I suppose I have been searching for a theme on my main video channel for a long time. My BusanKevin channel recently celebrated 5 years of existence and I wanted to get more grounded and less random. I decided to go with a new series of videos I call a "Japan Minute." These videos will basically be the main focus of that You Tube channel. Essentially they are anything and everything about Japan in a minute or less. I have made seven so far and there will be many more. I plan to cover history, popular culture, food, drink, literature, folklore, etc. You name it and hopefully there will be a Japan Minute about it at some point.
I have been putting out two videos a week recently. Next week I will be off to Canada for a few weeks to relax with family back home. I plan to post a few Japan minutes, but of course not as many as usual.
I hope you enjoy the new path my You Tube channel is taking!
Hey folks. Hope everyone is well out there. Kobe is hot. Kobe is very hot. When I say hot, I don't mean sexy hot. I mean, sweat your ass off hot. This summer is especially muggy and nasty! The cicadas are ear-piercing, the sweat towels are out in full force and every Japanese woman is packin their parasol!
I just wanted everyone to know that episode two of "Looks Like Canada" is online.
Expect another great You Tube video coming this weekend. I accidentally stumbled across a custom motorcycle show last weekend while out for a walk. I filmed some of it with my iPhone.
It is finally up and online. My latest project and one I will continue post-Japan (not leaving soon).
Looks Like Canada is a podcast about all things Canadian. It will be about Canadian history, food and culture. Looks Like Canada will be hosted by myself and sometimes I may conduct interviews or have guests. I will upload a new episode weekly and once the summer is over, I will upload on a strict schedule (of course with a newborn at home now it is hard to follow any schedule!).
Hello one and all. Things in Kobe, Japan are sweaty and hot. That's right! We are in the midst of a heat wave here in japan and apparently it has already sent many folks to the hospital and a few to the grave!
As for good ole Kevin, i am busy with my newborn son. My little fella was born almost two weeks ago at Kobe General Hospital. he is very handsome, healthy and happy. He is also quite a handful for my wife and I! I suppose that is normal for any newborn baby and two first-time parents. It is a learning process that books and websites didn't prepare me for. I am learning though and enjoying it. I am also appreciating how much of a commodity time is. It is hard to get work done on my many media projects, but I am finding the time somehow.
The project I am trying to get up and moving is something that I have been wanting to pursue for several years. I have put together a podcast. I put a lot of thought into the topic and I wanted it to be something I could do for a long time. I also wanted to create a podcast that would be relevant to me long after I had left Japan and moved either back to Canada or elsewhere.
This year marks more than eight years living abroad for me in Asia. With so much time living in other countries and being surrounded by other cultures, it has made me long for, appreciate and want to learn more about my own country. That's why my podcast will be about Canadian history, culture and food. No matter where I am in the world, I know that the topics will remain relevant to me!
The first episode is in the can and episode two will be finished this weekend. the website is almost up and running (it will be a constant work in progress though). I have also realized that I need to invest in a decent microphone, but I will do that in time and if people show an interest in the show!
Things will go live this weekend I hope, but having a newborn baby can often cause sudden changes to schedule!
When the podcast does go up, I will inform you all here, on Twitter and You Tube!
Someone sent me some lyrics to a song about an interesting island in Japan. At first, I dismissed it as not so interesting, but after about 10 minutes of snooping around, I thought it was pretty damn amazing!
Hashima Island; commonly called Gunkanjima (軍艦島; meaning "Battleship Island") is one among 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself. The island was populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility. The island's most notable features are the abandoned concrete buildings and the sea wall surrounding it. It has been administered as part of Nagasaki, Nagasaki since 2005.
"Battleship Island" is an English translation of the Japanese nickname for Hashima Island, Gunkanjima (gunkan meaning "battleship", jima being the rendaku form of shima, meaning "island"). The island's nickname came from its apparent resemblance to the Japanese battleship Tosa due to its high seawalls. It also is known as the Ghost Island. It is known for its coal mines and their operation during the industrialization of Japan. Mitsubishi bought the island in 1890 and began the project, the aim of which was retrieving coal from the bottom of the sea. They built Japan's first large concrete building, a block of apartments in 1916 to accommodate their burgeoning ranks of workers (many of whom were forcibly recruited labourers from other parts of Asia), and to protect against typhoon destruction. Wikipedia...
In 1959, its population density was 835 people per hectare (83,500 people/km2) for the whole island, or 1,391 per hectare (139,100 people/km2) for the residential district, the highest population density ever recorded worldwide. As petroleum replaced coal in Japan in the 1960s, coal mines began shutting down all over the country, and Hashima's mines were no exception. Mitsubishi officially announced the closing of the mine in 1974, and today it is empty and bare, which is why it's called the Ghost Island. Travel to Hashima was re-opened on April 22, 2009 after more than 20 years of closure.
An eerie site for sure. This place would be a virtual wonderland for urban explorers!
A short blurb from the History Channel about the island:
An arial view of the island on video:
part of a documentary about the island:
I have to admit that i would love to travel to this island someday. it seems like an incredibly fascinating place to go.
Visiting the Island Today!
The island is increasingly gaining international attention not only as one of the modern international heritages in the region, but also as the housing complex remnants in the years from Taisho Era to Showa Era. Moreover, the island has become the frequent subject of a discussion among enthusiasts for ruins. Since the abandoned island has not been maintained, several buildings have already collapsed. Other existing buildings are subject to breakage. In this regard, however, certain collapsed exterior walls have been restored with concrete. While the island was owned by Mitsubishi Material up until 2002, it was voluntarily transferred to Takashima town. Currently, Nagasaki City possesses the island. A small portion of the island was re-opened for tourism on April 22nd, 2009. A full reopening of the island would require an enormous amount of money to make the premises safe, due to the aging of the buildings. Wikipedia...
Posts
