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Nagoya Speed Dating Sat. Feb. 2nd at STEPS in Sakae! 2008-01-28 01:17:00 Nagoya International Speed Dating Returns Feb. 2nd!!Date: Saturday February 2nd, 2008 Time: 6-9pm registration from 6:00 to 6:30pmPlace: STEPS, a new exciting club in the heart of SakaeHasegawa Bldg. 2F, 3-2-29 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya PREPAY FEE:2500 Yen Gentlemen, 1500 Yen Ladies Price includes 1 free drink!!30 couples only! 30 men and 30 women! Reserve and prepay to join!AT THE DOOR: Men 3000 yen, women 2000 yen Dress code: Anything (Casual, etc) Reservations: Pre Paid spots are Gauranteed! only 30 men and 30 women. Reserve and prepay to secure your spot. Nagoya Speed Dating is a great way to meet new people in the Aichi, Gifu and Mie Areas! At Nagoya Speed Dating, you will receive a number, an assigned table, and a personalized Speeding Ticket form. When the host says to start you will have between 3 to 5 minutes to talk to the person at your table. When the time is up the host will give you a signal. At that time the men will change tables and the women will remain seated. All you h ...

Japan This Week 27/1/2008 2008-01-26 20:17:00 ????? Japan's Nikkei index has shed a third of its value since July, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange has lost $1.3 trillion in value, equivalent to the entire economy of Canada.NY TimesJudge quits after biting woman in sex shop.The Daily YomiuriIn a truly tragic case, a young woman commits suicide in Osaka after her child was killed by an intruder in a robbery.Japan TimesHead of driving school arrested over groping his young female students in Love Hotel car parks.Mainichi ShinbunHigh levels of mercury found in New York sushi.New York TimesLast week's Japan newsJapan StatisticsThere are approximately 520,000 cigarette vending machines in Japan.Source: The Tobacco Institute of JapanOver 1 million tablets of MDMA or Ecstasy were seized in Japan in 2007, the highest number on record.Source: National Police Agency102 blood donors tested positive for HIV in 2007 from a total of 4,939,548 donors.Source: Health, Labor & Welfare MinistryThe most popular names for new born children ...

New Registration System for Foreigners 2008-01-25 19:53:00 ????????The "gaijin card" that all foreigners resident in Japan must carry as a form of identification looks set to disappear--or, rather, be updated.Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama said on Friday: "We're moving toward deciding to abolish the current system."The government announced yesterday that a new registry system for foreigners will be introduced. The new system will be similar to the system for Japanese nationals, which includes marital status and address for a household not just on an individual basis.The purpose is to make it easier for communities with large number of foreigners to keep track of whether, for example, children are enrolled in school.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Gaijin ID Card ...

Nagoya Friends party - TOMORROW! 1/26 2008-01-24 17:53:00 Nagoya Friends is holding it's 48th party in Nagoya!PARTY AT Date: TOMORROW NIGHT!! January 26th, 2008 (4th Saturday) Time: 18:30 - 21:00 Drinks will be served between 6:30pm-8:45pm. Place: Shooter's Bar (Pola Bldg, 2-9-26 Sakae, Naka-ku (very close to Fushimi Station)Fee: 3000 YenDress code: Anything (Casual, etc) Reservations: Not necessary but recommended and appreciated. Just show up to the party! Over 25,000 Yen worth of exciting prize giveaways each month!There will be free food along with free drinks (beers, wine, cocktail drinks and juices). Our party is not a dinner party, but we will have light food & snacks. Quantities are limited, so please come early! Please free to come alone or bring your friends. EVERYBODY is welcome to join regardless of nationality/gender. Reservation is greatly appreciated. About 125-150+ people are expected to attend. Approximately 55% female and 45% male, 70% Japanese and 30% non-Japanese. Pictures from previous Nagoya Friends Parties. Map &a ...

Japanese: the almighty adjectival 2008-01-24 07:44:00 ???????Every Thursday, we’re going to introduce you to bits and pieces, and aspects of, the Japanese language. But, before we go too far, let’s talk a bit about putting sentences together in Japanese. Perhaps the most useful thing to keep in mind is how things are described in Japanese.There are ordinary old adjectives like red (akai), noisy (urusai), cold (samui) and sexy (sekushina) that work exactly the same as in English. E.g. akai isu (red chair), urusai yatsu (a noisy guy), samui hi (cold day) and sekushina onna (sexy woman).However, when it comes to trying to say things like “The man I spoke to on the phone this morning,” it’s best to try and forget about how we do it in English.In some ways, Japanese is more consistent than English in regard to sentences like this. In English we jump from saying, for example, “the tall MAN” (i.e. description + THING) to “the MAN I spoke to on the phone this morning” (i.e. THING + description. But Japanese keeps t ...

