Working Girl

I got a J.O.B.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cant believe how fast I got hired, I thought it would take for ever but I applied to all the job listings I found on Gaijinpot.com , I even applied for jobs in Osaka which is about 30 mins. away by densha (metro train), and actually the company that hired me is based in Osaka but coincidentally they needed a teacher in Kyoto so now I'm working on Kawaramachi street teaching to the cutest 6 and 5 year old kids ever.

In Japan, usually , the hiring process is basically a screening process, so you go to a first meeting and then if they like you they will call you back in for a second meeting and if they decide to hire you , you would meet again for a third time to sign contracts and all that formal stuff.

If you are interested in working in japan , most of the job offerings are for English teachers , all jobs have different requirements but they all require you to have a working visa in order to hire you, if you don't have a Japanese working visa but you do have a degree in education and are highly qualified you could find the kind of job offer that would handle changing your visa status, companies like RCS or government organisations like JET , you can check the different job offers at gaijinpot.com and compare the different requirements.

I'm a happy little gaijin right now, yeaeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Mata ne!

B'z

B'z is a Japanese Duo formed by Matsumoto Takahiro (Guitar, Composition)
and Inaba Koshi (lyrics, vocals). They have been playing Rock Music for 10 years now and they were the first artists from Asia to have their hand prints and signatures put up in the Hollywood's Rock Walk.

They have a new single out , it's called Burn (Fumetsu no Face) it was released April 16 2008 and it is this week's #1 song on the weekly charts.

Here's the video:



I also made a B'z play list for you guys to listen to more of their songs.
Enjoy!

You can visit B'z official website here.

Mata ne!

Puchi Wallpaper

I have been a bit busy running around going to job interviews so I haven't had much time to post, to make it up to you guys I made this Japanese wallpaper, if you like it leave me a message and Ill post some more later on.

Download 1280x800.

Mata ne!

Zettai Kareshi (絶対彼氏)

I just saw the first episode of Fuji TVs newest dorama ZETTAI KARESHI, and I must say it was quite interesting, a bit predictable but hypnotizingly good.

This dorama is based on the 2005 manga created by Yuu Watase . The original plot according to wikipedia is basically this:

Riko Izawa has never had a boyfriend and she has been rejected by every boy she has ever had a crush on. When she returns a lost cell phone to an oddly dressed salesman, she mentions wanting a boyfriend so to thank her, he directs her to his company's website. When she visits the site, Riko finds its a site to create your own lover.

Thinking its a game, she customizes and accidentally orders one. The next day, her new lover arrives. Following the instruction manual, she kisses him to wake him up and configure him to be in love with only her. She names him "Night." Three days later, she is shocked to learn that she only had him for a free trial. The salesman, Gaku Namikiri, tells her that she must now pay 100,000,000 yen for Night, or they will waive the fee if she helps them to collect data about how women think and feel to help perfect future models.

Riko must keep Night's true nature of not being human a secret from everyone around her. She also finds herself in a love triangle between Night and her childhood friend Soshi, who declares his love for her out of fear he will lose her. As the series progresses, Night begins to develop real human emotions, enabling him to truly love Riko but also resulting in system malfunctions. When Riko almost loses Night due to the malfunctions, she realizes that he is the one she really loves. She apologizes to Soshi, who moves to Spain with his brother.


As the series ends, Night begins to grow sleepier and sleepier. The problems developed by his exceeding his abilities eventually causes his machinery to stop working, resulting in his "dying." Before he died, he wrote a letter to Soshi to tell him what was happening and asking him to take care of Riiko. Soshi gives Rikko time to grieve, then returns to Japan to be at her side again.


The cast :

Hayami Mokomichi as Tenjo Night
Aibu Saki as Izawa Riko
Mizushima Hiro as Asamoto Soshi
Irie Jingi as Hayashi Kota
Nakamura Shunsuke as Asamoto Masashi
Sasaki Kuranosuke as Namikiri Gaku
Maya Miki as Wakabayashi Fujiko


On the TV version some things have been modified , like her childhood friend "Soshi " is now a co-worker and other minor details the good thing is that on the first episode Hayami Mokomichi appears almost naked and super duper sweet, if you've already seen chobittsu this is pretty much the same thing only chi is a really hot guy with intact software and Hideki kun is a really shy girl that doesn't know what to do with a hot guy at her command.

