tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221298522011-06-07T23:49:05.418-07:00monamienoreply@blogger.comBlogger2011100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1164889847725994062006-11-30T04:30:00.000-08:002006-11-30T04:30:47.740-08:00

So today will be the final day for me to write this blog. Well, starting back in February, I did write about all kinds of things quite randomly. When I couldn’t think of anything to write about I most times ended up writing about the weather, and when I was so focused and enthused about one topic I went on forever like the one on Okinawa.Even though it was part of my job, it was truly a great

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1164800068979704422006-11-29T03:33:00.000-08:002006-11-29T03:34:28.996-08:00

I know it’s kind of a super-short notice, but this blog will end tommorow.... or at least stop being updated for a little while. I’m changing my job. I hope to write about the details tomorrow, but anyway, thanks for reading this half-serious half-boring blog.I don’t want to completely quit this, so if I have the time and energy to keep it up I promise I will. It’s just that I won’t be doing this

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1164714006465123462006-11-28T03:38:00.000-08:002006-11-28T03:40:06.480-08:00

I tried to tell the complicated characters and situations of women in the 21st centuries, but I couldn’t quite reach a conclusion even within myself so I’d like to wrap up with that.One of the newest lifestyle fads is “petit-luxury”. An easy example of this can be a person who usually has a 500-yen-lunch for 6-days a week treating herself with a 2,000-yen-lunch for just once a week. Well, true,

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1164625553866089862006-11-27T03:04:00.000-08:002006-11-27T03:05:53.880-08:00

Let us start concluding the topic on Japanese women and recession. Today (and finally) we’ll get to 21st century. (Just a quick note: today’s entry may sound more or less biased, but I mean absolutely no offense to anyone)Women in the past few years have clearly change quite dramatically as compared to the women before. If I describe it really short and simple, the high school gals who enjoyed

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1164367108922850802006-11-24T03:16:00.000-08:002006-11-24T03:18:28.940-08:00

In the entry on Nov 21 I wrote about how the Japanese women were until the bubble economy in the early 90s, but hadn’t gone further yet. Sorry for the delay. I’m continuing with the topic today.After the bubble burst, the tide of huge economic recession hit the entire country, which is also known as The Lost Decade. The number of suicides increased remarkably never dropping down, and no one was

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1164193142334611052006-11-22T02:57:00.000-08:002006-11-22T02:59:02.373-08:00

I was going to continue with the economy and women thing from yesterday, but again it started to become a bit complicated in my mind so I think I’ll let my mind rest for a little bit (yay, tomorrow’s a holiday!).Anyway, so I was looking for some lighter news to write about today and was asking around my colleagues, and one of them told me that a bid committee for 2016 Olympics has been

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1164110224482154842006-11-21T03:55:00.000-08:002006-11-21T03:58:11.453-08:00

Here I would like to write about things that I intentionally (for good reasons) didn’t write in the article on J-POP for Japan Mode.What it is about: it is about the relationship between Japanese economy and the performances of Japanese women. I have touched upon it a little bit in the article, but here I would like to go into the actual mechanism.But first, let me get started with my personal

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1164020293104263472006-11-20T02:58:00.000-08:002006-11-20T02:59:58.443-08:00

First of all, thank you for your comment Rachel. I hope to keep up with thought-provoking entries although I have to say, I won’t be able to write as much from next month. Still I wish to tell the big stuff and little stuff about Japan, as a resident of Japan. Comments always gives me energy to keep writing :)Since I had been writing about very serious heavy stuff for the past month, I thought I’

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1163762605290562332006-11-17T03:22:00.000-08:002006-11-17T03:23:25.313-08:00

Sorry ‘bout yesterday. I couldn’t “move”... :pI think I’ll be fine today... who knows?Anyway, let’s get going with how the government is seeing this problem.Some of the governmental policies for urban-rural disparity include such as synoecism and “IT-izing”, but there hasn’t been enough attention given to the desertification or decline in population in these areas that we have been discussing

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1163683545292688062006-11-16T05:24:00.000-08:002006-11-16T05:25:45.313-08:00

I have to confess that I can't spare much - or actually no - time to this part of my daily task!!!Why should I be so busy at this time of year!!?See ye guys tomorrow!

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1163587449766048612006-11-15T02:41:00.000-08:002006-11-15T02:44:09.780-08:00

Today I’d like to really go into the current situation of the local economy and disparity. First of all, however, I need to note that though I say “countryside” or “rural” economy, the actual value of currency is more and more lost the further you go from the urban areas. The traditional style of self-sufficiency is still fairly strong in these areas, where they grow fresh healthy vegetables and

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1163503316968999022006-11-14T03:20:00.000-08:002006-11-14T03:21:56.986-08:00

My series essay in working poor is getting long. Hmm.I know it’s because of the busy-ness of my work and also because of the virus that’s been tormenting my body for two months now... ;pRight now I am feeling like I need more pills... like, I need more medicine. The one my doctor prescribed for me is only for mornings and evenings twice a day, so at around five o’clock I can feel the medicine

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1163414702587308882006-11-13T02:43:00.000-08:002006-11-13T02:45:02.590-08:00

No wonder my so-thought cold wouldn’t heal: I finally passed out and went to the hospital last week and found out that my body was and still is invaded by a very rare virus to be found in Japan. My throat is still sore, but is so much better than the past few days.Anyway, getting back to the working poor issue, I think I ended last entry by telling you how hollow and sad I felt. Everything at one

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1163083997303262612006-11-09T06:52:00.000-08:002006-11-09T06:53:17.336-08:00

Sorry, I’m sort of running out of time for I’m again caught up with work. I do want to continue with the discussion and it will next week. Topics cover: minimum wage; the reality of the protected powers; revitalization of poverty... so on so forth.

