Here's the first episode:
Saturday, March 19, 2011
TOFUGU TV!
For those of you who don't know I follow Koichi on Tofugu (http://tofugu.com/). He is my favorite 'Japanese blogger'. He has recently went to japan, and he created a documentary about Japan called 'Tofugu TV'. It;s like one of those things you see on the travel channel, but all about Japan. He posted the first episode a few days ago, and it's amazing! You guys shouls really keep up with it (and Tofugu).
Here's the first episode:
Here's the first episode:
Monday, March 14, 2011
HAPPY WHITE DAY!
In light of what happened on Friday, Japan has some good news today!
"White Day (ホワイトデー Howaito dē) is a day celebrated in Japan on March 14, one month after Valentine's Day. It is also observed in South Korea.
In Japan, Valentine's Day is observed by females who present chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to a male, as an expression of love, courtesy or social obligation. A handmade chocolate is usually preferred by the receiver, because it is a sign that the receiving male is the girl's "only one". On White Day, the converse happens: males who received a honmei-choco (本命チョコ?, "chocolate of love") or giri-choco (義理チョコ?, "courtesy chocolate") on Valentine's Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts, usually more expensive. Traditionally, popular White Day gifts are cookies, jewellery, white chocolate, white lingerie and marshmallows.[1] Sometimes the term sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し?, literally, "triple the return") is used to describe the generally recited rule that the return gift should be two to three times the cost of the Valentine's gift.[2]
White Day was first celebrated in 1978 in Japan. It was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association (全国飴菓子工業協同組合) as an "answer day" to Valentine's Day on the grounds that men should pay back the women who gave them chocolate and other gifts on Valentine's Day. In 1977, a Fukuoka-based confectionery company, Ishimura Manseido (石村萬盛堂), marketed marshmallows to men on March 14, calling it Marshmallow Day (マシュマロデー).[4]
Soon thereafter, confectionery companies began marketing white chocolate. Now, men give both white and dark chocolate, as well as other edible and non-edible gifts, such as jewelry or objects of sentimental value, or white clothing like lingerie, to women from whom they received chocolate on Valentine's Day one month earlier. If the chocolate given to him was giri-choco, the man, likewise, may not be expressing actual romantic interest, but rather a social obligation."
- Copied from Wikipdia because I feel no need to "reinvent the wheel"
In conclusion, white day is the opposite of Valentines day in Japan. On Valentines day, girls give guys stuff. On White day, guys give girls stuff. I like this idea, I wish we did it in America.
BONUS! (I try...)
This may not have anything to wth Japan, but I thought it was very intesting:
"Black Day (April 14) is a South Korean informal tradition for single people to get together and eat jajangmyeon (noodles with black bean sauce); sometimes a white sauce is mixed for those who did not celebrate White Day.
The idea is that those who did not give or receive gifts on Valentine's Day (February 14) or White Day (March 14) can get together and eat jajangmyeon, white Korean noodles with black bean sauce, to celebrate their singledom.
In Singapore, Black Day serves as a back up day for White Day, should couples decide to save money and skip Valentine's Day all together, as prices are usually heavily inflated on that day. This would mean that the girl gives chocolate on White Day, and the guy 'returns' on Black Day."
- Copied From Wikipedia
It's gonna be a sad white day in Sendai....
"White Day (ホワイトデー Howaito dē) is a day celebrated in Japan on March 14, one month after Valentine's Day. It is also observed in South Korea.
In Japan, Valentine's Day is observed by females who present chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to a male, as an expression of love, courtesy or social obligation. A handmade chocolate is usually preferred by the receiver, because it is a sign that the receiving male is the girl's "only one". On White Day, the converse happens: males who received a honmei-choco (本命チョコ?, "chocolate of love") or giri-choco (義理チョコ?, "courtesy chocolate") on Valentine's Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts, usually more expensive. Traditionally, popular White Day gifts are cookies, jewellery, white chocolate, white lingerie and marshmallows.[1] Sometimes the term sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し?, literally, "triple the return") is used to describe the generally recited rule that the return gift should be two to three times the cost of the Valentine's gift.[2]
White Day was first celebrated in 1978 in Japan. It was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association (全国飴菓子工業協同組合) as an "answer day" to Valentine's Day on the grounds that men should pay back the women who gave them chocolate and other gifts on Valentine's Day. In 1977, a Fukuoka-based confectionery company, Ishimura Manseido (石村萬盛堂), marketed marshmallows to men on March 14, calling it Marshmallow Day (マシュマロデー).[4]
Soon thereafter, confectionery companies began marketing white chocolate. Now, men give both white and dark chocolate, as well as other edible and non-edible gifts, such as jewelry or objects of sentimental value, or white clothing like lingerie, to women from whom they received chocolate on Valentine's Day one month earlier. If the chocolate given to him was giri-choco, the man, likewise, may not be expressing actual romantic interest, but rather a social obligation."
