Nowadays just about every phone is also a camera and a camcorder, so keeping a record of your latest catch is a trivial matter – and of course you’d want to, if only to avoid having to insist “I swear it was this big!” to disbelieving friends and family. But way back in the day there was no such technology available, so the Japanese had to get creative – and lo, gyotaku was born.

The oldest known gyotaku print is that of a carp, and is from 1839.

Gyotaku (魚拓) or “fish rubbing” dates back to at least the Tempou era, and is still in practice today. Gyotaku prints are appreciated as works of art, but have a practical aspect too: many fishing contests in Japan are still decided by gyotaku prints because photographs do not always express the true size of a catch.

The two main variants, namely the direct and indirect methods, both use inks to transfer the likeness of the fish to a sheet of paper or cloth. Finer details like the eyes are painted or drawn in by hand later. The following video demonstrates the direct method by Naoki Hayashi:

Mineo Yamamoto has been a gyotaku artist since 1973, and a great proponent of the indirect method. In the following video, where he instructs a student in the making of a gyotaku print, ink is dabbed onto the paper or cloth instead of being painted directly onto the fish:

As you might have guessed, a skilled gyotaku artist can produce incredibly detailed and lifelike images, especially if colored inks are used. Here are just a few examples I found on the interwebs:

Caught something that wasn’t quite a fish? No problem!

Hmm… I wonder what else we could gyotaku-fy…

So, has anyone tried gyotaku before? If you don’t fish, do you have a particularly docile cat or dog willing to stand in? Let us know in the comments!

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There are millions of ikebana practitioners worldwide, so it’s certainly in no immediate danger of dying out. Keeping this art alive though is totally reliant on catching the interest of new enthusiasts, especially from the younger generation – and let’s face it, ikebana just doesn’t quite have the same street cred as say, kendo or jujutsu.

So I was pleasantly surprised to come across Shinji Nakaba’s ikebana rings. Sultry-eyed models? Check. Pouty lips? Check. Ikebana rings? Check! Yes, you young ’uns, ikebana can be cool and sexy!

Nakaba-san’s ikebana rings all operate on the same basic principle: they have a semi-automatic, pin locking and release system, which can be used to pin all sorts of flowers, leaves, and so on. The following video demonstrates how to put it all together; it’s quite grainy but hopefully you get the idea.

With just a bit of time, a dash of creativity, and random bits of plants, you could have a one-of-a-kind, completely personalized accessory for every day of the week!

If you find flowers much too gaudy, too cumbersome, or too girly, why not go the minimalist route? Less is more, and just a single, simple leaf can make quite a statement.

You don’t have to limit yourself to just flowers and leaves either. As long as it’ll fit on the pin, anything goes.

Purists might say that Nakaba-san has completely bastardized ikebana, but I think his rings are pretty cool. They make ikebana very hip and now, are an awesome way to get your creative juices going, plus who says jewelry has to be a chunk of yellow metal or compressed carbon?

Nakaba-san makes other accessories like necklaces and brooches too, so be sure to check out his site if you like that sort of thing.

But what is Domo really? How did he come to be? What makes him so cool?

What is this Strange Creature?

Domo has been the official mascot of Japan’s NHK television station since 1998 and first appeared in several 30 second stop-motion shorts. These sketches were shown as station identification during TV programs which were part of a promotion celebrating the 10th anniversary of NHK’s satellite broadcasting. Such a humble beginning. Domo had no idea what he was getting himself into.

The “Domo” moniker was acquired during the second episode of his show in which the TV announcer said, “Domo, konnichiwa,” which can either be interpreted as “Well, hello there,” or “Hello Domo.” The kun suffix on “Domo-kun,” is a Japanese honorific often used with young males. And now you know.

Domo the TV Star

The guy behind these TV shorts goes by the name of Tsuneo Goda. He directs the Domo episodes using stop motion animation and claims that “by using this process, one can create a work filled with feeling.” Well, I dunno about that, but it’s pretty entertaining stuff. And in English too! At least (all but one of) the ones below are anyway.

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This handy video puts all of the 30 second skits into one convenient video so we can all see how Domo got to where he is today. It’s in Japanese, but you can still get the gist of what’s going on. Enjoy!

