Japan is a Fun Place...

Case in point...

In case you missed it (I did the first time), the English translation is at the bottom of the lower yellow box.

I got these posters from the Tokyo Metro website.  I found them through Japundit.com

Nunchaku Baseball

Yeah, I have no idea what they're saying... but it looks so cool!  I want nunchaku!

Television and Movie Mondays - Twilight Samurai

This weekend we watched one of our favorite Japanese movies, Twilight Samurai, with our good friends, the Ortons.

We love Twilight Samurai!  It's really unusual to find a Japanese movie that isn't too violent, or too scary, or just plain weird in some other way.  Twilight Samurai is so good because it portrays the way life really was in that time period, and to me it shows that culture doesn't define you.  I'll explain...

In Japan, there are very strict, traditional male-female roles.  Men are the bread winners, and women are expected to take care of the house.  As it is anywhere, more and more women are out working.  But that hasn't changed the expectation for them to do all the housework.

Japanese men also are expected to put work and relations with co-workers first.  This makes them class-A workers, but not great family men.  Men will often work 10+ hours a day and then go out at night with their co-workers.  This creates "unity" within the workplace, and they are never at home.

In Twilight Samurai, the main character, Seibei Iguchi (I know, I know! I typed it backwards, but I didn't think the non-Japanophiles would get that), is a recent widower.  He has two children and an ailing mother with Alzheimer's.  He is constantly trying to balance home life with work life, and he chooses home life!  It's amazing!  At one point, his uncle comes to his house and very rudely tells him he should marry someone, anyone, so that he won't have to do the housework anymore.  Seibei refuses to marry just to have a house keeper and then says something to the effect of, "Watching my daughters grow up is like watching crops grow to maturity.  It's very satisfying."

To me this shows that good values are not always culturally influcened.  They are universal. 

Twilight Samurai is an excellent movie.  I highly recommend it.  It's not really a kid friendly movie though.  It is in Japanese so you have to read the subtitles, and there are a couple fight scenes that kids probably wouldn't understand.  They're nothing too violent or gory like a lot of samurai movies.  Throughout the entire movie, Seibei is very hesitant to use violence to solve a problem.  And when he has to fight, tries every other option even as he's fighting.  But he is pretty awesome at sword play.

PS:  The actor who plays Seibei Iguchi, Hiroyuki Sanada, is also in several other popular movies such as, Speed Racer, Rush Hour 3, The Last Samurai, and Ringu (the original, Japanese movie, The Ring).

Newsworthy Tuesday - Fun Stuff

I found a couple funny news stories.  And I apologize in advance for yet another Japanese story!  The news is just so much more fun there!

Story #1 - Spiderman a robber?  I found this news article through Japanprobe.com.  Evidently, someone is using a Spiderman mask to rob people!  Bad Spiderman!

Story #2 - Mickey Mouse Tries to Register to Vote, but Florida officials denied him.  Supposedly, ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) tried to get him a vote!  I've heard of them before.  They've had a bit of contriversy surrounding the legality of their voter registration programs.

Sorry, last one... for today.

Here's another Japanese cat video. It's a little more ambiguous if you don't know any Japanese. I don't really know all that much, but I can tell that the cat is agreeing in the end. In Japanese, a casual agreement sounds a little like "ung." That's probably confusing too...

Strange Obsessions

For those of you who know us well, you know that Derek and I have a strange obsession with Japanese cat videos on YouTube.  We just can't get enough of them!  So for your enjoyment, or maybe just mine, here's another Japanese cat.



All you really need to know is that this cat eats bean sprouts and then rubs it's face and teeth all over an electric toothbrush.

Newsworthy Tuesday - Anteater Escapes

Okay, so this also isn't breaking news.  But it is funny news!  It makes me wonder what kinds of stuff makes the news in Japan when they make special reports on anteaters escaping from zoos.  Maybe other, more dangerous, stuff happens in Japan, but that's not new and different!

The video is in Japanese, but I find them entertaining to watch even though I don't understand.

ant eater
Uploaded by endaka2008

"Tae, an anteater that became famous in 2005 for escaping from her cage at the Sunshine City Aquarium/Zoo, seems to have escaped again

When Tae escaped back in 2005, zookeepers reacted quickly and captured her in the penguin area of the Aquarium. Since then, measures to prevent Tae from opening the door to her cage were apparently taken, but she somehow managed to escape again. Staff have been searching all over the Aquarium, placing avocados as bait for traps and sticking cameras into inaccessible areas. As of the time of this posting, Tae had not been found." -Japan Probe

And then they found her yesterday!



"Tae the anteater was found wandering under the floorboards of the aquarium. As the above video clip shows, zookeepers placed some avocado and a cameras in four locations as a trap, and Tae took the bait. She has been safely returned to her cage." -Japan Probe

The Zuiikin Girls

This is just one of the many Zuikin Girls videos that CRACK ME UP!



And why would you need an ambulance for diarrhea? And don't most people even with mild cases stay home?

Check 'em out, you can't get anything funnier!