Archive for August, 2006

Geisha 1

Published
by
jasohill
on August 27, 2006
in Art and Photography
. 0 Comments

Geisha 1
Originally uploaded by James Disley.

One of the things I love about flickr is the sheer number of beautiful photos that I come across. Sometimes, one of those photos stands above the rest, and James Disley’s “Geisha 1″ ranks up there among my favorites. What is it that captivates me about this photograph?

If you look closely, you’ll notice that there is very little color in the picture, but it’s used very strategically. The colors on the umbrella draw your attention to it, then your eyes float down gently through her hair to the red on her lips and then come to a rest on her belt. I love how she is positioned in the photo. Just off of the center. I find the umbrella to be tilted just enough to showcase her delicate yet commanding posture.

if you look at the background, you can see it’s there, but not enough to be distracting.

Some have complained that this photo is overexposed in some areas. I find that a rather blunt statement. If anything is overexposed it seems to have been done that way intentionally. And it works well for the composition.

I’m very happy to know there are people like James Disley in Japan, keeping a sharp eye on the exquisite beauty around this fine country.

魔法のコトバ　　（Magic Words)

Published
by
jasohill
on August 26, 2006
in Music
. 0 Comments

Well, I know I’m going to get flack for posting this late(it came out in early July), but I promised I would keep up with all things “Spitz.” Spitz of course being my favorite Japanese band. It seems that during my move to Hachimantai, they released a new single. It was made specifically for the Honey and Clover live action movie(a movie I still haven’t seen.) It’s called 魔法のコトバ(magic words).

I really like this song. I would have to say it’s their best tune in a while(at least since 正夢). I’d really like to see how well it goes with the movie. I thought that the Spitz soundtrack was a perfect compliment to the excellent story line in the Honey and Clover animation. If you haven’t seen Honey and Clover yet, I seriously recommend you watch it. It’s about the lives of five University students. It follows them through their trials and tribulations and focuses on the wants and desires that we yearn for but seldom get.

Here is how the chorus is laid out. I really enjoyed what little I could understand of the Japanese.

魔法のコトバ　二人だけには分かる
夢見るとか　そんな暇もないこのごろ
思い出して　おかしくて嬉しくて
また会えるよ　約束しなくても

Magic Words That only two can understand
Seeing Dreams These days there isn’t time
Remembering , funny, laughing
Again we can meet Even though we didn’t promise

Mandatory Broadcast Receiving Contract with NHK

Published
by
jasohill
on August 26, 2006
in Culture and National
. 0 Comments

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I will translate it into something a little more readable. If you live in Japan, and own a Television, you have to pay the Japan Broadcasting corporation a lot of money. What? Yes! Money! Let me give you a run down of how my morning went.

Me:(on computer) “type type type”

Person at Door: Ding Dong!

Me:(getting up to check who is at said door)

PAD: (speaking in Japanese) Top of the morning to you sir!

Me: Er, can I help you?

PAD: My good man, telling from the color of you skin, it appears you come from a country other than Japan. Did you know that if you have a television you must pay us around 1400 yen a month. And if you use a satellite receiver you must pay us twice that amount. There is no way around this. Even if you are white.

Me: Er, what if I don’t watch NHK.

PAD: That doesn’t matter. According to article 32 of the broadcast law of 1950, you must pay us just for the privilege of owning a TV. Now pay!

Me: Uh, are there any repercussions for not paying.

PAD: I will get very angry with you, and possibly stalk you.

Me: Okay, what if I don’t have a TV? What if I use the Internet for all my media consumption?

PAD: Then there is no need to pay. But the minute you purchase a television, you must contact us immediately. Or else!!!

Me: Or Else what?

PAD: ….the stalking!!!!

Me: Are there any criminal or legal repercussions?

PAD: Well no, but we will hunt you down ..

Me: Um, okay. Well, since I don’t have a TV I guess there is no need to charge me.

PAD: Right you are sir. Have yourself a majestic day.

Me: Oh, I will!

So as you can see, there is a law in Japan that forces you to pay a monthly tax just in order to own a television. However, there doesn’t seem to be anyway to force people to pay. This makes me happy. I don’t have a TV right now, but should I get one, I don’t think I’ll be in a hurry to inform NHK of my new purchase. Japan, I think I love you.

