America’s GM CEO insults Japanese cars

The 「最高経営責任者」 (Chief Executive Officer (CEO)) of one of America’s automobile corporation,  Dan Akerson, unveiled the latest model of the Chevrolet electric hybrid car called the “Volt“.

GM's Chevrolet "Volt"

At the unveiling of his company’s car, Mr. Akerson decided to express his opinion of Toyota Motor‘s hybrid car, the “Prius“.
He called Japan’s Prius a “geek-mobile” (かっこ悪い車) and he said that he wouldn’t be caught dead in one.

I wouldn’t be caught dead in a (Toyota) Prius.

– Dan Akerson, General Motors C.E.O.

The Toyota Prius doesn’t look “geeky” to me.  What do you think?

 

Toyota Prius

Which do you think is nicer, the Chevy “Volt” or the Toyota “Prius”?

2010 was a “hot” year

Every year around this time in Japan a Kanji character is chosen that best represents the year that is ending. The character is presented in the public in a ceremony in Kyoto, Japan in which a Buddhist monk writes the character in 習字 (Japanese calligraphy).

Last year the character 「新」 (“new“) was chosen to represent 2009. (Click here to read my post about it).

This past summer had record high temperatures in Japan.
Also from August until October, miners in the country of Chile were trapped underground where the temperature was often over 30°C.
And Japan sent an unmanned space probe into space to take samples of an asteroid. Upon it’s return to Earth, most of the capsule was destroyed in the re-entry temperature of over 10,000°C.

For these reasons it was decided that the Kanji character that represents 2010 is 「暑」, which means “hot“.

Top news stories of 2010

It’s almost 2011. It seems that 2010 just flew by! But maybe it only feels that way because I’m getting older. 😉
What would you say were the biggest news stories of 2010?
Which stories were covered by the news media extensively where you live? Which stories affected you the most?

As for me, I think I’d say that 2010’s biggest headlines were:

• North Korea attacked South Korea in November 2010.
  I live in Japan and Korea is the nearest country to us. So if the Korean War were to restart, it could affect Japan.

  Norea Korea bombed South Korea, Nov. 2010

• Haiti Earthquake
  On 2010 January 12, a major earthquake struck the country of Haiti. Over 90,000 people died.
  Japan is an earthquake-prone country. I think they are the worst of the natural disasters since they can strike anytime without warning.

• Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
  In April 2010, a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused over 4 million barrels of oil to pollute the water and cause immense damage to the eco-system.
  I grew up on the Gulf coast of Florida.

Which news stories do you think were 2010’s biggest?

This date went down in infamy…twice

John Lennon had a Japanese wife and they were both strongly opposed to war. So isn’t it ironic that he was killed on the thirty-ninth anniversary of the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor?

On 1941 December 8th, the 日本海軍 (Japanese Imperial Navy) attacked the U.S. Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (It was December 8 on the Japanese calendar but since Hawaii is on the other side of the International Date Line, it was December 7th there).

It’s the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Also on this date thirty-nine years later John Lennon of the English rock band, The Beatles, was assassinated in New York.

Today is the 30th anniversary of John Lennon’s death.

Click here to read a more detailed post that I wrote about these two events

Tokyo is the perfect hybrid

What is your image of Tokyo?
Ultra-modern and high-tech with robots, computerized bath-tubs and toilet seats, skyscrapers, and neon?
Or ancient with centuries-old temples and shrines in quiet old-fashioned neighborhoods with small restaurants and food booths selling very traditional Japanese food and snacks?

Either way, you’d be correct. Tokyo is a perfect hybrid of both the modern and the traditional, sometimes side-by-side.

I love both aspects of this city. The skyline with the skyscrapers and neon lights looks beautiful…and so are the ancient 下町 (traditional, downtown areas).

Last Sunday my wife and I went to a 下町 (traditional, downtown area).
Here are some photos I took:

A parrot outside of a pet store.

This pagoda is about 400 years old.

 

Have you ever visited Tokyo? How do you think it compares with other cities? I think it’s the most beautiful city.

Yamato and Gundam

A live-action movie version of the Japanese anime 「宇宙戦艦ヤマト」 (“Space Battleship Yamato“) has recently hit the movie theaters in Japan.

It stars Japanese sex-symbols Takuya Kimura and Meisa Kuroki (whom I wrote about in this post).

