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.

Yasuo Fukuda

This, my friends, is the current prime minister of Japan. From the looks of it, the seventies and eighties were good to him. He became prime minister when Shinzo Abe abruptly resigned from office (he claims it was horrible due to diarrhea).

Shinzo Abe

This is the guy who had terrible diarrhea and had to quit being the prime minister of Japan. The guy above him is the guy who took over. Must have been after 1998 when he gained all that weight…

Junichiro Koizumi

Koizumi was probably one of the coolest prime ministers of Japan, mostly because of his hair. I think he did a pretty good job, and was able to do a lot of economic reform. I think a lot of people were sad to see him go, and be replaced by really bad prime ministers.

Segata Sanshiro

Yes, the man who fills your dreams with Sega Saturn nightmares, even to this day. If you don’t know who he is, you are missing out, big time. He’s like, Chuck Norris’ daddy. Basically, he was responsible for Sega Saturn’s popularity in Japan (he never appeared in America, no wonder nobody was scared into buying it it wasn’t popular!). And damn, he makes for terrifying yearbook photos.

Beat (Kitano) Takeshi

Does everyone know actor / comedian / director Beat Takeshi? He was in cult films such as Battle Royale, and the new Zatoichi (which is a great movie, by the way). He’s kind of a scary looking dude, not to mention his nickname is “beat,” like, “I’m going to beat you down.”

Shokotan’s Nakagawa Shoko

This girl is one of the top ten most popular bloggers in Japan. She blogs about all sorts of weird things, though it seems as though half of her entries are just pictures with cats (apparently, she loves them). Then, there are other entries, where she puts cicada shells all over her hair. Ironically, PinkTentacle just blogged about this, so now you can see for yourself.

Matsudaira Ken

I have so many memories of this guy. I grew up watching Abarenbo Shogun. This show lasted from 1978 until 2002 (with a special in 2003), and is about this Shogun (played by Matsudaira Ken) who goes around and helps the people. At the end of almost every episode is a fight scene, that is the same choreography over and over episode after episode. Still, it’s an awesome show (that’s why it lasted so long!). Other people might know of Ken for Matsudaira Samba…Seriously, this ought to be the Rick Roll of Japan. I hear retired folks like it though.

You can’t beat that.

Becky

Becky is a half Japanese half British talent who appears on a lot of Japanese television shows. She’s pretty funny, and was often in a show that I liked back in the day, Warau Inu. They’re the folks that did the Yatta song, which I’m sure a lot of you know of.

Nabeatsu

If you haven’t heard of Nabeatsu yet, you’ll do yourself a favor and check him out. You’ll either love him or hate him, he’s that kind of comedian. All he does is count. When he hits a number with a three in it, or a number divisible by three, he “becomes stupid.” Sometimes, some other numbers get special characteristics as well. I love it. Simple humor is great. I’ll even provide a video or two below, that’s how cool this guy is. The mustache goes well with all these pictures, too!

Ultraman

Who didn’t think Ultraman was the shiznit as a child? Anyone that’s younger than me, probably. But there was once a day where Ultraman was more popular than those dirty racist power rangers, and those days were good. This one is my favorites. His face is just so…perfect!

So there you have it - either you learned about some new celebrities, or you enjoyed looking at parodies of them. Hopefully one of the two. In the meantime, go practice counting like Nabeatsu and lose all your friends!

I know this post was kind of weird and random, but there’s a few language posts coming soon, so, you know, gotta balance, right?

If you notice anything else that’s particularly weird, please let us know, in the, uh, comments! Only thing I’ve noticed so far is the comment box appearing in the wrong spot (at the top instead of the bottom). Anything else? Let us know. Thanks much! Things will be back to normal any moment.

If you’re a winner (one of those lucky people pictured above), contact me ASAP so we can choose you a flavor. More info about flavors further down.

