Learn Japanese @ Japancast.net

I think African Grey parrots are absolutely the coolest birds around.  Apparently the owner of this one watched a bit too much Star Wars and it picked up some of the sounds.

He’s 71 and doesn’t speak a word of Japanese, but boy can he make free throws!

I asked Hitomi about these after reading this article on Stars & Stripes website. She said she’s never heard of them, nor seen them before.  However, they’re apparenlty pretty common in parts of Japan.  The article describes the げじげじ as:

Big. Quick-moving. More than 10 pairs of legs … having just one of these endearing qualities is usually enough to make an insect unwelcome, let alone all of the above, says Hideomi Kakimoto, a Yokosuka base environmental engineer.

But “geji,” or household centipedes, are known as “good bugs” in Japan, as their ninja-like maneuvering (and, cringe, their ability to jump) allows them to hunt other household pests like cockroaches and clothing moths.

Wikipedia says that geji are even sold in Japanese pet stores.

“They do look scary,” Kakimoto said. “But they are good bugs.”

Another “good bug” is the ashi daka gumo, which is a huge spider.

Frightening in size and speed, these are excellent cockroach killers and are harmless to humans, Kakimoto said. The spiders don’t even make a mess, as they don’t build webs, relying instead on high-speed chases to snag their prey.

Our daughter Rei loves insects.  She has no problem having an African millipede crawl right up her arm.  But personally I’d probably step on either one of these the second I spotted one in my house.

Artist, designer and animator Motomichi Nakamura was recently commissioned to create a 30 second animation to promote the “Japan Cuts Film Festival”.  This film festival is held annualy in New York by the Japan Society.  Sadly it’s already passed this year, but you can still visit their website and read about the films that were screened and about the Audience Award Winner “Near Equal Kusama Yayoi:  I Adore Myself”.

Here is Motomichi’s animation for the festival.

japancuts_trailer_online

If you’ve always dreamed of having huge eyes like the characters in your favorite anime, now you can!  Apparently this somewhat sketchy appearing site is now selling contact lenses that have a much larger colored area than normal colored contacts.  This gives the appearence of much larger eyes.

The site says:

Wanna get big watery shiny eyes without plastic surgery?  Always crave to get big eyes like Korean actresses and famous Ayumi Hamasaki?

I suppose if you’re really into cosplay, it’d be worth the $35.  Of course, personally I don’t stick anything in my eyes (but I’m a big chicken).

What do you think?

What would you choose?  I can’t imagine garlic ice cream.  Perhaps it would be like having a cold soup.  I’ve only had cold soup once and I really didn’t like it too much.  Of all of them, beer flavor sounds like it would be the least objectionable…

From the Telegraph:

Yokohama Ice Cream Expo attracted thousands of fans before it closed yesterday (SUN), according to organiser Manabu Matsumoto, who identified beef tongue ice cream from Miyagi Prefecture as the most popular variety.

“We have ice cream from all over Japan – from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south – but beef tongue has been the one that people keep coming back for,” he said.

More than 125 varieties of ice cream have been available in the two week festival, including cheese, octopus, prawn and a garlic variety called Dracula Premium Ice. Another favourite was flavoured with very finely sliced pieces of pearl from the traditional pearl-growing region of Japan’s inland sea. Most were selling for between Y300 (£1.42) and Y800 (£3.78) for a small tub.

The majority of the ice creams were clearly acquired tastes, including the beer version, which failed to recreate either the taste or texture of beer.

“We like strange-tasting food,” said Keiko Hashiya, 27, who had driven for nearly two hours to sample the ice creams. “I think Japanese people always want to try new things and ice cream is always very popular when it is this hot in the summer.”

Many Japanese regions attempt to cash in on local delicacies by producing ice creams that incorporate their tastes, said Matsumoto, who runs an ice cream theme park in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district.

“Japanese people don’t always have a dessert after a meal, but recently many Japanese housewives have got into the habit of buying ice cream because it is easy to serve and refreshing in the summer,” he said.

福島県の福島市で誕生した、『やきとりじいさん体操』なるものが、YouTubeで大人気。

CrunchGear.com tagged this as creepy, but for me it just looks like a rip-off of the old Michael Jackson “Black or White” music video.  Just some morphs of the same person in different make-up.  What do you think?  Creepy or a rip-off?

Just the other day I was thinking I could make a killing by opening a Japanese-style Maid Cafe in my hometown.  Then I remembered that my hometown is also listed as something like the 4th fattest city in America - and then the concept quickly became repulsive.

According to THIS ARTICLE in the NYTimes, the Royal/T is the first Maid Cafe to open in America.

“The concept started off as a club for the loneliest guys in the world,” said Patrick Macias, editor in chief of Otaku USA magazine. “Here at last was a place where single young otaku men could go and interact with kind women, and also get lukewarm hamburgers and lousy cake.”

Since references to Japanese gaming culture would be lost on most Americans, Royal/T focuses on food and art. The maid service is presented ironically and is not meant to attract actual otaku customers.

Personally the whole concept doesn’t really appeal to me, but it seems to be incredibly popular.  So have any of you been to an actual Maid Cafe in Japan?

From: FIVE BY FIFTY - Asian Consumer Intelligence

Osaka-based company Vieluce has begun marketing “Fillico Beverly Hills,” a line of premium luxury spring water that goes for ¥10,500 ($100) per 750 ml bottle.

The water comes from a natural spring at the foot of Mount Rokko in Kobe, an area known for producing excellent water for sake production. The bottles are handcrafted and encrusted with genuine Swarovski rhinestones.

Special “King and Queen” sets of two bottles with caps modeled after the crown of Fredrick II of the Roman Empire and decorated withSwarovski rhinestones are also available for ¥23,000 ($230). Bottles with engraved names can be order for wedding receptions and other special occasion.

Due to limited supplies of the water and the labor-intensive handmade bottles, production is limited to 5,000 units per month.

Since the water and bottles are fully produced in Japan, the “Beverly Hills” of the name is simply to invoke the opulence of Hollywood celebrity culture.

Visit the link above to view photos of this “luxury” water.