Archive for 'In Japan'
Post-Nova Bust: How is G-Education for teaching English in Japan?
Posted on 22. May, 2009 by koichi.
I know a lot of you out there are interested in going to Japan to teach English. Luckily, they’ll take anyone with a beating heart, dumb apes included. But is it really worth it? I’ve always been against a lot of these programs that send people off to teach English. Don’t get me wrong, some of them are good (though I think a lot of people who apply and take these jobs take them for the wrong reasons), but there are definitely companies you should avoid like the plague.
Nova was one of them… but, Nova went out of business, fired a bunch of English teachers (who had nowhere to go), and really sucked when it came to treating their employees good. Nova was bought out by G-education, and recently I got an e-mail from an employee there, who saw both sides of the fence during the transition. I sent him a few questions, and he answered… so anyone who wants to teach English in Japan can now be a little more informed. Of course, my source has to remain confidential, otherwise he’d be fired so hard, and we don’t want that (well, maybe he secretly wishes for it). (more…)
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How Godzilla Affects My Daily Commute
Posted on 30. Apr, 2009 by koichi.
Got this tip from @Beta_guy on Twitter. Every word of this video, so true. Brings a little tear to my eye. And is this the shortest Tofugu post you’ve ever seen? Yes it is! Want more Godzilla?
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Tenso: Get Your Own Japanese Shipping Address (and ship things on the cheap)
Posted on 21. Apr, 2009 by koichi.
What Tenso is doing is one of those ideas where you think “dang, I shoulda thought of that.” It’s simple, it’s helpful, and provides a really good service. I tried it out recently, and they let me pick out a Japanese t-shirt and ship it via their service, so that I can give it away to one of you. More information on that at the end of the post.
So here’s the rundown on Tenso: 1) You go to a Japanese website that sells something. 2) You order the item, and have it shipped to your tenso.com address (the address is free). The package is then sent to them, located in Tokyo. 3) They get the package, and then send it to you at a discounted rate. (more…)
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ChopStick Helpers for Lazy People
Posted on 19. Mar, 2009 by koichi.
I just came across this article (which we’ll talk about more below), which made me think… why are you so lazy!? Of course, I’m only talking to those of you who don’t know how to use chopsticks (or hashi, in Japanese). If you’re heading to Japan (or most Asian countries) you should probably get on that, or just use one of these horrible inventions down below. It’s like putting kids with minor learning disabilities into special classes to make things easier on them. Not so good in the long run. (more…)
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Obama Sushi
Posted on 18. Feb, 2009 by koichi.
The Japanese just can’t get enough of Obama. In this article (via Erin who found it via caitlinomara on Twitter), we get to see a ridiculous Obama Sushi platter. It doesn’t stop with his face, though, which is made from small shrimp and rice for the skin, black sesame seeds for the hair, and processed fish paste for the teeth (so that’s how he keeps his teeth so shiny white!). Let’s take a look at the final product, plus how all the little pieces were made. (more…)
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Hadaka Matsuri: Naked Festival!
Posted on 17. Feb, 2009 by koichi.
My Japan-related YouTube buddy Gimmeabreakman posted this video up about a week ago – it does an amazing job summing up naked men, festivals, and Japan, all in one (very nice HD) video, which you can view above. (more…)
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Old, Grumpy, Japanese Man Cat
Posted on 10. Feb, 2009 by koichi.
I’m working on another post, but with that comes procrastination, and with that, comes Japanese cat videos. I can’t take credit for this one, though. Viet found this one, then commented about it on Erin’s photo blog, and then Erin showed it to me. This is 100% pure fat Japanese cat gold, though. There are a ton of videos, which I’m about to relay here (some of these don’t allow me to embed, so you’ll have to click through to see them). (more…)
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Crazy Delicious Japanese Rice Paddy Art
Posted on 05. Jan, 2009 by koichi.
This is pretty old news, but something I only came across today while browsing JapanSoc. Apparently a village in Japan called Inakadate (田舎館) has a ridiculously awesome festival where hundreds of people help out and plant different varieties of rice that grow up to be different colors (and thus create images like the ones you see above). They started doing this to reinvigorate the town, and it’s done quite well! In 2006 there were 200,000 visitors alone. That has to do something good for their economy. Let’s take a look at some of the rice paddies they’ve made up till now! (more…)
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Lazy Tofugu Nengajou
Posted on 01. Jan, 2009 by Erin.
It’s New Year’s Eve (in my time zone, at least) and since I haven’t been super active here lately, I decided to make some e-nengajou (年賀状 or New Year’s postcards) for you guys. Most everybody in Japan sends out nengajou to their family, friends, and coworkers, and as long as they’re taken to the post office before December 25th, they all arrive on January 1st. Ours are a little early, but it’s the thought that counts, right? Make sure to click on the previews for the full size cards ↓
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Our Favorite Posts From 2008
Posted on 31. Dec, 2008 by koichi.
Due to our total lack of creativity at the moment (ending the year with a bang, I’m tellin’ ya), we thought we’d do exactly what you’d expect, and tell you what our favorite posts were. One thing we are going to do is let the three Tofugu authors (which includes myself) come up with their own favorites. I was surprised, we picked completely different stories.
Well, everyone have a great new year, and take a look if you want to look back on our dirty past (my commentary included).
Viet’s Top 5:
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