12/31/2013

Japanese New Year's Day is Troublesome!

Barbie Japanese Happy New Year Osbogatsu

Toshikoshi-Soba with Midori No Tanuki

Toshikoshi-Soba with Midori No Tanuki

Buy Midori No Tanuki Soba bowl at Amazon.com

Ōmisoka - Wikipedia

Ōmisoka (大晦日), New Year's Eve, is the second-most important day in Japanese tradition because it is the final day of the old year and the eve of New Year's Day, which is the most important day of the year.

Around 11:00 pm on Ōmisoka at home, people often gather for one last time in the old year to have a bowl of toshikoshi-soba (年越しそば) or toshikoshi-udon (年越しうどん) together—a tradition based on people's association of eating the long noodles with “crossing over from one year to the next,” which is the meaning of toshi-koshi. While the noodles are often eaten plain, or with chopped scallions, in some localities people top them with tempura.

Maruchan - Midori No Tanuki Instant Soba

12/24/2013

Gokudo Ep.1: Connections to the Right-Wing

"Uyoku dantai" are Japanese nationalist right-wing groups of which there are over 1,000 in Japan with about 100,000 members in total. Well known for their black-painted propaganda vans, they are often seen driving around staging protests with their loudspeakers outside the Chinese, Korean, and Russian embassies. We caught up with Masaya Kudo, a Right-Wing activist and leader of his own group, "Nihon-no-Kai" as he explained his philosophies and concerns regarding the Righ-Wing movement today.

Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

12/20/2013

Zelda Musou will be released in 2014 Summer

Nintendo announced that Zelda Musou will be released as a Wii U soft in 2014 Summer by Koei Tecmo.

Zelda Musou

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess Triforce Key Chain

12/15/2013

Safecast: Build Your Own Geiger Counter

Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know

12/12/2013

Top 20 Anime DVD Ranking in Japan December 2 - 8, 2013

12/07/2013

Japanese Winter is too Cold. Let's Drink Yomeishu!

Japanese Winter is too Cold. Let's Drink Yomeishu!

http://www.yomeishu.co.jp/english/about/index.html

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen: Recipes from the East for Health, Healing, and Long Life

Japan in 1959

Japan in 1959

National Archives - Japan Today - National Security Council. Central Intelligence Agency. (09/18/1947 - 12/04/1981). - This silent film provides panoramic views, and contains scenes of cultural locations and village life in Japan. - DVD Copied by IASL Scanner John Williams and Justin Grimes. - ARC 1692903 / LI 263.1377

12/06/2013

Top 20 Anime DVD Ranking in Japan November 25 - December 1, 2013

12/02/2013

Korean Idol Group, Crayon Pop's "Lonely Christmas" is very similar to the theme of "Lupin the third"

Lupin the Third theme song

Lupin III - Wikipedia

Lupin III (ルパン三世 Rupan Sansei), also written as Lupin the Third or Lupin the 3rd, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It follows the escapades of master thief Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series of novels.

Crayon Pop - Lonely Christmas

Crayon Pop - Wikipedia

Crayon Pop (Hangul: 크레용팝) is a five-member South Korean girl group formed in 2012 under Chrome Entertainment. The members stage names are Gum-mi, Ellin, Way, Cho-a and Soyul.

Lupin the 3rd: The Complete First TV Series

12/01/2013

Japanese Underground Fighters in Nishinari, Osaka

『WARU下克上』拳の暴力に生きる男たち - Underground Fighters of Japan

Waru (bad boy) is an anything-goes fighting tournament started by movie producer and all round entrepreneur, Yamamoto Yoshihisa. The tournament is now about as rough as it gets when it comes to organized fighting in Japan. There's no K1 or Pride-style sheen to proceedings and no pretty boy posturing or dramatics by the participants either. There are rules but not many of them: no biting, no hits in the dick, and no hits to the face when a player is down. Submissions are forbidden and KOs pay extra dollar, so that's the end goal; though usually "matches end up pretty much just like street fights with someone stepping in to break things up" says Yamamoto. Waru is all-out blood, sweat, and tears, as the red stained rags used to mop the ring after matches will testify to.

Nishinari-ku, Osaka - Wikipedia

Nishinari-ku (西成区) is one of the 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It contains some shopping and entertainment areas, such as Shinsekai and Tamade. It lies directly south of the Namba transport hub and extends further south toward Sumiyoshi Park. It is served by the Nankai Railway lines as well as the Yotsubashi and Sakaisuji subway lines. Nishinari-ku is also home to a number of shitamachi ("lower-town") shopping streets, increasingly a rarity in fast-developing urban Japan. Kamagasaki in Nishinari-ku is home to a large number of day-laborers and most of the homeless people in Osaka.

