Foreign Artist Nails Modern Japan in Watercolors

Tokyo Desu

Forgive the Miyazaki-ness of the following beautiful watercolors – while it’s certain Polish artist Mateusz Ubanowicz was more than a little inspired by His Greatness (possibly in hopes of taking the Miyazaki throne in 40 years when Miyazaki himself actually – for serious you guys – retires), in addition to a handful of other famous anime artists, these portraits of everyday life in modern Japan are the most beautiful, somehow haunting depictions of Tokyo and its surrounds we’ve seen since those 8-bit GIFs we showed you a while back.

As Kotaku points out, Mateusz, as a long-term resident of Japan, manages to cut through the usual stuff that foreign artists and photographers get hung up on – the neon lights, the cosplayers, the temples and whatnot – to get to the meat of what Japan really looks and feels like to live in. Take a look:

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Letterboxd

I like movies very much. I watch movies often. I thought twitter would be a useful place to ask others for recommendations for good movies to watch…and I could also write my opinion of movies I’ve seen to help other people choose a good movie.

But twitter user @kuma told me about a site called “Letterboxd“.

Why don’t you visit their site and join?  It’s free and it’s easy.  And, if you like movies at all, it’s fun!

You can rate movies with a ☆ star ranking. And you can write a review or summary, if you want to.  You can also search for a movie that you’re thinking about watching and see other people’s rating of it.

Another thing that I like about Letterboxd if that it’s a good way to keep a diary of the movies you’ve watched.  I’ve only just started using their site, so I don’t anywhere near all of the movies I’ve seen listed…but click here to see my Letterboxd page.

If you join, “follow” me on the site…and also write a comment on this post and tell your page URL.

Xmas Sky Tree

It’s クリスマス･イヴ (Xmas Eve) in Japan now.
My wife and I went to the Tokyo Sky Tree, the world’s tallest tower, which was illuminated in green for Xmas.

メリー･クリスマス (Merry Xmas).

Coming to Harajuku? Check out this new tourist booth for maps, Wi-Fi, crêpes and more!

Snickers may have come up with their best campaign ever: A free barber shop

Today is the last day to get a free insane haircut from Snickers Japan:

KISS vs Momoiro Clover Z song titles announced

As I mentioned last month (in this post), the American hard rock band KISS and the Japanese pop band Momoiro Clover Z are collaborating on two songs.

KISS vs ももいろクローバーZ

My friend Masa just told me that the titles of the songs (which will be released on 2015 January 28th) have just been announced.

Momoiro Clover Z will release a CD with a song titled 「夢の浮世に咲いてみな」. It will feature Momoiro Clover on vocals and KISS playing the music.
And KISS will release a CD with a song titled “Samurai Son” which will have KISS singing and playing the music, and Momoiro Clover on singing the chorus!

2014 Kanji of the Year

Every December, a kanji (Japanese (Chinese) written character) is chosen that represents the biggest news of the year that is just ending. It’s called 「今年の漢字」 (“The Kanji of the Year“).

Last Friday, the kanji of the year for 2014 was chosen. It’s 「税」 (zei) which means “tax“.

Every year, when the 「今年の漢字」 (“Kanji of the Year”) is chosen, it’s presented to the public at a special ceremony at a temple in Kyoto where the head monk writes the character and it’s broadcast on TV, newspapers and the internet.

The Kanji of the Year (今年の漢字) for 2014 is 「税」 (“tax”).

The reason that this character was chosen to represent 2014 is because the sales tax in Japan was increased this year for the first time in years.

When I came to Japan in 1990, the sales tax here was 3%. (Until just a couple of years before I came to Japan there was no sales tax here at all!)
It stayed at 3% until 1997 when it was raised to 5% (that year, a law was also passed that the “after-tax” price must be shown on all products).
Japan’s sales tax was 5% for seventeen years. It was increased to it’s current 8% last spring (thus the Kanji of the Year is “tax”).
The Japanese government plans to increase the sales tax again next year (in 2015) to 10%!

BABYMETAL keeps turning metalheads, voted Best Metal Album of the Year

I don’t like BabyMetal. Sorry. Pop and metal don’t mix.

Imperial Palace inner grounds

If you have ever visited the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, you most likely have only seen the outer grounds.
That is the area that is normally open to the public. There are only a few days each year that the general public are permitted to enter the inner grounds (and on those days, you must line up and go through a baggage search and pass a metal detector).

Last weekend was one of the rare occasions that the Imperial Palace inner grounds were open to the public.
People were allowed in to view (and photograph) the beautiful autumn colors in the royal gardens.

Last Sunday, my wife and I went there. Here are some of the photographs I took of the inner grounds:

The staff quarters.

 

This foundation is the remnants of the original castle from centuries ago. The roof of the famous Nippon-Budokan can be seen in the distance.

 

The Imperial music hall.

 

One of the original guards’ quarters

 

From there, we walked to the 100 year old Tokyo Station for dinner.

 

Only-in-America

I’ve lived in Japan for most of my life now, and I have only been back to visit America a few times. In fact, my most recent visit there was over ten years ago ( Click here to read about the reverse-culture-shock I experienced on that trip.)

I was thinking about some things that seem normal to most Americans…but are actually unique to America and kinda odd to people who don’t live there.

1. Flags everywhere / “Pledge of Allegiance” –
Every country flies their national colors. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But the American flag is flown everywhere, everyday in the U.S. Even car dealerships and in school classrooms.
Speaking of school classrooms, American children stand with their hand on their heart, facing the flag in the classroom, and recite and pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag.
A bit like North Korea.

2. “Sales tax” –
By this I mean, the price shown on the products in stores in America is the pre-sales tax price.
To be honest though, it was the same way in Japan when I first arrived here. At that time, sales tax here was 3% and the after-tax price wasn’t listed on the price-tags. (Just before I came to Japan, there was no sales tax here at all!)
But in 1997, the law was changed that all stores in Japan must show the after-tax price on their products (the sales tax went up to 5% that year too. (Currently, it’s 8%)).

3. “Toilet stalls” –
When people from other countries visit America, the public restrooms are quite a culture shock! The doors are too small! It’s disturbing when you’re using a public toilet but don’t feel like you have privacy.

4. “Tipping” –
There is no tipping in Japan. When I visited America, I was never sure who to tip or how much! I had to check my guidebook. Waitresses, taxi drivers, hotel staff, bartenders, et al. It felt like, no matter how mediocre the service, I had to tip everyone! And after tips were factored in, the cost for many things in America were actually higher than in Japan.

5. “Guns” –
Besides the police and military, there are virtually no gun owners in Japan.
All of the gun-related violence in America that is reported in the news is sad and shocking.

6. “Alcohol rules” –
In America, beer can’t be enjoyed outdoors in public. And there are hours (and even certain days) that stores don’t sell alcohol.
Why?

There are beer vending machines in Japan.

I’m not putting America down.
I’m just pointing out some peculiarities about the culture of the country of my birth. Every country has them…and sometimes it takes stepping outside the country and experiencing a different culture to see them.

What are some unique cultural peculiarities about America, Japan or any other country that you’ve noticed?