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And now for the English ones. Domo is the star of the show (obviously) and is described as being “a strange creature that hatched from an egg,” with a large, sawtoothed mouth that is permanently stuck in the wide-open position. Domo’s favorite thing to devour is nikujaga, a meat and potato stew, and he has a strong dislike for apples. This is due to a strange unexplained mystery in his DNA. How intriguing!

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_yknybt4dM&feature=plcp']

Domo’s only means of communication is producing a loud low-pitched noise that sounds kind of like his own name, but the other characters on the show seem to understand him well enough. A Tokyopop press release of the Domo comic book states that “he communicates sotto voce (intentionally lowering one’s voice for emphasis) with a verve that only his friends can understand.” Sounds legit.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFq6CZZiTiw&feature=plcp']

Clint Bickham (writer of the Domo comic book) describes Domo’s expression as “a sort of cheery wonderment. Like when a kid wakes to a room full of presents on Christmas day.” He says that most of Domo’s expressions have “an underlying sense of fascination.” The big brown monster is also known to pass gas repeatedly when nervous or upset. Yep, he’s a strange one.

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Our furry friend lives in an underground cave with Mr. Usajii and his other animal pals. Usajii is a Japanese play on words with the words usagi (rabbit), and jii (old man/grandpa). Mr. Usajii is a wise old rabbit who has lived in the cave for years upon years, loves to watch television, and drinks lots of green tea. Yum.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUvXWlGGpfA&feature=plcp']

Mr. Usajii is not into anything “hip” or “cool,” and doesn’t even own a phone (lame). His favorite food is carrots, and his least favorite food is “something that is meaningless.” I think we could all learn a lot from Mr. Usajii.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8u6hSknCvs&feature=plcp']

So did you enjoy the videos? There are plenty more Domo themed sketches and a handful of other episodes to be found on YouTube as well. Check ‘em out!

Looking at all these pictures and videos really took me back to when I first started college and began to see Domo all over the place. T-shirts, laptop backgrounds, drawn in textbooks – he really was everywhere. I’m pretty sure that my first “mainstream” exposure to the little dude was with the “God kills a kitten” meme. Oh, nostalgia. Fond memories.

So which video was your favorite? Did you know that Domo had his own TV skits? How were you first exposed to the little bugger known as Domo? Let us know in the comments!

Saturday Timewaster is a weekly post that features Japanese videos, music, images, or games that will certainly waste your time (some weeks more than others). We hope you enjoy!

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All Domo info obtained from Wikipedia.

The Ramen Noodle Diary

First of all, I had no idea there were nearly 1,500 variations of instant ramen in existence on this planet. Second, over the course of around 5 years, the YouTube user tontantin went ahead and reviewed all of them. You can see how far he’s come.

His first video:

Compared to his latest video…

You can tell he found his stride and style somewhere in between while making those 1,500 instant ramen reviews. So let’s see now… Five and a half-ish years. Fifteen hundredish videos. So take the 1,500 videos and divide that by 2,000 days. That gives you .75 ramen reviews per day, or a review every 1.33 days. I hope he visits his doctor often so he can keep doing this.

The Videos

Are you ready to see some of his videos? Although I haven’t seen all 1,452 of his  videos, one pattern I’ve noticed is his strict scoring. I think I’ve seen a 4-star rating once (before today, when I actively went out to search for high-rated ramen), and I somehow doubt there’s a 5-star anywhere in existence out there. It’s the unicorn of instant ramen review scores. Tontantin has high standards when it comes to instant ramen, just like anyone should (seriously, wtf Costco Ramen? Where are your standards?).

It’s hard to pick favorites, but these are some good ones. I’d watch all 1,452, but then there’d probably be five hundred more new videos he’s created in the time it took to watch all the old ones.

Videos are in Japanese, though the instant ramen itself is from various countries. There’s a lot of Japanese instant ramen (of course), but there’s also Korean, Chinese, and even ramen from Poland as well (and many, many more countries too). Before today, did you know Poland made instant ramen? Neither did I. It’s about as good looking as you’d expect.

Not even a Polish sausage in sight. To be fair, though, it’s not really ramen. But still…

Anyways, prepare to get hungry. Although I don’t eat much instant ramen anymore (all done with those days), I can’t deny that some of these look pretty good.