- Copied from Wikipdia because I feel no need to "reinvent the wheel"
In conclusion, white day is the opposite of Valentines day in Japan. On Valentines day, girls give guys stuff. On White day, guys give girls stuff. I like this idea, I wish we did it in America.
BONUS! (I try...)
This may not have anything to wth Japan, but I thought it was very intesting:
"Black Day (April 14) is a South Korean informal tradition for single people to get together and eat jajangmyeon (noodles with black bean sauce); sometimes a white sauce is mixed for those who did not celebrate White Day.
The idea is that those who did not give or receive gifts on Valentine's Day (February 14) or White Day (March 14) can get together and eat jajangmyeon, white Korean noodles with black bean sauce, to celebrate their singledom.
In Singapore, Black Day serves as a back up day for White Day, should couples decide to save money and skip Valentine's Day all together, as prices are usually heavily inflated on that day. This would mean that the girl gives chocolate on White Day, and the guy 'returns' on Black Day."
- Copied From Wikipedia
It's gonna be a sad white day in Sendai....
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Nancy Drew goes Japan!
After what happened yesterday, I thought that I'd make a happy post.
Game Play
How this game can help your Japanese Language learning and understanding of culture
This game takes place in Kyoto, Japan (and an extra plus plus for me because that's where I really want to go when I visit Japan) There is Japanese writing EVERYWHERE! (notice the emphasis, it is very important). The signs, the books, everything! If you can read Japanese well, you may find yourself having an "over advantage" in the game because somethings require you to look up Japanese Hiragana characters, and if you know them, you'll get done faster.Every sign is in Japanese (and a lot in Hiragana and Katakana, so not a lot of Kanji required to read them) There is even a part where Miwako is speaking Japanese! (again, over advantages).
There is a part whre every day, if you go over to the Grandmother's room, she will give you a culture lesson! You can have up to three lessons: Katakana (write Nancy's name in Katakana), Origami, and a traditional tea ceremony.
This game combines everything that you will come across in Japan, if they made an actual Japanese language-culture game like this, it would be the most perfect thing ever (not kidding). it has horror, it has かわいい！！！！(kawaii - cute), it has language spoken and written. It is perfect!
It's rated E10+ so it's nothing bad
Here's a link to where you can get a copy:
http://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Drew-Shadow-Waters-Edge-Mac/dp/B0041CASX2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1299974295&sr=1-1
If you've read this far in the post, here's a secret most people don't notice:
This game is a 'horror' story.
This game has parts about the Grudge
This game had parts from the Ring
The OFFICAL abbriviation is SAW
Comment if you notice something a little off, or ODD about this...
This may be sort of late, seeing as the game came out last year, but I loved this game! It's called "Nancy Drew: Shadow at the water's edge". It was almost like an immersion language learning Japanese program. For those of you who don't know what the Nancy Drew games are, they are an interactive mystery. You solve the mystery from Nancy Drew's perspective, a first person look. These games aren't low quality, either, they are 3D and have really good animation.
This game opens up when Nancy drew walks into the Ryokan (a traditional Japanese Inn). She walks over to the front desk and meets Miwako. As they are talking, a picture falls from the wall. Yes, this game is a 'haunted house' story, perfect for Japan (I think). As the mystery unfolds you will find that the game will remind you of "The Ring" (originally a Japanese film), and "The Grudge" (again, orginally a Japanese film). This game also has it's good, funny moments (like all horror should lol) (was that a cheesy joke?).How this game can help your Japanese Language learning and understanding of culture
This game takes place in Kyoto, Japan (and an extra plus plus for me because that's where I really want to go when I visit Japan) There is Japanese writing EVERYWHERE! (notice the emphasis, it is very important). The signs, the books, everything! If you can read Japanese well, you may find yourself having an "over advantage" in the game because somethings require you to look up Japanese Hiragana characters, and if you know them, you'll get done faster.Every sign is in Japanese (and a lot in Hiragana and Katakana, so not a lot of Kanji required to read them) There is even a part where Miwako is speaking Japanese! (again, over advantages).
There is a part whre every day, if you go over to the Grandmother's room, she will give you a culture lesson! You can have up to three lessons: Katakana (write Nancy's name in Katakana), Origami, and a traditional tea ceremony.
