Japanese Fashion on “Japanese Streets”
Posted in: Japan in General | Comments
If you have ever walked through Tokyo or cruised through Harajuku you will have noticed that the Japanese can take fashion from conservative to outlandish. No matter what the season, the Japanese will always add a twist to the latest in Fashion and design. Cruising the web today, I came across www.japanesestreets.com and it brought back memories of people I’d see just about every day on the streets. When you have time check out this site. Their shopping page also has a bunch of links to include, collectables, anime, clothes and much more.
HiHo2 @ February 14, 2010
Japanese Gadgets = Seihin
Posted in: Japan in General | Comments
As I brave the web in search of things Japanese, I often hit dead sites or sites that contain info that has been written about time and time again. This evening, in my quest for sites off the beaten path, I landed on http://www.seihin-world.com/. This is a cool site that introduces different types of gadgets. Seihin in Japanese refers to gadgets or gizmos and that is exactly what you’ll get. Click on “site map” and you’ll see some of the gadgets broken down by star ratings or you can go through the archives. On the left you’ll also find a bunch of links to other cool sites containing more gadgets.
If you have time I definitely recommend you check this site out.
HiHo2 @ January 16, 2010
Should you buy [Rosetta Stone]?
Posted in: Learn Japanese | Comments
A question that keeps coming up over and over.
I have tried Rosetta Stone and can’t seem to appreciate the value of it. It was originally developed by language people. Then marketing people got a hold of it and the rest is history. They hype it to be one of the greatest things after sliced bread and it isn’t.
There are 2 fundamental problems with using Rosetta Stone (and other computer based language learning software).
1. It is computer based. You must have time and be willing to sit in front of your computer for a few hours a day for it to have any decent value. Personally, one is better off with audio lessons that they can listen to while driving or listen to on an MP3 player.
2. One needs to have a good fundamental grasp of the target language to keep motivated. You will get frustrated if you are an absolute beginner. Don’t get me wrong, you will learn, but the pace will be frustratingly slow.
Please keep in mind that language is a living thing. Interaction in the target language will provide much more value and satisfaction than a computer course in the language.
In all fairness to Rosetta Stone. I do know one person who liked it. This person was at an intermediate level of Spanish. However, after a couple of days, came back and told me she preferred audio lessons.
HiHo2 @ January 4, 2010
Japan 2010 and things to come
Posted in: Japan in General | Comments
First of all, let me start off by wishing everyone a Happy New Year!
I am forecasting that it will be a very challenging and interesting year for everyone. We started the new year with the U.S. Dollar at 93 Yen. If you’re making money in Yen then it is a great time to go traveling, but if you’re making your income in USD then you have to brace yourself for things to come. Every year, I meet up with a bunch of “snow birds” from Japan. I guess they are the more affluent travelers that comes in from Japan. Listening to their stories, it seems that despite the exchange rate, the economy and the average Joe isn’t fairing too well. The homeless shelter set up in Tokyo expected to get about 500 people and got 833 people. Japan Airlines is seeking help from the government and or Delta Airlines, and Yoshinoya is deciding whether or not to lower its prices.
Japan usually does well in dealing with diversity, so we’ll just have to wait and see as the year goes on.
HiHo2 @ January 3, 2010
Kohaku [The Battle of Red and White]
Posted in: Japan in General | Comments
What a year this has been! I couldn’t let December slip by without a post. One of the traditional New Year’s extravaganza’s is the Kohaku Gassen. It is a “battle” of singers. Traditionally it is the Aka gumi vs. the Shiro gumi. The aka group is made up of female singers and the shiro group is made up of male singers.
Although I have never sat down to watch the “Kohaku” while I lived in Japan, I do turn it on every year just to take a glance at the new talent invited out by NHK to participate.
Gotta run.
Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!
Let’s have a Great 2010
HiHo2 @ December 31, 2009
Dream5 [高野洸]
Posted in: Japan in General | Comments
If you ever watch tv in Japan you will notice that their programming is loaded with a lot of variety shows. One of the latest rages is a new kids group called Dream5
I would be remissed if I didn’t make mention of a family friend and former student, Akira Takano. If you have time check out ‘em out online Dream5.
HiHo2 @ November 30, 2009
JapanConsidered.com
Posted in: Japan in General | Comments
Looking for sites on Japan can be overwhelming at times. Sorting through just the headlines alone can drive one nuts. When I came across this site, it quickly captured my curiosity. What are they “considering” about Japan…now?
This site is not for anyone casually wanting some info on Japan, but rather designed more for research students or those who really need some heavy duty insight on Japan.
I, personally, like this site. It is packed with information. If you are looking for information on the various Ministries, The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, Political Parties, Papers, Interviews, Statistics, etc. Then this is the site for you.