Japanese movies usually have theme songs by Japanese artists but this movie’s theme song is titled “Love Lives” and is performed by Steven Tyler (lead vocalist of the American rock band “Aerosmith“).

Here’s the official trailer which features a bit of the song:

And here’s the entire song:

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Last year I wrote a post about “Cup Noodle” in Japan giving away miniature Gundam figures with purchase of their instant ramen.

Well, Nissin Cup Noodle has teamed up with Gundam again.
In Japan you can buy a special, limited-time-only Cup Noodle that comes with a plastic reusable “Gundam” ramen cup.

The package of the Cup Noodle with the Gundam cup

The Gundam cup and the package of ramen noodles

McDonalds for X-mas

In Japan it is tradition to eat chicken for Christmas dinner and the most popular Christmas chicken in Japan is from “Kentucky Fried Chicken“.

Other fast-food places try to compete with Kentucky Fried Chicken, Japan every Christmas…but, to Japanese people, “X-mas dinner = Kentucky (Fried Chicken)“.

Click here to read the post I wrote that goes into more detail about Kentucky Fried Chicken for X-mas dinner in Japan.

Well, this year, from December 3rd – 25th, McDonalds in Japan will be offering a X-mas chicken dinner set that they hope will help them take some of the lucrative Christmas dinner market away from Kentucky Fried Chicken, Japan.

They’re calling it the “iCon’ Box“.

X-mas Chicken dinner from McDonalds Japan.

For ¥1,780 (about US $21), it includes:
– four “Juicy Chicken Selects” (two packs with 2 pieces each),
– ten “Chicken McNuggets” (two packs with 5 pieces each),
– sauce for the McNuggets include the two “regular” BBQ and Honey Mustard, plus a new “Sour Cream & Onion” McNugget sauce,
– two “Shaka Shaka Chicken” patties (the chicken and a flavored powder are put into a bag and shaken together)
– flavor powder for the Shaka-Shaka Chicken include the two “regular” flavors of Black Pepper and Cheese, plus a new “Pizza” flavor,
– “Mega” size French Fries
– and three cell-phone straps (“McDonalds” restaurant, “McDonalds” logo, and “Shaka-Shaka Chicken”).

Orders for the iCon’ Box will be taken beginning on December 3rd so that the meal will be ready for Christmas dinner on the 25th.

In memory of “The Fox”

The late Eric Carr died nineteen years ago today.

Eric Carr was the second drummer for the rock band “KISS“. He replaced the original drummer Peter Criss who quit the band in 1980.

When Eric Carr joined KISS, they were still wearing their trademark make-up. So it was decided that Eric Carr would wear make-up in the persona of “The Fox” (former drummer Peter Criss had been “The Catman“).

"Creatures Of The Night", the only KISS album cover that has Eric Carr in his "Fox" make-up (he's at the top of the cover).

Eric Carr remained a member of KISS until he died of heart cancer at the age of 41 on 1991 November 24th.

I was already in Japan when Eric Carr passed away and I was shocked when I first heard the news that he had died.
As a KISS fan, I was dismayed that Eric Carr’s death was overshadowed by the death of Freddie Mercury, the vocalist of the band Queen, who died of AIDS the exact same day.

It’s not overlooked by KISS fans in Japan that Eric Carr died at the age of 41.

In Japan, there are three ages for men and three for women that are considered by be unlucky with a higher chance of illness or injury.

These ages are called 「厄年」 (“Yakudoshi“) which means “Calamity years”.
For women these ages are: 19, 33 and 37.
For men, they are: 25, 42 and 61.

Maybe you noticed that Eric Carr died at the age of 41 and the closest 「厄年」 (“Yakudoshi“) age is 42.
But the year before and the after 「厄年」 (“Yakudoshi“) are considered dangerous as well. They’re called 「前厄」 (“Maeyaku”) and 「後厄」 (“Atoyaku”), respectively.

It’s believed that people’s bodies are changing at those ages and are prone for sickness or injury.

Actually, I twisted my ankle a few days after my 41st birthday a few weeks ago. True story.

Are you at the age of 「厄年」 (“Yakudoshi“)? Take care!

Eric Carr, 1950 July 12 - 1991 Nov 24, R.I.P.

Japan will bring bullet train to Florida?