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1162984216940982942006-11-08T03:08:00.000-08:002006-11-08T03:10:16.956-08:00

So now we’re discussing the issue of working poor in the countryside regions.As a matter of fact, I am one of those coming from the suburbs. My hometown is Takamatsu City, a city in a rather unknown prefecture of Kagawa. My parents run a cafe on a local shopping street in Takamatsu. It has been ten years since I left my hometown, and every time I go back to see my family, I can’t help but notice

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1162895148863814322006-11-07T02:24:00.001-08:002006-11-07T02:25:48.883-08:00

Before I start, let me apologize my rough explanations for I’m trying to make this concise as I can (I don’t want to be pulling the topic forever).The reason for feeling this issue so personal – one of them is the problems arising in suburbs and the countryside towns.Actually, I think that there are two kinds to this problem making it sophisticated.Firstly, the problem of underpopulation in

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1162806836290553122006-11-06T01:53:00.000-08:002006-11-06T01:53:56.303-08:00

Alright. Since I realized that I stepped into a rather grave social issue but don’t want to turn my eyes from it, I decided to go little by little taking up the entire week. Well... maybe longer, who knows?As I went on with my research and learning about workaholics and Japanese youth, I found myself facing a larger social issue in the background of workaholicism which is “disparity” – in all

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1162461926483059262006-11-02T02:02:00.000-08:002006-11-02T02:05:26.503-08:00

As I surf on the internet lately, I notice this particular book comes up in quite a number of blogs and forums. Its name (in my personal literal translation) is The Exploited Youth – the motorbike messenger has witnessed! and is a social analysis written by a post graduate student at the University of Tokyo, who took a year off and worked as motorbike messenger.What is written there is the system

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1162379611492614562006-11-01T03:12:00.000-08:002006-11-01T03:13:31.506-08:00

The Ministry of Education announced its solutions to the educational issue – the already-graduated will not be questioned about their credits in high school, and as for the current students are to take make-up classes worth 70 hours, and for those who still cannot fulfill the requirement just by make-up classes will have to turn in papers. As a result the burden on the students have been

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1162294275918932052006-10-31T03:28:00.000-08:002006-10-31T03:31:15.933-08:00

Sorry about going off track yesterday :pAnyway, going back to the educational issue thingy I’d been writing about – more and more schools have been proven “guilty” for not giving their students enough compulsory credits, not that they weren’t aware of and made mistakes, but actually acknowledge their intended “mistakes”. The result of this mess so far, is more than 80,000 12th graders across the

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1162208742560926012006-10-30T03:44:00.000-08:002006-10-30T03:45:42.573-08:00

It’s kind of an odd subject to throw in the middle of the discussion of education issues, but anyway, I went to this Yamamoto Mimikakiten (the ear-cleaning place) that I introduced you several days ago (see Oct.18 http://jmode.blogspot.com/2006/10/extreme-of-healing.html for refrence), so I thought I’d give you a short report before I forget.After writing about it I was talking about it with some

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1161955923534903862006-10-27T06:30:00.000-07:002006-10-27T06:32:03.556-07:00

The last few entries I have written about bullies in schools and the problems of the schools not dealing with the cases properly, but now a different flaw – which is more than a mere flaw – of Japanese education has been stirring up the news.Who can believe that there are 282 high schools in the country which have “mistakes” in their curriculum that disables Seniors from graduating due to lack of

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1161863511448247232006-10-26T04:51:00.000-07:002006-10-26T04:51:51.460-07:00

I feel so sick and weary. My body aches and it feels so heavy and dull and numb. I was complaining a while ago about this nasty cold that I came down with... well, I haven’t been able to get rid of it. I need a good long break to rest my body, but it’s been hell busy these days and I don’t even feel like I’m going to have Christmas break. Anyway, so I’m surviving each day with aspirin available

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1161772409175686452006-10-25T03:32:00.000-07:002006-10-25T03:33:29.190-07:00

At the second meeting of the Educational Reform held in the morning today on October 25th, Japanese Prime Minister Abe promised urgent response to the increasing suicides of young students, that he along with the reform board will immediately start working on changing aspects that can be changed rather quickly.It’s quite natural he said that – it’s more like an obligation for him as the political

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1161692183263791022006-10-24T05:15:00.000-07:002006-10-24T05:16:23.276-07:00

I wrote an article on this some time ago, and as I wrote, the number portability system for mobile phones have finally started.Since Softbank made a stunning elecrtifying thunder-struck announcement on its “unexpected” schemes including the dramatic lowering of it service prices (I know my English is getting messed up) last night, the medial as well as the society was sort of nervous and excited

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1161598879264629872006-10-23T03:20:00.000-07:002006-10-23T03:21:19.276-07:00

Our new Prime Minister Abe promised the nation that one of the top priorities of his policies would include “reform of public education that guarantees every child in the country to obtain high scholastic ability and morality.”He also announced us with an outline that gives more specific policies such as basic scholarship strengthening program and renewal of teacher’s license. The education