The initial home page may not seem like much but take a minute or ten to click on the links. You will see it open up to a sea of information. Hats off to Dr. Robert C. Angel who created and maintains this site.
HiHo2 @ November 24, 2009
Tim’s Takamatsu
Posted in: Learn Japanese | Comments
This is one of the most powerful sites for learning Japanese. Don’t let its “Zen” layout fool you. If you have time, I definitely recommend you click through the list of links on the left side of the home page.
If you have been studying Japanese for a while or if you are just starting out, you will quickly realize the immeasurable value of the information provided here. The site covers, verbs, adjectives, particles, and a whole lot more. The only thing that puzzled me was the fact that I hadn’t stumbled upon it earlier.
This one will defnitely go up on my list of ‘Great Sites To Learn Japanese’!
HiHo2 @ November 17, 2009
Japan Weather
Posted in: Visiting and Living in Japan | Comments
Weather in Japan
I met a Japanese man who told me how much better the weather was in Japan than in Hawaii, because Japan had 4 seasons. Personally, I like
the fact that we can pretty much wear the same type of clothes all year ’round.
However, after living in Japan for 12 years, I did get used to the seasons and do
miss it every so often. The sounds of summer, the colors of spring and fall, the ramen
and udon tasting especially good during the winter.
Here I have listed some of the better sites for checking into the weather in Japan.
In Japanese: www.tenki.or.jp gives you a quick snapshot of the weather across the whole country. If you scroll down a bit, you can click on a specific region and get more detailed weather information.
In English: The Japan Meteorological Agency provides a lot of information on General weather, Airport weather, Weather maps, Warnings and Advisories.
Other great sources that I like are Yahoo Weather and Accuweather.com
If you plan to visit or move to Japan be sure you do your homework and check the weather conditions before you go. Keep in mind, that Typhoon season will start about the end of August and end around November.
HiHo2 @ October 9, 2009
[Talksushi.com]
Posted in: Learn Japanese | Comments
The internet is by far one of the hottest ways that people will try to make money. But hey, you can’t blame people for trying. As I mention in the About link of Japanpros.com/jblog, I look for sites that are of use to people learning Japanese or sites that with content on Japan.
Talksushi.com pulled up quickly in a google search on “Learn about Japan”. So I figured that if it was being ranked up there with the big boys, it must be worth taking a look. The first thing you will notice is that it is a nicely designed advertising page for “Rocket Japanese”.
Another thing you will notice is their beautifully designed ” ebook/ online learning” sales pages covering JPLT, Speaking Japanese, Reading Japanese, Kanji Flash Cards.
The Low down: From the standpoint of internet marketing, I really like this site. For those wanting to learn Japanese, this site leaves much to be desired. However, if you have the funds and feel the products offered may be of use, by all means dive in (if you have time, let me know what you think).
HiHo2 @ September 22, 2009
Japanorama
Posted in: Japan in General | Comments
As you know, there is an overwhelming amount of information about Japan on the web. Today I took a look at Japanorama.com
At first, I wasn’t too impressed with this site. It has a lot of links, most of which take you to a page that sells products or info via Amazon.com. There are some links that actually give you some decent information, but one might be better off just doing a web search for specific info.
What I did like was their “links” page found at www.japanorama.com/links.html
This page actually took you to actual websites; many of which are well known and others that give you that, “Hmmm I wonder what this is” feeling.
Long story short, If you’re interested in Japan, their links page may be a site you may want to check out.
HiHo2 @ September 2, 2009
O-Hayo Sensei’s Japan Bookstore
Posted in: Japan in General, Visiting and Living in Japan | Comments
O-Hayo Sensei has been providing information on Japan since the beginning of the “Internet Boom”. I used to go through this site to look for jobs or for teachers.
Another cool link off their main site is their bookstore. They cover various topics such as Travel, Cuisine, Business, Teaching Materials and just about anything you may want to find information on… regarding Japan.
If you have time, I definitely recommend you check out their bookstore.
HiHo2 @ August 28, 2009
M.A.F.F.
Posted in: Japan in General, Visiting and Living in Japan | Comments
MAFF or the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestries and Fisheries home page is perhaps not one of those pages that people interested in Japan would stumble upon.
If you are interested in bringing in an animal to Japan or want to research Japans policies regarding food and the WTO, then this is the site for you.
The link that I like the most is a link called “Oishi Japan“. Here you will find a collection of recipes with pictures explaining how to make some wonderful dishes. If you like Japanese food, you will definitely want to stop by this page.
HiHo2 @ August 10, 2009
Japan News Review
Posted in: Japan in General | Comments
Although I’ve been kind of busy lately, I do take time out to check out the news on Japan once or twice a day. I stop by the popular sites like, Mainiche News, NewsonJapan, Japan Today, Japantimes, etc.
