I found these videos entertaining.
Things Gaijin (foreigners in Japan) say:
I laughed at “This burger tastes different” – but I think it’s true. The ketchup tastes different too. I thought I was going a bit crazy but then I’ve noticed some McDonald’s offering ketchup and “American ketchup” at the dispensers. Because of this, I feel less insane.
Things Gaijin never say (I cracked up at “I miss Nova”)
And finally stuff American’s say (not as funny as the first one, but worth a mention)
If you’ve been to any clubs lately you’ll notice that Korean pop music and fashion in Japan is growing in popularity. 2NE1′s new single in Japan “I Love You” should be released 2012.9.12 following up on their debut album ‘Collection’ and check out 2NE1′s Official Website Japan at http://www.2ne1.jp/
Here’s a mini mv (music video in Japanese)
Here’s a full version in Korean
Back in March they released “Scream” and debut album “Collection”.
Earlier this month the all girls Korean Pop group 2NE1 released a Japanese single called “Scream” and they plan to release their first debut CD called “Collection”. I usually don’t post much about movies and music, but I find it interesting because for the last 3 I’ve heard K-Pop, male and female, in almost every Asian country I’ve visited and now they’re tapping into the Japanese market. I’ve heard some American K-Pop when I was back in the U.S. but the music wasn’t as catchy in English as it is in Korean. I think Japanese is OK, but I think the native language sounds better. Get the latest 2NE1 music here!
Here’s the short video of Scream.
Here’s the live version video of Scream.
30 Second CM for 2NE1′s “Collection” CD
Founded in 2005 by producer Yasushi Akimoto, AKB48 is one of the highest grossing music groups in the world. In 2011 they made over $200 Million USD in CD, MP3 Downloads, and DVD sales. The group started with 20 girls and at one time grew up to 90 female members. To celebrate Japanese pop culture, 16 members will be performing at the Cherry Blossom Festival on March 27 in Washington D.C.
Here are a few of their videos.
This post is a contribution made by Eric, a Travel Volunteer Team Member.
In an effort to show the world that Japan remains a safe destination and promote international tourism back to Japan, we are sponsoring two “Travel Volunteers” to visit Japan’s 47 prefectures during a 100+1 journey.
The idea for this project came from one of our employees at The Real Japan: three months after the events, we were brainstorming on ways to restore confidence and bring back tourism to Japan. We had all seen the coverage about Japan from international media and felt an important part of information was missing… Although the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear issue are terrible disasters which claimed many lives, Japan as a country was NOT entirely destroyed or irradiated. All other places outside the evacuation zone remained totally safe. But the media never mentioned it.
An idea arose and immediately caught everyone’s enthusiasm: ”How about creating a contest to win a journey through all 47 prefectures of Japan in 100+1 days and report on a Blog and social media? All travel and accommodation expenses, including international airfares would be covered by the project. Impossible? Crazy? The seed for the “Travel Volunteer” project was planted…
www.travelvolunteer.net
We also involved Japanese tourism businesses from all over the country to sponsor a part of the journey and many contributed in the form of complimentary room-nights at hotels and Ryokans, with local guides offering their services to escort the Travel Volunteer for free in their city. We would like to thank them for their support.
On July 6th , after one month of excitement and intense work, the Travel Volunteer website was launched. It took off immediately, with over 200 applications in less than two days. Two weeks later, the Facebook page of our project was shared more than 10,000 times!
On July 31st, the application closing date, we had received 1897 applications from 85 different countries in the world… Every applicant was requested to pay a USD 5.00 fee to enter the contest, thus ensuring they were serious and committed. The funds were raised to support “On The Road”, a grass-root NPO, actively involved in the reconstruction efforts in the devastated Tohoku region.
Board of Messages full of Support and Hope
On August 15th, we had read all 1897 applications and pre-selected 5 candidates based on their answers to three simple questions:
The “lucky five” were 3 single applicants – 2 female & 1 male) from Canada, Malaysia & Ukraine, plus two couples from the UK and the USA.
