A few stories from the recent news that I found interesting…
- A アシカ (sea lion) named 「ななみ」 (“Nanami”) at a zoo in 愛媛県 (Ehime, Japan) was unable to compete for food with the other sea lions in her pen. So she began leaping over three meters (9 feet) and holding onto the wall to eat fish held by the zoo’s visitors.
She has become a very popular attraction.
(Photo from the Japan Times).
- There was an explosion in a warehouse in 東京都渋谷区 (Shibuya, Tokyo) last Wednesday. It was initially reported that the owner of the place escaped the burning building…but his wife and mother died inside the building.
It was reported yesterday that the man didn’t escape on his own. He was rescued from the building by a famous Iranian celebrity* who happened to be nearby. (*His name is Rahim Arvanaghi, commonly known as “Randy Muscle“, and he’s famous in Japan).
He ran into the burning building and pulled the man out. But he was unable to save the man’s wife or mother.
- The 2009 edition of the Michelin Restaurant Guide will be out soon. And once again, Tokyo has more four and five star restaurants than any other city in the world.
As I mention in this post, Tokyo had the most stars in the 2008 edition as well.
Tokyo is the capital where there are the most restaurants, more than 160,000, and also excellent cuisine.
Jean-Luc Naret, Michelin director
Tokyo Five 
Once again, Tokyo has the most “Michelin star” restaurants than any other city in the world in the upcoming 2013 edition of the “Michelin Restaurant Guide”.
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Japan should be considered a continent… 😉
it’s an archipelago (group of islands), and is quite unique! 😀
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It is a country ( I think?)
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Japan is a country? I thought it was a continent?
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>Some people think that Tokyo is in China?
Hopefully not too many think that! Tokyo’s a famous city!
I thought everyone knows Tokyo’s the capital of Japan…just like everyone knows where London, New York, Paris, etc are!
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Hahaha really?? Some people think that Tokyo is in China?? Unbelievable…
Yes, when he asked me the question “How far is Tokyo from Japan?” , his face was serious… :p
bartman905 san… Ummm I don’t know, I guess it’s about 3500000km?
….Just joking! 🙂
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Sir Pent…
Yeah, I wish she was at a zoo in Tokyo instead of Ehime. I’d like to see that sea lion!
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That’s hilarious about the leaping seal.
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umepontarouさん、 bartman905さん、
Thanks for writing again!
“How far is Tokyo from Japan?” Was he serious?
Actually, it reminds me of an experience we had the last time we visited America. An employee at the hotel we stayed at asked where we were from. When I said “Tokyo”, she asked me “In China?”
I was surprised!
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Yes, interesting news from Japan – after about a year living here, I do notice a lot more interesting news in Japan compared to Canada, maybe Canada is a boring country :P.
umepontarou, “Hey, how far is Tokyo from Japan?” – that’s funny. BTW, how far is Perth from Australia? 🙂
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For the first one:
That’s very very cute 🙂
For the second one:
Wow, that was brave! I don’t know the guy “Randy Muscle“ but he is a hero! 🙂
For the third one:
すごい〜!!(>v<) Tokyo became #1!
I’m so proud to be Japanese. Hehe..
You know, some people in Perth (especially young people) don’t know about Japan, and my work mate (he was 20 years old) asked me once “Hey, how far is Tokyo from Japan?”
… Tokyo IS in Japan :p
BTW thanks for those news, they are interesting!
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