watashi to tokyo

Japanese Yakuza created Katrina?

Tell me, what do you think. Is he serious?
NBC Weather Anchor, Scott Stevens, has confirmed that Japanese Yakuza Make Hurricane Katrina. He is Maji?  Recently the head of the biggest Yakuza syndicate retired, and they seem to be pretty busy in their own business.

Here is the great site of a Yakuza movie. I enjoyed this Yakuza movie posters pages. They  all have the same exaggerated and serious tastes :-). In 1960-70s, Yakuza movies were popular in Japan. Ken Takakura and Bunta Sugawara became big as gang movie stars. I think "Without Honor and Humanity" (aka: Jingi naki Tatakai) would be the most well known yakuza movie. "Yamaguchi gumi" were subject of Yakuza movies sometimes. Yamaguchi gumi gaiden, Yamaguchi gumi sandaime. I am not sure how real they are, but basically those movies were created based on a documentary book about them.

Public manner campaigns

The Japan Ad Council (AC) is an organization serving the common good through public service campaigns. So their advertisements are just messages for good manners or a call for donating, or volunteering. Their ads are nothing special and most them are so sombre, but some have a strong message because they are made in a simple way.

The AC has eight regional networks and implements 17 or 18 campaigns each year on a regional or national scale, depending on the campaign theme. This is an ad calling for donations for Sumatra, "Even after you don't see this news on TV, we need to keep supporting the life of those living there". This is one of the nation-wide campaigns. A call for a "bone-marrow bank", this is a little bit scary: a call for checking for HIV, they say you don't know if your ex gf's ex bf's etc... And this is a life campaign in which Chiaki Kuriyama appears. She say "life is precious, take care of yourself, such words I hear a million times though. -You are precious-. If some say this to me, I can live on." This is one of the local campaigns, so I have never seen it. A naked king, the caption is nice "don't you know you are being laughed at?".

By the way as public manner campaign, JT's tobacco manner series is funny I think. Here is the top page, please enjoy them. I like this, this, this. And here is the TV series.

Shochu, ramen, mentako. Special food in Kyushu.

p> My friends and I are still talking about the drunk girl on the train, she is 21 years old. However I heard that young Japanese people tend not to drink alcohol, because they think that being drunk isn't cool. Of course if they lose their self control and bother someone else, it's also not cool. But usually adults know how to drink, their limits, and they can learn from their experience, I think. I think that people who hate alcohol will miss one of the pleasures of life. Today I found a good article about Sake. Please check the Japan times.

Last Sunday I was in the largest city in Kyushu, Hakata in Fukuoka. It was a beautiful autumn morning like today and I miss it already. I rode the Super express Kamome from Nagasaki to Hakata. And it was less than a two hour ride. I will tell you that it's much better than the Shinkansen. Kamome has good a artistic design, wood floor, and wide leather chairs.

At Hakata, I stayed in Hotel Montrey La Soeur. It was a pretty nice hotel located in the center of Hakata. On the First night I ate Tonkotsu ramen in Ippudo. Tonkotsu ramen has white creamy soup with pork bone. Ippudo is a famous Tonkotsu ramen chain, so we can also try it in the Tokyo area. But I ate it in the main shop in Hakata so I could compare and see if Kyushu is better than Tokyo. The Locan special food can be special because they can get fresh materials and also the air, humidity, temperature, and those conditions would be fit and make the food delicious I think. By the way, I have never cooked it, but if you want, here is the recipe.

Karashimentaiko is another special Fukuoka food. Since it is so popular, you can find it anywhere in Japan. Popular combinations are in rice balls, pasta, omelettes, And of course pretz etc,.

Returning to the alcohol topic, Kyushu is well known for it's Shochu. Shochu is Japan's other indigenous alcoholic beverage, however unlike sake, shochu is distilled. It is also made from one of several raw materials. The alcoholic content is usually 25%, although sometimes it can be as high as 42% or more." When you drink it for the first time, you might dislike its smell, but after drinking it a few times, you get to know its great taste. I enjoyed some Shochu in a Shochu bar on my night in Hakata.

orz...Ass monster Asslla?!

