Japan
Repurpose
Monday, August 11th, 2008Repurpose: to give a new purpose or use to (Pronunciation: rē-ˈpər-pəs)
I saw this word online and thought, huh that’s a new one. Actually (if you hadn’t already noticed), I’m kind of a geek, and I love encountering new words. Japan’s version of this concept is encapsulated in their 3R initiative, but somehow (at [...]
Cabinet for Realizing Peace of Mind
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008After months of foot-tapping and nail-biting (wait, who are we kidding), Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda has finally reshuffled his cabinet — that’s the terms for giving under-performing/unpopular ministers the boot. Media has dubbed the move a “last ditch” effort on Fukuda’s part to improve his public approval ratings, but that is of course assuming [...]
Second Course
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008Yesterday I wrote on the Takeshima/Dokdo dispute that’s currently driving a wedge between Japan and South Korea. If the US had any sense it would keep the mess at arms-length — but no. Perhaps in response to the ROK’s vehement objection to a decision by the US Board of Geographic Names to change [...]
Much Ado
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008Present-day international relations in NE Asia are inextricably conflated with ongoing history disputes. It really is quite a headache at times. Although China and Japan appear to have placed some of their differences behind them in favor of building friendly atmospherics and strengthening trade (which isn’t to say they’re on the same page [...]
Sony Rolly
Thursday, June 26th, 2008I stumbled across another one of those pointless but nonetheless fantastic Japanese inventions: the Rolly by Sony. The video above shows the device in action, the video below is mostly an interview with one of its creators. I’d first heard about the Rolly concept about a year ago and though to myself, ‘Why [...]
Desire
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008We all have things we dream of — those little bits and piece of life that never fail to stir somewhere deep inside our hearts and minds the subtle pull of desire. Each to their own vices, I guess you could say. I love onsen. Or rather, it doesn’t even have to [...]
懐かしい
Monday, May 12th, 2008These bring back so many memories! Actually, while I was in Tokyo I didn’t really pay that much attention to the train jingles, but listening to them one after another, I think I could even tell you which lines some of them belong to without looking at the video’s descriptions :-). Of course, [...]
The Ironies of Life
Thursday, April 10th, 2008Senario: You’re walking down the streets of Tokyo without a cellphone, and you need to make a call. How do you locate one of the dying remnants of a bygone era: the public pay phone?
Well, fear no more. This website conveniently maps the location of over 17,000 pay phones in the Tokyo metropolitan [...]
あけましておめでとう！
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008Happy 2008 everyone! Amazingly another year has past again, and we’re now entering the second part of winter and edging slowly but surely toward spring. Characteristically, a cold front has descended on DC, and the temperatures have fallen to into the 20’s. Whispers of “snow” are on everyone’s lips, and those in [...]
Bring on the Holiays
Monday, December 3rd, 2007I put up the Christmas tree today (maybe I’ll get around to decorations tomorrow), and with holiday music playing in the background, warm winter food simmering on the stove, and “light snow possible midweek,” it truly feels like the season is underway. Now if only all those dead leaves still clinging to the trees [...]