Archive for 'People'
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…)
Continue Reading
Obama-City, Japan Celebrates for some reason
Posted on 06. Nov, 2008 by koichi.
I’m not sure why, but the city of Obama (Japan) is celebrating for some reason…did something happen recently that I’m not aware of? Who the heck is this guy in the picture anyways?
I kid, I kid. It’s no secret that Japan loves Obama (not to mention most of the modern world), but if the name of your city is Obama, then that means you’ve got to jump on this opportunity to make your city a little famous, and possibly get a few tourist dollars out of it as well (er…maybe not dollars. Nobody wants those anymore). (more…)
Continue Reading
Jesus’ Life, Family, and Death (in Japan)
Posted on 17. Sep, 2008 by koichi.
Forget that bible thing. Someone must have edited out the good part. You know, the part where it says that Jesus came to Japan when he was 21 to study theology, returned to Judea at the age of 33 to preach, and then got crucified…or so we all thought! (more…)
Continue Reading
Japanese Celebrity Old Yearbook Photos
Posted on 19. Aug, 2008 by koichi.
So I was looking through my old yearbook…well, maybe not.
So I was looking through this buddy of mine’s yearbook…er…no, I guess I wasn’t.
So, I was using this website that lets you upload pictures and it will superimpose them onto super retro yearbook photos for your laughter and enjoyment. I know I enjoyed it. I did it to myself and posted it up on my personal blog, BoxedTofu. I then did an article over on my “about America blog,” コウイチ弁. That’s two out of three, right there. So I thought, “hey, maybe I can work this whole yearbook thing into Tofugu as a roundabout way of telling people about a few fun Japanese celebrities. So, that’s what I’m doing, afro and all. (more…)
Continue Reading
Interview with a Pro Fighter in Japan: Roxanne Modafferi
Posted on 09. Aug, 2008 by koichi.
Somehow, thanks to the power of the Internets, I received an email from a pro fighter currently working in Japan. The email went something like this: “Hey, I love Tofugu! Don’t mess with me or I’ll break your head off and spit down your neck” (well, maybe not the second part). I thought it would be interesting to interview a pro fighter in Japan. I mean, how often do you bump into one (and survive)? I mean, come on, think Segata Sanshiro. Here’s a picture of her (on the left), and right after, the interview!
Q. What is your name and where are you originally from?
My name is Roxanne Modafferi. I was born in Delaware, and grew up in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. (more…)
Continue Reading
The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality
Posted on 24. Jul, 2008 by koichi.
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, well, gaijin (that means foreigner, in case you didn’t know).
A few of these emails made reference to the infamous “no gaijin” signs which are supposedly littered all around Japan. When I searched around the internet for more information on this, I was surprised with what I found… (more…)
Continue Reading
Another Reason Not to Use Online Translators
Posted on 03. Jun, 2008 by Erin.
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 earlier this year (April–I’m kind of late), fans brandished signs that they thought bore the Japanese equivalent to the Cub’s slogan: It’s Gonna Happen. Unfortunately (but oh-so-predictably), they didn’t.
Continue Reading
Tofugu’s Japan Week in Review 1: Fukuda, Elevators, & Mochi Death
Posted on 05. Jan, 2008 by koichi.
December 27, 2007 – January 4, 2008
Every week (i.e. whenever time allows), I’ll be doing a “Japan week in review.” These segments will cover smaller news articles from throughout the week that we don’t want to cover individually. Although these articles of news won’t necessarily be very important, they’ll surely be interesting instead. Included after the break is a video; before that, though, let’s go through the stories not covered in moving picture.
Army of Tiny Crustaceans is Destroying a Small Japanese Island: On a small island 1650 ft off the cost of Hiroshima, a whole bunch of tiny crustaceans are burrowing into the island, causing it to break apart into a billion little pieces. The island’s name is Hoboro, if you ever want to visit, though I’m not sure why you would, since it’s inhabited (except for our friends the “nanatsuba-kotsubumushi,” of course). Supposedly the increasing number of these shrimp/crab relatives was caused by increasing temperature of surrounding waters, which caused plankton blooms. These little guys love the stuff, so they reproduced like crazy. Since they make their homes by burrowing into rock, they are destroying the island one burrow at a time. Reports say that the island could disappear within the century if this keeps up. Wow! [source]
Japan Stops their Brutal “Research” of Whales: When Japan “researches” whales, they kill them in large numbers and feed them to their upper classes. “I say, Mr. Tanaka, I’m going to have to research some more of that ‘Whale Curry‘, it tastes smashing” (British Accent). Thankfully, due to international pressures, Japan has halted (for now) this nasty practice. We’ll see how long Japan can keep from eating that lovely whale cocaine. [source] (more…)
Continue Reading
Japanese Youtubers Part I: Moonkey4U
Posted on 19. Aug, 2007 by koichi.
When you’ve ridden the youtube village tricycle a few times, you’ll realize that there are a bunch of undeserving popular folks, and just as many talented unpopular ones. Moonkey4U falls into the latter category.Though Moonkey provides a variety of different videos, all of them are of high quality. Sometimes he just talks into the camera (great for Japanese listening practice – he’s a quick talker), sometimes he goes places and takes you with him (great for learning about Japanese culture and people), and other times he’ll do something completely confusing (good for variety, I suppose). All-in-all, Moonkey is going to be a great subscription for the youtubers reading on this site. I highly encourage you to check him out.
I don’t remember how I originally stumbled upon him (though I think it was through maxdesu’s subscription page), but I remember being immediately fascinated by his videos. This is why I subscribed: (more…)
Continue Reading
Japan’s Top Producer of Ugly Women: Gunma*
Posted on 06. Aug, 2007 by Erin.
*Paraphrased translation of 「ブスの産地」日本一は「群馬県」 from the Shukan Shincho website.
According to a recent online poll conducted by Livedoor, a Japan-based internet service provider, the women of Gunma Prefecture (群馬県) are the most unattractive in Japan. Ouch. That’s right, out of Japan’s 47 prefectures, Gunma, located in the middle of the Japanese archipelago, placed dead last.
Of course, the men of Gunma had something to say about the poll. Some “were not surprised about the results”. One college student observed, “Now that you mention it, there aren’t many pretty women in Gunma”. Others, such as those who work in the Gunma Prefectural Government, found the poll to be a bit more upsetting.
One such official dismissed the unofficial results, speculating that (more…)
Continue Reading