Jiuta 2008-01-23 11:25:00 ??Jiuta - literally "earth song" - is a kind of Japanese musical performance dating from the 17th century when blind male musicians would entertain the yuppies of the day: the rising professional classes, with the koto: a kind of harp, the shamisen: a three-stringed guitar-like instrument, and the shakuhachi: a bamboo flute.Needless to say, such music is now rarely heard in Japan, and I was privileged to be offered a ticket to a jiuta performance on Monday evening at Tokyo's Aoyama Round Theater, courtesy of the main jiuta performer, Ms. Akiko Fujii, and the Japan Traditional Cultures Foundation.Like most court-inspired music in Japan, jiuta is hardly entertainment in the conventional sense of the word. It is very closely allied with silence, and has complicated rhythms that are not really designed to get toes tapping.The main performer of the evening, Ms. Akiko Fujii, had a very engaging presence, a full, expressive voice, and exuded complete mastery of the jiuta form. Her very f ...

Fukuoka Airport International Terminal 2008-01-22 22:51:00 ????The new international terminal at Fukuoka Airport was opened in 1999, and built on the site of the former USAF base Itazuke. © Jake Davies & Japanvisitor.comFukuoka Airport is the third largest airport in Japan after Tokyo's Narita Airport & Osaka's Kansai International Airport.The Tokyo to Fukuoka air route is one of the busiest in the world.Fukuoka Airport is Japan's most easily accessible airport, being just a few minutes subway ride from downtown Hakata and its Shinkansen station.The International terminal is served by Japanese, East Asian, and SE Asian airlines. There are regular international flights to Bangkok, Beijing, Busan, Chengdu, Guam, Hong Kong Kong, Manila, Seoul and Taipei. Chubu International AirportYahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Fukuoka airport Japan travel Kyushu ...

Suicide 2008-01-21 18:43:00 ????Last Wednesday, the K-Tokyu Express train bound for Demachiyanagi, in Kyoto, pulled out of Osaka's Kyobashi Station exactly on time at 5:36 pm and was comfortably full. The Keihan express trains are painted an elegant orange-red and yellow, and have a small painting on the front inside wall of each carriage and large picture windows. These carriages feel more like European inter-city trains than the usual point A to point B crush of Japanese rush-hour lines.The conductor's baritone guided us through the stops until Kyoto in a brief announcement as we pulled out of Kyobashi. We were three or four minutes into our ride and easing into cruising speed when, suddenly, the sound of rocks--scattering violently or hitting the windows or skidding across the bottom of the carriage--made everyone duck reflexively and look around.The lights then went out as the cable bounced from the overhead wire and against the roof above us. The car was nearly dark but for the emergency lights alo ...

Yuzu 2008-01-20 19:49:00 ??During the winter season it is common to see large orange-like fruit ripening on garden trees and in orchards in the Japanese countryside. This is the Citros junos or yuzu in Japanese.Originally from China the yuzu can grow to resemble a grapefruit and is related to its smaller cousin the mandarin orange or tangerine (mikan). However, the yuzu is tart in taste, not sweet and is not peeled and eaten as is.Yuzu are used in Japanese cuisine much like a lemon in western cooking: yuzu can be squeezed over fried foods such as tempura, form part of dressings and sauces such as ponzu, and set on the dish as a garnish decoration.Yuzu are also often placed in baths or onsen spas in winter as a form of aromatherapy.Yuzu have been "re-discovered" as a garnish and seasoning in the West and have been taken up as an essential ingredient by a number of US chefs. Yuzu juice comes in bottles and can be bought online. Yuzu is also a popular name for Japanese restaurants.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceB ...