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1161337797039156942006-10-20T02:47:00.000-07:002006-10-20T02:49:57.056-07:00

23 organizations including domestic broadcasting networks like NHK, Fuji Television, JASRAC (Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers) and other copyrights management groups announced that they succeeded in having YouTube delete 29,549 files, claiming them to be violating copyright properties.No big surprise because Japanese people have been using YouTube madly these days,

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1161260132851109002006-10-19T05:15:00.000-07:002006-10-19T05:15:32.866-07:00

It is getting a bit chilly here in Tokyo in the mornings and evenings. I am by no means a big fan of cold weather so each day I grow bluer.Several months ago, I started to be given more and more work like I had been moaning here and along with the increasing load of work my outfit changed from casual clothing to suit style (cuz I have to *cry*). And that makes winter even more horrifying because

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1161169659382283932006-10-18T04:06:00.000-07:002006-10-18T04:07:39.396-07:00

For quite a while “healing” has been a big boom in Japan. There are so many people who are in quest for the ultimate healing that it makes me think, “Geez, I feel sorry for this wiped out country.”Just about ten years ago, there had been continuous news about overwork and stress deaths stirring up the society. The people who worked their lives off were in the babyboom generation who largely

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1161083194638978532006-10-17T04:03:00.000-07:002006-10-17T04:09:07.220-07:00

I suppose many of you are familiar with online shopping. Well, there’s this famous Japanese internet shopping website called Rakuten and you know what’s been added to the list just recently? It was so unexpected that I had to stare at the screen for a little while to make sure I wasn’t reading things wrongly. I did write here ages ago that a castle was on sale, but this time it’s more than an

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1160996492856009922006-10-16T03:32:00.000-07:002006-10-16T04:01:33.000-07:00

Well well, I’d been writing about Okinawa for so long that I don’t know what to write after I’m finished with it. I feel like I haven’t written anything that’s not related to Okinawa for a very long time... or rather, I guess I really haven’t written a normal entry for that long. Oh well.So today, what should I write about? As far as I can remember, I was getting started with a petit Japan

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1160742430520054962006-10-13T05:26:00.000-07:002006-10-13T05:27:10.546-07:00

With the double-shock of rain sprinkling on my shoulders and no friends to accompany the beach tour, I stepped out my first step as a nasty bad loser.But because my phone would soon lose reception I had to promise them I’d be back to the port in only an hour.Considering the delay of coming here due to the emotional sea, we had to act quick with everything cuz it was highly likely that the return

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1160650499014957942006-10-12T03:53:00.000-07:002006-10-12T03:54:59.043-07:00

In the rough waves of the typhoon the boat loaded with people and hope mightily moved forward!Well really, the waves were rough as they could be. Most of the passengers got seasick and myself of course, having had that much breakfast was also one of the poor people who were half dead on the boat. Fortunately, because we got on the boat early enough to secure seats for all of us I was able to keep

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1160564234792943222006-10-11T03:56:00.000-07:002006-10-11T03:57:14.806-07:00

Hi Kain, thank you very much for your kind comment. I am honored for such comment. I’ll do my best to keep brightening up everybody’s days!!So we are now in my fourth day of my short short vacation. It was also my last day of Okinawa probably for a while, sadly. I got up an hour earlier than the previous days and stared at my mobile internet connection to check up with the latest news on the boat

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1160476230791672072006-10-10T03:25:00.000-07:002006-10-10T03:30:30.810-07:00

Third day of my Okinawa trip, the typhoon was gone but the waves were still big and so again I lost my hope to go to this isolated island. Reluctantly, I went to take some pictures of the busiest street in Naha for there were particularly nowhere else I wanted to go to, and then I went to have a look at this shrine where the biggest number of people pay visits in Okinawa and is located on the

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1160143097340507852006-10-06T06:56:00.000-07:002006-10-06T06:58:17.353-07:00

So we now have a new webmanga Charmy Nurse M on Japan Mode.This one isn’t a ninja manga like ChamaTama, the one before, but is about a timid, introverted, purposelessly living teenager and an alien girl (and she’s a nurse!) plus iiTage – whom I bet those Japan Mode frequent viewers are fond of by now. It’s pop and cute. Hope you guys enjoy :-)Oh yeah, and this time we’re going to have it in two

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1160046738176213682006-10-05T04:08:00.000-07:002006-10-05T04:12:18.186-07:00

On the third day when the typhoon has completely passed the island, we headed straight to the port with a tad piece of hope. It was cloudy but it was not raining and the wind was almost nothing. It was right after the typhoon was gone so I wasn’t expecting any boats to leave the island in the morning, but was hoping there’d be at least one that goes to my dream island in the evening. Nonetheless,

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1159957163662937552006-10-04T03:18:00.000-07:002006-10-04T03:19:23.676-07:00

I am really coming down with a nasty cold and I was so going to go home early BUT more work was being piled up on my desk and I ended up leaving office the same as usual... which is almost midnight. So so, I am feeling wiped out, heavy and dull from the cold and drowsy from the pills.Even though I was tires, I couldn’t help buying the Goya (bitter gourd) champloo cooked with pork luncheon meat

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1159872662105292532006-10-03T03:46:00.000-07:002006-10-03T03:51:02.123-07:00