PSP in DS Case Makes 11-Year-Old Boy Cry

Published
by
jasohill
on August 25, 2006
in Gaming
. 0 Comments

I found this great story on 4 color rebellion today. I’m posting it as a digg link, so feel free to check it out.

ESL teacher in Japan reports: “After class, some girls came up and asked, ‘Can we play Mario?’ I explained that I didn’t have my DS with me, but one girl pointed to the case and its DS logo. I opened the case and watched their faces fall as they saw the PSP. One 11-year-old boy actually cried. Cried. You can’t buy brand loyalty like that.”

read more | digg story

Get yo china on

Published
by
jasohill
on August 24, 2006
in Art and Travel
. 0 Comments

There’s a lot to blog about today, so let’s get going. First of all, it’s friday, and it’s damn hot. Not just hot, but hot in the biblical sense. It’s not fun to walk around with massive sweat patches covering your heat-rash infested body, but what are you going to do. Sorry for all of you who were just eating.

All this talk of heat reminds of what happened to me last weekend. I took the bullet train down to tokyo, where I met up with my girlfriend. We then spent Saturday in Yokohama and Sunday in Kamakura. Today, I’ll talk a little about the joys of Yokohama Chinatown. The one thing you must remember is that it was 30+ Celcius all day. That made this trip more of an endurance test than a holiday.

So we started the day at this “museum” in Chinatown called 大世界(dai sekai - Big World). Don’t believe the hype. This isn’t so much of a museum as a place to corner you and take your money without the ability to refuse. Some might call it theivery. You get taken up to the eighth floor and start a downward spiral of spending copious amounts of money on little or nothing. There were some nice things about it, however. The lamps were nice, pretty colours and there was a lady who was able to play some cool chinese music using an instrument that looked like a koto. I have declare that any music that sounds “asian” must come from this instrument. Here are some pictures for you who need visual reinforcement. I don’t really think it was worth the 500yen admission fee.

Contemplation

Lighting

They even take a picture of you on the top floor and charge you 1000 yen for it on your way out. Refusing means certain death. There is also a place where you can get your picture taken with a massive panda. so I had Shiho “assume the position.”

Close to the Panda

After a day of sweltering heat and massive sales pitches, we were thrust into the chinatown evening. Nothing says “chinatown” like the awesmoe gates and the all you can east Chinese meals. This isn’t take out folks. This is the real deal.

The Mark of Chinatown

The gates

Once all was said and done, we retired back to Kawasaki city to our luxurious 4800yen hotel room. This place was pimping. I’m talking 50 inch plasma and hot tub. Not to mention the free karaoke and video games. It wasn’t even a love hotel. If you are ever planning a trip to Yokohama, stay in Kawasaki(川崎）at the “Plaza Inn Kawasaki“. You can thank me later. I’ll talk about Kamakura tomorrow. I seem to be drowning in a pool of my own sweat at the moment and it’s causing me problems when I type, and breathe.

The Big O’s Japan Slam - Episode 8

Published
by
jasohill
on August 24, 2006
in Music
. 0 Comments

The Big O’s Japan Slam on the tiltyhouse Network is back this week with episode number 8.

The Big O’s Japan Slam is a weekly radio show hosted by the Talented James Oikawa. It features some of the most recent and popular music out of Japan. Using the Oricon top 10 music list as a basis, James brings you the hot pop hits out of Japan. He usually raps up his show with a selection of video game music. Each episode ranges from 30 to 60 minutes, and is packed full of music.

If you are into what is new in the Japanese pop music scene, then I would recommend you check this out every week. If you wish to subscribe to the Slam, just click the tiltyhouse link on the side of my page. You get also grab a torrent for it here.

Enomoto’s Space Dreams Dashed

Published
by
jasohill
on August 21, 2006
in National and Technology
. 0 Comments

Story from Crisscross Japan

There is some unfortunate news in the world of space tourism this week. It appears that Daisuke “Dice-K” Enomoto’s dream to be Japan’s first space tourist was quashed this week when it was determined that he is medically unfit to travel into space. the specific cause of this sudden cancellation hadn’t been revealed at the time of the announcemnt, but it’s obviously something bad enough to keep him from space travel.

