“I know how it’s done!”: Japanese TV guest learns what not to say to a magician on live TV【Video】

I watched this on TV yesterday evening. I like セロ (Cyril)…he’s a good magician. I wrote about him before too…here:
https://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/cyril/.

10 obscure Japanese vending machine drinks that fly under the beverage radar

You can buy all kinds of things from vending machines in Japan!

Pikachu’s dramatic decline in popularity captured in photos

Poor Pikachu!

Book review & giveaway 1: The Art Of Japanese Architecture

Tuttle Books has kindly given a couple of books to me to read and review on my blog here.

And they also said that they will give (gave) one free copy of each book to a random visitor to my blog!

I will put the information about how you can enter for a chance to win a free book directly from the publisher at the end of this post.

The first book that I will review here is titled: “The Art Of Japanese Architecture” by David and Michiko Young.

If you are interested in Japanese culture, architecture (both traditional and modern), and/or beautiful photographs of Japan, then this book will be of interest to you!

The authors of this book share their comprehensive and detailed knowledge of the structure, design and function of every type of Japanese house, temple, shrine, castle, etc.

It was very interesting to learn how Japanese culture, foreign influences (Chinese, Indian, Korean and western), and local weather have impacted the building designs in Japan.

“The Art Of Japanese Architecture” covers all types of buildings in all areas of Japan from 10,000 BC up to today.

And then there are the photographs! There are loads of photographs in this book and many of them are of one or even two full pages in size. And they are gorgeous photos!

“The Art Of Japanese Architecture” can be purchased on Amazon.com by clicking here…
but, as I mentioned above, the publisher has kindly agreed to give (gave) one free copy to one random visitor of my blog!

Fill in this form by August 31st, 2014 to enter the chance to win a free copy of “The Art Of Japanese Architecture“:

***** Updated September 1st, 2014 *****

This special promo ended on 2014 August 31st. One random winner was selected and contacted directly by Tuttle Publishers (via email) with the details about the free book.

Thank you to all who entered, but only the winner was contacted.
*****

 

Man on the moon

Today (2014 July 20th) is the forty-fifth anniversary of the first moon landing in 1969 by American astronauts Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin.

Click here to read a Huffington Post article about this anniversary and to see a video of the Apollo 11 rocket that carried the first men to the moon.

Zoo Jeans

From Japan Today:

A zoo in Ibaraki Prefecture has taken the catwalk to a wild new level, using some of its fiercest inhabitants to rip and claw jeans to a fashionably distressed look.

The facility in Kamine has unveiled “Zoo Jeans”, styled by the fangs and claws of lions, tigers and bears.

Zoo officials said the material held up well, all things considered.

“We wrapped several pieces of denim around tires and other toys. Once they were thrown into the enclosures, the animals jumped on them,” said zoo director Nobutaka Namae, adding that the pieces were later patched together to create the finished product.

“The denim was actually much tougher than we had thought, and it turned out nicely destroyed.”

The idea came from a Tokyo advertising executive who wanted to give something back to the zoo where he spent time as a child, Namae added.

Two pairs of jeans ripped by lions and a tiger-destroyed version are being auctioned on the Internet with proceeds to be donated to the zoo and the conservation group WWF.

As of Monday, bidding on the tiger-torn denim had soared to ¥121,000 (about US$1,191).

They will be on exhibit at the Kamine Zoo—along with a bear-savaged version—until next week.

Japanese people react to reading that “pizza is a vegetable in America”

Pizza is my favorite “vegetable”!

Super Typhoon

The biggest typhoon to hit Japan in years is currently wreaking havoc in southern Japan. It’s on course to hit the Tokyo area in a day or two. If you’re in Japan, take care! Typhoon storms, like hurricanes and cyclones, are dangerous!

Chance to win a free Lexikeet subscription

Last April, I wrote a blog post about Lexikeet, the online language study program.

Lexikeet has just contacted me again and would like to offer three random visitors to my blog a chance to win a free six-month Lexikeet subscription!

To qualify to enter the raffle for the free subscription, you must:

1.   follow my blog “Tokyo Five” and/or follow my Twitter account,  and

2.  like Lexikeet on their facebook page and/or follow the Lexikeet Twitter account.

After you’ve done those, then fill out and submit the following form (all information you submit in this form will remain confidential and not shared with any other parties other than Lexikeet)

***** Updated August 1st, 2014 *****

This special promo ended on 2014 July 31st. Three random winners were selected and contacted directly by Lexikeet (via email) with the details about the free subscription.

Thank you to all who entered, but only the three winners were contacted.
*****

As a disclaimer: I, the blogger known as “Tokyo Five”, have no affiliation with Lexikeet and I gain nothing from this promotion. I simply believe their program is a useful tool to learn Japanese or other languages.
I cannot be held responsible for any misunderstandings that possibly arise from this campaign.

Classic rock and metal album covers re-designed with Japanese anime

I don’t have much interest in anime. So I don’t know these cartoon characters…but I have almost all of these albums that have had the jacket artwork re-done here with Japanese anime!