Ahh so I was going on my way reading through my blog, when I saw that Japan Probe actually did an entry that had me say.. Nostalgic.. that’s right a way to navigate through Narita Airport to travel into Tokyo. Ever since I came back from Japan, I have been a fan for their Suica card system, since it travels with Tokyo Metro and JR. Passmo can only travel within the Tokyo Metro, and I for one would say that travel within Japan is not for the faint hearted, it cost money, and definitely this video would be a great reference for those going to Japan for the first time.
Well after Tokyo recently lost 2016 Summer Olympics bid to Rio De Janeiro, and with Chicago not even making it into the second round. I hear internet news that Hiroshima & Nagasaki will be doing a joint bid for 2020 Olympics. So hopefully their country will make it to win the bid. Historically these two cities were impacted by the atomic bomb, and their desire for the Olympics for promoting peace, perhaps their message will reach the Olympics committee.
The year 2020 has a special significance for the mayors, who serve as president and vice president of Mayors for Peace, a global group of mayors from about 3,000 cities that advocate the abolition of nuclear weapons. In April last year, the group adopted the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol, which calls for the elimination of nuclear weapons by 2020.
This weekend was Columbus Day for people in the U.S. but it is also Health and Sports Day [体育の日] (taiiku no hi) in Japan for students there. That definitely brings sportsmanship, and teamwork. Now the reason why I knew this was happening, because I have friends who are over there, and teaching – mentioned that they had a day off. Sounds interesting to me.
I have never seen something like this in the U.S. as I grew up, there was that one time I went to a senior trip for an outdoors event, but even then that was not as big as schools actually not going to be in session for class.
If the United States would have something like this, wouldn’t that mean that something like this can be promoted to off set the obesity rates in Fat America. They may be already doing like that for Elementary schools nowadays though.
Also you would see something like this in any anime series. I imagine that any if not all school anime would mention something like this. To my mind, one of the more memorable ones got to be either Gakuen Alice or Full Metal Panic Fumoffu.
Struggles to learn Japanese… well how to read and write is always a desire of mine… so for the countless time… I am once again trying to learn Japanese, this time with the usage of tangocyou or 単語帳. Prior to this attempt, I have attempted with laminating flash cards.. that attempt got stifle…so I am trying once again.. to learn. Let’s just say it is difficult without the structure of an actual class, but I don’t know when am I able to go take the the time to learn a class… I lost my chance in my undergrad, there was speaking involved..but I got overwhelmed that semester and stopped the course…
I have gotten the flash card set from Asahiya for $1.50 so I am trying to pick up my pace with leaning.
Other solutions I have tried is to use an exercise book, that I have used in the past to study Chinese. I am actually lucky I can still find these books. It cost $0.40 from a bookstore I go to in Chinatown at Elizabeth Street.
Armed also with a pencil board… of the hirigana system…I hope to be more proficient in my Japanese language studies.
This is actually a good blog entry, for examples on tips how to make it more useful to study Japanese. Another blog entry is this one, with mentioning how to structure, the learning of Japanese in a schedule.
If you don’t live near a Japanese bookstore like I do…Jlist or Jbox is a great place to get Japanese studying items.
As an anime fan, one of the things I always try to make sure I have, and know about is how usually money is usually spent on anime. It is an expensive hobby, and one that is aptly pointed out by Moyism after he mentioned going over the $10,000 on this hobby. I usually ignore how much I spend… since I figure I can make it up at a later time. Sounds irresponsible ne? But who truly cares, if one doesn’t know what is going to happen tomorrow? I try not to let my worries crush me.
Now with my pending Japan trip.. I figure I can try and get a good idea on what I want to zero in to go on the rampage for.. probably a lot of things.. still there are some things I would always be on the look out for..that is series that I like of some form.
Books
Pencil Boards
Stationary
Jigsaw Puzzles
CD’s
DVD’s
Specific series’s plushies
Specific Figurines
Specific Cell Phone Charms
These are are pretty much, what an anime fan would probably go for, but just trying to establish some boundaries… my friend is in Japan now, so I have been giving her some list of things I would like for her to look out for.. the wait is kinda long until May, but let’s just say time should relatively go by fast…. weather in NYC sucks so much now though..can’t wait for warmer weather though.
This topic has been on my mind ever since a class mate asked me what do I like about Japanese culture. I responded to her of liking everything that Japan has to offer… but then, there are so many faucets – so what then? I spoke about this with a co-worker and I was able to write up a ranking list…..
Food
Anime
Music
Dramas
Manga
Now these are pretty broad categories, and I guess I can try to squash in Video games somewhere, or idols or the Theater things, or fashion… but I kinda always think of these categories when I think of Japan. I guess, if you asked me several years ago, I would have ranked anime and manga much higher, but currently that ranking has changed.
Now then, as a fan for things Japanese – what would be your top five things that you like about Japan and reasons why?
Well as a Geography major in my undergrad.. I joined up with a Maps Listserv and found this article to chew on. Georgia erases 488 places off the map. That is such a sad prospect, their reasoning seems to be made from common sense, but what can be the feelings of the people living in those erased communities? It’s is as a speaker said in the paper.. erasing of history and heritage.
Learn something new today about Meta searches…. quite likeable link to check out… I’m not sure if I like StumbleUpon.. a chanel searching web browswer. This second place seems too assuming.
