Cruxay.com

I’ve come to the understanding that I’m getting rather lazy at updating this. Perhaps I shouldn’t have advertised as much as I did because I now feel like I’m letting you (my viewers) down a bit. Of course, from the start I had no idea where to take this and what to do really. I just did it as more of a way to burn some time in my long summer, and have been talking about a website for a long while now.

A friend and I came to the conclusion that writing about the past is difficult, especially when I’m dying to go back to Japan. We also came to the conclusion that when I return to Japan, posting here will become much easier and much more interesting as well. For those who have been following along (with the site, comments, and the youtube) will know more or less when I am going back. But I’ve kind of been in the dark about the details and never officially posted how/where/when/why/etc on here.

During this time of uncertainty concerning the future of this site, I just want to thank those that have been keeping up with the posts here & on youtube, and hope that you will continue to do so. Those that have exchanged links with me as well, I’ve learned a lot from your sites that I’ve never known before, and I’m going to continue reading your posts and learning more. 

Thanks for being a part of this. Who knows, maybe something will come out of it in the long run. For now I’m just going to try and focus on posting when I want to and about what I want to.

Finally managed to get another Youtube video up after several requests to do one based on how to learn the language. Just another silly video. Some people tell me there is some useful information in it. I’d consider it more advice on how to go about learning Japanese.

Check it out if you have 8 minutes of your day to spare. I know it is a bit long, and I tried to cut it down, but couldn’t manage to this time. Either way, enjoy!

Wow… thanks to otaku.fm my hits went up like crazy now that I’ve got the rss feed fixed and thumbs are being created. Thanks Danny! Beautiful thing you have created!

Of course, there are going to be a lot of pissed off idol fans when they realizes this site isn’t exactly for “health care” purposes. But please! Don’t be shy, have a look around… (maybe there are more pictures of Yuuri on here! Search hard! Tell your friends to search hard as well! Maybe if you all visit my site you can find something!)

This is as close to a real post as I can afford at the moment as people are trying to break down my door to watch Euro2008 all day. Go Croatia!!

Testing a new theme and new methods of doing things over here. Sorry I haven’t been around for a bit. I promise that will change shortly.

Just a few things as I’m trying to sort this new layout out:

- Planning on narrowing down my post topics so I’m not so all over the place.
- Want to get category thumbs up below the header.
- Any feedback is welcome. Help is appreciated.

For once, I think I’ve put something out that I actually like. Despite having no intentions of making a video like this, and almost no footage whatsoever, I think I managed to put together something rather decent.

This video features just some of the places I came across during my time in Japan (May/June 2007). Locations include: Shinjuku, Yoyogi, JR Shinkansen, Asakusa (during Sanja Matsuri), Akihabara (Zelda shot), Ueno Zoo (animals & Chiki the street performer), Kyoto, Arashiyama, Miyajima (deer), Tokyo Tower (Roppongi), Matsushima, Hiroshima (arcade scenes).

Have a look and let me know your thoughts about it either here or on youtube. Thanks.

Those of you in Japan currently have more than likely heard about the first ever black Enka singer, Jero. I first saw him when he made an appearance on SMAPxSMAP.

For those who haven’t heard of Jero, he is a 26 year old African-American who sings Enka, a form of Japanese music generally enjoyed by the older generations of Japan. I gave his first song 海雪（うみゆき：Umiyuki) a few listens and it is actually rather enjoyable. Prior to that I didn’t really listen to much enka (just a little Hikawa Kiyoshi, as he has also been making a big commotion in the enka world during the last few years).

There are those that hope that Jero will spread interest in enka to the younger generations of Japan. I believe it might be worth a shot as many Japanese youth are currently obsessed with African-American (in other words “hip-hop” or “urban”) culture. Either way, as long as the guy is doing what he wants to do, I’m sure he will be happy, as well as change the way people look at Japan in terms of racism and cultural diversity.

Here is the music video for Umiyuki, his first single released in February, 2008. Although the video itself is a bit stupid, the song is pretty good and it’s probably worth a few listens. I especially enjoy the chorus.

So far, I’ve given some tutorials on how to make Japanese food at home. So I would assume that another purpose of this blog is to voice my opinion on what are some of the bet Japanese food options while in Toronto, incase you aren’t the cooking type (but of course it is always nice to go out for a good meal!).

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Today I will post about Toshi Sushi（敏寿司：としずし）which is one of the places I consider to have the best sushi in Toronto. I happened to go in for dinner yesterday with my girlfriend and a few friends, so I snapped some pictures.
A shot from the outside taken after we left. Although the OPEN sign appears to be broken, it is actually one of those flashing OPEN signs. So no, it isn’t broken. The place itself is rather small (by Canadian standards I suppose), and I’m assuming it seats 30 - 50 customers at max capacity. I’ll give the directions at the end of the post. (more…)

Moving on to my next picture set, today we will be looking at the area of Roppongi（六本木：ろっぽんぎ）in Tokyo. Roppongi is an upscale area of Tokyo with many bars, nightclubs, lounges, shopping malls and other sorts of expensive things. It has 2 relatively well known landmarks, the first being Tokyo Tower, and the second being the newer area of Roppongi Hills（六本木ヒルズ), which was opened around 2003. There are many foreigners who work in Roppongi as it is also a rather large business district. If you are the type who enjoys blowing off large amounts of cash in exchange for some entertainment, I would highly recommend you check Roppongi out. (more…)

Those following the Youtube will have noticed my latest video on Humility. Although the general response has been rather good and sparked discussion, I (as usual) am not pleased with the turn out of the video. I feel as though I might have come off as a little preachy, and that I did not do a good enough job at explaining the whole point of the blog.

I’ve talked to a few friends about it, and they all OK’ed the vid and said it was fine. Maybe I’m just being paranoid. Either way, please check it out and leave some feedback here if you’d like. I think I’m going to try and come back to this issue of Japanese humility in the future with a more “scholarly” approach.

Finally managed to sit down and watch the first episode of what promises to be a rather entertaining drama. Watched the first episode of Zettai Kareshi (絶対彼氏：ぜったいかれし：Absolute Boyfriend) last night, and at first all I could think of was the Terminator theme song playing in my head, but after a while I got over that and enjoyed the humorous aspects of the drama. I suppose I’ll do a little “first episode summary” for those who are still pondering over whether to watch this or not.

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