Japan is well-known for it’s excellent public transportation system. Especially in big cities like Tokyo.
Japan’s trains, buses and subways are clean, safe, extremely punctual, convenient and affordable.

Even though the taxis here aren’t really affordable (a taxi ride in Japan is pricey), they’re also clean, safe and convenient.

You may also know that Japan has an excellent 「新幹線」 (“Bullet train” (or “Shinkansen” in Japanese)) system.

"Shinkansen" (Bullet train) passing Mt. Fuji.

Japan’s 「新幹線」 (Bullet train) system is the world’s busiest and fastest bullet-train service.
The speed record was set a few years ago when the 「新幹線」 (Bullet train) reached a speed of over 580 km/hr on a test-run. With passengers though, the trains travel up to about 300 km/hr.

When U.S. President Obama announced that America would begin building and using bullet-trains systems in various parts of America with the first one scheduled to connect Tampa, Florida (my hometown) to Orlando and Miami, Florida many bullet-train companies around the world began bidding for the contract to build Florida’s first high-speed train service.

Map of Florida showing the planned bullet-train routes.

Companies in Canada, Germany and France are competing with Japan for the contract.

But it seems that Japan’s JR Tokai company has a good chance of winning the bid.

If Japan wins the bid then Florida will have a 「新幹線」 (Bullet train) system like Japan’s.

 

One of JR Tokai's 「新幹線」 (Bullet train) trains.

I wonder if America will be able to maintain the punctuality, safety and convenience of Japan’s train systems.

Have you ever ridden a 「新幹線」 (Bullet train) in Japan? Or any of Japan’s trains or subways?
Have you taken public transportation in other countries?
What are your impressions?

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By the way, today is a national holiday in Japan…「勤労感謝の日」 (“Labor Day”). (Click here to read my short “F.A.Q.” about it.)

Top 5 X-mas Illuminations in Japan

In Japan, Christmas isn’t a national holiday. If December 25th falls on a weekday then it’s just a normal workday in Japan.

But that said, クリスマス (X-mas) is still a big holiday in Japan. Not the biggest though…the most important holiday in Japan is 正月 (New Years).

I wrote a post before that explains a bit about Christmas in Japan…and another one that explains a bit about New Years in Japan.

To summarize though, Christmas isn’t the same in Japan as it is in Western countries.
Even though New Years is Japan’s biggest holiday, stores and streets in Japan put up X-mas decorations on November 1st (as soon as the Halloween decorations come down) and take them down on December 26th.
On December 26th in Japan, the Xmas decorations are quickly replaced with New Years decorations which stay up until around January 5th.
So Japan is decorated for the imported holiday of Christmas for fifty-six days but only about two weeks for New Years.

Basically the image of X-mas in Japan is a romantic evening for couples on クリスマス・イヴ (Christmas Eve) and a day for families with children on クリスマス (Christmas Day).

One of the popular dates spots for couples on and before X-mas Eve is to look at クリスマス・イルミネーション (X-mas lights (or, as they’re called in Japan, “Christmas illumination“)).

X-mas illumination at "Roppongi Hills" in downtown Tokyo.

There is a website that shows some of the best 「全国イルミネーション・スポット」 (Illumination Spots around Japan).

One part of that website lists 「イルミネーションおすすめスポット Best 5」 (“Top 5 Recommended Illumination Spots”).

The list is:

• 「六本木ヒルズ Artelligent Christmas 2010」　(“Roppongi Hills Artelligent Christmas 2010” in Tokyo, Japan)
• 「神戸ルミナリェ」 (“Kobe Luminarie” in Kobe, Japan)
• 「２０１０SENDAI光のページェント」 (“2010 Sendai Light Pageant” in Sendai, Japan)
• 「第３０回さっぽろホワイトイルミネーション」 (“30th Sapporo White Illumination” in Sapporo, Japan)
• 「OSAKA光のルネサンス２０１０」 (“Osaka Light Renaissance 2010” in Osaka, Japan)

Also, check out this post that I wrote with photos of the X-mas illumination at Tokyo Tower and in Roppongi, Tokyo.
And also this one that I wrote about Omotesando, Tokyo turning the X-mas illumination back on last year after eleven years of not decorating.

How is Christmas celebrated where you live? Are stores already decorated for X-mas? Is looking at 「クリスマス・イルミネーション」 (X-mas lights) popular?