If you have a "thing" for Hayami kun you will love this dorama. If you like love stories you will love this dorama.

Don't forget to visit the oficial website

Mata ne!

GeGeGe no Kitaro

Hakaba no Kitaro as it was originally called on the 1959 manga by Shigeru Mizuki tells the tale of Kitaro the last survivor of the Ghost Tribe and how it came to be that he now lives among humans defending them from the Youkai (Japanese Folklore Spirits).

Kitaro lost his left eye the same day he was born so his hair covers the empty socket. He wears a stripped vest that was made from the Reishi of his ancestors that lets him travel to hell and come back, his hair can be fired off like arrows, and he has remote control geta and a detachable hand. He is also acompanied by his father who after suffering a terrible illness was reduced to a mere eyeball that sprouted a human shaped body.


This manga is full of Japanese spirits messing with humans, there are also vampires, ghosts, evil people, you get the picture. Shigeru Mizuki believes very firmly in Youkai, and he has written several books about them. All of the monsters in Ge ge ge no Kitaro are authentic characters from Japanese folklore, with the exception of Kitaro and his father Medama Oyaji.

If you like bizarre ghost tales you will probably like this anime. The cast of characters include:


Kitaro –
Last survivor of the yūrei zoku, he is packed with super powers. His hair can be fired off like arrows, and he has remote control geta and a detachable hand. He is also pretty much indestructible, having been reduced to a bucket of bodily fluids on more than one occasion, happily resurrecting himself.

Medama Oyaji –
Kitaro’s father has a vast knowledge of yūrei and yōkai and is also a talking eyeball. Sometimes rides around in Kitaro’s empty eye socket.

Nezumi Otoko –
The rat man who is always messing with kitaro. He hasn’t bathed for over 300 years and he claims to be a graduate of the ghost university.

Neko Musume –
A cute little girl who turns into a raving monster at the sight of rats. Official yōkai type is a bakeneko, a breed of magical cats.

Sunakake Baba –
An odd yōkai from Nara-Ken, she carries sand in her hair which she flings at enemies to blind them. She also runs the yōkai apartment building.

Konaki Jiji –
From Tokushima Prefecture, he is a big crying baby that can increase his weight, crushing anyone who picks him up.

Itta Momen –
A flying strip of cloth from Kagoshima prefecture, Itta Momen wraps around peoples heads when attacking. Fears scissors.

The anime version of Gegege no Kitaro has been redone various times since 1968 and also there are at least 9 movies about this manga and various electronic games dating as back as 1986.

In January 2008 the latest anime version of Gegege no Kitaro aired on Japanese TV, you can see the website for this version here .

If you want to see the 2007 gegege no kitaro movie you can see it a veoh.com , I'm placing a link to the search results for the movie which wasabi82 was kind enough to share with us: http://www.veoh.com/userVideos.html?numResults=10&username=wasabi82&offset=50


you can also find the anime episodes of gegege no Kitaro at :
http://www.veoh.com/userVideos.html?numResults=10&username=JOELDBROOKS&offset=10

In July 12, 2008 the latest movie (Gegege no Kitaro 2) will finally be released but you can watch the teaser here:





More gegege no links:

http://www.gegege.jp/
http://www.yanoman.co.jp/yokai53/index.html
http://www.sakaiminato.net/site2/page/foreign/eng/kitaro/


Mata ne!

Still sick

So last time posted I said Id go back to fushimi to finish my quest and get my bike. I did go back but only to get my bike back which is now safely parked on its small space sandwiched by the neighbors bikes (its good to be home).

My injuries turned out to be more serious than what the first doctor I went to said they were, yes I went to get a second opinion and my left arm is now in a cast and I have a concussion that gives me dizzy spells and a whole lot of other goodies.

So I'm doing rehab Japanese style, using one of my many furoshikis as a really cute sling and staying in bed drinking tons of green tea. So for now Ill leave you with this pic I took while I was on my way to the doctor, enjoy:

Mata ne !

