Japan Visitor Blog JapanVisitor is a new and rapidly expanding English-language portal to all things Japanese. A huge range of Japan related content from instant useful info to in-depth articles. Hundreds of Japan images and sounds. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 68 0 0 4687

Articles from Japan Visitor Blog

Nova News 2007-10-31 05:32:00 NOVA NEWS FROM THE GENERAL UNION Rally at Osaka City Hall and Demands to the Osaka City Government. Thursday, 1 November at 11:00AM – Meet at Yodoyabashi Stn. Exit 1 (Keihan or Midosuji lines) We will be making demands on this day to Osaka City regarding the following points. a. Dispatching. NOVA has/had a contract with Osaka city to provide teachers to their public schools. The city will now cancel all these contracts which will throw more people out of work. The General Union has always held that this dispatching is illegal and needs to be stopped. Dispatching is only supposed to be used as a temporary measure, not for the length of times that city governments are using it for. Our demand: That Osaka city hire all the NOVA dispatched teachers directly. b. National Health Insurance (KOKUMIN KENKO HOKEN). For the past two years the General Union has made demands on NOVA and the central government for enrolment of all teaching staff onto SHAKAI HOKEN (Employees Health and Pension Insu ...

Camilla Douraghy Exhibit in Tokyo 2007-10-30 08:22:00 N*ked Tokyo photographer Camilla Douraghy will be exhibiting her photos in a joint exhibition starting November 2nd.Her work will be shown together with two other photographers in an exhibition titled "Artbank Collection of Contemporary Artists in Tokyo."VenueGallery ARTIFORTNishi Azabu 4-3-11, Minato-ku - TokyoHours: 10am - 5:30pmFor Directions.Camilla Douraghy BioCamilla Douraghy was born in Tehran in Iran in 1970 to an American mother and Iranian father. Because of the political unrest in her home country and the war with Iraq, she left Iran when she was ten. She grew up in Europe, attended university at Wheaton College in America and Graduate school at Oxford University in England. It was at university that she first studied photography, which has become a passion that has followed her ever since. She has lived and traveled extensively through out Southeast Asia and now lives in Tokyo, Japan.Camilla has exhibited in Tokyo and has plans for upcoming exhibitions in Hong Kong, Tokyo a ...

Chomonkyo Gorge 2007-10-28 20:46:00 ???Chomonkyo Gorge is located in E. central Yamaguchi Prefecture and is a wonderful site to enjoy the Fall colors.The gorge is 11 kilometres in length, with an excellent path running the whole way. About 4K in there is an outdoor restaurant serving food and drinks with excellent views. About 5k in the path connects with the Chugoku Nature Trail.Chomonkyo is a 5 minute walk from JR Nagatokyo Sation on the Yamaguchi Line, and 2 minutesd walk from the Ato Town Michi no Eki on Route 9.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionJapan Book Shop Amazon UKHappi CoatsTagsJapan Shimane Chomonkyo Gorge ...

Japan This Week 10/28/07 2007-10-28 08:11:00 ????? Nova, Japan's largest language school, files for court protection andcloses, leaving 4,000 foreign language teachers without work and 300,000students without English classes.GuardianDisgraced boxer, Koki Kameda, makes public apology for brother's and family's conduct during a recent title bout.Daily YomiuriEditorial on yet another Defense Ministry scandal.Japan TimesJapanese women in sexless relationships keeping their options open.MainichiSpecialty beers on the increase in Japan.New York TimesDice-K, aka Daisuke Matsuzaka, becomes the first Japanese starting pitcher in a baseball World Series and the first Japanese pitcher to win a game.Japan TimesThe Nippon Ham Fighters win the opening game of the Japanese Series baseball finale.Japan TimesLast Week's Japan NewsJapan StatisticsSo far this year 4.89 million people have been transferred by ambulance in Japan. Of this number, 34,917 pregnant women were picked up by ambulance without having decided which hospital to t ...

