If the world famous Japanese movie director Akira Kurosawa were still alive, yesterday would’ve been his 100th birthday.
Akira Kurosawa (1910 March 23 - 1998 Sept 6), R.I.P.
I wrote a post last summer about Hollywood remakes of Japanese movies…and of course it includes some of Kurosawa’s classics (such as “Yojinbou” and “The Seven Samurai“).
(Click here to read that post.)
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It has been announced that all homes in Japan must have a 煙感知器 (smoke detector) in every room by 2010 March 31.
A smoke alarm needs to be in every room.
If you live in Japan, and your house doesn’t have smoke alarms, you can buy them at department stores or electronics stores for about ¥2,500 – ¥3,000 each.
(Even if you don’t live in Japan you should have smoke detectors and a 消火器 (fire extinguisher) in your house.)
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What size beer cans are commonly sold in stores in your country?
What types of places sell beer where you live?
In Japan, beer can be purchased 24 hours a day from convenience stores. It’s also sold in most restaurants (including some fast-food places), supermarkets, etc.
There are even beer vending machines in Japan.
Restaurants usually sell beer in mugs or glasses. Or else they’ll give a 瓶ビール (bottled beer), which is usually 633ml.
Canned beer is usually sold in 350ml or 500ml cans. But other sizes are available too.
Japan has very small 135 ml and 250ml cans, the “regular” 350ml can, the “tall boy” 500ml, and a very big 1,000ml can.
135ml, 250ml, 350ml and 500ml cans of Kirin Beer.
Tokyo Five 
They’ve been showing alot of Kurosawa this week on the TCM channel on US cable.
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Did you watch many of them?
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Good ole Kurosawa… for some reason I still haven’t ever seen any of his movies. This needs to change.
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Yeah, you should watch his classics like “The Seven Samurai” and “Yojinbou”, etc.
Many Hollywood classics are actually remakes of his movies.
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They showed Ran and some other Japanese movies the day before yesterday on German free tv… Now I know why 😛 They were all shown during the night and I fell asleep at 2 am… I really don’t get why they show some of the best movies at this time of day x( Anyway, I’ve been watching many Japanese movies with English subs recently which were pretty awesome. 🙂
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They have also been showing them on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). I have been recording them to watch later.
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“Turner Classic Movies”? Is that a cable TV channel?
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Yes. They have been showing a lot of Kurosawa the last few Tuesdays. This coming Tuesday I believe they are showing Ran, Kagemusha and some others.
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They showed some Kurosawa movies on TV here in Japan on the 100th anniversary of his birth, too.
But I wasn’t home at that time to watch them.
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>They were all shown during the night and I fell asleep at 2 am…
Quite often when old movies are shown on TV, it’s either late at night or in the afternoon.
>I’ve been watching many Japanese movies with English subs recently which were pretty awesome.
Which Japanese movies do you like in particular?
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hm lemme see… I only know the English names, sorry for that 😉
I liked Fish Story, really funny and the story is kind of twisted… just the way I like it 🙂
Nobody Knows is pretty awesome as well, touching story and surprisingly good acting by those kids.
And the day before yesterday I watched Adrift in Tokyo, maybe my favourite Japanese movie 😛
As you see, I am not really into Samurai movies… Horror movies never really thrilled me and most action flicks are just plain boring. So I’ve been watching a lot of drama/thriller movies with kind of unique storylines lately… If anyone has a recommendation, please tell me 🙂
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“Fish Story” = 「フィッシュ・ストーリー」 (“Fish Story”).
“Nobody Knows” = 「誰も知らない」 (“Dare-mo-shiranai”).
“Adrift in Tokyo” = 「転々」 (“Tenten”).
>If anyone has a recommendation, please tell me
I like this movie. I don’t know if it’s available in English or not though.
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I love that beer is available 24/7 nearly EVERYWHERE in Japan!
Can you believe there are still “dry” counties in the U.S.? No alchohol sold anywhere! And many states (including FL) still have “blue” laws, no alcohol sold on Sundays, not even in restaurants!!!
I was in the U.S. in January (GA) and went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner one Sunday, imagine my surprise (and supreme disappointment!) when I couldn’t order a margarita!
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>I love that beer is available 24/7 (all day / everyday) nearly EVERYWHERE in Japan!
>…I couldn’t order a margarita (in America)!
Yes, I’ve become used to the convenience of Tokyo.
Five years ago we visited America, and I went to the “7-eleven” convenience store to get a couple beers at night…and they said that even though the store was still open, they could only sell alcohol between certain hours.
It was a shock.
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Ok, I’ll comment about the beer then … where is the 1000 ml can? I thought you would have this one for sure 🙂
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Actually, I bought one once. And I had a photo of one…but I can’t find it at the moment. 😉
If I find the picture, I’ll add it to this post.
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That is really hard to choose. I love Sanjuro, even more than Yojimbo and Ran and Kagemusha. Rashomon was brilliant and I have that taped also so will watch again soon. But I still think Seven Samurai is my favorite.
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>I still think Seven Samurai is my favorite.
It’s probably his most famous film.
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I have Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro on tape so I’ll be wathin them soon.
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Which is your favorite Kurosawa movie?
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