On September 13th, they were invited to join the final selection process (return flight paid) at Kaikaro, a prestigious Geisha Tea House in Kanazawa, in presence local personalities and Japanese TV’s covering the event. The selection process was broadcast live on U-Stream (watch it here) and on local & regional TV’s.
Foreigners (Gaijin) wearing traditional Japanese kimono with Geisha girls and learning more about Japanes tradition as well as culture.
This non-profit project also aimed at raising funds for a grass-root NPO called “On The Road”, actively involved in the reconstruction efforts in Tohoku region, through a USD 5.00 application fee. As a result, USD 10,000 have been raised and symbolically handed over to the President of “On The Road” by the 5 pre-selected candidates, at the end of the ceremony.
Contestant winners Katie & Jamie from the UK who will be visiting 47 47 prefectures of Japan while they blog about their experiences!
On September 15th, our finally selected Travel Volunteers – Katie & Jamie from the UK – departed Kanazawa at 08.50 am to their first destination, Toyama. They are now on their way through Japan and will keep blogging everyday about their journey in Japan, until Christmas Eve on December 24th, when they will be in Tohoku, distributing gifts to children displaced by the tsunami.
For more information, please visit:
The Website: Travel Volunteer｜トラベルボランティア
The Blog: (Japan) Travel Volunteer Blog
The Facebook Page
The Twitter Page
March 11, 2011 – what a terrible day. The north coast of Japan was hit by a horrible tsunami after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred 80 miles offshore. And now there’s a fear of a nuclear disaster. I was contacted by Fox News, The Today Show, and CNN for an interview but I declined because I’m on Kyushu Island living in Fukuoka, and we’re all safe here because it’s far away from where the catastrophe happened. Even though this is true, people are buying up water and instant ramen noodles from the local supermarkets. Now that makes me worry!
If you are looking for a missing person in Japan or know something about a missing person, please visit this website. And here’s the link to the US embassy in Japan.
As a friend noted – The saddest part of this disaster in Japan is that it hit the poorest and most vulnerable people in the country. Most of the victims were fishermen, farmers, and the elderly. They did not live the high fashion, high technology, and trendy lives we see depicted in Tokyo life.
Thousands of people are dead, thousands are missing, over half a million people are homeless, and aftershocks keep creeping up. If you want to get involved, visit this link to learn how to help Japan! And here’s a link to the National Geographic Documentary.
I eat at McDonald’s every now and then here in Japan. I was really impressed with the quality of service and how the food looks when you eat you it. I was also shocked by the smallest soft drinks in the world. It’s probably an 8oz cup filled to the top with ice. What does that mean? Probably 4-5oz of Coke. Here are some other things I feel about the McDs in Japan vs. America and a commercial I found on Youtube… Yes, the restaurant looks like this. Yes, McDonald’s cheeseburgers look like this (to me). Yes, you are happier when you eat McDonald’s in Japan vs the U.S. and yes, you are hungry 2 hours later just like in the U.S.
Speaking of McDonald’s, their profit grew five-fold according to The Japan Times
McDonald’s Holdings Co. (Japan) Ltd. said Thursday its consolidated net profit in 2007 was five times higher than in the previous year, totaling Â¥7.82 billion on record high sales of Â¥395.06 billion, up 11.1 percent.
I find that pretty interesting.
Here’s another video game commercial I found on You Tube. This game looks pretty sweet and now I’m definitely going to have to get a PS3. A friend of mine recently got one and he loves it. At first it’s all cute until the end where you see Leah Dizon (supposedly) kicking some ass playing Ninja Gaiden on a Play Station 3 in-store demo machine. Cool commercial.
I was reading the news today and came across a few articles I thought were worth mentioning.
Here’s a recent update about me since my last post:
Speaking of video games, I found this commercial for the PS3 entertaining. Btw, I hope to get an xbox360 (or PS3) for 1 and 1 reason only. NHL 08… oh what? 08! oh what? oh hellz yeah! You can get Gran Turismo here.