And, just because I love you, here’s some of those mystical 4-star ones. I couldn’t find higher ones, though if you’ve found one, be sure to share them in the comments:

American Instant Ramen, Rated

Let’s see how the good ol’ classic American instant ramen fares… I think it does about as good as you’d expect. Some of these are right up there with all those sushi abominations we Americans make as well… not quite as bad though… not quite… Still, do people eat these? I guess they must…

Even Cup Noodle in America tastes different from Japanese Cup Noodle. Seriously, where are our standards? Apparently Japan just sends us the Cup Noodle Japan dregs or something… or we just have a bad sense of what’s good in cup noodle. Probably a bit of both.

And… I’m pretty sure he was just being polite when he put any stars down at all for some of these.

Obviously, Tontantin has a ton more videos if you’re interested in seeing them. There’s a website (i-ramen.net) and there’s also the YouTube Channel (user: Tontantin). Each video is about a minute long (sometimes less) so you can expect to spend around 1250 minutes watching them all, if you plan to sit through start to finish (possibly in search for the mythical 4.5 star ramen?).

But, before I let you go, I thought I should teach you a thing or two about ramen. To be a true ramen master, you have to learn from the pros:

P.S. If you’re hungry for some sodium and noodles, feel free to let us know about it on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+

Polysics or Die!!!!

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Formed in 1997, Polysics (ポリシックス) hails from Tokyo and describes their sound as technicolor-pogo-punk (I describe it as super awesome). The band took its name from a favored synth, the Korg Polysix. They create super high energy music, fusing traditional rock instruments with synths to create a unique punk-rocky-synthpop sound, heavily inspired by the American bands Devo and The Tubes, and Japanese bands such as P-Model and Yellow Magic Orchestra. They are also one of my favorite bands of all time.

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Polysics’ song lyrics are both Japanese, English, and neither. Gibberish and nonsense words make up a fair share of their lyrics. The band is also famous for their insanely upbeat live performances (one of which I was lucky enough to see. In Akron, Ohio no less. It was fantastic – best show ever). They are also easily recognized by their goofy matching outfits, most notably their trademark orange jump suits and their straight-bar sunglasses. A lot of fans will dress up in this same outfit when attending their live shows.

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If you want to learn more about the band’s history, you can check it out here on their Wikipedia page. Otherwise, continue on below for more awesome music videos. Enjoy.

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Sadly Kayo the keyboardist is no longer with the band (*sadface*) but they seem to be doing just fine without her (as you can see from the first PV posted). You can read more about her and her decision to leave the band here. And you can also read a full review on their latest album, Oh! No! It’s Heavy Polysick!!! here.

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So what other cool bands doesn’t Hashi know about? Help his musical tastes mature in the comments below!

P.S. Already following Polysics on Twitter? Why don’t you follow Tofugu too?
P.P.S. Want to hear about more awesome Japanese bands? Check us out on Facebook and Google+.

The location of the slide is circled in pink

The park that this roller slide is in is quite big. There’s a lot to do here. There’s some sports fields, there’s a “Park Golf” course, which is basically something in between mini-golf and regular golf. Also there’s a water-thing, free parking, and then a play area, which includes the giant roller slide.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SszOmZOS8b8'] Is that Tiger Woods I see in the background?

But really, I think, it’s the roller-slide that would get me here. Remember “Discover Zone” from when we I was a kid?

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They had a roller-slide too, and I thought that was the best. I’d search and search for it, but it was super hard for me to find (my sense of direction wasn’t good then either). If only Discovery Zone’s roller slide was like this one, though… things are always more fun when you have a chance to fall out of them from highish places.

Oh, and to answer the question in the title – this probably isn’t the greatest roller slide in the world, but I imagine it’s still a ton of fun. I would like to become a child again and go here. Aw, what am I saying. I’d ride it over and over as an adult, too – pushing the kids in line out of the way just because I’m bigger and stronger than they are. So buff.

If you want to visit this place, it’s located in Nakai-Machi in Kanagawa Prefecture. Click on the image below to get the location in Google Maps.

P.S. Want to ride the roller slide of social media? Follow Us On Twitter. P.P.S. More of a swings person? Okay, then Facebook and Google+ is where you’ll want to be.