Octopuses hung out to dry

MSN-Mainichi Daily News: Photo Specials

Sumo Wrestling in Manhattan

Sumo wrestlers, dressed in their traditional Mawashia, cross Seventh Avenue in New York, on their way to a 'weigh-in', October 20, 2005. They are participating in the 'World S.U.M.O. Challenge - Battle of the Giants' at New York's Madison Square Garden on October 22, 2005. (Seth Wenig REUTERS/Reuters)
- Sanjay Kalra

Auto Shows & Concept Cars on Yahoo! News Photos

Japanese motorcycle giant Yamaha unveils the concept model of a high-performance hybrid motorcycle, the 'Gen-Ryu,' equipped with a 600cc engine and electric motor hybrid system which can achieve over 1,000cc class machine performance at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari.(AFP/Yoshikazu Tsuno)
- Sanjay Kalra
Auto Shows & Concept Cars on Yahoo! News Photos

The sun also rises | Economist.com

The sun also rises | Economist.com

Oct 6th 2005
From The Economist print edition
Japan's chances of prosperity and influence look surprisingly bright

IT HAS taken an extraordinarily long time, but Japan really is now recovering from its debt- and deflation-ridden stagnation of the past 15 years. Proper jobs are being created, wages are rising and economists are raising their forecasts of economic growth—all despite worries about high oil prices and an American slowdown. The prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, grabbed the world's attention last month by calling and winning a snap general election, as a referendum on economic reform. Foreign investors are rushing to Tokyo so as not to miss the fun. There is a spring in the step of Japanese politicians and diplomats, relieved that they no longer have to apologise for Japan's weakness, pleased that they might now be better placed to deal with those bumptious Chinese. They have to pinch themselves to be sure it isn't all a dream...

Chrysler Akino Concept Car to debut at Tokyo Motor Show

This is awesome - an American car designed by a Japanese woman!
AutoWeek - The Auto Enthusiast's Online Resource

Howard Stinger, CEO, Sony

Here's a discussion of Sony's recent woes. Sounds pretty interesting.

Personally, I think Sony should lay off all its people and shut down the company - that will cure all their problems. And it will be good for their people too - they will all be picked up by Samsung, LG and other Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers.

I stil can't fathom as to how a company that literally owned the personal music player space could lose out to an industry outsider like Apple.

As for the legendary Sony quality, these days Samsung quality is a whole lot better than Sony.
Japan Today - Quote Of The Day - We have made promises before but we failed to execute them. We must fight like the Sony warriors that we are. - Japan's Leading International News Network: "We have made promises before but we failed to execute them. We must fight like the Sony warriors that we are.
Sony CEO Howard Stringer, announcing a major restructuring program."

Honda rolls out new hybrid Civic

I like Honda's strategy for Hybrids better than Toyota. Civic looks good - like the regular civic - but gives you great mileage and is eco-friendly like a Hybrid.

If you wanna go arond making an environment-friendly statement, but a Toyota Prius. But if you are the slient, non-exhibitionist type, just do your "Civic" duty :-)
Sanjay Kalra
Japan Today - News - Honda rolls out new hybrid Civic - Japan's Leading International News Network: "hybrid system"

It's Samba time in Tokyo

It's that time of the year again - yes people, its peak summer and the heat makes Tokyo-jins forget for a day that they are still in Tokyo and not in Rio.

Japanese love these Samba ladies - the dresses - what little is there - sure are very exotic. What I noticed though was that the ladies tend to be much more plump than the ones you'd see in Rio or USA. But they pack a lot of Oomph!

WHIT - What's Happening in Tokyo podcast

This sounds interesting - the latest happenings in Tokyo - from a Gaijin's perspective and in English. There's some good music too. Best of all, you can subscribe to the feed with any RSS aggregator or with a podcast player like iTunes or iPodder.

http://www.whitokyo.info/WHIT.htm

Another cultural export from Japan

After making its mark with Anime, Manga, Hello Kitty, Pokemon, etc., Japan is now exporting its unique fashion sense to the West. Already, Gwen Stefani has paid a tribute to Harajuku fashion in her song "Harajuku Girls".

See the article in SF Chronicle "TOKYO A-GO-GO - COOL TEENS IN HARAJUKU MAKE A FASHION ASSAULT FROM THEIR IMAGINATIONS"

The Evolution of TV in Japan

A great article on the parallel advances that were going on in pre WWII Japan - almost at the same pace as those in Western Europe and USA.


The Evolution of TV -English-

Zip Zap ZOOM... - India & China takingover from Japan in the motorcycles market

Japan has no one to blame but itself - by not being able to take full advantage of a low cost producing base like India for exporting all over Asia and the developing world, they have ceded the market without a fight. What a shame for sch a great manufacturing country.

What we need is a new breed of industrialists in Japan that are more global and less hesitant in playing in markets and cultures that may not be similar to theirs.
Zip Zap ZOOM...