Bike accident

I went out to explore and get lost in Fushimi, known for its water springs used to make some of the best sake in japan and in some temples said to cure illnesses.

I visited 2 of the 11 springs and drank a lot of water, the taste of pure mineral water can not be compared to any bottled water. Anyways, I was riding my bike downhill , the sun was shining, the birds were singing , the cool breeze on my face and then I hit the curb and flew out of my bike only to land face first in to a big ugly concrete wall. I busted my face, my left hand and my right leg, it was pretty bad, my bike got busted too. A man was kind enough to help me get up. I had to leave the bike behind and go to the hospital, they took a cat scan and x-rays and thank god, nothing was broken just really badly bruised up and scratched, so Ill live .

On the way back home from the hospital I realized that things could have had gone really really bad, I am very lucky to not have any fractures or serious head trauma. Did drinking all that water at the temple protect me from a worse fate? I don't know , but tomorrow I'm going back, bruises and all , I will visit the 11 springs and get my bike back.

Jya ne

Spring in Japan

The time for sakura season to end is coming really really soon so I went out and snaped some photos before it{s too late, enjoy!

J-Pop top 20

These are the top 20 songs on the radio in Japan right now:

1. Step and go by Arashi.
2. Taiyou no namida by NEWS.
3. Wahhahha by kanjani8.
4. Soba ni iru ne by Thelma Aoyama feat. Soulja.
5. Pure / You're my sunshine by EXILE.
6. 60s 70s 80s by Namie Amuro.
7. Sonomama/White Message by SMAP.
8. Umiyuki by Jero.
9. Namidairo by YUI.
10. Home by Shimizu Shota.
11. Zuttou issho sa by Tatsuo Yamashita.
12. Futari by Aiko.
13. Heart Station / Stay Gold by Utada Hikaru.
14. Waremokou by Masato Sugimoto.
15. Genkai Senka by Kiyoshi Hikawa.
16. Kimi station by ORANGE RANGE.
17. 幸せはすぐそこに… by Yoshimi Tendo.
18. Mata ne by Dreams Come True.
19. Canvas by Ken Hirai.
20. Home by Yusaku Kiyama.

You can listen to the songs on this player, press the big play button sit back and enjoy!

(it might not show on some browsers at first so hover around under this paragraph and click , that should activate the flash player but do let me know if you cant use the music player)


Jya ne!

Geisha and Maiko List

I noticed that a lot of you know the names of the Geiko (Geisha) and Maiko on the pictures that I posted so I'm going to list the names of the ones that participated in this years Kyo odori:

Geiko (Geisha)

• Fumicho
• Kiminao
• Chizuru
• Fumiyu
• Fukuha (my personal favorite)
• Fukuka
• Yayoi
• Kanachisa
• Fukuemi
• Chiyoe
• Fukuwaka
• Fumimari
• Haruyu
• Fukuaya
• Kimina
• Komomo (Love her)
• Toshihana
• Kikuno
• Kimigiku
• Kosen
• Fukuteru
• Kikumaru
• Kikutsuru
• Yusuha
• Yachiho
• Mieka
• Satotsuya
  

Maiko

• Satonami
• Satoai
• Taneju
• Kimika
• Miyoharu
• Kanasuzu
• Kimiha
• Miehina
• Fukunao
• Kikuyu
• Fukuhina
• Kimitomo
• Kimiharu
• Kimiyu
• Miyofuku
• Fukuyu
• Fukuya
• Harue
• Kikune
• Kimichie
• Toshifumi
• Fukuhiro
• Fumihana
• Tanewaka
• Fimisono
• Satono
• Fukuai
• Fukue
• Satomi
• Kimishizu
• Toshiteru
• Fukuho
• Kimiaya
• Toshimari
• Toshiyui
• Fukukimi

Jya ne!

Kyo Odori 2008

Amazing, that is the word I think best describes this year's Kyo Odori.

