Archive for 'noncategory' Category

Tokyo HOTARU:The image of firefly of Tokyo

There were so many people who admired the beauty of Tokyo HOTARU as well as Tokyo Skytree. It was wonderful. At first,I couldn’t find the place to watch since there were so many people. So I ride on a train which runs over the river. It was also fun.
If you missed the chance to watch yesterday, please come and see next year .
There are so many nice restaurants near by which provide customers very tasty dishes with reasonable price.

大きな地図で見る

How do you think of cat cafe?

Cat cafe is a hot topic in Japan. Cat cafe is a theme cafe whose attraction is cats that can be watched and played with. These cafes are quite popular in Japan, with Tokyo being home to at least 39 cat cafes. But for animal rights activists, these cafes are exploitative places where animals are subjected to unnatural stress. They welcome a new ordinance, coming into force later this year, that will ban the display of animals after 8 p.m. Read the rest of this entry »

Japan’s government changes plan to promote tourism

Japan’s governmet decided at a Cabinet meeting on March 30 on its next five-year basic plan to promote tourism starting in fiscal 2012, setting a goal of increasing the annual number of foreign visitors to 18 million by 2016.

The new tourism promotion plan stipulates that tourism should take the lead in reconstruction of regions hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture by increasing the number of foreign visitors. Read the rest of this entry »

Two toy poodles became police dogs in Tottori

Two toy poodles became police dogs in Tottori Prefecture in January.

The female poodles — Karin, who turns 2, and 2-year-old Fuga — have appeared on television programs since they passed the police dog exam in November. Read the rest of this entry »

Most beautiful Japanese garden: Adachi Museum of Art garden

The U.S. magazine Journal of Japanese Gardening has picked the Adachi Museum of Art garden in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, as the best Japanese garden for the ninth consecutive year.

The 165,000-square-meter site housing traditional moss and dry gardens has been selected as 2011’s finest Japanese garden, with specific mention given to its intensive grooming and maintenance efforts and staff attitude.

Read the rest of this entry »

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! 2012-The Year of The Dragon

Happy New Year , everyone !!   In Japan  last year was kind of a year of  hardships and tragedy, but I do hope this year is full of  happiness and good fortune for everyone.

This year 2012 is a Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zoidiac. And what is more, personally I am a “Toshi Otoko”(a man who was born in a year with the same Chinese zodiac sign as the current year) . One Chinese zodiac sign comes once in twelve years and now I experience being  my third time  Toshi Otoko in my life this year.

In general on the January 2nd (today) , the Imperial Palace  opens to the public for its visitors to offer congratulations to the emperor ,and the emperor and some imperial members will show up in front and wave to them.

Popularity contest between local “Yurukawa” mascots under way

Kumamoto Prefecture’s “Kuma-mon” bear mascot and the Ehime Prefecture city of Imabari’s “Barii-san” bird character are in a dead heat in an online popularity contest until Saturday between some 350 cartoon characters representing local mascots across Japan.

#1: Kuma-mon from Kumamoto

These characters, created by local governments and businesses to attract tourists and invigorate their communities, are known as “yuru-kyara,(ゆるキャラ）” literally meaning ”loose characters” to signify their rather unrefined and laid-back image. Read the rest of this entry »

Becky wins “Best Character Award 2011”

“Talent” Becky, 27, is this year’s winner of publisher Kodansha’s “Best Character Award.” Part of the Kodansha Advertising Awards, it goes to the celebrity voted most popular by readers during the year and who contributed to the progress of magazine advertising.

Becky,born March 6, 1984 is a Japanese television personality, or “tarent”. She debuted as a regular on the popular children’s show Oha-Suta in 1999 reading out the English names of various Pokemon characters in a section of the show called “Pokemon: The World.”

In 2008 she was named by Japan Today as the most popular female TV personality because she appeared in more commercials (14) than any other female in Japan.

an an magazine

Read the rest of this entry »

“Cool Tours”: Japan Introduction Video 2nd Episodes Uploaded

This time, we interviwed so-called Foreigners friendly Hotel : Sakura Hotel in Ikebukuro. 

Reception desk is open for 24h and staffs are fluent in English and also in other languages(including Korean and Malay !).  Cafe is also open for 24h and there, you can eat various menus from all around world(French, Itaian, Egyptien, Asian and so on).  At first, menus are not so  many, however, travelers who got along very nicely with cafe staff taught them how to cook  menus of their own countries. 

Room price is relatively low (please check it out our video!) and you can cook by yourself if you want, using kitchen exclusive to hotel guests.  This kind of lodging facility is really helpful for  travelers, especially when they visit one country that has a strong currency.   

Please click http://japan-cooltours.com/

Is Osaka the unhappiest region in Japan?

 

Out of Japan’s 47 prefectures, Osaka came in dead last in a new study that set out to rank the country’s regions by happiness.

Osaka

According to the study released by Hosei University, Osaka received poor marks in all of the four main categories used in its assessment – safety, lifestyle and family, health and work opportunities.

The study analyzed some 40 socioeconomic factors ranging from crime to marriage and employment rates from April to September this year.

The three Hokuriku prefectures took the top three spots in the study.Fukui came in first place followed by Toyama and Ishikawa coming in second and third respectively. One of the things that propelled Fukui to the top spot was its low crime and accident rate as well as an excellent preschool system.

