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Hey! Still in the midst of getting more photos from my last trip to Japan up. Just some general information about that: I went during May and June of 2007 with my girlfriend. I had saved up to go to Japan prior to that for about 2 years. If you are watching my youtube Japan blog videos, then you are probably wondering how we ended up in such an awesome place, and let me tell you it was no easy task, and even now I can’t guarantee that it could happen again that we could get so fortunate. Although, any questions about it I will be more than happy to try and answer.

During the 2 months there, 6 weeks were spent exploring Tokyo and trying to get accustomed to living a Tokyo lifestyle (which wasn’t all that hard to tell you the truth), and 1 week was spent using our JAPAN RAIL PASS (the most beautiful thing you will ever need when you go to Japan, I’ll post about it later and how amazing it is), and we toured around the main island of Honshu, hitting up many spots and spending over 6 - 8 hours on trains DAILY for that week. Exhausting!

That’s all for now! Check out the Harajuku and Hiroshima galleries I just got up. All my pictures from Japan (that are currently up) can be found by clicking the link in the top banner named ‘pictures.’

 

What are the secrets to learning Japanese quickly and easily? There are none! Hard work and perseverance are the only way you are going to learn the language. Check out my video above for my thoughts on that.

I haven’t had any time to work on the site today because of several reasons. One is that I made a new video blog as a response for some fellow Japan youtubers, which you should definitely check! But also because I had to run to school to pick up my History of Hong Kong final paper which I ended up getting a B+ on, and I so called that mark because I knew he wasn’t going to give me an A, even though I slaved over that thing until it was perfect! and also because I made some Curry Rice for dinner for the family, which I will also blog about soon enough.

Check the vlog for now… It’s late so I’m going to get some rest.

No, not the old English pastime of hitting balls through hoops. The Japanese snack (actually derived from the french food of the same name croquette), Korokke (コロッケ) is quite the delicious snack. Korokke usually consists of mashed potatoes, ground beef or seafood and is covered in flour, coated with egg and panko (Japanese bread crumbs), then deep fried. It bears similarity to hash browns, if you were to somehow relate it to the North American diet.

The best part is you don’t have to go all the way to Japan to have a taste of Korokke, because if you’re up to it I’m going to teach you how to make them right now! Yes, I know… this blog is awesome, tell all your friends. Okay first off I’ll tell you what you need, and you can find everything at your local Chinese or Korean (or Japanese if you’re that lucky) grocery store. (more…)

The picture to your left is a view of what it is like in Asakusa during possibly the busiest 3 days of the year. The Asakusa Sanja Matsuri (三社祭　さんじゃまつり Three Shrine Festival), held on the 3rd week of every May, attracts around 2 million locals and tourists. It is considered one of the 3 great Shinto festivals in Tokyo (Shintoism being the primary “religion” in Japan… yeah I’ll post about that later too). If you are in Tokyo during the month of May, I definitely recommend you check this crazy event out!

Asakusa on any other day is about as quiet as anywhere else in Tokyo if not quieter, but over these 3 days it is absolutely packed beyond all comprehension. I was getting mowed down by Obaasan’s (おばあさん Old ladies) and they didn’t seem to care that I could have stepped on them if I wanted to. But there is literally NO room to move around, especially on the 3rd and final day as room has to be made for 神輿（みこし Mikoshi), the Portable Shinto shrines that each district proudly haul through the streets, while everyone stands there and gets their toes crushed.

An example of a Mikoshi is shown in the picture to your right. However pretty you might find it, I’d refrain from going near one and trying to snag a touch. Each Mikoshi is approximated to weigh in at around one ton, and costs around 40 million yen (approx. $400,000 USD). Not to mention it is lugged around by scary looking dudes like the one in this picture. 

Don’t take my word for it, but I’ve heard that the majority of these festivities are run by Yakuza (ヤクザ Japanese organized gangs). So try to be careful about your valuables while visiting, and don’t step on the wrong person’s foot, because it could cost you.

 

Check out the Asakusa gallery for the rest of the Sanja Matsuri Festival pictures I managed to take.