So, what if you didn’t win? Well, here’s an option for you, if you want it:

I’ll send you some Gumi, but you’ll have to pay for it. The place I buy it at isn’t the cheapest place, and you might be able to find it for cheaper online, though from what I’ve seen so far other places charge tons for shipping. Still, someone else might have me beat on price; I don’t know, I haven’t really checked. I’ll throw in a handwritten note, though, so maybe that’s worth a little bit? Here are the flavors that are available. Winners, you should pay attention to this too, since you’ll have to choose as well.

• Grape
• Muscat (green grape)
• Kiwi
• Strawberry
• Pineapple
• Mango
• Litchi
• Peach
• Melon
• Orange

Now, I can’t guarentee that I’ll be able to get the one you want (since I get it at a grocery store), so please give me your top three choices, and I’ll do my best to get your #1 if at all possible. You’ve got a week to let me know, because that’s when I’m able to go get them, so if you’re interested in this offer, then do it before then. If you won this contest, please also do it by then. Trying to conserve car trips, ya know?

Here’s the price:

Domestic USA shipping: $10.00 for 1 Gumi + Shipment. $5.00 for each additional flavor.
International Outside USA shipping: $15 for 1 Gumi + Shipment. $6.00 for each additional flavor.

Not the best prices in the world, but I also don’t want to have to send out too many either. Still, I think it’s (somewhat) reasonable. You’ll also be helping me to pay my rent this month, though, profit margin is pretty tiny, I think, especially with gas considered into the equation :(

If you send money via paypal before August 21, I’ll send you tasty Gumi. My paypal address is koichiben@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for all that participated, I hope you enjoy Twitter!

If you’ve been around a while, you’ll notice that the word “week” is missing from “Japan News week in review.” If you’ve been around a while, you’ll also know that these never come out once a week. So, in order to put a little less pressure on writing these too often (and thus becoming a Japanese news blog, which is something I don’t want to do), I’ll just write them as I gather enough news that I want to write about. That way, they’ll come when they come, and hopefully slightly more often. “Japan News in Review” doesn’t cover all the important news, just the stuff I like. So, here we go! And, down at the bottom is some Tofugu news, even, so if you’re interested in that kind of thing it’ll be down there somewhere.

Japan News August 1 - August 12:

“WhatJapanThinks” of Dinosaurs: WhatJapanThinks translated a survey for us done by the MyVoice internet community. They asked 13,867 of their members via a private questionnaire everything you’d ever want to know about dinosaurs. Questions ranged from simple things, like, “Are you interested in dinosaurs” to more useless information (though, not much less useful, honestly), such as “If you were reborn as a dinosaur, what kind of dinosaur would you like to be” (I would be Earl from the TV show Dinosaurs). Of course, if you head over to WhatJapanThinks, you can find out the answers to all your burning dinosaur questions. [source]

McDonalds Japan Raises Prices Again: You know the economy is having trouble when McDonalds has to raise prices. You know that we’re having trouble with obesity when people actually care. McDonalds cronies say that prices will rise by less than five percent (dollar menu becomes dollar five cent menu?) Apparently, “costs of meat, bread, potatoes, and other ingredients are expected to increase by about 10 billion yen during the current business year.” That’s approximately 90 million dollars of increase for poor McDonalds. Wow. [source]

Japan is Home to the Oldest Women in the World: Maybe this explains why Japan has been getting into old people porn lately (link is safe for work, surprisingly). Japanese ladies born in 2007 are expected, on average, to live until they are 86 years of age. Men on the other hand, are going to be living until they’re 79 (which is third in the world behind Iceland and Hong Kong). People who know what they’re talking about say this is because of good diets and social ties (not sure how that makes a huge difference, but I suppose that’s why they know what they’re talking about). This will only contribute to Japan’s aging problem, where a larger and larger percentage of the Japanese population are old, and nobody’s having babies. Robots for the future win, I say. [source]

Rare Texas Star Fungus Appears in Nara: So now, if you don’t like friendly deer or beautiful temples, Nara has become home to a very rare fungus, only found in Central Texas, as well as two remote areas of Japan. It gets its star shape from when it releases its spores. It starts out like a cigar, then it splits open (and makes an audible hiss, aparently). Think explosive Looney Tunes cigar, Road Runner era (beep beep). If you want to have a chance to find one of these things, they seem to grow on dead oaks near streams. If you want to learn more about these things, check out the [source].

