Can you write Haiku?

Do you know what 俳句 (Haiku) is?

It’s a type of Japanese poem.

Haiku has a very unique Japanese form that is quite different from what is considered a poem in western culture.

First of all, Haiku don’t need to have rhyming verses that are important in western-style poems.
Secondly, Haiku are written in 17 “syllables” * . The first line has five syllables*, the next one has seven, and then five again.

(* These aren’t “syllables” in the western language sense. For example, the word “Haiku” has two syllables to a native-English speaking person’s ears…”Hai-ku”. But in Japanese, 「俳句」 (Haiku) is 「はいく」 (Ha-i-ku)…three “syllables”.)

Also, to write proper Haiku, a word that conjures up an image of a season must be used. For example, “Cherry Blossoms” could be used as a “Springtime” Haiku since those flowers bloom in the spring.

One of the most famous Haiku is:

古池や蛙飛びこむ水の音。 (“Fu-ru-i-ke-ya” (5 “syllables”) “ka-wa-zu-to-bi-ko-mu” (7) “mi-zu-no-o-to” (5)).

It was written by 松尾芭蕉 (Matsuo Bashou) in the year 1686.

The “season word” in this Haiku is 「蛙」 (frog)…it symbolizes “spring time” because frogs can be seen in the spring.

In English, this Haiku means: “The ancient pond, A frog jumps in. The sound of the water.”

Can you write Haiku (in English or Japanese)?

The tallest structure ever built…and still climbing

The Tokyo Sky Tree broadcast tower and observatory is now standing at a height of 407 meters tall…which makes it the tallest structure ever built in Japan.
And it’s only 74% complete. When construction at it is finished next year, it will be 634 meters tall.

I had to go past the construction of the Tokyo Sky Tree yesterday, so I brought my camera and took a few photos of it.

The sign says that the tower is currently 470 meters tall.

I have been up in many observatories in Tokyo…some have free admission, such as the government building in Shinjuku (click here to see my post about that building)…and some aren’t free, such as Tokyo Tower (click here for one of the post I wrote about that tower).

Are there any tall towers or observatories in your city? What the tallest one you’ve been in?

You can balance an egg today

Last Monday was a holiday in Japan, called 「敬老の日」 (“Respect For The Elderly Day“). On this day, people often give gifts to their elderly parents or grandparents. Many kindergartens invite grandparents to have lunch at the school with their grandchildren.

Shoulder massages are common "gifts" to grandparents on this day.

Today is another holiday in Japan…「秋分の日」 (“Autumn Equinox“).  On this day in Japan, and on the 「春分の日」 (“Spring Equinox“) in March, it is common for people to visit their family graves to pay respects.  This custom is called 「彼岸の中日」 (“Higan-no-chuu-nichi“).

The actual date of 「春分の日」 (Spring Equinox) and 「秋分の日」 (Autumn Equinox) varies slightly. Spring Equinox is around March 20 or 21 and Autumn Equinox is usually September 22 or 23. I read online that in 1931, the Autumn Equinox occurred on September 24 and the next time it will occur on that date will be in the year 2303.

But in Japan, 「春分の日」 (Spring Equinox) is always celebrated on March 20th and 「秋分の日」 (Autumn Equinox) is always on September 23rd. The only time the dates change is when one of those dates fall on a Sunday…then the holiday is observed the next day.

「敬老の日」 (“Respect For The Elderly Day“) is celebrated on the third Monday of September. Last year that holiday and 「秋分の日」 (Autumn Equinox) were only one day apart, so the Japanese government made the day between them a one-time temporary holiday so that most people in Japan could have a five-day holiday period that was called “Silver Week“.
(I wrote a post about last year’s “Silver Week” here.)

Yesterday someone asked me if the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes were holidays in America like they are in Japan, and how they’re observed in America.

I know that Spring and Autumn Equinox, as well as Summer and Winter Solstice in June and December, aren’t legal holidays in America. But they’re considered the date that the seasons change. Americans say that the first day of Winter is around December 21, the first day of Spring is around March 20, the first day of Summer is around June 21 and the first day of Autumn is around September 23.
So, in America, today is the first day of Autumn.

In Japan, the first day of every three months is considered to be the beginning of the next season.
Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn each start on December 1st, March 1st, June 1st and September 1st, respectively.