Like the title clearly says, the second day of the trip was the day the typhoon really hit the Okinawa islands. I turned on the TV as soon as I woke up in the morning, and the news showed the disastrous mess of the islands where the typhoon has gone past earlier. The Okinawa islands look small from the mainlands of Japan but they stretch north to south covering quite a large area and

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1159795269288055582006-10-02T06:19:00.000-07:002006-10-02T06:21:09.306-07:00

On our way back towards Naha from Sesoko, I searched for the night’s accommodation using Internet on my cell phone. It could’ve been any decent hotel, but for some reason I looked for a cheap dormitory type of room. I didn’t notice then, but as I reflect upon my feelings and attitude at that time, I was probably like “if I can’t go to the island, I don’t care where I stay. And if I’m staying

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1159532948503210262006-09-29T05:27:00.000-07:002006-09-29T05:29:08.516-07:00

As we progressed into the water more and more, the water became clearer and could see some fish around. My two friends seemed to be enjoying their first snorkeling experience.Because they looked ok and I wanted go in deeper and further, so I told them I’m going to go look what it’s like as if I was taking them later, and went out on my own.The first and strongest impression I got from the water

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1159449661529079472006-09-28T06:19:00.000-07:002006-09-28T06:21:01.533-07:00

"NO SWIMMING" so it says, and the same message was spelled out on the sad and sympathetic expression on the parking lot keeper’s face. I was wordless, but soon remembered seeing a few people splashing in the water as we crossed the bridge. So we snaked around looking for a place we could swim – we came this far, we couldn’t (or I couldn’t?) turn around with nothing. Before long, we found a car

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1159360346513984622006-09-27T05:30:00.000-07:002006-09-27T05:32:26.533-07:00

At this very moment the Japanese society is quite excited socially and politically about this new Prime Minister (after a rather long reign of five years by Koizumi) Abe and his Cabinet. Every news program and gossip shows try to predict how they’re going to function and are trying to poke at every downside it has or trying to come up with ridiculous nicknames, but I don’t care. What will be,

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1159270799291573542006-09-26T04:39:00.000-07:002006-09-26T04:39:59.316-07:00

Giving up taking the tiny cessna that can only carry 9 passengers at a time, we headed to Sesoko Beach on the Okinawa Main Island after renting a car. We wanted to get a car at the small airport but we were sent back to the big one to get the car. The place we were carried to on a micro-bus was the world famous DTS located next to the airport. Needless to explain, the duty free shops.I was just a

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1159183547787516422006-09-25T04:24:00.000-07:002006-09-25T04:26:07.013-07:00

Sorry, I know I haven’t finished with what I started, but I just want to say I went to see the Tokyo Game Show 2006 yesterday Sunday, this time not as one of the regular visitors but as media!! I will report the details on my website Japan Mode but let me give you my honest impression here: despite it is said to have gathered the largest number of visitors since it has started, I didn’t get so

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1158926064343285722006-09-22T04:53:00.000-07:002006-09-22T04:54:24.356-07:00

I was so shocked to see those four kanji saying “all boats cancelled” that I collapsed on the spot and sat there for a little while like a ragged doll. My friends who were also looking forward to this trip drooped their heads, but seemed like they switched their minds rather quickly and set out from the lobby complaining yet somewhat light-heartedly. As for myself, I was still trying to figure

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1158840983586746522006-09-21T05:14:00.000-07:002006-09-21T15:58:33.503-07:00

Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I did go to Okinawa!! Who cares about the typhoon which was actually said to be the biggest in the past decade. Who cares... orzIt really literally directly hit me right on the spot. And I’m going to report everything here on this blog.The night before the trip I was so caught up with the huge load of unfinished projects at work, and I ended up taking

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1158243353486319342006-09-14T07:15:00.000-07:002006-09-14T07:15:53.496-07:00

Well no one can except for the mighty all mighty god of weather.The typhoon is coming straight to me, as if it’s aiming only, or as if we are the opposite ends of a magnet.I am flying to Okinawa no matter what, but it’s literally hitting me!!!How can it do this to me!!? I am (still) sooo looking forward to it.This is more than too bad. I need better help than sympathy.I was going to update some

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1158157124239616092006-09-13T07:16:00.000-07:002006-09-13T07:18:44.256-07:00

Friday is coming, minute by minute!! How can I not be happy!? Friday about this time of the day I am going to be in Okinawa. The Kerama Islands!! And I’m so damn sure I’m going to be wiped out from the very first day swimming and splashing in that clear blue water.I do have to say that the amount of the work I have is more than I can handle by Friday, but I will win this battle. Man, I’ve got to

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1158064095370975522006-09-12T05:27:00.000-07:002006-09-12T05:28:15.386-07:00

It got really hot again until yesterday morning, but then it cooled down quite a bit last night and today. Now I’m starting to feel like it’s vacation season :-)But it’s been raining quietly the past few days and it seems like Tokyo will have nothing but rain and cool air brought by rain for the following week or so. For me, being person who’s taking a day of to enjoy a four-day-weekend in

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1157974847709270122006-09-11T04:40:00.000-07:002006-09-11T04:40:47.723-07:00

Today’s September 11th and it’s been five years from that dreadful incident... I was living in Osaka at that time, and when I was watching TV the program suddenly changed to news showing the WTC.I was extremely shocked to see the scene. It took me a while to comprehend what was going on, and I could not keep my eyes off of the TV screen.What we see today on the news, have narrations and have been

