Japan My Love - Japanese culture, tv, news, trend, food

We watch "The red and white singing contest" on New Year's eve.
It's the competition between teams of male and female singers, but on the other hand, there's an invisible costume competition between 2 singers.
One is a female singer called "Sachiko Kobayashi".
She's an enka singer.
Her costume has been the special-feature of this TV program for many years.
The other singer is called "Kenichi Mikawa".
He is a male enka singer, but his way of talking is completely middle aged lady.
We don't know if he's a gay or not...(mysterious...)
His costume is also the special-feature of this program.
Many people look forward to watch their costumes every year.

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Sachiko Kobayashi





Kenichi Mikawa

Japanese New Year's Day is just as same as Western's Christmas.
Most people spend time together with their family on this day.
On New Year's Day, we say "Congratulations!" to eath other.
And we eat traditional food like Osechi, Mochi.
Osechi is a special cuisine for New Year that consists of many kinds of ingredients.
Each ingredient has its own meaning, for example Kazunoko means "having many kids".
We also eat mochi on this day.
Mochi is Japanese traditional food called "rice cake" in English.
We decorate "Kagami-mochi" to pray God for family's prosperity.
On New Year's Eve, we watch "The red and white singing contest" on TV.
This program ends at midnight.
So many people celebrate the new year with the ending of this program.

Osechi


Kagami-mochi


Kazunoko


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Each PC maker released small sized & cheap laptop PC one after another since its pioneer "Eee PC" made a mega hit in PC market.
Eee PC is produced by ASUS which is a Taiwanese company.
It was an unprecedented product which made a big topic in the market.
The size is very small(7 inch - 9 inch) and its cheap price gave a shock over the market.(about \50000 = $500)
Because of the price, the performance of this PC was not so excellent at first.
Some geeks enjoyed remodeling it for higher-performance.
After the debut of this sensational PC, many of rival companies like HP, Dell, IBM, NEC...made the same kind of PC.
They have been evolved with more excellent spec and functionality these days.
We're looking forward to the debut of more "sensational" PC in the future.

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A website called "bijin tokei + binan tokei" (http://www.bijint.com/) is making a big topic.
The translation is:
bijin => beautiful lady
binan => beautiful guy
tokei => clock
In this site good-looking ladies and guys tell you what time it is now.
They hold boards on which current time is written by hand-writing.
It's updated every minute automatically.
That means 1440 pictures are shown in a day.
Every picture is taken on a street.
But there is an exception.
A female pop singer “Rina Aiuchi” appears in this website temporarily.
(The picture on the right is her.)
She’s advertising her CD on the board.
This website offers a "gadget" that can be used for homepages and blogs.
There's a rumor that they are developing an application of this clock for iPhone.
So iPhone users should check it out!

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In Germany Japanese tourists who have to pay the penalty for free ride of train are increasing.
That's because of the difference of ticket system of train.
In Japan, we have to put a ticket into the automated ticket gate to reach the platform.
But in Germany you can go to the platform without a ticket.
Beside there is no sign saying "you have to put a ticket into the machine to have date and time on it before getting on a train".
So many Japanese tourists tend to think trains are free in Germany.
There sometimes comes station staff on a train, and if the staff finds a tourst without a ticket or ticket without a stamp, then the penalty is inevitable.
There are "fake" staff these days that take penalty from the tourists.
"Genuine" ones have identity cards and they give receipts after taking penalty.
Be careful.

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Starbucks Cofee Japan announced that they gives a discount of 50 yen(about 50 US cents) to anyone who brings his/her own cup to drink coffee with.
We can also buy cups in Starbucks.
This is for saving of natural resoures.

This kind of movement called "ecology" is spreading over Japan.
At supermarkets many people bring their own bags and use them instead of using plastic bags given by supermarkets.
At some supermarkets we even have to pay for the plastic bag if we want it.

Hopefully this ecology will spread more and more to reach the world, and we can keep the beautiful nature of the earth for the future.

Here's How To Speak Japanese Like A Diplomat!