But maybe the American dates are more accurate. Because yesterday was a very hot and sunny day in Tokyo. It was about 33°C.
But today is a bit cold and rainy. The temperature dropped down to 23°C! And tomorrow is forecast to be even colder…20°C.

Another thing that is said about the equinoxes in America is that they are the only days of the year that you can balance on egg upright.

I don’t know where that came from. But it’s an American urban legend that eggs can be easily balanced on the day of an equinox.

How is Autumn Equinox (and Spring Equinox) celebrated in your country?

(Also, if you want to know more about Japanese holidays, read my F.A.Q.).

Japan in the Guinness Book of World Records

Have you ever looked through the Guinness Book of World Records?

Some of the records in there are amazing. Like the “World’s Fastest Professional Boxing Knockout” which was dealt by Mike Collins to Pat Brownson with the first punch in their match in November 1947. The fight was over four seconds after it started.

And some of the records are odd. Such as that currently held by an American woman named Lee Redmond…”World’s Longest Fingernails”. She hasn’t cut her nails since 1979 and now they’re about 90 cm (3 feet) long!

I was just watching a TV program tonight about some of the unusual records in the Guinness Book and it made me wonder what types of records are held by Japanese people.

So I checked the Official Guinness World Records website.

It seems that there are many records currently held by Japanese people.

For example:

– Megumi Suzuki of Saitama, Japan has held the record of the “Most Jump-Rope Skips in Thirty Seconds ” for four years now. In September 2006 she skipped 152 in thirty seconds.

– The record for “The Largest Toast at a Single Venue” was made this past June in Tokyo at a Swallows vs Tigers baseball game. 27,126 people held up their drinks in unison and said 「かんぱい！」 (“Cheers!”) together.

– The famous Japanese TV host Mino Monta broke the record for hosting the “Most Live Hours on TV in a Single Week” when he was on TV for a total 22 hours and 15 seconds in one week.

– When 569 Honda car drivers got together in Tochigi, Japan this past July they set the record for the “Longest Parade of Honda Cars“.

– The parade of Honda cars must have been quite a sight…but couldn’t have compared to the procession of 323 young women in bikinis at a shopping center in Tokyo this past May. They broke the record for the “Longest Bikini Parade“.

– Since 2008, Toshie Kawakami of Tokyo has held the record for “Longest Eyebrow Hair” when she had a single eyebrow hair officially measured at a length of 15.1 cm (nearly 6 inches) long.

What types of world records are held by people from your country?

Teriyaki at Burger King

As I mentioned in this post, McDonalds Japan (and a few other fast-food chains in Japan) offers a “Teriyaki Burger” as a regular menu item.

Well now Burger King in Japan is offering a 「グリルてりやき」 (“Grilled Teriyaki“) for a limited time only.
It costs ¥390 (or ¥290 for the “junior” version).

Do you like Teriyaki? Would you try this burger?

Mario is 25 today

I saw a commercial on TV today that said Mario, the main character in the Nintendo “Super Mario Bros.” video games, turned 25 today.

So I guess “Mario” turned five years old when I first came to Japan twenty years ago. That really makes it seem like I’ve been living in Japan for a long time!

I’ve never been very interested in video games. When I was a kid, I occasionally played “Pac-Man”, “Astroids”, “Centipede” and other games like that which were new at that time.

I have a sister who is ten years younger than me and I remember when she got a Nintendo television-game system with a “Mario” game (I’m not sure which one) when she was in elementary school.

And my children have Nintendo DS game machines and a number of game cassettes…including a few different “Mario” game titles.
I’ve tried playing them but I’m not so good at them though.

Even though I don’t play video games often at all, I know that Mario is the “King” of video games. He’s more popular than Pac-Man ever was.

There was even a Hollywood “Super Mario Bros.” movie. I haven’t watched it. Just like all other “video game” themed movies…it looks like a really dumb movie.

Anyways, to celebrate Mario turning twenty-five years old today (2010 September 13), Nintendo Japan is giving away:

red “Mario” or green “Luigi” tote-bags to 2,000 people,

“Happy 25th anniversary, Mario” T-shirts to 3,000 people

and decks of “Mario 25th anniversary” playing cards to 5,000 people.

You can enter into the drawing for these items via the Nintendo Japan website.
The entry deadline is 2011 January 10.

