It’s been about a month since we launched our “Japanese Resources Page” – on it we say things like “blah-didy-blah japanese resource this that etc” but we thought it would be fun for you guys if we just put our money where our mouths are. Not all the resources on the Japanese Resources page are free (some of them are, though, and they’re awesome), so we thought we’d give you some of the paid ones using cash from our very own Scrooge McDuck gold coin swimming pools (that way you don’t have to). We have a lot of cool resources to give away, too.

How To Win (It’s Suspiciously Easy)

On our Japanese Resources page, we have “recommend” buttons. They look like this:

The cool thing about these is that they’re linked to Facebook, meaning only real people can “recommend” something. Although individual items will get fewer votes by using Facebook (I’m guessing), the idea is that each “recommendation” will have a lot more umph behind it. Real people are recommending these resources, and I think people will be pickier about what they choose. That’s awesome, I think. You can really get an idea already what’s a great resource out there, just based off this (though some newer stuff has fewer recommendations).

We’re greedy fugus over here, though, so we want to bribe you to give some recommendations on this page (if you haven’t already). Here’s how to enter the contest.

1. Make sure you have a Facebook account (big sorries if you don’t!)
2. Go to the Japanese Resources page on Tofugu.
3. Recommend one or more resources by hitting the “recommend” button. Pick your favorites! The ones you’d actually recommend to someone else for their awesome-ness.
4. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us what you recommended and why. Be sure to add your email in the email field when doing your comment, that’s how we’ll contact you if you win something.
5. Hope for the best. There are a couple different ways you can win something (and a bunch of prizes, see below), but we’ll start giving stuff out next week.

Quick, easy, and helps out both of us, I think (especially if you win something). More importantly, it will help others to find great Japanese resources, based off of your recommendations. You’re changing people’s minds! 0_0

Prizes

Out of our own linty pockets we’re providing prizes. Some of the prizes are ours, some are others – there’s a good mix of stuff going on, here, with different ways to win them, depending on what they are.

Rules

There you have it. Odds are really good on some of these, not as good on others. There are some rules, though:

1. You have to recommend something on the Japanese Resource Page first (that means you need a Facebook account to recommend with).
2. We’ll only count one comment from each person, below (so don’t spam comments… we know your IP address! Be nice to others!)
3. We’ll try to make sure one person doesn’t win more than one prize (besides the Ultimate Vocab packs, because everyone wins one of those, at least!).
4. We’ll start giving things away a week from now. That’s August 8th. Probably won’t get everything out on that day, but expect to start hearing from us then (and the rest of that week). Make sure you put your email in correctly while leaving your comment, otherwise we won’t be able ot get ahold of you :(
5. Comments that are particularly entertaining / well written / etc may or may not get two entries into the “random choosing pool.” Quality is king, ya’all.
6. Also, tweeting / liking / G+ing this post may or may not also help you out. Probably won’t, but just sayin’, you know?

That’s it – get to it if you want to get to it! Let us know if you have any questions, too.

Two weeks ago I put up a post about Tenso, the Japanese shipping company, and asked you all to write a haiku in order to win a slick t-shirt. I’ve been through them a bunch of times now, but can’t choose just one. That’s where YOU come in. I need you to vote for your favorites. You have one week to vote, and then we’ll see who won. I’ve narrowed it down to five… which one will you choose?

VOTE NOW!

I just wanted to thank all of you who voted for us in the Blogging Idol 2 competition over at DailyBlogTips. As always, it’s all thanks to you that all of this is possible! I have no idea what we won, and that doesn’t matter, but I think I’ve learned some ways to become a better blogger (for example, updating regularly. Cough Cough What What?). Check out the other winners, though. They definitely won more legitimately. Tofugu won because you guys are awesome at voting :) Thank you!

Like I promised (I so wish I didn’t do this), I said I’d announce a pretty neat project “sooner rather than later” (thank goodness I gave myself that leeway). So, it’ll be sooner rather than later – definitely sometime this month. I’m ridiculously excited for it, it’ll be free for all of you (boo yah), and be the best thing since warm mochi.

Can you guess what it is? fufufu.

In other news, I’m waiting for my airplane to let me in, and take me to San Francisco. Boo, Alaska Airlines, Boo. I always heard you were good about being on time. Ah well, there’s always the exception, especially when it’s me getting on that plane. Last time, a bird flew through the wing engine and blew it up while we were taking off (we were off the ground and everything!). This one’s a bit shorter of a delay, I hope :)

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!

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.

inally! The time has come to vote on Nara’s New New Mascot. I got a lot of submissions for this contest, so unfortunately I had to narrow it down to my favorite top ten to make voting easier on everyone. Also, I haven’t read any of the submissions for the “continue this story” contest, but I’ll be getting to that within the week. I hope the City of Nara sees this article and realizes the error of their ways.

The mascots will be listed after the break. Afterwards, there will be a poll that will allow you to vote on your favorite! Please vote for your favorite New New Nara Mascot by using the number/name I gave each mascot (which can be seen on each image). The winner of this contest gets a brand spanking new Japanese textbook of my choosing, so make sure you vote now! Somebody’s education is on the line!

Voting will end in one week! (That’s April 17 at Midnight my time)

Vote For Your Favorite!

***(click here to see it move)***

Vote Now!