I arrived 30 minutes before the show started so I could attend the tea serving event before the show, they served a white manju cake with Anko filling accompanied with matcha tea, which was delicious, not bitter at all, and we got to keep the little plates they served the manju on as a present, the plates have Kyo odori written on the back

The show was split in to 7 dances, the theme for the first dance was (roughly translated) spring time in Kyoto is filled with beautiful flowers but none is as beautiful as the dancing of Maiko and Geiko (Geisha).

The second dance was love under the "hana tsubaki tree".

The third dance represented a chapter from Genji Monogatari , Ukifune in the Uji river:

The fourth dance was by far the most impressive, Taki-Yasha hime (princes Taki-Yasha) tries to trick Oyano-mitsukuni using magic:

Dance #5 was a relaxed style dance "Fukuchi-yama-ondo" in a comical rhythm (I'm trying to translate from the brochure sorry for being literal)

On the far left is Komomo, she danced in 3 of the 7 dances she is so famous right now, you can actually buy her book about about her life as a Geisha in the Kaburenjo Theater.

Dance #6 was themed after the Kiku flowers that grow on a temple and how they make Maiko happy:

On this picture you can see Kimiharu in the Lavender Kimono, she was on one of the 2 Kyo odory posters this year.

The final dance with all the maiko and Geiko (Geisha) on stage, absolutely jaw dropping:

I cant upload all the photos I took here so Im uploading them to my Flickr.com account if you want to see them go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/54973022@N00/

Jya ne!

Kiyomizudera Temple

Every year , in spring, the city of Kyoto has night illumination events, so we went to see Kiyomizudera Temple at night, even though it was 10 pm the place was packed and the streets around the temple were very crowded, it's very safe to walk around Kyoto at night enjoying the sights so we had a lot of fun and walked and walked and walked until my feet quit on me.

On the next picture you can see one of the balconies at Kiyomizudera full of people taking pictures, you can also see Kyoto night lights and Kyoto tower.






Jya ne!

Free Japanese Lesons

I'm obsessing about learning Japanese ASAP, so I spent the entire morning looking for the fastest kind of classes available: FREE ONLINE LESSONS and any sort of Japanese aid that will help me study on my own , this is what I found:


The Sushi Test
I love this site, after you sign up as a member, you go through a tutorial on how to answer the quiz questions and at the end you can see you big empty tray, after that you can start taking the real sushi test, depending on your score you will get a different sushi at the end, so the more times you take the test the fuller your tray will get, I loved taking this test, I'm definitely using it regularly.



http://momo.jpf.go.jp/sushi/index.php?LangFlag=e

Japanese-Online.com
Membership is required, but since its free it's all good. This website has the most comprehensive grammar and vocabulary lessons I've seen online so far.
http://www.japanese-online.com/

StudyJapanese.org


Free online lessons and interactive flash cards, great for studying at home. I didn't have to register to use the flash cards .

http://www.studyjapanese.org/



Japanese Romaji Quizzes:

This page has romaji vocabulary matching quizzes to test your knowledge its also a great way to learn new Japanese words:
http://www.manythings.org/japanese/romaji/





Nihon Mura

This website has no lessons but it does have some kana, kanji, verb form and numbers quizzes which are great practice. Using it was a bit confusing at first , just select from the top menu which kind of test you want and once you are on the new page select one of the options on the left hand side menu.
http://www.nihonmura.net/en/


Japanese Test
Free online Japanese grammar test , you can fill in the blanks in romaji or hiragana.

http://test.u-biq.org/



CMJ
This website has a lot of good tests but..... you have to be able to read kanji on most of them so its a bit more advanced, but it's still a great resource:

http://opal.ecis.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~webcmjml/



Genki Japan

Games and interactive vocabulary lessons, this site makes learning fun, I think the games are kawaii but you learn them pretty fast.

http://www.genkienglish.net/genkijapan/menu.htm



Kanji Practice
Kanji practice website:http://www.dartmouth.edu/~kanji/
katakana, hiragana, kanji tutor:
http://members.aol.com/writejapan/index.htm#how




Teach Yourself Japanese

This website has an outlined plan for learning the basics, it was last updated on 2004 but the lessons are still good.
http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/




Joshu


This website covers the basics for studying Japanese at home , it has quizzes to help you out.

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/japanese/joshu/basics.htm







Hope you like the links

Jya ne!