It doesn’t take much to keep someone from launching into space on a controlled explosion. One bad heart beat here, or a eye problem there is enough to ground someone. Some might even say that nasty condition we call common sense keeps most of us from attempting such a risky proposition.

As a fan of Japanese popular culture I am a little saddened by this. Enomoto was a Gundam fan and had planned to Cosplay as Char from Gundman while he was in space. That may sound a little silly to you, but I think it’s a bold step in the right direction of space tourism. After all, if you are going to pay 20 million to travel somewhere, shouldn’t you be allow to wear whatever the hell you want. The agency that puts these trips together is having a special meeting next week to determine who will be Enomoto’s replacement. One thing I can already ascertain is that whoever it will be, they certainly won’t be as interesting as Enomoto was.

Dai-Cast Episode 30: Vice Cast

Published
by
jasohill
on August 16, 2006
in Anime - Manga, Art and Culture
. 0 Comments

Every week, I co-host a podcast on current Japanese events as seen through the eyes of a Canadian. I thought I would start to mention these episodes on this blog since they are related to what i talk about here. In this week’s episode, we focus on some of the more risque aspects of Japanese society. We debate the live of an AV director(that’s porn for those of you who don’t know), look at the recent purchase of Sleeman by Sapporo beer and explore the seedy world of Enjo Kosai(Sex for money.)

It takes a great deal of efforts to produce these shows and bring them out on a weekly basis. We feel that Dai-Cast brings you a perspective on Japanese culture and life that you might not get elsewhere. Therefore, I encourage to listen to an episode and see what we’re all about.

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    • The first annual Hachimantai City Summer Festival

    Published
    by
    jasohill
    on August 16, 2006
    in Culture, Hachimantai and Photography
    . 0 Comments

    The previous topic was rather upsetting, so why don’t we talk about something a little happier. On tuesday I walked over to the Hachimantai Summer Festival. The event started at 5pm with a stage show and then followed a group of Taiko drummers and dancers. They circled the food area and danced around for about an hour.

    Enjoying the Moment

    Grooving

    Colorful Dance

    That was fun for about twenty minutes. Then I realized that is all there would be until the fireworks. I went over to the food stands, bought a beer and a salted yakitori and made my way over to where the fireworks were going to be held. The nice thing about this being the first festival is taht it wasn’t esstablished, and therefore not that many people came. That gave me an excellent spot to set up my camera for the fireworks. They started a little after eight and last a full hour. It was an impressive show.

    Brillance

    Resonance

    I took over 200 pictures. I found only about 15 to be worthy of posting up. Out of all of them, this was my favorite. To me, it symbolized the meaning of the festival. Color and light.

    Festival

    Have a good week everyone.

    City pays 2.2 million yen for teacher’s bullying

    Published
    by
    jasohill
    on August 14, 2006
    in Culture, Education and National
    . 0 Comments

    I read a disturbing story today on the Asashi online website. You can read it here.

    It appears that a teacher to taunted and bullied a student after learning the student had an american grandfather. He was caught by someone(or reported by the boys family), but has so far dodged any responsibility for his actions. In Japan, it seems that as a public servent, the government will protect you and compensate victims in your name. In addition to this, the teacher appears to be back at work. What a wonderful day this must be for that poor boy, who had to endure abuse just for having some american in his blood.

    This story wouldn’t enrage me so if it wasn’t something I read about all the time over here. An isolated story is one thing, but this is becoming a weekly topic. As a response to this, I have decided to provide a series of thought provoking questions that foreigners in Japan might want to bring up in a public forum. Here they are:

    1. Should a government institution shelter an employee from taking responsibility for his or her actions?

    2. Does coming from a mixed background make one human being lesser than another?

    3. What do you think of foreign residents in your area?

    4. What do you think of children of mixed races? Do you call them half, or something else?

    I fear the answers you get may not be the answers you are looking for. I pray I am wrong here, but I am pessimistic about this.