NOVA Files For Protection 2007-10-26 21:08:00 ???????????????????Nova Corp, Japan's largest English conversation school filed for court protection yesterday at Osaka's District Court. The Osaka-based company has estimated debts of around 50 billion yen (US$437m) and teachers and staff have not been paid since September.Nova, which is the largest employer of foreign nationals in Japan with around 4,000 teachers working in 900 schools nationwide, ran in to problems in June, when the company was ordered to suspend part of its operations, after a court ruling found it had duped students over fees.Nova's dictatorial president Nozomu Sahashi was removed from his position as CEO and Anders Lundqvist and Shoichi Watanabe have taken over as representative directors.Nova is now struggling to find a sponsor to rehabilitate its finances and is wooing such companies as fellow conversation school Aeon and IT giants Yahoo Japan and Rakuten. If the company survives it is expected to close a number of its s ...

Kameda Come-Uppance 2007-10-25 22:17:00 ?????? The spoilt brats of the boxing ring, the Kamedas, have finally had their come-uppance. This morning, the eldest brother, Koki, appeared, shaven headed (a sign of repentance in Japan), on Japanese TV to apologize for the behavior of his younger brother, Daiki, and face a grilling from the press.The three brothers, in particular the elder two, the undefeated flyweight Koki (21) and the super flyweight Daiki (18), are renowned for their trademark crass behavior. Typical pranks are openly badmouthing opponents before a match, giving them insulting gifts, eating and drinking in the ring during a fight, turning around and waving their ass at opponents, and generally doing their best to rile.Their skill has also been questioned. Koki and Daiki seem never to be squared off with opponents who pose a serious threat to their dominance, and Koki’s most significant win, over Venezuelan Juan Jose Landaeta in August, 2006, which earned him the WBA light flyweight title, has been ...

Kurama Fire Festival 2007-10-25 20:40:00 ?????The annual Kurama Fire Festival was held on Monday night in the mountains north of Kyoto. Dating from 940 AD, it was until recently a rite of passage for the villagers of remote Kurama.It is now mobbed with tourists and hundreds of Kyoto's men (and a few women) in blue, who are there to maintain order and keep drunks from getting too close to the bonfires.Access is via the Eiden train line only; vehicle traffic along the narrow winding road up to the village is blocked by the police on the day of the festival.Events begin as darkness falls, which at this time of year is at roughly 6 pm. The bonfires, known as kagaribi are lit in front of most of the houses in the village. Villagers parade up and down the main street holding taimatsu (pine torches). Children with the pine torches rush by saying "saireiya, sairyo!"Later, massive pine torches (pictured above right) are carried along the same street. After a visit to the Yuki Shrine, at 8 pm, two portable shrines are carrie ...

Nagoya Friends Halloween Bash - FRIDAY Oct 26th (late start!) 2007-10-25 09:32:00 Nagoya Friends is holding it's 45th party in Nagoya! PARTY AT Date: TOMORROW NIGHT!!!! FRIDAY October 26th, 2007 (4th FRIDAY) Time: 18:45 - 21:15 (2.5 HOURS!!) LATE STARTDrinks will be served between 6:45pm-9:05pm. Place: Shooter's Bar (Pola Bldg, 2-9-26 Sakae, Naka-ku (very close to Fushimi Station)Fee: 3000 Yen (500 yen off with a costume!!) Dress 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!Free iPod Shuffle for the best prize, plus additional prizes to be awarded!!! 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 ex ...

Daniel Kelly 2007-10-23 10:42:00 ?????????????????Daniel Kelly, the noted Kyoto-based woodblock print artist, is holding a painting and print exhibition at Daikanyama, Kyoto October 26-28.Kelly has been in Japan since 1977, studying woodblock printmaking on his arrival for two years. Kelly, an American, has been in Kyoto ever since. His art works appear in the British Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Freer Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C.Daniel KellyFoolhardyPainting & Print ExhibitionHillside Terrace Annex A, Daikanyama,KyotoHillside TerraceFor more information on this intimate event in Kyoto visit www.danielkelly.netBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionJapan Book Shop Amazon UKHappi CoatsTagsJapan Woodblock Daniel Kelly art print ...

Hinomisaki Jinja, Shimane. 2007-10-23 07:10:00 ?????, ??Hinomisaki Jinja, Hinomisaki, near Izumo in Shimane Prefecture was built by in its present form by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1664. Complete renovations and a brand new coat of paint have brought it back to its original glory.Book a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionJapan Book Shop Amazon UKHappi CoatsTagsJapan Shimane Shrine Shinto ...