Murasaki Robot Regales the Tale of Genji: Now, I suppose I don’t claim to be the biggest reader of important novels (possibly the first novel ever, actually), but this is a little too much. I had to read this book a while back, and I don’t think having a small robot reading it to me will make it any more enjoyable. The robot is modeled after Lady Murasaki, supposed author of the novel, and will do robotic movements to add emphasis to Genji’s pimpedness. [source]

Takeru Kobayashi FINALLY Beats Joey Chestnut: If you’ve followed Tofugu for a little bit, you’ll know our extreme passion when it comes to Takeru Kobayashi and his lack of winning as of late. This guy broke all the records. He put competitive eating into the public eye. Then, he breaks our heart with multiple losses against Joey Chestnut. In his last contest, Kobayashi actually beat Chestnut by eating 385 sticks of satay, which, according to Wikipedia consists of chunks or slices of dice-sized meat. According to the picture, it’s covered in funky yellow stuff. Good job Kobayashi, you’ve finally got us to write a non-seppuku-worthy story about you. [source]

Tofugu News

New Fan Art Section: We recently got a nice email from a nice artist named Priscilla, who drew us a bit of fan art. Now, we promised ourselves we wouldn’t be so self centered to add a fan art section before getting any fan art, so we patiently waited, and it finally happened! Thank you Priscilla! Go check out our fan art section. You’ll also find images from the (failed) postcard contest from a while back. If you’ve got the inkling to break out some MS Paint and doodle yourself something for this page, we’ll put it up, then we’ll give you some electronic email high fives.

What? Newsletter? Actually Coming? A looonnggg lonnnggg time ago I wrote the first Tofugu newsletter. Now, a lonnng time sine then, another one is coming, and this time, with more regularity…As in, once a month at the most regularity. It finally has a vision. It finally has a purpose. If you’re interested in it, as well as some special Newsletter-only content, then you should go sign up for it before it’s too late. You never know when it will suddenly appear in your inbox! You can sign up for the newsletter here.

Last Chance to Get some Candy, not last chance to Follow us on Twitter: You’ve got around 24 hours to have a chance to win some awesomely tasty Gumi candy from us by following us on Twitter. All you have to do is sign up for Twitter (if you haven’t already) and hit the follow button on our page. You’ll get updates mostly on things relating to Japan, but maybe a few other things as well. Contest ends at the end of August 12, so that leaves you, not too much time left…or no time left, depending on when you read this. Either way, check it out!

I’ve been using Twitter more and more, and I thought I’d invite all of you to follow us! I wrote about Twitter before, and how it can be used to improve your Japanese, but it also has many more “normal” uses as well. Kind of like what we’re doing over on Twitter.

Over on the Tofugu Twitter page, I do updates about Japanese news, notify people about articles that come out here, give little tips on learning Japanese, share small experiences that would help you live in Japan, and much much more. I even will reply to people who Tweet at me (that’s what they call posting…tweeting)!

Visit Tofugu’s Twitter Page

So, for this week only (Until August 12), anyone who subscribes to my Twitter will automatically be entered into a drawing where they can win Gumi candy (グミ). Five people chosen at random will get one bag of this friggin’ amazing candy each, and you’ll even be able to choose what flavor you want sent to you. Need more information about how amazing the candy is? Hit the jump and watch the video:

Also, if you watched the video, you’ll know about my other Youtube channel, which is being tromped on by Tofugu. If you’re interested, and want to listen to my poor Japanese, go and check out Koichiben on Youtube! Heh, and also in the video I mentioned you can subscribe to Koichiben on Twitter as well. And yes, it counts as two submissions (twice the chance of winning some ridiculously tasty candy!)