I wrote that sometimes the title of movies has to be changed in Japan. Now the worst one is "Napoleon Dynamite". I have no interests to this movie "Rectuma", but I had to laugh to see this Japanese title. "Ass monster Asslla". Yes! of course it comes from Godzilla. The poster has same mood actually. Well I like this changing. Ah the artist of this poster designed Kill Bill too and I heard Tarantino liked very much this as an unofficial poster

I will use this opportunity to show some funny Japanese related stuff. This is Petshop boys' PV movie. I like their sound but this PV is ??? lemonade TV ad, Sushi Vision TV, masquerade TV show etc,. they would make it in Karaoke mood maybe. This is Suzukisan Flash (English version soramimi). You can hear like that? I don't think so. This is Thailand snack TV ad, she says "Oh Hachimitsu stick, honto ni oishi!" and take her kinomo off. Well maybe it express passionately how it is delicious. This is Swedish band "Ninjya Black", member's name is Wasabi Thunderborn (>_<)

To unlimber our wallet to buy

I wrote about Hippos and cheap fake beer. In short, Hippos is a low malt beer (Japan sets content rules, so more than 66.7% malt is "Beer"). Apparently the reason why Hippos is popular is related to Japan's long recession. I found a funny story, -My wife asked me to go to get beer, so I got beer. Then my wife was angry with me "you get real beer!" -. Yeah, many Japanese drink Hippos or cheaper fake beer at home and call it beer without any problem. But cheaper fake beer is cheap enough to cut their makers own throats :-o In August, 16% of the total selling volume of the main 5 beer makers were the cheaper fake beer. Kirin, Asashi, Sapporo, Suntory and Okinawa Orion beer all saw a fall in profits in their current earnings.

But finally the Japanese economy seems to be growing again, and some say they can see some light now. However in the beer market, they feel a little better too, because the selling of expensive permium beer is going well. Here is line up of premium beer: Kirin Brau Meister (here are TV ads), Asashi Jukusen (they show restaurants where you can order this beer), Sapporo Yebisu black (this site is very beautiful), Suntory Premier Moltz. (this beer got a Monde selection award this year, it means the best beer) Each price is around 260 yen, while real beer (No need to say real, I know!) is around 220yen. Hippos is usually 140yen and the cheaper fake beer is around 110yen. You know the difference of price.

I heard after a long recession and long saving life, finally people have to be tired of such life and start to use their money. Actually I heard 100yen shop has a same kind of problem. People finally got to be tired of buying things in 100yen shops, and living surrounded by 100yen goods. So 100 yen shops are trying to be nicer, changing their 'just cheap' image. To unlimber our wallet to buy will work for economy too. Japanese like saving money (a funny article that is), so even during recession, most Japanese had money to spend, they did not use it cautiously.

Today the news said the number of adults running away from home has been increasing for 5 years, it is three times more than it was 10 years ago. The high rate of adult suicide and running away still means Japanese stress and tough situation. However finally I can hear sensibly leaving behind the footsteps of long depressed economy.

The Legend of drunk Japanese girl?!

If I have to choose "the strongest person this month", I thought it would be Koizumi. But today I found a stronger one. A 21 year old woman got drunk and rode on the connector between trains on the JR west Tokaido line. A guy found her sitting on the connector when he got off at Amagasaki Station and reported it to station staff. The train went to Osaka Station and she was found lying on the railway line there. She said "After I got a ticket at Akashi Station, I don't have any memory. I could find where I was when stuff woke me up." The distance between Akashi St. and Osaka St. is about 52km, it takes 52minutes or so. The train runs at a maximum speed of 120 kilometres per hour. Wow great! She could grab on to the connection somewhere here? I have no idea.

Acetaldehyde is related to whether or not someone can handle alcohol or not. Around half of Japanese are low in acetaldehyde or do not have any. It means the Japanese are the weakest for alcohol in the world. However the Japanese like to drink and it is okay to be drunk in public. Maybe in this culture alcohol has been a communication tool and it can't be big issue because juvenile violence caused by alcohol is not common. Some puke, some sleep on train stations, streets, but basically many people are happy drunks. I think so.