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1157721805201862362006-09-08T06:21:00.000-07:002006-09-08T06:23:25.240-07:00

will be shortened cuz I’m super busy and just can’t manage to find myself the time to go into details.My bad, I am so sorry for those who’d been looking forward to it.So, well.I hear it’s the best to visit the village in the wintertime when the snow is deep deep deep.The traditional Japanese wooden houses have very dark brown colors, so the color contrast between the housed and the white snow (

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1157633160257090772006-09-07T05:38:00.000-07:002006-09-07T05:46:00.266-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, we are back to my special Japan Countryside Guide. I didn’t really mean to make it a “countryside” guide, but since I mentioned the word “hinabita” last time I guess I’ll stick with that.But come to think of it, many of you reading this aren’t likely to be Japanese or fond of Japanese language and customs. So even if I did introduce you guys my favorite rustic areas you’ll

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1157543166030285832006-09-06T04:44:00.000-07:002006-09-06T04:46:06.043-07:00

I was going to re-start with the Japan Countryside Guide today, but I just remembered that today September 6th 2006 was the longed day in Japanese politics, society and history.I suppose it’s pretty huge issue since some of the overseas media have been focusing on this for quite a while now, but anyway Princess Kiko, the wife of the Emperor’s second son gave birth to a boy this morning at 8:27am

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1157457251738959992006-09-05T04:49:00.000-07:002006-09-05T04:54:11.753-07:00

So here’s the digest of the movie I craved to see.Usually when I watch movies (never to forget I’m a big film person), I measure the quality of the movie by how many times I got goosebumps. The more goosebumps the better the movie is. Well for this movie Toki o Kakeru Shojo (literally means “the girl who leaps time”) I got it three times and that would count as a lot. I think I got it twice for

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1157371329999937872006-09-04T04:59:00.000-07:002006-09-04T05:02:10.013-07:00

going off track.I got myself started with Japan Countryside Guide last week, but I’m afraid I’m going off track again.This is all because I went to see this movie called Toki o Kakeru Shojo which is a hidden boom in Japan right now.Do any of you guys know this movie?It’s a sequel to the movie with the same title shown in 1983, only that this one is an animation whereas the initial one was a live

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1157110098362617062006-09-01T04:26:00.000-07:002006-09-01T04:28:18.380-07:00

Today we’re having rain all day that we haven’t had for a while. It’s a whole lot cooler than yesterday. Looks like summer is surely leaving this country. One of my colleagues caught a cold for sleeping nearly naked till last night. Careful! The season is changing.Yesterday I wrote about my shock about the reality the isolated islands of Okinawa are facing, but today I’m going to switch my mind

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1157025025901915942006-08-31T04:39:00.000-07:002006-08-31T04:50:25.913-07:00

I was going to seriously start a Japan Guide, but there was a shocking news so I changed my mind to write about it.Several weeks ago I was writing about the sad fate of the coral reefs in Okinawa and our obligations to protect them. Well, I was reading through this Okinawa blog as part of my daily routine and faced this very sad passage.Nishibama (or Nishihama), known to be the most beautiful

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1156937272645038362006-08-30T04:27:00.000-07:002006-08-30T04:31:12.846-07:00

A couple of days ago, we received an e-mail asking us, “I’d like to travel Japan some time soon, but how much money should I prepare?” through our web site Japan Mode.We are very grateful for such e-mails (we’ve had several before), and if the client is expecting us some information uniquely Japan Mode, then she knows exactly where to ask!It really depends on what your travel interests are,

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1156854814790441512006-08-29T05:31:00.000-07:002006-08-29T05:33:34.813-07:00

Yesterday, twelve A/W (Autumn/Winter) model cell phones were announced from Japan’s No.2 cell phone service company “au”. They are not yet on sale but will be soon. All of the phone service companies promote few new models at once, but twelve is still a big number. I believe this is due to the new service of “number portability” that the cell phone carrier companies are starting this

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1156770350077265522006-08-28T06:03:00.000-07:002006-08-28T06:05:50.096-07:00

I’d been writing about glasses for the past few entries, but let me write about something else today.We’ve been having pretty cool breeze in the evenings for the past few days, but still the cicadas keep on chirping (now, I don’t know if they “chirp” but I don’t know a better way to describe their “cries”) and that kind of feels weird.If you grow up in this country, you’ll be able to tell which

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1156513506054573762006-08-25T06:43:00.000-07:002006-08-25T06:45:06.076-07:00

We’ve talked about glasses for men and women in the past couple of entries so this time let’s see the details like the shapes for each classification.Straight-A-Student TypeA lot of the glasses that fit this type have no frames or metal frames, and they are thinner as compared to other types. One reason for this is that here glasses are more for eyesight correction rather than fashion, so

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1156428767669806902006-08-24T07:11:00.000-07:002006-08-24T07:12:47.683-07:00

So so, I got started with glasses topic and wrote about women’s glasses so let’s go over men’s glasses today.Men, as compared to women, tend to have glasses more for eyesight correction purpose so naturally functionality was stressed over fashionability – until a couple of years ago. Similarly to women fashionability started to draw attention, and together with the influences of rock bands and