P.S. Oh, and one way to help manage Twitter and make it easier to follow conversations is by using Twitter programs. I use Twhirl, but you can use whatever you want.

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 world record, to San Jose’s Joey Chestnut. This makes me sad. I thought for sure he would come back with a victory, regaining his honor.

Still, Kobayashi did actually manage to tie Joey Chestnut with 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes (it was 12 minutes in years previous), but lost it in overtime, where they had to eat 5 hot dogs faster than each other. It seems that now, though, both of them hold the record for most hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes, so that’s something I suppose.

I remember seeing a little blurb about Kobayashi on TV when I was in Japan. They wanted to find out how such a skinny guy was able to eat so many hot dogs. They followed him to a ramen shop where he at a ridiculous amount of ramen. They then did a cat scan, or something, where they found out his stomach was much larger than a normal human’s. If I remember correctly (and let me know if I’m wrong), it’s 3 times as large as a normal stomach. Not sure where there’s room for that, but apparently it’s there.

He also uses a special technique when eating hot dogs - they call it the “Solomon Method.” Basically, he breaks the hot dogs in half and stuffs both sides into his mouth and swallows it that way. Whatever works, I suppose. Not surprisingly, though, hot dogs aren’t his favorite food. His five favorite things to eat are cold tofu, Yogurt, Plain Bagels with Cream Cheese and Lox, Royal Milk Tea, and Vietnamese Spring Rolls.

Here is a list of his matches. It’s really interesting to see his improvement. You would expect a professional eater to just be able to eat until his stomach is all full, but apparently there is a lot of training that goes into it.

-2001: Ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes (shattering the previous record of a mere 25). He gained 8 pounds during this contest.
-2002: Ate 50 and one half hot dogs.
-2003: Ate 44 and one half hot dogs.
-2004: Ate 53 and one half hot dogs, getting a new record
-2005: Ate 49 hot dogs
-2006: Ate 53 and three quarters hot dogs, getting another world record. He also became world champion at eating bratwurst (I imagine this contest was a bit tastier) by eating 58 sausages in 10 minutes.
-2007: World record was broken by Joey Chestnut, who ate 59 and one half hot dogs in 12 minutes. Later that year they went head to head, and even though Kobayashi ate a ridiculous 63 hot dogs, Chestnut bested him by eating 66.
-2008: Kobayashi loses a tie-breaker to Chestnut in a “who can eat 5 hot dogs the fastest contest.” Both of them ate 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes (that’s really fast).

It’s obvious he’s not “losing it,” he has improved in the last few years. It’s just that there’s finally someone better than him eating lots of hot dogs. So, the question is, can Kobayashi keep improving and eventually beat Chestnut? I suppose it all depends on where their limits are, and I’m not sure if they’ve reached them yet.

[image source]
[information source]

So now, let’s get to our four winners! If you won, send me your address so I can send you your prize!

King Kong & Godzilla Recreation Scene, By WOTDsctoo:

See the little postcard in the bottom right corner? His dog is Godzilla, and WOTDsctoo is King Kong (rock even included!). Nice job getting your dog to pose, and finding a “fabulous” pink background to take this picture at. You’ve even got the sophisticated King Kong frown down. Well done!

Surrounded by Godzilla, By クリス:

Chris is back again with his photoshopping mastery. Ever since the “New Nara Mascot” contest (he was #5), I think he’s been out for revenge (jk). Nice colors for the bg!

Godzilla vs Ghidora Face, By Janene

Now, Janene tried to make a bunch of submissions. Very tricky Janene. This was her official submission - note that that’s a toilet seat around her head. Hopefully you’re not trying to say that Tofugu’s heading towards the crapper! I kid - but we have to take a look at another one of her submissions. I gotta say, I like the second one better:

I mean, c’mon, it has a sheep…huh, what’s the singular for sheep?