By the way what was your worst memory of drinking? Like I wrote sometimes I like drinking too. But I can't drink outside so much, so I don't have big embarrassed memory. A few times I missed my stop on the train, then had to take a taxi back home. Even when I was so drunk, I could return home and I never forget wash my face. Maybe those would be into my "batch job" and file run when I open my apartment door. My co-worker did the same, when he woke up he was in the last station where is the starting point for a mountain climb on a snowy day. My friend strained his back, when he carried his drunk girlfriend. This spring another friend fell down when she drank but she didn't notice she broke her leg bone, a few days later she went to the hospital because she didn't know why her leg hurt so much and she found she broke it. Now she has metal plate on her leg. Well some has such bull about alcohol. How about you?

Super Mario 20th anniversary

Super Mario has his 20th anniversary this year. I had this first famicom and played Super Mario. I think I still remember which block I should push to get extra coins.  20 years have passed and now we can play Mario on Game boy micro, wow it's thin and small like a card!. When we hear this sound, we can say "It's Mario!!" soon. right?. Here is TV ad and you can see how thin it is.　It reminds me of my first game machine "Game and watch". I had three Game and watches and I like I liked to play the fireman version.  For 20th anniversary Nintendo made special design micros which collaborate with other companies. This one is the Cup Noodle version, this is the Fuji desposal camera version, this is the Tower Record version and I like this, the Kincho version.

Talking about games, the Tokyo Game Show2005 will be held this weekend. In the Japanese webpage, they have a page"For Costume players". They prohibits thesecostumes 1. Policeman, fireman, Guard, Nurse. 2. dressed skimpily 3. Nazi, terrorists, 4. Big and long costume. 5. over 50cm tool, gun, sword, weapons etc,. Hmm Game characters and costume play seem to go together, like this Final Fantasy 3 guy. Maybe Mario Costume will be okay, it costs 12000yen! . Prince of Katamari Damacy will be okay too if you're careful with your face when you walk.

At the Tokyo Game show, there is a CESA ballot box corner. CESA is a big game Award in Japan which is decided by postal ballot. Yes it could be a gauge of a game's popularity. Last year's best game was Monster Hunter by Capcom. 　You can see Japanese TV ads and game promotion movie please check the site (sorry I don't know how to know link the URL of flash site ). The next mark games were Katamari Damacy, Onimusha3, Gyakuten Saiban3, grand theft auto 3　etc,. In Kanagawa Prefecture and some othres, The grand theft auto series are rated as a "harmful game". :-o.  The Japanese game award was conferred upon Exciting Prowresling  and the foreign game award was conferred upon Need for Speed Underground. This year's award will be announced in the end of October.

Nagasaki special Food

Koizumi and the LDP won, And it was actually a big win. Maybe his simple message "postal reform" was good. Since I was in Kyushu, I voted before my trip in public office at the next station. There were lines and many people did early voting. People were concerned with the selection this time, Because this big win will support Koizumi's reform.

I will tell you about the food of Nagasaki today. Like I wrote yesterday, Nagasaki was the only port to trade with Portugal, but Japan ended diplomatic relations with Portugal and then only traded with Holland and China. We can see Portuguese influence on food very well. For example Castilla is a special Nagasaki sponge cake originally from Portugal. Its name came from the old land of Portugal. I ate some samples and I think that SEIFUDO (live camera in shop) Castilla was the most delicious. You can buy this on the way to Glovor Garden. I found Special Nagasaki icecream too. Look! A piece of Castilla was in the ice cream.

Nagasaki Chanpon is a dish of noodles with vegetables and seafood. Chinese cook arranged Chinese noodles for Nagasakai people. Chanpon means mixture in Japanese and is actually a mixture of Chinese and Japanese ingredients. Sara udon has almost the same roots and almost the same sauce but uses hard fried crispy noodles. Yummy!! I went to eat Chanpon and Sara Udon in this shop KOZANRO in China Town. It was very nice.

Of course they made their own unique character. This is Castilla chan in Chanpon. Hmm I don't need.

A weekend trip for Kyushu-Nagasaki

I've just returned from my weekend Kyushu Trip. I went to Nagasaki and Hakata. It was great trip. I felt the contrast between those two cities. Nagasaki is a small city which has a sad, warm mood. Hakata is the biggest city in Kyushu and is a very cheerful, powerful city.