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1156339360892531752006-08-23T06:15:00.000-07:002006-08-23T06:22:40.920-07:00

I always wear contacts to work, but today I came out with glasses.I have a bit of complicated work right now, and sadly I thought I’d have to stay in office tonight. It gets extremely troublesome and tiring too, when I have to keep wearing contacts on occasions like this so I decided to wear my glasses, but fortunately it looks like I can hit my bed at home tonight.A long time ago I wrote that in

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1156253440337111412006-08-22T06:27:00.000-07:002006-08-22T06:30:40.366-07:00

akikinuto meniwa sayakani mienedomokazeno otonizo odorokarenuruThis is a Japanese song – or a poem from the ancient days.It says,”Autumn has come. Although I do not see it clearly, I was startled by the sound of the wind.”Sounds kind of melancholic but in Japan, autumn is usually started with a series of typhoons so yeah, I guess the sound of the wind can startle me.As for me personally, I just

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1156161004226285792006-08-21T04:48:00.000-07:002006-08-21T04:50:04.240-07:00

Saturday, the following day of the entry with the nyudogumo (thunderclouds) story, we had a beautiful weather with bright blue sky and summery temperature from the morning allowing me to fully feel like it was really summer. I gazed outside for a moment, and rather inevitably the white fluffy marshmallowy thunderclouds came into sight. It was something super little I guess, but because I just

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1155913085721780202006-08-18T07:44:00.000-07:002006-08-18T07:58:05.860-07:00

Today we have more sunshine than we had in the past week together. It’s hot and bright and feels so like summer.Ever since the rainy season ended officially at the very end of July we’ve been swaying back and forth through heat+sun and rain+darkness and I never really had a chance to feel “yeah, summer” kick ass!” and for the first time this year I realized why I don’t feel like we’re in the

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1155816380398869532006-08-17T05:04:00.000-07:002006-08-17T05:06:20.420-07:00

Tokyo today, humid and uncomfortable as it can be. When it’s hot but dry, it’s usually pretty cool in the shades no matter how hot it is in the sun, but on a humid day like today shades never really make any difference. The best place to escape is probably the office where it’s chilly as winter :PA/C is a great invention. It makes summer so pleasant. Water has this character of taking heat when

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1155733944752376712006-08-16T06:11:00.000-07:002006-08-16T06:13:04.606-07:00

The price for gasoline is raising every second these days. According to the announcement of The Oil Information Center last week, the average gas price (nationwide, Aug 7, 2006) was 143.7 yen/liter. It says that the record has been broken for the first time in sixteen years since they started the research in 1987.Like I mentioned in Monday’s entry, the season is summer and everybody’s on vacation

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1155642692172825532006-08-15T04:50:00.000-07:002006-08-15T04:51:32.193-07:00

So, as I wrote in my entry for yesterday today is the obon day, but it is also the day when WWII ended for us Japan. The day Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration. As a Japanese, I let many thoughts and feelings mix and whirl in my mind. On this day 61 years ago, the voice of the Emperor announced flowed across the entire country through radio that we were defeated and that the war was over. My

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1155555974205115172006-08-14T04:44:00.000-07:002006-08-14T04:46:14.216-07:00

Seems like the country is diving into the short short summer break. The middle few days of August are called obon and is the time of year to welcome and console the spirits of your ancestors. It was (or still is) originally July 15th, but due to school vacation season which starts in late July and more due to media, the main stream today has become mid-August.Sadly, if I may describe, this is not

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1155298607792505162006-08-11T05:16:00.000-07:002006-08-11T05:16:47.803-07:00

Not really. It’s been rather cool to my great disappointment. Last summerthe weather or more like the heat was horrible. Bummer... bummer? Anyway.I don’t care how hot or how cool it is this month cuz my summer break willbe in next month. Yoohoo, YES I am going to Okinawa next month. I have nohope I can get some time off from work this month so I decided to work mybutt off during August and get a

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1155214808616124182006-08-10T05:58:00.000-07:002006-08-10T18:37:55.916-07:00

Sorry, kind of in a super hurry but wanted to drop a line anyways.I'll try to post more from the next entry. Seeya!

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1155128195935843622006-08-09T05:56:00.000-07:002006-08-09T05:59:16.210-07:00

I found something really interesting yesterday on YouTube. It’s a film on Japan recorded by American delegates SEVENTY YEARS ago and it’s fully in color!!See this:Old JapanTitle: Floral Japan.The funny imbalance between the sailboats and steamboats, the streams that make you feel the slow and mild flow of time, the beautiful ladies in kimono enjoying the seasons, the snow of cherry blossom petals

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1155043719170548802006-08-08T06:27:00.000-07:002006-08-08T06:28:39.190-07:00

Is now over. Until just a bit more than a week ago it rained and rained and rained like the sky wanted to drown us, but ever since the end of rainy season was announced all we’ve had for days was sun and heat. It was so nice and damn summery.Today, for the first time since summer “officially” started we are having rain, and quite a heavy one from early morning. It’s been brought by the typhoon

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1154951991804580412006-08-07T04:58:00.000-07:002006-08-07T04:59:51.823-07:00

It has been so super hot and sunny for the past week that I can hardly believe the gloomy rainy days we had ten days ago. It’s a little past 17:30 (Japan time) here in Tokyo but it’s pretty bright out there. Not like there’s a good reason for it, but I just love these kind of un-drawing in evenings.When I was a little kid I liked having longer days just because I can stay out and play longer, but