11/28/2013

Lupin The Third Live-action Film in 2014 Summer

Lupin The Third Live-action Film in 2014 Summer

Lupin The Third Live-action Film in 2014 Summer

Shun Oguri as Lupin
Tetsuji Tamayama as Daisuke Jigen
Go Ayano as Goemon Ishikawa
Tadanobu Asano as Koichi Zenigata
Meisa Kuroki as Fujiko Mine

Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Mataichiro Yamamoto: Script

11/27/2013

2013, New Year's Eve, The 64th NHK "Kohaku Uta Gassen" Selected Performers

2013, New Year's Eve, The 64th NHK "Kohaku Uta Gassen" Selected Performers

2013, New Year's Eve The 64th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen Selected Performers
http://www1.nhk.or.jp/kouhaku/artists/index.html

The Red Team (Female Team)

・aiko

・E-girls

・Sayuri Ishikawa

・Mariko Takahashi

・AKB48

・SKE48

・NMB48

・Ikimono-gakari

・Natsuko Godai

・Kaori Kozai

・Fuyumi Sakamoto

・Yoshimi Tendo

・Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

・Dreams Come True

・AAA

・Kana Nishino

・Perfume

・Ayumi Hamasaki

・Ayako Fuji

・Seiko Matsuda

・Kaori Mizumori

・Nana Mizuki

・miwa

・Akiko Wada

・Momoiro Clover Z

The White Team (Male Team)

・Golden Bomber

・Arashi

・Shigeru Izumiya

・Hiroshi Itsuki

・EXILE

・Kanjani Eight

・Saburo Kitajima

・Hiromi Go

・Chris Hart

・J Soul Brothers 3rd

・SMAP

・TOKIO

・Sexy Zone

・Kobukuro

・Sakanaction

・T.M.Revolution

・Hideaki Tokunaga

・Kiyoshi Hikawa

・Kouhei Fukuda

・Masaharu Fukuyama

・Takashi Hosokawa

・Akihiro Miwa

・Shinichi Mori

・Porno Graffitti

・Linked Horizon

・Yuzu

11/26/2013

Vale Tudo Japan is the biggest MMA event in Japan at the moment and Ryuto is seen competing alongside legends such as Hideo Tokoro and Caol Uno in their 3rd tournament on Oct. 5. The world famous Kid Yamamoto was also in attendance, explaining that he "knew of Sawada since he was little, and he has tremendous power in the ring."

Sawada's mentor, as well as pound-for-pound MMA queen Megumi Fuji, will also have her retirement fight / revenge match in the same event against Jessica Aguilar.

Complete Krav Maga: The Ultimate Guide to Over 230 Self-Defense and Combative Techniques

11/11/2013

Synopsis

In a war on suicide, who is the enemy? ‘Saving 10,000′ is the story of an Irishman’s personal passion to uncover the true causes of the high suicide rate in Japan. The disturbing findings include the Japanese media`s perverse love affair with suicide, a variety of cruel and predatory economic pressures and an outdated and failing mental health care system. With the help of front-line experts and ordinary Japanese, many touched by the horror of suicide, the movie delivers practical proposals on how Japan can win a war on suicide. However with suicide such a taboo, the odds are nobody will listen. Or will they?

9/29/2013

Turning a Cucumber Into a Live Snake with the Sharpest Knife in the World

Amazing! Turning a Cucumber Into a Live Snake with the Sharpest Knife in the World.

9/26/2013

The most beautiful city in the World, "Kyoto"

Kyoto "Rising Dawn"

Kyoto City of Zen: Visiting the Heritage Sites of Japan's Ancient Capital

9/25/2013

Japanese Dancer Won the America's Got Talent Season 8

Kenichi Ebina - Amazing Dancer Wins America's Got Talent Season 8 - America's Got Talent 2013

Kenichi Ebina - Wikipedia

His solo act, labeled 'dance-ish' by Ebina, features his unique self-taught style which combines acting, storytelling, and a number of different dance styles, including freestyle, hip-hop, mime, martial arts, jazz, and ethnic dance. He frequently interacts with characters on a video screen behind him, who have all been created and played by himself.

Below is one of his works.

Kenichi Ebina Performs an Epic Matrix- Style Martial Arts Dance

9/24/2013

Nattō (なっとう or 納豆) is a traditional Japanese food made from soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis. It is popular especially as a breakfast food. Nattō may be an acquired taste because of its powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture. In Japan nattō is most popular in the eastern regions, including Kantō, Tōhoku, and Hokkaido.

8/18/2013

Dragon Ball theme song with Shamisen

Dragon Ball - Japanese Manga
Dragon Ball - Japanese Anime

7/29/2013

47 Ronin Official Trailer

47 Ronin Official Trailer #1 (2013)

47 Ronin - Wikipedia

47 Ronin is an upcoming 2013 American fantasy action film depicting a fictional account of the forty-seven Ronin, a real-life group of samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenge the murder of their master (known as a "chūshingura" in Japan). Being produced by Universal Studios, the film is directed by Carl Erik Rinsch and stars Keanu Reeves, Rinko Kikuchi, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada and an ensemble of other Japanese actors. Filming started in Budapest in March 2011; it moved to Shepperton Studios in London and will conclude in Japan. The release date was moved from November 21, 2012 to February 8, 2013, then again to Christmas Day 2013.

7/24/2013