What is Rakugo?
Try to answer this quiz about the traditional Japanese art of Rakugo. See how you do and then watch the video and read the article to learn more. Take the quiz! Rakugo Quiz Please wait while the activity loads. If this activity does not load, try refreshing your browser. Also, this page requires javascript. Please visit using a browser with javascript enabled. If loading fails, click here to try again Why not try your knowledge of Rakugo in this quiz? Start You scored %%SCORE%% out of...
read moreHow to Find Big Shoes in Osaka
If you are looking for large shoes in Osaka, you might want to check out Otto, a shoe shop located in Tenma, Osaka that caters for the more gaijin sized foot. I was originally introduced to this shop by good friend Beb. This shoe shop is famous amongst locals as there is a sign that reads「もうあかん、やめます！」- mou akan, yamemasu – which roughly translates from Osaka dialect to “It’s no good, we’re finished / closing down”. As people from Osaka are always on the lookout for a bargain, this closing down sale sign has brought in a lot of...
read moreSamurai Swords
On a trip to Kyoto, Waka sensei, my friend Naho and I stumbled on a shop that stocks swords and samurai armor called Tozando. It was a treasure trove that the makers of Kill Bill would be proud of. In fact, the craftsmen who made the armor stocked in the shop also made the armor used in “The Last Samurai”. According to the assistant we spoke to, the armor and swords were all made recently but the armor was modeled in the style of the Sengoku period or “Warring states period” roughly 1478 to 1605. The craftsman ship was just incredible and this is a store I highly...
read moreJapanese Proverbs 01
Download the picture (full res 1024X768) Here is the famous saying “猿も木から落ちる” – Saru mo ki kara ochiru This literally means, even monkeys fall from trees. In other words, nobody’s perfect.
read more10 Great Text Books For Studying Japanese
Japanese language learning materials have been migrating to the web in various forms including online courses, blogs, applications and videos to name a few. However, I still have some personal recommendations for great text books I have used to study Japanese in the past initially on my own and then at university as part of my degree. So, if you want to widen your repertoire of resources for learning Japanese and are tired of starring at a screen, these might be of use. (Click on the images of the books for more information) To read the rest of this article please log in...
read moreTime Lapse Video – Shinjuku Tokyo
This is my first experiment in Time Lapse photography here in Shinjuku, Tokyo. This was taken from Yotsuya looking West towards central Shinjuku. You can just see the 都庁 - Tocho - The Tokyo Metropolitan Offices and also the モード学園コクーンタワー Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower in the distance. As this is just a first try I will be doing more time lapse videos around Tokyo so please come back and visit to see more videos...
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