I will talk about Nagasaki today. Nagasaki was opened as a trading port for the Portuguese in 1571. Western goods and also Christianity entered through the city.However, the Bakufu (the Japanese government in those days) grew fearful of the power of the Portuguese and of the effects of Christianity. The Christian religion was then banned from 1587, and the Portuguese people had to live in very very very small area called Dejima.(very interesting site). Because of the ban, many Christians died, The Martyr's Hill is well known as a memorial place for 26 executed Franciscans. Kakure Christian (= Hidden Christian) were people who hid their religion, but still kept their Christianity. Some made Maria statues which that looked like Kannon (god of Buddhism deity) or those type of hidden stuffs. In response the Bakufu tried to find those people and they used items such as the Christ's plate (left one ) and forced people to step on it.

In the middle of the 17 century, many Christians died because of the bad and many farmers also suffered with hunger and heavy taxes (tax = rice). Then the Shimabara Rebellion happened in 1637. The leader of Christian and farmer side was Shiro Amakusa. He was said to be a yound and very honsome leader, He is a sort of legendary hero who supported the weak against the strong. His story was made into entertainment novel which is well known as Makai Tenshor. It is very exotic and interesting story that you may see in movies. (there were two movies) and a PS2 Game. In Oura Tenshudo, you can see the hard Christian historical stuff.

Another sad history is the atomic bomb. Of course I went to see the bombed Madonna. I was also impressed to see Sanno Shrine's Torii (gate). Only half remained standing. Also the bombed Japanese cinnamon trees  at Sanno Shrine. Those two trees were burned by Abomb, but they were still alive and made nuts a few months later. People were so encouraged to see those, because they then knew that the land was not dead.

Nagasaki is very small city, and I could actually walk to and around most of the historical and famous places. However each spot and each area has some sad history. But I could sense so that people's prayer was for peace.

What is a guy's cute gesture?

In Venice, "La biennale di venezia" (International cinema festival in Venice) is being held. From Japan, The Japanese monster movie "Yokai Daisenso" (Yokai war) was entered. Like I wrote before, the Yokai are a kind of creature like those found in Japanese folklore. Many of those stories tend to be comical. As far as I saw in the trailer, the movie seems to be comical too. Do you like Chiaki Kuriyama of Kill Bill?, The white haired one is her. Well if you have a night with really really really nothing to do, you might check it out with a bag of snacks. Anyway, the main actor is the 11 year old Ryunosuke Kamiki. One of today's entertainment news sites said that Ryounosuke appeared on the red carpet in Venice and was asked to "hold a pose". He then made "Taiku Zuwari" (this pose) and everybody said "Cute!!" That's it.

Taiku zuwari means gymnastic exercise lesson sitting. Yes, students sit this way in the gym. But I don't think that this is special, maybe in your country children do the same. However I will admit that the position is cute. Hmm this position seems like you're listening to someone's direction? Waiting for something? A little vulnerable? Adults hardly site this way in public, but when they do it in a park, they look cute. Or at least relaxed actually. My co-worker read that news and she said "cute, but he is 11 years old. He knew it, he did it on purpose, he knows the point." Yeah, I agree. Even though he is boy, he knows how to get lights.

The reason why I wrote about such meanless news today was because I got the giggles reading about this topic. It was a real story on a TV show called Trivia no Izumi, where 6 psychologists debated for 10 hours. A gesture which brings out a woman's motherly instinct is "He looks up and checks the bottom of the pudding cup when he is eating." orz... o.. Okay, if you say so. You may try it on next your date, and please do it with pudding. By the way people seem to have a very nice mental image for pudding. Maybe, sweet, egg, mild yellow color, innocence, mom etc,. It seems to be so true. I like pudding of course and you know, it is a magic food actually. Pudding is called "purin", the name sounds very pretty for Japanese. I don't know anyone who hates pudding around me.

Hmm pudding is a strong food like a fighter who can win with a smile, without battle. This Tokyo pudding is a comedy band that wears pudding costumes. Ha ha they are wolves in pudding's clothing!!. .... Am I confusing the post with irrelevant statements now??