Love Plus is a game of Nintendo DS released in September 2009.
It's a romance simulation game in which you can enjoy relationship with virtual girls.
For only 2 months it made a mega hit, 150000 are sold.
This game is so well-made that guys tend to be stuck in the virtual world.
You can go out on a date with a girl, walk hand in hand, even kiss her!
A news that a Japanese guy got married with a virtual girl made a topic in American site "Boing Boing" recently.
Also Love Plus causes a trouble on a married couple.
A wife of a 29 year-old husband working as a software engineer left home with a letter and a divorce notice left on a table.
The reason is when they had a quarrel the husband said
"I preffer the virtual girl to welcome me when I get home".
The husband visited the wife and apologized and they made up with each other after all.
How much influence games have on people is now unpredictable...

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Each TV station launches new drama series every 3 months.
They compete for "good rating".
So they try to make various kinds of dramas casting popular celebrities to get attention of audience.
However it seems a bit hard these days to make a mega-hit since the audience are tired of stereotypical stories.
This winter, one drama is making a record of high rating.
Its title is "JIN".
It's originally from a comic book series.
The brief summary of the story is like this:
The main character called Jin is a brain surgeon.
His girlfriend is in the vegetative state because of the sergery that Jin performed for her.
One day he operated on a critical patient.
After the operation the patient tried to run away from the hospital and Jin run after him.
They fell down the stairs.
Jin found himself lying in a unknown place when he was conscious again.
He was sent in the ancient time.
He started to save ill people and created still unknown medicine at this time.
But he was caught in a dilemma wondering if he really should do it or not because it might change the history.
He met many people, one of them is the historical important figure.
And he met a prostitute who looks exactly the same as his girlfriend...
The story continues and the higher rating is expected.

(MAIN CAST)
Takao Osawa

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It's the pecial TV program on New Year's Eve.
Red means women, and white means men.
So this contest is female singers VS male singers.
They sing the hit songs in the year.
The program starts at around 7 pm and ends at midnight.
At the ending of the program, the winner(red or white) is chosen by the votes from judges in front of the stage and audience.
The judges are celebrities from many fields like showbiz, sports etc...
Right after this program's finished, the New Year comes.
Most of Japanese citizens used to watch this program on New Year's Eve.
Less people watch it these days, but it's still the main program on New Year's Eve.

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"Winter Sonata" is something ladies, especially middle-aged ladies, used to be crazy about before.
It's a TV drama series that was on NHK channel before.
In Japanese it's translated as "Fuyuno Sonata".
As I already wrote, Japanese people like to abbreviate words, especially name of popular thing or person.
So "Winter Sonata" is usually called "Fuyu Sona".
This drama has made 2 Korean names quite famililar in Japan.
One name is Bae YongJoon, Korean actor who is known as a guy wearing glasses.
The other is Choi Jiwoo, Korean actress who is called "the queen of tear".
(She cries a lot in the drama)
Ladies started to call Bae YongJoon "Yon sama", and it spread all over Japan.
"Sama" is a suffix in Japanese language, and it's used when you call someone you respect or worship.
Winter Sonata is a love story that is called "pure" romance.
Brief summary of its story is, a high school boy acted by Bae YongJoon fell in love with a calssmate girl acted by Choi Jiwoo.
They were happy together, but one day the girl was informed that the boy died in car accident.
Then 10 years passed and the girl was engaged but still didn't forget the boy.
One day a guy who looks exactly the same as the boy appeared.
The story became complicated after the guy appeared!
If you're interested in what was happening next, just get the DVD and watch it!

Here's How To Speak Japanese Like A Diplomat!

NHK means "Nihon Housou Kyoku".
Nihon means "Japan", Housou Kyoku means "TV station".
It's the only TV station controlled by the government.
NHK channel doesn't have any commercials.
Popular foreign dramas like "ER" "The X-File" "Ally McBeal" "Friends"...were broadcasted on NHK channels.
NHK also offers many language lesson programs.
The picture is the character of NHK called "Do-mo kun".

Japanese people, especially young people tend to abbreviate words.
They abbreviate anything if possible.
Let me give examples...