This game combines everything that you will come across in Japan, if they made an actual Japanese language-culture game like this, it would be the most perfect thing ever (not kidding). it has horror, it has かわいい！！！！(kawaii - cute), it has language spoken and written. It is perfect!
It's rated E10+ so it's nothing bad
Here's a link to where you can get a copy:
http://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Drew-Shadow-Waters-Edge-Mac/dp/B0041CASX2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1299974295&sr=1-1
If you've read this far in the post, here's a secret most people don't notice:
This game is a 'horror' story.
This game has parts about the Grudge
This game had parts from the Ring
The OFFICAL abbriviation is SAW
Comment if you notice something a little off, or ODD about this...
Friday, March 11, 2011
BIGGEST EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN IN THE LAST 140 YEARS!
I couldn't believe it when I heard it, even though it is inevitable that Japan will have earthquakes, one this big just blew me way. I was so sad when I heard about it. I can't really tell you much about what happened, but I think Tofugu (another Japan blog I follow) explains it phenomenally. Here is the link to the page where he talks about it: http://www.tofugu.com/2011/03/11/the-biggest-earthquake-ever-recorded-japan/
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The best way to study Japanese vocabulary
Okay, so if your on this site, if your interested in Japanese culture, history, art, anime, all that stuff, you'll probably be wanting to learn Japanese. So I will also post interesting things I see in learning Japanese. This is the way that I stody Japanese vocabulary:
How did I learn a lot of the English words I know? By reading! I was a big reader when I was younger and most people found my vocabulary to be quite extensive (notice the big word) vocabulary. So, I thought, why wouldn't learning vocabulary in Japanese be any different? Don't worry, you don't need to a single thing about Japanese, you don't need to know Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji or ANY Japanese sentence structure.
Read this excerpt from Alice in Wonderland:
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice 'without pictures or conversation?'
Now replace the English words with words you want to learn in Japanese:
Alice was beginning to get very Tsukareta of sitting by her Imōto on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the Hon her Imōto was reading, but it had no Shashin or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a Hon,' thought Alice 'without Shashin or conversation?'
Now it is just like learning synonyms for words in English!
How did I learn a lot of the English words I know? By reading! I was a big reader when I was younger and most people found my vocabulary to be quite extensive (notice the big word) vocabulary. So, I thought, why wouldn't learning vocabulary in Japanese be any different? Don't worry, you don't need to a single thing about Japanese, you don't need to know Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji or ANY Japanese sentence structure.
Read this excerpt from Alice in Wonderland:
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice 'without pictures or conversation?'
Now replace the English words with words you want to learn in Japanese:
Alice was beginning to get very Tsukareta of sitting by her Imōto on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the Hon her Imōto was reading, but it had no Shashin or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a Hon,' thought Alice 'without Shashin or conversation?'
Now it is just like learning synonyms for words in English!
Monday, March 7, 2011
はじめまして！
私のなまえは二コルです。
Hello! Hajimemashite! Welcome to Japan Ai. This is my blog about Japan. I'll post everything I fing about Japan here. Japan is an amazing place with a rich history. I love looking at everything Japanese. If your wondering, this is not an 'アニメおたく' blog (anime otaku) (In the nicest words, otaku means 'obsessed'). I do enjot watching anime, I may even post some anime things sometimes. Anime's not bad. I love anime. But even before I knew what anime was, way back; way, way back when I was very young I was always interested in Asian history and culture, primarily Japan.
What I named this website after:
Okay, so I was looking for a 'witty' saying to name this blog, I would have thought that this title would already be taken, but I have it now. : )
I found this:
I thought the title was very clever, so I 'stole' it. Well, anyway, whatever I find I'll post here.
Hello! Hajimemashite! Welcome to Japan Ai. This is my blog about Japan. I'll post everything I fing about Japan here. Japan is an amazing place with a rich history. I love looking at everything Japanese. If your wondering, this is not an 'アニメおたく' blog (anime otaku) (In the nicest words, otaku means 'obsessed'). I do enjot watching anime, I may even post some anime things sometimes. Anime's not bad. I love anime. But even before I knew what anime was, way back; way, way back when I was very young I was always interested in Asian history and culture, primarily Japan.
What I named this website after:
Okay, so I was looking for a 'witty' saying to name this blog, I would have thought that this title would already be taken, but I have it now. : )
I found this:
I thought the title was very clever, so I 'stole' it. Well, anyway, whatever I find I'll post here.
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