Japan taxis 2007-10-22 17:53:00 ????A taxi in Tokyo is rarely more than a wait of a minute or two, and wave of the hand, away. The service is generally good, but can vary wildly, from the driver who knows the city like the back of his (sometimes her) hand, to the no-hoper who drives you in exactly the opposite direction.Tokyo taxis are generally safe - I have never seen an accident involving a taxi - but the seat belts are never in working order. The drivers are generally polite, and fairly honest - although if you don’t know exactly where you’re going you’re likely to get ripped off by being driven round the neighborhood of your destination “looking” for that crucial landmark.Taxis always have advertising inside, some of them are packed with it - nearly all of it seedy. In this picture, the back of the headrest advertises Prison Break II, then, on the back of the seat, from left to right: “you probably have metabolic syndrome” medical scare quackery, then, “never clean the house or do laundry ...

Finger printing For All Foreigners 2007-10-22 05:05:00 ??????????????A new immigration law supposedly targeting terrorism, which comes in to effect from November 20, 2007, will mean that all foreigners, including foreign residents with re-entry permits, will be fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed by immigration officials as they enter Japan at the country's airports and ports.Children under the age of 16 and a few other exceptions including diplomats, visiting bigwigs and long-term Korean and Taiwanese residents of Japan, tokubetsu eijusha are excluded from the new law.People refusing to cooperate with the new procedures will be denied entry.Further information is available on the Immigration Bureau's websiteBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionJapan Book Shop Amazon UKHappi CoatsTagsJapan fingerprint immigration Japan News ...

Japan This Week 10/21/07 2007-10-21 08:38:00 ?????Japanese go to amazing lengths to avoid being victims of crime.NY TimesJapanese staple rice under threat from desire for bread among the younger generation.Washington PostChunichi Dragons defeat the Tokyo Giants and will meet the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japan Series to decide Japan's top baseball team.Japan TimesJapan slashes aid to Burma after a Japanese journalist was shot dead there during recent unrest.Japan TimesJapanese have boring sex, infrequently, with many different partners.MainichiNTT to trial aroma ads.Yahoo NewsBritish man arrested on suspicion of killing Japanese girlfriend.Japan TodayLast Week's Japan NewsJapan StatisticsThe numer of Japanese households receiving public benefit has hit 1.07 million in 2006 nearly double the figure 10 years previously.Source: Yomiuri ShimbunAt close of business on Friday 19 October the Japanese Yen stood at 114.80 to the US dollar.Source: Nihon Keizai ShimbunBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionHappi Coa ...

Mizunokuni Shimane Prefecture 2007-10-19 11:13:00 ??? ????The Mizunokuni Museum 104° is a new water-theme museum near Kawado in Shimane.Set in a beautiful hillside location, the museum offers a series of contemporary art installations centered on the concept of water. Artists featured include Atsuo Okamoto, Masaaki Nishi and Kenzo Tabe.Listen to sounds generated through water.One of the most interesting installations is a sound gallery where various sounds are produced using water. Mizunokuni also offers an echo dome, a video and light show and just past the entrance a quirky exhibition dedicated to local filmmaker Matsubayashi Shue, who produced a number of war blockbusters in the 1960s including "I Bombed Pearl Harbor," starring Toshiro Mifune. The director also churned out a series of light 1960s' comedies including something odd about romance at the All Japan Gateball Championships. Not to be missed.Mizunokuni Museum 104° is virtually deserted during the week but gets busy at weekends. Lunch in the museum's resta ...

Japanese praying mantis in Shimane 2007-10-16 21:49:00 ?????Japan has two main species and nine sub-species of praying mantis known commonly in Japanese as the kamakiri, but variously, also, as the tohroh, imojiri, or iibomushiri. Kamakiri literally means “sickle cut,” referring to the front legs, that to the ancient Japanese obviously more resembled someone working in the garden than piously praying.Like most Japanese wildlife, it is rarely seen in the cities, but abounds in the countryside. This specimen of a praying mantis was recently photographed in Shimane prefecture, at the westernmost tip of the main island of Honshu.True to its reputation as a predator, it fearlessly attacked the camera moments after this shot was taken, and proceeded to clamber over the camera, up the photographer’s arm and onto his head!The praying mantis, along with stag beetles and other large creepy crawlies, is a favorite with Japanese boys, who collect them mainly in the summer.Book a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionJapan Book Sh ...