Are you a “Mario fan”?

Sadako’s crane part of WTC memorial

Today is 2010 September 11.
Nine years since the 2001 September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Last year I wrote a post about Sadako Sasaki. She was a young girl in Hiroshima when America dropped the atomic bomb on that city in 1945 and she developed leukemia from the radiation and died at the age of twelve.

The story of the 千羽鶴 (“1000 origami cranes”) that she folded while in the hospital is well-known in Japan.
(Click here to read that post.)

Almost all of the origami cranes that Sadako Sasaki folded were cremated with her when she died, but her family kept a few of the cranes.

Sadako Sasaki’s surviving brother learned of a memorial in New York to the Japanese employees of Fuji Bank‘s New York branch in the World Trade Center who died in the 2001 September 11 attacks.
This memorial included thousands of origami paper cranes…and now one of those cranes is one of those folded by young Sadako Sasaki before she died in 1955.

Domination of Japan!

Last June I wrote a post about upcoming heavy metal shows in the Tokyo area.

Some of the concerts I wrote about in that post have already occurred but Metallica will have a concert in Japan later this month and next month will be the annual “Loudpark 2010” heavy metal festival with bands such as Ozzy Osbourne, KoRn, RATT and Motorhead scheduled to perform at this year’s event.

But before either of those concerts, the “Thrash Domination 2010” festival is coming to 川崎 (Kawasaki, Japan).

This is a two-day event with five thrash metal bands scheduled to perform.
Saturday, September 18 is called “Kill Night”…Agent Steel will go on stage first, then Outrage, followed by Nevermore, then Exodus and Overkill will headline.

Then, Sunday, September 19 is called “Brutal Night”…the line-up is nearly identical but rather than Nevermore, Sanctuary will be the third act on the bill and then Overkill will be fourth, with Exodus as the headliners.

Also, on the day before the festival, Overkill will have their own concert in Osaka on September 17th…and Exodus will have their own concert on September 20th (the day after the festival) in Shibuya, Tokyo.

The official "Thrash Domination 2010" T-shirts

Do you like heavy metal? How about “Thrash Metal”? Would you attend this heavy metal music festival?

McDonald’s cell-phone straps

In America, key chains are popular (at least they were when I lived there. Are they still popular there?).

Key chains aren’t popular at all in Japan. Here, 携帯電話ストラプ (cell-phone straps) are very popular.

I wrote a post about “Samurai cell-phone straps” and another post about “Snoopy cell-phone straps”.

I had meant to write about the cell-phone straps that McDonalds in Japan began offering last July but I didn’t get around to it until now.

Unfortunately, if you want one of these straps it’s too late now. The campaign has recently ended.
I thought the straps were a good idea and they were fairly popular. They looked just like McDonalds burgers, fries, coffee and apple pie…but they’re too big, in my opinion.
I wouldn’t put one on my phone. I have a strap on my phone but it’s nothing like these.

To get one of these “McDonalds Food Straps“, you had to order a large size value meal set and a strap would be included with the set…during the campaign period.

Would you put one of these on your cell-phone? Do you already have one? Which one do you like best? Does McDonalds offer things like this in your country?

Disaster Prevention in Tokyo

Today is 2010 September 1. The 87th anniversary of the 「関東大震災」 (“Great Kanto Earthquake“) that destroyed the Tokyo area on 1923 September 1.

So every year on September 1st in Japan, it’s called 「防災の日」 (“Disaster Prevention Day”).

On this day, fire departments give fire and earthquake safety tips to people, schools hold earthquake drills, and people are encouraged to check and maintain their “earthquake kits” that are recommended to be in every home.

It is said that in Japan’s history, a major earthquake has struck on average every eighty years. So it is expected that Tokyo is due for another one.
I really hope not!

No major earthquakes have struck Tokyo in a long while (“knock on wood”), but a different disaster has hit Tokyo this summer.
A heat wave.

It was reported on the news today that the temperature this summer in Tokyo has been the hottest in 113 years!
The temperature reached 35°C a number of times this summer.
Over a hundred people died from heat stroke and thousands were hospitalized.

It has been brutally hot in Tokyo this summer…and the forecast for the rest of this week says the heat and humidity will continue.

"Uchimizu" is a traditional Japanese custom of throwing water onto the streets to lower the temperature in the city a bit.