And last, but not least…

Messy Desk, By Lily:

Sadly, this is what my desk usually looks like, though my copy of Juno is electronic. What’s that on the ipod? Looks almost like Sponge Bob. Did you know that I created Sponge Bob?

Anyways, you four, thank you for your submissions! I noticed that all three out of the four postcard designs were represented (Ghidora, Mothra, and King Kong), but no Gigan. What happened to Gigan? Guess he couldn’t find a good home. Too bad, I guess.

First things I’m going to share is four Godzilla desktop wallpapers I designed for your computers. I don’t have every resolution size down there, but hopefully I will increase the available sizes when it comes out officially. Still, most standard resolutions should be supported, I think.

Godzilla Versus King Kong Desktop

Godzilla vs. King Kong: 1024×768 pixels
Godzilla vs. King Kong: 1280×800 pixels
Godzilla vs. King Kong: 1600×1200 pixels
Godzilla vs. King Kong: 1680×1050 pixels

Godzilla Versus Ghidora Desktop

Godzilla vs. Ghidora 1024×768 pixels
Godzilla vs. Ghidora 1280×800 pixels
Godzilla vs. Ghidora 1600×1200 pixels
Godzilla vs. Ghidora: 1680×1050 pixels

Godzilla Versus Mothra Desktop

Godzilla vs. Mothra 1024×768 pixels
Godzilla vs. Mothra 1280×800 pixels
Godzilla vs. Mothra 1600×1200 pixels
Godzilla vs. Mothra: 1680×1050 pixels

Godzilla Versus Gigan Desktop

Godzilla vs. Gigan 1024×768 pixels
Godzilla vs. Gigan 1280×800 pixels
Godzilla vs. Gigan 1600×1200 pixels
Godzilla vs. Gigan: 1680×1050 pixels

There you have it. I’m even using one of these desktops in a recent video reviewing the website Lang-8. They actually rotate every 15 minutes, so I always have something fresh going on in the background.

In other news, two out of three Tofugu writers have started personal blogs. If you’re feeling stalkerish, check them out here (Koichi) and here (Erin).

So as many of you know, I sent out the thank you cards in response to all of you helping me out with my thesis. Once again, Thank you very much for your help, it turned out pretty awesome! Still, I have a bunch of postcards left over, and I want to give some of them away. There were four different designs, so this is your chance to get a set of 12 (four of each design) that you can use however you want (probably for thanking people). Let’s go over the contest rules:

What is the Contest? All you have to do is take a picture with your postcard. The more creative it is, the better. I’m not going to define creative, so whether that means with a funny face, a strange location, or whatever else, I’ll leave that up to you folks.

Who Can Enter? Anyone who got a thank you postcard from me.

When is the Contest over? Two weeks from today. That would be June 25th, 2008.

How do I submit my picture? Send it to me (Koichi). Gotta do it by email: tofugu@gmail.com

Prizes? The three most creative pictures will get a set of 12 awesome Godzilla postcards. One winner will be chosen by each of Tofugu’s writers, which makes a total of three. If more than one of us wants to choose the same one, we’ll make sure there’s no overlap, and a total of three people win. Winners will be posted on this site, so if you’re too embarassed about being seen on Tofugu I can’t enter you in the drawing (though I suppose you could send me one anyways).

The book has several purposes. It’s not just a bunch of interviews with YouTubers, though that is a big chunk of it. It also includes the history of YouTube, strategies that people use to become big on YouTube, suggestions on equipment to use, etc. Basically, this book is all about doing well on Youtube, and then adds icing to that cake by interviewing people with varying amounts of success (I think I’m on the lower end of that scale).

So, if you’re interested in Youtube, it’s a pretty good book, not to mention you can read about Tofugu and Koichiben, learning all of my deepest and darkest secrets…well, not that deep, just dark, and by dark I mean not dark.

I know it’s available on Amazon, so let me throw a link at yah, if you’re interested. Here’s a video, just saying the same stuff I just said in writing

[Youtube video keeps breaking. Working on fixing it, though...]