Asukagawa, Fukui

On the other hand, Osaka is the popular tourist destinations like Tokyo, Kyoto, Okinawa and Hokkaido, all of which filled out the bottom 10.
Is Osaka the unhappiest region in Japan?

The happiest regions ranking of 47 prefectures of Japan (Hosei University)

1:Fukui
2:Toyama
3:Ishikawa
4:Tottori
5:Saga
6:Kumamoto
7:Nagano
8:Shimane
9:Mie
10:Niigata
.
.
.
38:Tokyo
39:Fukuoka
40:Aomori
41:Okinawa
42:Kyoto
43:Hokkaido
44:Saitama
45:Hyogo
46:Kochi
47:Osaka

Amazing new humanoid robot “Asimo” unveiled

Honda’s new human-shaped robot can now run faster, balance itself on uneven surfaces, hop on one foot and pour a drink.

The new Asimo can now jog at 9 kilometers per hour pushing better with its toes so its run was smoother and not as jerky. It can also got improved hands as well, allowing individual movement of each finger, so it could do sign language.

Asimo is also able to distinguish the voices of three people spoken at once, using face recognition and analyzing sound, to figure out that one woman wanted hot coffee, another orange juice, and still another milk tea.

“Maybe at the start this was a dream of engineers to make a machine that was close to a human being, like Astro Boy.”Takanobu Ito, the president of Honda said at the press conference.

Panasonic battery-powered robots “Evolta” complete triathlon in Hawaii

Evolta is a small robot created by Panasonic to market their Evolta batteries. The little green robot is extremely energy-efficient and has accomplished many feats so far such as climbing the Grand Canyon using a rope and driving the Le Mans race track.

Panasonic said that three small humanoid robots have completed a triathlon race on the island of Hawaii.

The robots finished the 230-kilometer triathlon on Monday morning, taking about 167 hours, attaining the goal to complete the swimming, cycling and marathon events within a week with their batteries repeatedly recharged.

Panasonic has also conducted other robot tests to demonstrate the capabilities of the batteries in recent years, including one in which a robot scaled the Grand Canyon in the U.S. state of Arizona.

Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 arrives to New York

The taxi’s radio was turned to a Classical FM broadcast. Janacek’s Sinfonietta – probably not the ideal music to hear in a taxi caught in traffic….(Quote: “1Q84” by Haruki Murakami)

Cover of 1Q84 English version

An English translation of Haruki Murakami’s latest novel “1Q84” hit New York bookstore shelves two years after the best-selling book was released in Japanese, with some shops holding events to celebrate the book’s arrival and opening their doors at midnight for enthusiastic fans.

Cover of 1Q84 Japanese version

In Japan, the novel quickly became a sensation, with its first printing selling out the day it was released, and reaching sales of one million within a month.

At an event on Monday evening at Three Lives & Company in Greenwich Village, about 70 people came to be the first ones to buy the book, according to store manager Toby Cox.

Meanwhile Brooklyn’s Word bookstore held a ”read-a-thon” where fans were encouraged to share their favorite passages from past Murakami books while counting down to the release at midnight.

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Haruki Murakami

Originally three volumes in Japanese, the English translation by Harvard professor Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel of Arizona University was published by Random House, Inc. in a 944-page single volume.

Readers were looking forward to starting the new book and seeing how it related to Murakami’s past works as well as other literature. Customer reviwes on Amazon.com

The story, set in Tokyo in 1984, takes place over the course of one year. As reality begins to unravel, the lives of the two main characters, Aomame, a hired killer, and Tengo, a writer, begin to converge.

Non-Alcoholic Drinks Boom in Japan

Actress and model Karina (香里奈）, 27, is starring in a new series of TV commercials for Asahi Beer’s Double Zero Cocktail line. The cocktail, which has been on the market for approximately one year, is non-alcoholic and has zero calories, and recently celebrated one million cases sold.

Double Zero Cocktail CM
To commemorate the sales record, Asahi presented Karina with a 10-year supply of the drink &#8211; or 3,650 cans. “I’ll be sure to give some to friends and co-workers,” she said at a news conference. “I want to tell them, ‘Even if you don’t get drunk, this will make you happy!’”

Double Zero Cocktail CM

Kirin Brewery Co has raised its sales target of Kirin Free, a malty-tasting beverage with no alcohol up around 20 percent from the previous target due to stronger-than-expected sales.

Kirin Free CM
High temperatures across the nation coupled with the beverage’s growing recognition and popularity among drivers are contributing to robust sales of alcohol-free beer-flavored beverages.

What do you think about the logo for ‘Cool Japan’?

The government unveiled a logo to be used by Japanese agencies and corporations around the world to promote Japanese culture embodying the idea of “Cool Japan” in sectors such as animation, fashion and food.

Cool Japan logo

From a shortlist selected from among 99 logos submitted for a competition held between late July and mid-August, a logo incorporating the English words “JAPAN NEXT,” created by prominent designer Kashiwa Sato (佐藤可士和）, has been chosen by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda　（野田佳彦）, a government office for intellectual properties said.

Kashiwa Sato

Sato says he designed the logo with the image in mind of a Japan that overcomes the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster and is reborn as a stronger, more creative and confident nation — the “next Japan.”

The logo is to be used for products and software related to Cool Japan operations undertaken by government agencies and private corporations.

Sato has led a number of branding and design projects for musicians, companies, schools and other entities. He created the red and white Uniqlo logos.

Uniqlo logos

What do you think about the logo for ‘Cool Japan’?