News.3Yen.com - Alien crop-circles in Japan? - News on Japan - Japanese News

News.3Yen.com - Alien crop-circles in Japan? - News on Japan - Japanese News

An Unspoiled Japan Survives on Noto - New York Times

An Unspoiled Japan Survives on Noto - New York Times:

MDN: Special - A Nagasaki Report - By George Weller

Mainichi Daily News of Japan is publishing the recently found censored news reports from George Weller - the first American news reporter to reach Nagasaki rigth after one of the 2 American atomic bombs flattened the city.
MDN: Special

Singapore's Japanese prostitute era paved over

The Japan Times Online

The hype behind India's Japan ties

Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan: "The hype behind India's Japan ties"

Yale Anime Society: David Soler's 100 Most Essential Words in Anime

Yale Anime Society: David Soler's 100 Most Essential Words in Anime: "THE 100 MOST ESSENTIAL WORDS IN ANIME"

Kooizumi's visit to India

Economy & Policy: "your "

Paris Hilton in Tokyo

Most Japanese couldn't recognize her in person - they have never seen her with so much clothes on - on the Internet pictures and videos :-)
MDN: Photo Specials

Amagasaki Train Accident

On a sober note - the accident at Amagasaki was a terrible disaster - my condolences to family members of all who lost their lives.

I travel from JR Osaka to Itami stations quite often - passing through Amagasaki. I have always admired the dilligence with which most JR drivers operate - their manners and devotion is quite different from the staff you see in public transits in USA. However, it seems that all is not as it seems - corporate greed and cutting corners on quality and safety is being imported into Japan from USA, just like layoffs, outsourcing and other things.
MDN: Photo Specials

Tokyo Biker Girls

Sensational Biker Girls from Tokyo - The motorcycles are impressive too but I wonder if anyone noticed :-)
MDN: Photo Specials

Tokyo Night Highlights

Trveling to Tokyo - don't miss out on all the fun you can have at Roppongi :-)
Tokyo Night Highlights

The New York Times > National > Fred Korematsu, 86, Dies; Lost Key Suit on Internment

A hero of the Japanese-American community on the West Coast, Korematsu-san fought a long fight against the unjust internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. He was finally vindicated when President Bill Clinton awarded him the Medal of Freedom in 1998.
The New York Times > National > Fred Korematsu, 86, Dies; Lost Key Suit on Internment

CNN.com - Top 25: Technological breakthroughs - Apr 1, 2005

CNN.com - Top 25: Technological breakthroughs - Apr 1, 2005: "Advances that transformed how the world communicates are among the top 25 technological breakthroughs of the past quarter century, according to a panel of experts assembled by CNN."

TOTO's Networked Intelligent Toilet

Another "Only in Japan" oddity - an intelligent toilet. This is one thing that we really need in US - I wonder why these are not getting popular in US - I mean the sheer convenience, hygiene and luxury of it is enough to convert anyone!

A Plum tree in full blossom at Kiyomizudera

Drinking the holy water at Kiyomizudera (Pure Water Temple)

The stage at Kiyomizudera - built entirely of wood - no metal nails, etc.

Pray to this deity for promotion

World Heritage site - Kiyomizudera, Kyoto

The famous Yodobashi Camera store in Osaka

Osaka skyline in the morning from Hotel Granvia

Osaka at night

Car Display at Shin-Osaka Station

Shinagawa Station 

Yamaha's "MyRoom" - an indoor, soundproof private room for adults :: TechJapan :: English news on technology from Japan

Yamaha's "MyRoom" - an indoor, soundproof private room for adults :: TechJapan :: English news on technology from Japan

How the iPod Ran Circles Around the Walkman

It's just amazingly stupid - how Sony is letting everyone else get ahead in the digital music player market. Why would anyone buy Sony's 20GB hard disk player for $50 more than the comparable iPod? In fact, given that Sony can be a great volume player, they should be beating iPod on price and features and they should be coming out with an even lower priced model under their AIWA or other brand to beat the Creative, iRiver and other Asian competitors.

And they just have to support the widest variety of standards out there - Sony - hear it now before it's too late - Atrac is dead - just like the Betamax - give up now and get onto the popular stuff. Think about 5.1 channel mp3 standard recently announced with backward and cross compatibility with every other standard. And join forces wit Microsoft, Yahoo and Real to beat Apple.

