awesome Blue-Eyes White Dragon cosplay that he is trying to sell make this week's Tops Tuesday post...
See you tomorrow for a post about my school's Sports Festival!
^This, this, this! This the best thing I've seen all week. Abe-chan is a pet myna bird with his own Youtube channel. Myna birds are known for mimicking sounds and voices near perfectly. Abe-chan has learnt to parrot his Japanese owner's voice identically and proceeds to have something of a converstaion with her...
Abe-chan: Good morning!
Owner: Good morning to you.
Abe-chan: I’m a good boy, aren’t I?
Owner: You sure are. Abe-chan, I’m going out. Can you look after the house?
Abe-chan: Sure.
Owner: Really? You’re amazing. Be good, Abe-chan.
Abe-chan: OK, I will.
My mother has a pet rainbow lorikeet which she rescued back in Australia and while Olive is capable of simple greetings and asking "how are you?" it's nothing compared to Abe-chan! (Source).
Last Sunday a tornado tore through a region just 60 kilometres north-east of Tokyo. The tornado took the life of one boy, aged 14, and caused plenty of property damage, tearing the roofs off many houses. Tornados are extremely rare for Japan so this has come as something of a shock to many. I myself was enjoying a beautiful sunny day on Sunday when at around 3pm the wind picked up the the temperature dropped very suddenly. Thunder rolled in the distance and I felt the ground shake noticeably a couple of times but thought little of it until I heard the news report. Nature, with the beating Japan has taken in the past year or so, do you think you could cut these people some slack for a little while?
Spring rains set it this past week or so and in Japan, moisture = humidity, and humidity = insane hair frizziness. A mild inconvenience you may be thinking? No. Try an ungodly mess perched on top of your head leaving you in a position where your students and coworkers struggle to take you seriously (because there is a thing on your head). Imagine spending each morning painstakingly flat-ironing your hair (as I did) only to find not 15 minutes later, before you have even left the house, your hard work has been undone and your hair has frizzed up! The stuff of nightmares, my friends. The stuff of nightmares. ...Well, if you have naturally curly hair that you wear straight and you live in Japan. Positively hell on earth!
Tops
Fret not. I have discovered the wonders of the Japanese straight perm. This miracle treatment obliterates any potential frizz risk in a matter of hours. No longer will leaving your house on a rainy--nay, any high-humidity--day require you to spend hours taming unruly locks. I actually wrote a post about the Japanese straight perm way back in mid-2011 the first time I got the treatment done. Check out that post for all the relevant details on getting a straight perm procedure in Japan. I definitely recommend it! It will save you a lot of time and stress. I also recommend the Toni&Guy salon in Shizuoka City where I get my cuts and straight perms. English-speaking staff is always a plus!
A few years ago, on a holiday to Japan, my friends and I dubbed the things that hang from mobile phones "danglies." Since the invention of the iphone, iphone owners have sought a way to participate in the pointless practice of dangly acquisition and decoration. Japan has answered the call. In addition to these non-dangling plugs, there are also shiny ones that actually dangle too. Danglies can be bought at Loft and Tokyu Hands. Check out the awesomeness of danglies next time you are riding the subway on your fellow commuters' phones.
I found this video making the rounds on RocketNews24.com entitled "Superhero." The video was produced by an annonymous duo under the guise of "ANONS PROJECT" and their song makes for a catchy tune. The video includes footage from last year's 311 disaster in Tohoku, originally intended to highlight the ongoing recovery efforts of officials and volunteers still working in the area. The footage is interspersed with images and footage of Japanese superheroes (including, Anpanman, Sailor Moon, and Son Goku). Having largely been met with positive response, I decided to share it here...
One of my students that just graduated sent me an email today and tells me this is the new hottest song in Japan at the moment: ナチュラルに恋して (nachyuraruni aishite : "Love Me Naturally") by the seemingly harmless band, Perfume. Nearly 10.5 million views on YouTube can't lie. So, "naturally," that makes it tops this week. Now, that said, allow me to completely undermine everything I just wrote...
Apparently a large group of band members from the all-girl Japanese pop sensation AKB48 were sent on some kind of peace/cultural convoy to Washington, USA recently. I'm not usually up to speed on everything that happens in the US but I'm pretty sure that its not the best idea to send a bunch of girls dressed in skimpy pseudo school uniforms and lingerie-inspired frilly outfits whose selling factor is not so much their monotonous singing voices but their cutesy looks, ability to multiply endlessly, and propensity towards bi-curiosity (just look at this recent commercial for Puccho candy if you don't believe me, or maybe this will convince you of the ideals these girls represent) to a country A) that doesn't know what AKB48 is, and B) whose feminist ideals will more likely be incredibly offended by said peace/cultural envoys. I mean look at this girl in the photo above: she's decked out in the weirdest outfit topped off with a mini top hat at a jaunty angle. I'm pretty sure she is just confusing a lot of people right there. What was the Japanese government thinking?? If you are from America and your tax dollars paid for this peace/cultural mission, I'm sorry.
Okay, I'm done now. Got any ideas for future Tops Tuesdays posts?