Mascot Submissions that didn’t make it:

We love you, but we could only pick ten :(

In somewhat not related news, I am extending the deadline for the Nara Mascot and Story contest by 2 weeks. Get your submissions in by April 9th. Right now there are around 6 or 7 in, so I hope to get a few more by the time the time is up. It will be voted on after the deadline and the winner will get a Japanese textbook of my choosing (depending on the winner’s level and what they already have). If you finish the story, you have a chance of winning some Japanese goods (also of my choosing). So now that you have two more weeks, don’t wait anymore! I really enjoy seeing your submissions, so please try it out if you’re interested!

The form of questions for Japanese learners is below, all you have to do is

*update! As of 10:30pm, March 27, I’ve gotten around 150 submissions. I’m really sorry, but as soon as it hits 200 I’m going to start becoming more picky about the thank you cards. If you’ve already turned one in, or you turn one in before number 200, don’t worry, I’ll get you one, but after that I’m going to write only to the especially thorough submissions. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience, but this is a lot more submissions than I expected! Thank you so much, and keep them coming!!

**update 2! As of March 28, I’ve gotten 250 submissions! Thank you so much to all who have submitted. At this point I can’t really promise thank you cards to everyone after the 200 mark, though I will try my best. If you can, please still fill out the form! I’ll do my best to thank everyone personally, but after 200…it’s getting crazy.

***update 3! As of April 1, I am verging on 4 billion submissions now, so I’m going to cut it off here. Thank you SO MUCH for all your help this far.

Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate it in boatloads. On another note, did you see the new “top commenters” list on the far right column replacing an advertisement? Anything that replaces advertisements seem like a good idea, I think :)

Nara-City, the capitol city of Nara prefecture, is known for it’s beautiful temples and overly aggressive biting deer monsters. This year, Nara Heijo-Kyo Capitol is celebrating its 1300th year anniversary, and will be holding a big a event. Usually when this kind of thing happens, whoever is running the event comes up with an over the top mascot that cutes you into coming. This year, the Association for Commemorative Events seems to be taking the opposite approach.

Perhaps the event is expecting too many people, and Nara is too small to support them, so they are trying to scare visitors away? What’s he doing with his hand? Trying to touch you in inappropriate places? He kind of looks like Buddha…except for the fact that he has antlers coming out of his head. I would never spend any time alone with this guy. In fact, I wonder how he eats, because no restaurant I know of would let someone with no shoes and no shirt in, even if summers do get warm. Also, I know what the thing on his forehead is supposed to be, but honestly, it just looks like a third nipple (actually, his only nipple from the looks of things) smack dab between his eyes. Nara Association of Commemorative Events, what were you thinking?

The entirety of Japan also feels like Chester (I’ve named him Chester, don’t ask) is a bit on the ugly side. When the Events board asked for suggestions on what to name him (Please pick mine!), they instead got a ton of people complaining about how ugly it was. Still, I’m interested to find out what his name ends up being. I mean, come on, he has antlers coming out of his head…

Winning a Prize (it’s a contest!)

When I saw this deer-Buddha-man, I thought: “Hey, I bet there’s someone out there who can come up with something better.” That’s when I took to drawing my own mascot.

The Monk looked up from copying Sutras. It had been three days since he had last eaten, so he thought the rumbling must be in his stomach. He went back to work, ignoring the vibrations.

Outside, a giant deer was blowing toxic green slime all over the city. When he came across a building, he would trample it with his feet, made completely of diamonds. When a building was too tall, he would simply swing his head forward and cut them in half with his kick-ass katana antlers. There was nothing this deer could not overwhelm with its sheer might and skill.

The Japanese government knew they had to call on Godzilla, which sucked because he would always destroy Tokyo before helping with anything else. After flattening the Ginza area, Godzilla was coaxed into going to Nara, where he roundhouse kicked the deer in the stomach. The deer threw up some of its radioactive slime from the impact and then sliced Godzilla in the face with his katana antlers.

This is where you come in. You have two choices (as well as two prizes). Here they are:

1) Draw your own Nara Mascot:

Prize: Japanese text book fit to your level of Japanese
Deadline: Monday, March 24, 2008 Wednesday, April 9. 12:00 noon Pacific Standard Time.

The rules are as follows. Not following the rules could make your entry less winnable:

• Must be an original drawing of some sort. Hand drawn, computer drawn, anything is okay. Just don’t steal some other mascot and put it up here.
• Has to somehow be related to either deer, a buddha, a temple, a shrine, or Nara (in some way). Basically, it has to relate to Nara in some way.
• The funnier it is, the more likely it will win.
• I will pick my favorites and then put them up in a future post for you all to vote on (to pick the final winner).

The winner of the “draw your own Nara mascot contest” will win a Japanese textbook of my choice. It really depends on what level you are, so if you win, we’ll figure it out together. I’ve got favorite text books up and down the level curve, so all people studying Japanese should apply! Just send me your image by the deadline!

2) Finish the Story

Prize: Mystery Prize worth $20+ somehow related to Japanese
Deadline: Monday, March 24, 2008 Wednesday, April 9. 12:00 noon Pacific Standard Time.

Everyone see the story underneath the image of my awesome slime-spewing deer? All you have to do is finish the story and send it in to me. Please don’t write more than two pages, single spaced. I’ll pick the ones I like the most and post them up on the 25th, as well as choose the winner for it. I can’t tell you what the prize is, but know that it’s pretty sweet. If I don’t like any of them, then I suppose it is possibe that nobody can win.

There you have it. Any questions? Please contact me. I’m really looking forward to seeing your submissions!