 

Also drop a line in the comments and tell me what you think of all this madness! 

Akihabara (秋葉原) is the dream location for every male who has never had a girlfriend & every girl who has never had a boyfriend. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere in Tokyo that has so blatantly stuffed every corner with erotic merchandise as Akihabara. Of course, it could be easy for one to spend their entire day indulging in the dozens of stores which supply stack-loads of ero manga, hentai merchandise, Japanese idol DVDs, and more. But why do that when you can simply save your money and stare at hundreds of french maids that pass pay nearly every second. If you are into electronics, figures, anime, manga, and pretty much anything otaku related. You will love it here.

 

Akihabara is totally mind numbing with the massive amounts of media and technology, which is jam-packed into every corner, bill board, and alley way  possible. I’ve never found cheaper computer parts, and in such abundance, anywhere. I will definitely get into more aspects about Akiba when I have a chance, such as the maid cafes, game stores, arcades, and so on. I haven’t fully explored the area yet, but what I have explored I will definitely post about in the future. I have a feeling maid cafes might be under consideration for a post in the near future, as I’m sure many people are interested in what those are all about, and how they work.

In the mean time check out the Akihabara picture gallery located at the top left under “pictures,” and let me know if there is anything else about Akiba you’d like to know. Thanks.

Got a few dramas on my ‘to watch list’ for the spring/summer. One of them being Zettai Kareshi 絶対彼氏(ぜったいかれし or Absolute Boyfriend). I have no idea if I’ll like it or not, but I’ve been downloading the episodes so far. I enjoyed Hayami Mokomichi (Tenjo Knight) in Gokusen and seeing as we are only 10cm apart in height (guess who is taller!) I guess I have some sort of obligation to watch the guy.

Robot maker, Kronos Heaven, finally develops “Night Tenjo”, the perfect male humanoid programmed to be devoted and completely loyal to his lover. The company chooses temp worker Izawa Riko to take part in a 5-day free trial. At first, Riko only sees Night as a household appliance. But when she finds out how deep Night’s devotion to herself is, Riko finds herself falling in love with him. Joining the love triangle is Asamoto Soshi, a distinguished young executive at her company who has feelings for her. –Fuji TV

 

Is Zettai Kareshi on your ‘to watch list’?

 

Other stuff I’ve been meaning to watch for ages:

Yama Onna Kabe Onna, Shika Otoko Aoniyoshi, Hanazakari no kimi tachi e, Binbo Danshi, Hatarakiman, First Kiss

I’ve been experimenting with youtube Vlogging lately and came out with 2 blogs on Japan on my youtube page. They are just re-caps of some videos I took of Yoyogi, Tokyo on my last day there. 

If you haven’t checked them out yet, maybe you should =). I don’t know if I’m going to be continuing with v-logs, as I still can’t seem to feel comfortable doing them. But who knows.

 

These are so embarrassing!!!

Alright! I’m back finally! It has been months since this has been up, and I’ve had a lot of time to contemplate about how to go about doing things on here so it pleases me (and you). 

I’ve decided to start over from scratch, as I have new ideas about how I’m going to run this Japan blog. Before, I believe I put too much emphasis on making sure my posts were informative and professional, and forgot that this is nothing more than a BLOG. This time around I’m going to make this more about myself, and my experiences, and not try so hard to get something informative out there (because there are already plenty of great sites out there that can do that for you).

In this new blog format I will try to keep everything short, to the point, interesting and eye-catching. Something you can update yourself with in 5 minutes a day and not have to scroll down forever just to get through a post. I know most people don’t overly enjoy reading, and what is most effective nowadays is cutting straight to the point. Mind you, I will still have posts or topics I feel passionate about to write a whole essay on.

Okay, that is all for now. Going to get back to uploading more galleries and thinking of some new posts.

 

(Oh, one more thing. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! Please, refer this site to your friends, co-workers, anyone who is generally interested in Japan or learning Japanese. I will even try to be generous enough to answer any questions they might have about either. Thanks)