One news site that I came across and like is the Japannewsreview.com. It’s like a multivitamin of news sites. You get a lot of news headlines (accompanied) with short summaries on all of the major topics. When you have time, I definitely recommend that you stop by and check it out.
HiHo2 @ July 10, 2009
[Careerjet.jp] and Careerjet.com
Posted in: Working in Japan | Comments
If you are looking for work in Japan or anywhere, careerjet.jp and careerjet.com have an impressive amount of information and links to finding a job for you. If you are looking to work in Japan the careerjet.jp site is great. You will, however, need to be able to read a bit of Japanese to navigate through the site. You can find English teaching or translation jobs posted in English there, but for the most part the site is in Japanese. Their English couterpart, careerjet.com is nicely laid out and provides all the bells and whistles you’d expect in a job search site.
To the left, you will be able to navigate and look for jobs in specific areas of Japan and even in other countries.
I definitely recommend all job seekers to take time to check out this site.
HiHo2 @ June 12, 2009
Swine Flu in Japan
Posted in: Visiting and Living in Japan | Comments
I just got back from Japan last week. Started my trip in Osaka, move on to Kyoto, and then up to Tokyo. Going to Osaka was sort of like the movie “Outbreak” where you will see quite a few people wearing mask. As we moved to Kyoto, there were fewer people wearing mask and up in Tokyo even fewer.
The funny thing is that you would see people putting on their mask just before getting off the plane. It was like they wanted to show the people at the thermal imaging section that they were making an “effort”.
There are so many different strains of influenza that the vaccinations can only “guard” against a few every year. With the “Bird Flu” the CDC was recommending Tamiflu and now with the Swine or H1N1 influenza strain, they are again recommending Tamiflu. The push for the asian countries to stock pile Tamiflu is pretty remarkable to say the least. When I asked some of the Japanese about what they thought, many felt that it was just a hype. And, what’s up with this all purpose vaccine? Hmmm. Whatever you do, please do your homework before you decide to get vaccinated for anything.
HiHo2 @ June 7, 2009
Currency Exchange ＝ 為替
Posted in: Visiting and Living in Japan | Comments
Getting used to currency from another country is never easy. There are so many sites out there that it is difficult to know which one to refer to. Some are updated more frequently than others. I have listed a few that I like to go to.
Yahoo Currency converter- This is a good simple converter that give you a quick ref guide that you can print out for your travels.
Oanda.com- Here you can convert to and from any currency as well pull up history to see trends of how a particular currency is moving. I also like the travel cheat sheet put out by Oanda.
Xe.com Xe provides a quick conversion format as well as a good cross rate sheet.
HiHo2 @ May 11, 2009
Hyperdia [Shinkansen Travel in Japan]
Posted in: Visiting and Living in Japan | Comments
If you visit Japan there is a good chance that you will be taking the Shinkansen.
Be sure to stop by the Japan Railways Site and check out Hyperdia.
Hyperdia is a search engine that allows you to enter the start point and your destinations site and get the trains, times, and cost to get to your destination. The Nozomi has all reserve seats, but the Hikari and the Kodama do have both reserved and open seating.
Hyperdia is an invaluable tool for planning your trip or trying to find the best train to catch to make it to your destination on time.
HiHo2 @ May 3, 2009
Nihongo: www.trussell.com
Posted in: Learn Japanese | Comments
If you have taken time to go through my site, you will see that I have picked out various sites for learning Japanese. Today, I’d like to introduce www.trussel.com/f_nih.htm.
This site is titled Nihongo and appropriately so. It has a simple layout that starts off with a great Japanese to English Dictionary and goes on to provide great info on many useful things for learning Japanese. As you go down the list of information and links you will quickly realize the enormous amount of effort and dedication that was put into creating this site.
I was truly impressed with his list of counters (508 of them) and 252 Japanese Language books. These lists are just the tip of the iceberg. By all means take the time to go through this site. There is a lot of truly valuable information here.
HiHo2 @ April 23, 2009
[Visit Japan] Start Here!
Posted in: Visiting and Living in Japan | Comments
As time goes on, I’ll be updating a collection of sites that will save you time when planning your trip to Japan.
Here is what I recommend:
To research about Japan: Web-Japan
To learn about different places in Japan: Japan National Tourist Organization or Japan Reference.
Looking for hotels: Rakuten Travel
Jalan.net-Japanese only
Ikyu.com
Jal.com
Travel to and from Japan: Jal.com
Checking flights and routings: JAL.com Orbitz.com
Buying a ticket: Jal.com or a local travel agency. (Tip: Find out if that Travel Agency is a wholesaler for JAL or which ever airline company that you want to use)
Traveling in Japan: JR / Japan Railpass
Reading Japanese websites: hiragana.jp/en
Rikaichan-an interactive tool for Firefox
HiHo2 @ April 10, 2009