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1154697829157165632006-08-04T06:23:00.000-07:002006-08-04T06:24:48.043-07:00

KOKOGA HEN DAYO NIHONJIN(“Japanese, ye guys r weird”)There was a TV show with the above title aired for quite a while until 3-4 years ago. A number of non-Japanese people (except for those born and raised in Japan) living in Japan were invited to the studio as panelists and discussed about dozens and hundreds of topics on culture and custom of Japan that appeared weird to them. It was a very

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1154604668254010472006-08-03T04:30:00.000-07:002006-08-03T04:31:08.266-07:00

Now it really feels like summer here. I hear the rainy season is over in Tohoku meaning that although later than usual, the entire country has now entered real summer. Hmm, the days when I was a little kid, I remember the rainy season ending in June and having summery summer from the beginning of July.Considering the recent downpour in Japan and in other parts of Asia as well as the heat wave in

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1154523262125824952006-08-02T05:53:00.000-07:002006-08-02T05:54:22.143-07:00

Some time ago I introduced here the magic gum that makes you smell like rose. Well, it’s disappearing from the storefronts as fast as it can. I mean, it’s disappearing in a positive sense. It’s way too popular. So popular that the supply can’t catch up with the demand.Impressive... or surprising, isn’t it? I’ve never heard of anything that’s being discontinued because it’s selling off too well.

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1154434263773955502006-08-01T05:08:00.000-07:002006-08-01T05:11:03.790-07:00

It is super cool (temperature-wise) today here in Tokyo. No need of A/C, and is probably not a very smart idea to go out to the beach, but it is a perfect day to go sightseeing and also to play sports.It seems like the high pressure – which usually is supposed to move up north together with the end of rainy season – has gone down south temporarily. But it’s not going to stay there long. It’ll

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1154349583392620092006-07-31T05:38:00.000-07:002006-07-31T05:39:43.406-07:00

FINALLY the Met Office announced that we have officially gotten rid of the rainy season. It’s said that we’re 10 days behind usual years, but because I felt like we got into it earlier than usual, the impression of my early summer this year is super gloomy and wet.But that was only until Saturday.Yesterday we had a super nice breeze in Tokyo: it was dry and hot but was a very nice summer day with

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1154092123522156022006-07-28T06:07:00.000-07:002006-07-28T06:08:43.536-07:00

I might have said earlier that the weather for this week except that beautiful sunny day is going to be messy, but it’s holding for today, yeah, “holding”.I guess a lot of you are tired with my weather pillow.Weather Pillow... ??? Tenki no Makura... ??? Those who understand this term are true Japan experts.A pillow is of course something you sleep on, but in Japanese language it can also be used

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1154002831985949792006-07-27T05:16:00.000-07:002006-07-27T05:20:32.000-07:00

First of all, Sr. Moreno thank you for your comment (July 26). I’ll try to keep on writing stuff that you’ll find interesting, hopefully. Thank you!I had a look at your blog ... but I’m sorry to tell you that I don’t really understand the Spanish part. Still, I think it’s interesting and nice-looking, too. I like your illustration and how you display photos. And of course, the fashion part

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1153911386376232702006-07-26T03:41:00.000-07:002006-07-26T03:56:26.390-07:00

For the first time in weeks we have a blue sky here in Tokyo!! As I commuted this morning, I saw a bunch of people putting their futon mattresses and blankets out in the sun. I wanted to too, but I gave up cuz I know it’ll be all damp absorbing the evening mist even if I did hang it out to let them dry.Many of the regions in Western Japan are said to escape the rainy season for this year. Can’t

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1153825336384492422006-07-25T03:53:00.000-07:002006-07-25T04:02:16.486-07:00

Geez it’s kinda cool again today. It makes me forget what season it is.But I tell you, it’s going to get super hot one day so suddenly and the gap’s gonna kill me.Some of the people who’re coming over from outside of Tokyo might be disappointed with the weather... or perhaps, some others might be feeling “great, it’s nice and cool.” I bet no one would really appreciate the rain, though.I don’t

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1153734398937418602006-07-24T02:44:00.000-07:002006-07-24T02:46:38.953-07:00

When is the rainy season going to go away!?Well it’s just drizzles and not stormy rain like other parts of Japan, but I think I had more than enough already. It seems like the same front is giving severe damage in southern Japan. On the news it looked like water flooded everywhere above floor level at the best, and in worse cases streets turned into rivers as deep as an adult’s chest level. Some

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1153490811969462452006-07-21T07:05:00.000-07:002006-07-21T07:06:51.993-07:00

Yes it’s been raining softly today in Tokyo and things aren’t too different from yesterday. Nice ’n cool.Last night I went to bed with an extra sweatshirt so I wasn’t freezing this morning and actually I slept really comfortably. Although, the comfortableness got me to work a bit late.So, I guess there isn’t anything else to tell you except for Okinawa.To add a bit more information about coral

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1153398391735199692006-07-20T05:25:00.000-07:002006-07-20T05:26:31.750-07:00

Again, I woke up feeling cold and with a cold this morning.Like I said yesterday, it was pretty cool yesterday and even cold last night, so I did pull my blankets to my neck and went to sleep but I guess it wasn’t good enough. And now I have a nice cold that keeps me absent-minded and my body sore.After lunch I went to the drugstore and got some medicine for myself, but then the medicine’s