America jin(=American) => Amejin
Kimura Takuya(=name of a pop star) => Kimutaku
Power Point => Powapo
Around thirty(=30 years old) => Arasaa
(* In Japanese language, thirty is pronounced as saaty)
Netscape Navigation => Neske

Jidaigeki is a drama(often on TV) of the old times.
Actors and actresses dress up in Japanese traditional costumes called "Kimono" when they act in Jidaigeki.
Their way of talking is also from the old times in the drama.
What's inevitable in Jidaigeki is a sword fight.
In Jidaigeki, innocent people are often killed in the first half of the story, and the villain is killed by the hero in the last half.
Its story is not so complicated as modern romance dramas.
Usually Jidaigeki tends to be loved by elder people, but not always.
Sometimes young popular actors and actresses act in Jidaigeki and young people watch it.
NHK(Japanese government-controlled TV station) makes one-year-long Jidaigeki series every year, and it's an hour to be the main cast in that drama for actors and actresses.
Many pop stars(even singers) act in that Jidaigeki.

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Konkatsu is mixed words of "Kekkon" and "Katsudo".
Kekkon means "marriage", and Katsudo means "hunting".
We often use "Shukatsu" that means "job hunting", but this "Konkatsu" word appeared recently and it's getting popular and often heard on TV, in manazines and news.
There are many Konkatsu parties all over Japan, and ladies and gentlemen who hope to get married join those parties.
They are generally in their late 20s or 30s and some are 40s.
This word "Konkatsu" even became the theme of a TV drama.

Hikaru Utada is so called "a genius" composer & singer who launched her 1st song at age of 15 and succeeded.Her 1st album "First Love" were sold the most than ever and the record hasn't been broken yet.
Her albums are all "million saller".
She was born in New York, USA and now she's living in Japan.
Her parents are Japanese and her mother used to be a famous singer as well.

More about Hikaru Utada

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First Love


Colors

Takuya Kimura has kept being placed 1st in "guy girls want to sleep with" ranking for years.
He is a member of a pop group called "SMAP".
SMAP is one of the most popular group in Japanese showbiz world.
Especially the popularity of Takuya Kimura is a building towering above its neighbors.
He is a singer as a member of SAMP, and he's also an actor in TV dramas and movies.

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Enka is Japanese particular genre of music.
Enka singers sing Enka in a particular way with a warble.
They also often wear Japanese traditional clothes called "Kimono" when they sing on a stage.
The lyrics of Enka are most of the time about "tragic love".
It often means extramarital affairs.
Lyrics are often written from a view of woman, mentioning her grudge, regret and lingering affection.
Espcially elder people tend to love this genre of music, but young handsome enka singers appeared recently and enka is getting more popularity.

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(Singer:Sayuri Ishikawa/Song:Amagigoe)

On TV we often see beautiful ladies who used to be guys these days.
For example, Ai Haruna(Right) and Ayana Tsubaki(Left) are popular TV icons.
They both suffered from gender identity disorder and took sex reassignment surgery.
Now they're performing on TV as ladies like actress and fashion model.
If they don't say anything, we must take them for real ladies.

Right after a topic about Gundam, I'll introduce a new addiction for guys.
It's a game of Nintendo DS newly on sale in September called "Love Plus".
This game enables date simulation with virtual girls on the screen.
According to the adds of game players on the bulletin board and blogs, they say "I kissed the screen" "I can't switch it off anymore"...
Some buy 10 boxes of this game at a time, some go out with Love Plus...
Some wives are angry about their husbands' addiction to the virtual girls.
It's exactly "Me or her" situation...
Their husbands take the game into the bathroom, living room, even bed room!
Wives worry if their husbands do it when they're working during the day.
Weird....

Most of guys love Gundam, often crazily.
It's one of the most popular robot cartoons in Japan.
Once I heard a news that a guy who loves to collect Gundam figures set fire to his own house becaue his mother threw all his collection away since she was worried about his enthusiasm.
This explains how Gundam is popular among guys.
In July 2009, for the anniversary of 30th year, a huge Gundam robot appears in Tokyo, Odaiba.
It's height 18m, weight 35ton.
This event seems to rise guys' enthusiasm even more.

Hidetoshi Nakata is a multi-talented celebrity.
He's one of the greatest Japanese soccer players.
He used to belong to Italian soccer teams below:
* Perugia Calcio SpA
* Associazione Sportiva Roma 1927 S.p.A.
* Parma Football Club SpA
* Bologna Football Club 1909 s.p.a
* ACF Fiorentina SpA

He always appeared in the big soccer games like World Cup.
What's cool about him is he learned Italian and could answer the interviews in Italian himself without an interpreter.
He retired from soccer in 2006 and began to travel all over the world.
Then he founded the foundation "TAKE ACTION".
The foundation's theme is "One thing for the earth".
He plans charity soccer matches and income is donated for charitable work.
He's also a FIFA goodwill envoy and an executive of the big sweets company "Tohato".
He's a real cool person.

