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The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

24. July 2008

Now that I’m back from Hawaii, I finally had the chance to wade through all the emails I decided to ignore until now (sorry if that was you!). A decent number of them were people worried about racism in Japan; mainly, they were worried that people in Japan would treat them poorly because they were, [...]

Takeru Kobayashi Loses Hot Dog Eating Contest again. Shouldn’t go swimming for at least 30 minutes

4. July 2008

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Maybe it’s time he commits seppuku, though, I don’t know if I’d want to see a stomach full of hot dogs get disemboweled. It’s been a year since the last “Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest” at Coney Island, when reigning king (at the time) of eating food “really really fast” lost his title, and his [...]

Mini Post: Odd Personal Grooming Choices

12. June 2008

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Japan is the home of quite a few Guinness World Records (the world’s longest concert being the most recent one I can remember), but now it’s got another under it’s belt: world’s longest eyebrow. Toshie Kawakami, the 57 year old president of a Tokyo food company, has an eyebrow hair which measured 17.2cm as of [...]

Stare-apy for the Socially Inept (+ Edits)

6. June 2008

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As much as I want to be outrageously snarky in this post, I don’t think I can bring myself to do it. After all, social anxiety disorder is pretty serious stuff, especially in Japan, the birthplace of the hikikomori (引き籠もり or “pulling away”) phenomenon. In an attempt to help out those who are uncomfortable in [...]

Another Reason Not to Use Online Translators

3. June 2008

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Responses to my online translator post were mixed. Some people agreed, while others got defensive*. Past differences of thought aside, I found something today that argues unequivocally in favor of my point. It seems that Kosuke Fukudome, a right fielder for the Chicago Cubs, has some well-meaning but very Japanese-illiterate fans. At a Cubs game [...]

World’s Smallest Bowl of Ramen

30. May 2008

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Having taken (and nearly failed) more chemistry courses than I would like to remember, I’m usually not particularly enthusiastic about molecular engineering. However, a recent news story caught my eye this morning. Apparently, Masayuki Nakao, a professor at Todai, has just debuted the smallest bowl of ramen known to man.

Clothing Trends for Spring & Summer ‘08

23. May 2008

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Now that we’re safely out of winter, it’s time to lighten up! Put away your fuzzy scarves and down-filled jackets and opt instead for floaty fabrics and bright colors. Below are a list of some of the more popular styles being featured in Japanese fashion magazines this season. Unfortunately, I don’t usually read men’s fashion [...]

日本で一番面白いボスです

18. May 2008

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Last night, Steve Carell participated in one of the funniest SNL Digital Shorts I have seen in a long time. Now, it’s kind of a stretch, as far as Tofugu’s “Japanese Culture and Language” theme goes, but I feel that it’s interesting enough to warrant a post. Here’s the video, after the break:

Mixi.jp now hates foreigners. Requires a (Japanese) mobile email address to join.

22. April 2008

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Wow Mixi, way to put a damper on things. About two months ago, I put up a tutorial on how to get started with Mixi so that you could use it to practice your Japanese. Now it seems like Mixi is pretty much off limits (for now) to foreigners without a Japanese cell phone email [...]

Obake Series: Tanuki

19. March 2008

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Before we get started with this long overdue article, let’s take a small quiz. No cheating! Tanuki are: A) Badgers, B) Raccoons, C) Wolverines, D) Raccoon dogs Here’s a tanuki macro to help you out: The word tanuki is often mistranslated as “raccoon” or “badger”. By looking at them, though, you can tell that’s clearly not what they [...]