Japan This Week 1/20/08 2008-01-19 20:58:00 ?????Japanese trawler trailing whaling protesters?GuardianChinese seafood "safe," asserts Beijing.NY TimesPM Fukuda may set greenhouse gas emissions targets at Davos confab.The Daily YomiuriHello Kitty set to launch product line for men.Japan TimesCellphone novels dominate mainstream publishing.New York TimesJapan's hot spring resorts go hi-tech.New York TimesThe alarming rise in sexlessness among couples coupled with the number of men who sit while urinating bode ill for future of Japan, according to shrink.Mainichi ShinbunLast week's Japan newsJapan StatisticsThe Construction Ministry and National Police Agency (NPA) announced this week that 98 "model districts" around Japan have been slated to have bicycle lanes put in over the next two years. Examples include Tokyo's Hatagaya and the area around JR Kameido Station.The purpose is to reduce bike-on-pedestrian collisions, which have skyrocketed in recent years. In 2006, there were 2,767 collusions, which is 4.8 times grea ...

Snowy sunrise on the Gonokawa River 2008-01-18 17:08:00 ???The Gonokawa River is the longest river in the Chugoku region at over 190km in length. The beautiful river flows through the prefectures of Shimane and Hiroshima and is nicknamed "Chugoku Taro".Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Shimane Gonokawa River Chugoku ...

Japanese Women's Leggings and Shoes 2008-01-18 03:16:00 ???????????Colorful leggings are all the rage now among young women in Japan. Swathed in below the belt layers to ward off the winter cold, women prance through city streets in mini-skirts and multiple pairs of leggings of every sort of design and color.This young woman is also wearing "military" heels to complement the blue tights and striped leggings.Her below the navel look is rounded out with a ripped denim skirt and the requisite brand shop bag. Boutiques in Japan make extra stylish and extra sturdy bags for their female customers--and therefore get free advertising from the millions of women who carry around their lunch in a Gucci bag.This young woman was photographed at Osaka's Kyobashi Station during rush hour. Pigeon-toed and doe-eyed, she was completely absorbed in text-messaging on her cell phone.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJap ...

Japanese Lesson of the Week: KY 2008-01-16 20:03:00 ?????The first time I heard the expression "KY" was in a train full of junior college women playing with their cell phones, twiddling their bangs, and squealing at the top of their lungs--oblivious to all around them.In the midst of this estrogen-fueled chaos, a woman in front of me yelled to her friends, ?????????KY??(ano hito tte mecha KY!). This roughly translates as: "That person is really clueless!" The group exploded in laughter and agreement.In Japanese, "KY" has nothing to do with K-Y Jelly. It is a combination of "ku-ki"????, which means "air" or "atmosphere" and is the K. The Y is "yomu"????, which means to "read." The Y is usually used in its negative potential form--???? ("yomenai"), meaning "can't read."Thus, KY is slang for someone who can't read the situation, doesn't get it, is completely out to lunch.Japanese For Busy PeopleYahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsB ...

Vegetarian Sandwiches 2008-01-16 07:47:00 ?????We wrote earlier about the problems of being vegetarian in Japan.A solution seemed to be at hand from the current sandwich boom recently underway in Japan. Many bakeries and convenience stores are now stocking a range of sandwiches - a western snack completely absent from the shelves of most stores just a few years ago.Admittedly the Japanese sandwich is a pale version of its European counterpart. The white, spongy bread, shorn of its crust, has the constituency, and some would say the taste, of a cotton futon. We have yet to find any fillings that would satisfy a committed veggie or even a lacto-vegetarian. Cheese and tomato? Dream on. Ham and egg predominate as fillings. Yes, you can find a tuna sandwich but what if you don't eat fish?We live in hope of the first truly Japanese vegetarian sandwich. If you happen to spot one, please let us know.Onigiri anyone?Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in ...

Kunizakari Sake Museum Handa 2008-01-15 07:30:00 ?????????????Listen to a part of the sake museum guided tourJust across the road from the Vinegar Museum in Handa is the Kunizakari Sake Museum. The two liquids are historically Handa's biggest exports and have an intimate connection as vinegar can be made from sake lees - a by-product of sake production.The Kunizakari Sake Museum is free to enter and includes a guided tour of the building with exhibits of historic implements used in sake brewing and an explanation of the production process, a video promoting sake as an essential ingredient of Japanese culture and the best bit - a sake tasting session.The museum is housed in a 200-year-old building and sake has been brewed on the premises since 1972.A cedar ball or sugidama is hung outside the building and is replaced each autumn when the first sake of the year is produced.Kunizakari Sake MuseumNishihon-machi 2-24Handa-shi475-8585Tel: 0569 23 1499AccessKunizakari Sake Museum is a short walk east from either M ...