As a consumer, we need the competition - Sony with its worldwide reach and branding power can really make this a consumer product from the current hightech image it has and bring standardization, lower prices and high quality to the market.
The New York Times > Business > World Business > Digital Domain: How the iPod Ran Circles Around the Walkman

Google circa 2014

I have no idea who these guys are - but this short animation of the shape of things in the year 2014 is both awe inspiring and scary. It talks about the evolution of Google, its epic battle against the traditional information sources - like the New York Times and with its adversaries like Microsoft and Amazon. Well, I won't give away the ending - see for yourself.
ols-master

Some great quotations about Cycling

Quote:Unquote: "'Nothing compares to getting your heart rate up to 170-something, riding hard for an hour-twenty, getting off and not hurting, as opposed to 24 minutes of running, at the end of which I hurt. When you ride a bike and you get your heart rate up and you're out, after 30 or 40 minutes your mind tends to expand; it tends to relax.'
President George W Bush"

What's What in Japanese Restaurants: A Guide to Ordering Eating and Enjoying

Great primer on Japanese cuisines. If you love eating Japanese food, this book is a must buy.
Amazon.com: Books: What's What in Japanese Restaurants: A Guide to Ordering Eating and Enjoying

underground tokyo guidebook -- Tokyo, underground, guide book, punk, hentai, shinjuku, harajuku, tourism, anime, hardcore, japan, akihabara

underground tokyo guidebook -- Tokyo, underground, guide book, punk, hentai, shinjuku, harajuku, tourism, anime, hardcore, japan, akihabara

REALTOKYO

Cultural Search Engine for events in and around Tokyo - great website design and presentation.
REALTOKYO

Learning how to make the most of middle age

The Japan Times Online: "
BILINGUAL

Learning how to make the most of middle age"

The woes of the minunderstood "Gaijin"

The Japan Times Online

Japan finds way to deal with excess rice: Make bread

As the Japanese increasingly turn away from rice, the longtime staple of their diet, baker Koichi Fukumori believes he has found a solution to boost the heavily subsidized crop: Turn it into bread.
Taipei Times - archives

Yahoo! News - As Japan goes grey, toymakers design dolls for the elderly

Yahoo! News - As Japan goes grey, toymakers design dolls for the elderly: "As Japan produces fewer children and more retirees, toymakers are designing new dolls designed not for the young but for the lonely elderly -- companions which can sleep next to them and offer caring words they may never hear otherwise."

Dekotora

Short for "Decorated Truck," a dekotora is a personally owned freight truck which is modified to look like the ugly love child of a tranformer and a 70's vegas casino.

Young Americans revel in Japanese pop culture

ARLINGTON, Virginia (AFP) - Judging from the colorful crowds at the "anime-con" event here, the Japanese pop cultural invasion of the United States is in full swing.
Yahoo! News - Young Americans revel in Japanese pop culture

Juergen Specht - Photographs - Documentation 1: Japanese Warning Signs

A great compilation of Japanese warning signs - might save you a lot of trouble next time you're in Japan.
Juergen Specht - Photographs - Documentation 1: Japanese Warning Signs

Disinfotainment: BlogTV Japan: The Social Life of Public Toilets

Disinfotainment: BlogTV Japan: The Social Life of Public Toilets: "hapless foreigners"

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Guardian Unlimited Books | Extracts | Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Book Recommendation - Haragei - The Unspoken Way - Silence in Japanese Business and Society

Haragei - precisely the ability of 'Nature' to express itself completely unhindered by the limitations of the five senses and the intellect - Karlfried Durckheim in "Hara, The Vital Center of Man"

Essential reading for understanding the Japanese psyche.

Japanese toilet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japanese toilet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

TRENDS / Pop goes Japanese culture

TRENDS / Pop goes Japanese culture

King Penguins procession at Asahiyama Zoo

Yahoo! News - AFP Top Photos

Some great videos featuring Ostriches from Japan

?????(JR???)|???net>JR??? ???CM?????

Workplace Definitions

"That WOOFY was a CROP DUSTING SEAGULL MANAGER who got where he is by ASSMOSIS."
Occasionally the Internet provides us with things that we just can't do without, like the following "Essential additions for the workplace Vocabulary" for 2004:

BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.
ASSMOSIS: The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.
SALMON DAY: The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.
CUBE FARM: An office filled with cubicles.
PRAIRIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.
MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.
SITCOMS: Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids.
STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiney.
SWIPEOUT: An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because the magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.
XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.
IRRITAINMENT: Entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. The O.J. trials and Michael Jackson's affairs are examples.
PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
ADMINISPHERE: The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.
404: Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error message "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested document could not be located.
GENERICA: Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, etc.
OHNOSECOND: That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake.
WOOFYS: Well Off Older Folks.
CROP DUSTING: Surreptitiously passing gas while passing thru a cube farm, then enjoying the sounds of dismay and disgust.

Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu

Young Tokyoites gathering near the 333-meter-high illuminated landmark Tokyo Tower celebrate the New Year after they released hundreds of balloons in the air.

Japanese worshippers strike the "Joya no Kane" (the bells on New Year's Eve) at Zojoji temple in Tokyo. The bells in Buddist temples in Japan are rung each year to announce the passing of old year and the coming of the new, beginning on New Year's Eve and continuing into New Year's Day.

Bless your house, TV for the new year!

The Japan Times Online: "Bless your house, TV for the new year!"

Marital expectations help ensure singles ranks soar

The Japan Times Online