The most recent topic of news headline that has made a big fuss is 2 big celebries' arrest for using illegal drugs.
One of them is Noriko Sakai, a pretty actress who used to appear often in the popular TV drama series and now is a mother of a little son.
Her husband who introduced drug to his wife has been also arrested.
The other celebrity is Manabu Oshio, a handsome guy who also used to appear in the popular drama series and now is a father of a little son as well.
There have been many cases of celebrities' arrests of illegal drug uses so far.
This time, 2 celebrities were arrested at the same time.
This indicates that it's getting easier to get drugs in Japan.
Not only in the showbiz world, but in the ordinary world as well.
Sounds quite horrible.

When people fill out a form, they usually write down 19XX at date of birth.
In Japan we have our particular way to call a year.
Years are devided by length of each emperor's enthronement.
For example this year 2009 is expressed as Heisei 21.
This means it's the 21st year since the current emperor was enthroned.
Heisei is the name of an era.
When the previous emperor passes away, the goverment picks up a new name for upcoming era.

1868 - Meiji
1912 - Taishou
1926 - Showa
1989 - Heisei

On our diver's license, date of birth is printed with Japanese year.
So when we have to show it for age certification in abroad, we have to explain our system of year.
Japanese year is part of our culture, but the government should take international situation into consideration.

In spring, there is a period when we have consecutive national holidays.
We call it "Golden week".

April 29 - Showa's day(birthday of Showa Emperor)
May 3 - Constitution Memorial Day
May 4 - Greenery Day
May 5 - Children's Day

In fall, there is once again the same kind of period.
According to the news, it is called "Silver week".
(I knew it recently...)

September 21 - Respect-for-the-Aged Day
September 22 - People's Day
September 23 - Automnal Equinox Day

During these periods, many people take days off and have a long holiday.
Summer vacation in August is common in most countries, but these Golden & Silver weeks are particular in Japan.
So it's nice to travel abroad during these holidays but plane tickets for these periods are sold out as soon as they are on sale.
This indicates how much Japanese people like to go abroad on holidays...
Is there any particular holiday like this abroad?

The topic of "swine flue" is still hot in Japan.
It broke out in spring.
It was said it came from Mexico and was spreading rapidly over the world.
News broadcasted the topic everyday, and people suddenly started to put masks on so all the masks were sold out in drug stores.
I remember I also went to a drug store to buy it and it costed twice as much as usual price!
The first victim appeared in Kansai area, so Osaka station is filled with people wearing masks all over.
Then the pandemic seemed to settle down once, but it's appearing once again these days.
When the winter is coming, flue starts to spread every year.
So it's assumed that this winter will be horrible with swine flue or what is called "the flue of new type".
I wonder if this topic is as hot in overseas as in Japan.

"Soushokukei dansi"(= Herbivorous guys) is a popular word in Japan these days.
This means "guys who are absolutely passive about love or girls".
Herbivorous guys don't ask girls to go out for date or anything.
They have no passion or inpulse for love.
On the other hand, "Nikushokukei josi"(= Carnivorous girls) is often heard as well.
It means "girls who are absolutely active about love or guys"
They behave aggressively when they want a guy.
The reason why these words are popular is there are many this kind of guys & girls.
This is very interesting and at the same time very shameful.
My personal opinion is guys should ask girls.
This may be an old idea though...

Hi! I'm Momo, and this is my first page of my blog.
This summer I visited Czech Republic.
There I met 3 Czech girls.
What surprised me is all of them love Suchi so much.
They try to make Sushi themselves.
One of them even tries to buy what is called "Sushi Kit" on the internet.
According to her it's very expensive(about 440 $US) so that she can only buy it once in 3 months.
For me, Sushi is of course nothing special.
Some Sushi restaurants are very expensive here in Japan, but we have many cheap ones as well, and we can buy ingredients at relatively cheap price in supermarkets.
So this experience was kind of "culture shock" to me.
I've heard before that there are many Suchi restaurants abroad.
But it's still amazing that many foreigners love that Japanese unique taste.