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1153309569901962652006-07-19T04:45:00.000-07:002006-07-19T04:46:09.916-07:00

This morning I got up with the chilly air. It’s been pouring since last night (actually even two nights ago) and the air temperature has gone down quite a bit, which is nice at times. But how long would we have to survive this crazy weather?Last week, the weather forecast said we could get rid of the rain front here in Kanto region by the end of last week, but when the time came the weatherman

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1153224007959951322006-07-18T04:13:00.000-07:002006-07-18T05:00:08.083-07:00

So my precious three-day-weekend is now over.Saturday I stayed home doing nothing really. Just relaxed and took away my weeks worth of fatigue. It was crazily hot from the morning this day, but as hours passed the sky turned dark bringing big loud thunders and lightening along with pouring rain. Although, it was more like a tropical squall which stopped in an hour or so.I love the feeling I get

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1152876681634421342006-07-14T04:25:00.000-07:002006-07-14T04:31:21.646-07:00

So, yesterday I wrote something really muggy and humid and also said I’d go fresh today.The rain yesterday afternoon wasn’t something that stayed for long. By the time I was finished with this blog it had almost stopped raining. But because of the rain it was really really hot and humid last evening, it was even hard to breathe outside.The heat hasn’t quite died today: it’s been baking hot today

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1152787977618145912006-07-13T03:51:00.000-07:002006-07-13T03:52:57.626-07:00

It’s kind of gray outside know, but it hasn’t really rained in Tokyo since last Sunday. Plus the temperature is rising higher each day making night sleeps unpleasant and day work tiring.I think that the Met Office will announce the end of rainy season some time soon.Next Monday is the Marine Day and its a holiday :-) The first three-day-weekend in a looong time. Can’t wait!...and as I write, yes

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1152712417932440362006-07-12T06:50:00.000-07:002006-07-12T06:53:37.950-07:00

Those who have visited my web site Japan Mode before may know that I have a feature on it where my team and I convert non-Japanese names into kanji. It’s one of the most popular features on my web site and we receive quite a number of e-mails from viewers requesting to have their names or their family member’s names converted into kanji. The most surprising, yet wonderful one requested us to

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1152618084316513332006-07-11T04:36:00.000-07:002006-07-11T04:41:24.336-07:00

Last Saturday I went to take some pictures for Japan Mode Photo Gallery to Asagao Ichi (Morning Glory Fair) in Uguisudani, and last night I went to the Hozuki Ichi (Ground Cherry Fair) in Asakusa also to take some pictures. I was at the morning glory fair in during the day and the hohzuki fair at night, and both were very crowded and made me re-feel the crazy crowd here in Tokyo.Since both are

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1152526719095662892006-07-10T03:15:00.000-07:002006-07-10T03:18:39.106-07:00

It happened at the end of the match.After announcing his retirement from soccer after this Cup, literally the very last match, the final match.At such “memorable” stage, he decided to work violence against his opponent.What made him act like that, what actually happened in front of my own eyes, no one – the audience at the stadium, the TV announcers, the analysts, and me in front of the TV –

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1152282395557010432006-07-07T07:20:00.000-07:002006-07-07T07:26:35.570-07:00

I’ve been so busy these days that I didn’t even realize that it’s been a week since we entered July.In Japan, July 7th is a festival day for Tanabata, and we write our wishes on a slip of paper and hang them on bamboo branches (leaves?). Usually, the rainy season clears soon after this Tanabata day, but I’m not really sure about this year.The weather of Tokyo today, by the way, is cloudy and the

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1152184733807897722006-07-06T04:18:00.000-07:002006-07-06T04:18:53.816-07:00

Part of the military training, right.North Korea officially admitted the fact of launching seven ballistic missiles but their claim is that its for the strengthening of its national defense.As far as I could see from the news today, the topic seems to be already fading to some extent. So is the whole country like, “here they go again”? And while we’re like this, North Korea made clear that they

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1152107110601802682006-07-05T06:44:00.000-07:002006-07-05T06:45:10.616-07:00

This morning all that was in my mind was, “damn it I couldn’t get up for Germany – Italy, which won?” and then I turned on the TV to see the results of the match. But what I saw on every channel were the usually cheery gossip show personalities and newscasters having this really grave expressions on their faces. I thought for a moment, “what happened?” but as I watched the show I found out that

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1152019619118783602006-07-04T06:25:00.000-07:002006-07-04T06:26:59.133-07:00

Umm, life is getting kind of messy and now I’m so overwhelmed with work that maybe it’s not time for me to be (spiritwise) carried away World Cup soccer and at the same time dream and be nostalgic about those fantastic days in Okinawa!I know being busy is better than having no jobs and tasks in your hands, but I’m sorry to tell you that I might not have enough time to spare for this blog. Well,

monamienoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129852.post-1151921900336999892006-07-03T03:15:00.000-07:002006-07-03T03:18:20.353-07:00

And here they go again!!Who saw the match!? Hooray Le Bleu!! That’s the way to go!!They’ve won the ticket to the semifinals… from the champion of champions Brazil! How more excited can I be!? We have all the matches beyond quarterfinals on ground wave so I could see the match of fate from the beginning all the way to the very end, and I did not miss one second of it. Because I didn’t have many

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