2011 was a great year for Tofugu (I mean, I’m here now, right?) and there have been a lot of good posts and a lot of good videos. Here I have singled out five of my absolute favorites from the year. If you haven’t already read these, you most definitely should. They are great and perfect in almost every way. And by that I mean that I think they are either still relevant and important, or just really funny and interesting. Read on!

Top 10 Strange Japanese Films You Need to Watch

This was one of my first big posts here at Tofugu and I had a lot of fun writing it. I was even exposed to a few new favorite movies in the process. I really dig strange Japanese things and this list is just packed with strange and entertaining Japanese movies. If you missed this post the first time around, you should definitely give it a look now. If nothing else you might get a few ideas for what to watch to help you stay up way past your bedtime this New Years. What better way to ring in the New Year than with these crazy films? Read This Post →

If Apple Made Capsule Hotels, They Would Look Like This

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWKxBCMwwkY']

I always enjoy Koichi’s posts that include videos, but I thought this one was especially interesting. I’ve always wanted to check out a capsule hotel, but despite having been to Japan once before, I have not yet had the opportunity to do so. This post and video were really cool because up until then I had not seen a capsule hotel quite like it. I still want to stay in one. It just seems like such a neat experience. At least for one night maybe – after that it’d probably start to get annoying. Definitely wouldn’t want to make a home out of the place. Read This Post →

True Blood: Personality and Blood Types in Japan

I always thought it was interesting how much weight was placed on blood types in Japan and in this post by Hashi, he goes into a lot of detail regarding it. I think it’s really cool to compare how this is similar to astrological signs and horoscopes and all those crazy things that people can get super into. Do you know what your blood type says about you? Read This Post →

Japanese Etiquette: How to Save Yourself from Embarrassment in Japan

This was another one of my favorite posts to write this year. For a lot of people, going to Japan (or just out of the country in general) can be a daunting experience. But with handy guides like this one, the anxiety fades away at least a little bit. My best friend actually left to visit Japan yesterday and she was super nervous about going (she’d never even been out of the States before). But after reading this post (and receiving lots of pep talks and sedatives) she finally calmed down and wasn’t so nervous about the trip ahead of her. So if you’re even planning on taking a trip to Japan, the information contained in this post is certainly worth a read. Read This Post →

The Ridiculously Racist Robots Of Mobile Fighter G-Gundam

Another choice post by Hashi. I was never really that into Gundam myself, so I wasn’t totally surprised that I’d missed these characters, but I was just surprised they even existed. Some of them are just outrageous. I definitely lol’d while reading this post and checking out all the pictures of these racist Gundams and I’m sure you will too. Good ol’ Hashi – never lets us down. Read This Post →

P.S. Happy New Year!

We all hope you’ve enjoyed this year of 2011 and we look forward to entertaining and informing you through all of 2012 as well (don’t listen to Koichidamus’ ramblings, the world’s not totally ending in 2012.)

And we’ll be on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ if you need anything, but in the mean time look forward to Hashi’s top five Tofugu posts tomorrow!