Kobe 神戸 is a small and beautiful city. I really enjoy living here. It's the fourth city I have lived in while in Asia and is by far my favorite. the seasons are changing and things are cooling down. The nasty heat and humidity that is the Japanese summer is gone and Fall is quickly approaching.
Here is a little video that I quickly put together showing Sannomiya 三ノ宮 (the downtown) at night. I plan to reshoot a similar video once I upgrade to a better camera.
An Autumn Evening in Japan
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Kansai Music festival
Last weekend saw the first Kansai Music Festival come to Osaka. I thought it was a pretty cool deal because it afforded me my first chance t meet fellow You Tuber and musician, Fatblueman. Fatblueman is actually a band based in Nagoya, Japan and is comprised of one Canadian, two Americans and one Japanese person. The lead singer, John, has been a very active member of the Japan You Tube community for quite some time and launched himself and his band into a sort of micro-stardom with their viral video, "Christmas in Japan" (which I appeared in).
They performed at a showcase at a live event bar in Hommachi called mother Popcorn. This was the first time for this festival so there were apparently some major hiccups. I was told that the keynote speaker failed to show up and at the showcase i saw, one of the bands failed to do so as well. Luckily, Tom Fallon (a member of Fatblueman) and Brian Cullen stepped in for an impromtu set.
Check out some of my videos from the showcase at Mother Popcorn in Osaka:
object>
I wanted to upload some pictures, but unfortunately, Blogger isn't allowing me to put them online!
They performed at a showcase at a live event bar in Hommachi called mother Popcorn. This was the first time for this festival so there were apparently some major hiccups. I was told that the keynote speaker failed to show up and at the showcase i saw, one of the bands failed to do so as well. Luckily, Tom Fallon (a member of Fatblueman) and Brian Cullen stepped in for an impromtu set.
Check out some of my videos from the showcase at Mother Popcorn in Osaka:
object>
I wanted to upload some pictures, but unfortunately, Blogger isn't allowing me to put them online!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Anti-Pervert campaign
Those who live in Japan know that there is a huge problem on busy trains in this country. Often perverts ride the trains preying upon young women and girls. They try to corner them and then grope them. The term for these freak-shows is "chikan." In Tokyo this week, there has been a massive Anti-Chikan" campaign. I caught this Fuji TV special (with English subtitles) on Japan Probe. Scary stuff!!!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Japanese town in 'The Cove' setting dolphins free
Japanese town in 'The Cove' setting dolphins free
Updated Thu. Sep. 10 2009 6:44 AM ET
The Associated Press
TOKYO -- The Japanese town chronicled in the award-winning film "The Cove" for its annual dolphin hunt that turns coastal waters red with blood has suspended killing the animals -- at least for this week's catch -- following an international outcry.
The western Japanese town of Taiji will sell some of the animals to aquariums as it does every year, but the remainder of the 100 bottlenose dolphins that were caught early Wednesday in the first catch of the season are to be released. In the past, they were killed and sold for meat.
An official at the Taiji fisheries association, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the town abhors the publicity its dolphin-killing has drawn, said Thursday that the decision was made partly in response to the international outcry created by "The Cove." Read More...
If you don't know about the movie, "The Cove", check out the trailer. It's pretty damn powerful!
The Cove
The town of Taiji is located in Wakayama Prefecture which isn't really too far from my neck of the woods.That's the prefecture next to Osaka Prefecture.
Big Chair for a Big Guy
Sumo wrestler Yamamotoyama, who weighs 258 kilograms, and a young fan show off a seat specially created by McDonald’s Japan for sumo wrestlers in its Asakusabashi restaurant. The 25-year-old wrestler said he prefers McDonald’s to the traditional vegetable and meat ‘‘chanko’’ soup for sumo wrestlers. Japan Today
Check out my two latest vids on You Tube:
And I saw some nasty rats in the middle of the day close to my house!
Updated Thu. Sep. 10 2009 6:44 AM ET
The Associated Press
TOKYO -- The Japanese town chronicled in the award-winning film "The Cove" for its annual dolphin hunt that turns coastal waters red with blood has suspended killing the animals -- at least for this week's catch -- following an international outcry.
The western Japanese town of Taiji will sell some of the animals to aquariums as it does every year, but the remainder of the 100 bottlenose dolphins that were caught early Wednesday in the first catch of the season are to be released. In the past, they were killed and sold for meat.
An official at the Taiji fisheries association, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the town abhors the publicity its dolphin-killing has drawn, said Thursday that the decision was made partly in response to the international outcry created by "The Cove." Read More...
If you don't know about the movie, "The Cove", check out the trailer. It's pretty damn powerful!
The Cove
The town of Taiji is located in Wakayama Prefecture which isn't really too far from my neck of the woods.That's the prefecture next to Osaka Prefecture.
Big Chair for a Big Guy
Sumo wrestler Yamamotoyama, who weighs 258 kilograms, and a young fan show off a seat specially created by McDonald’s Japan for sumo wrestlers in its Asakusabashi restaurant. The 25-year-old wrestler said he prefers McDonald’s to the traditional vegetable and meat ‘‘chanko’’ soup for sumo wrestlers. Japan Today
Check out my two latest vids on You Tube:
And I saw some nasty rats in the middle of the day close to my house!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Akashi Bridge
Today was another sunny and beautiful day in the Kansai. My wife and I decided to go to the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge which is the longest suspension bridge in the world. it was a gorgeous day, but the summer-like temperatures we've been dealing with all week made the day a little draining!
Some pics from the bridge:
Some weird news in Japan. The power of "crying" really can stop a crime dead in its tracks!
Univ student arrested after trying to blackmail two 11-year-old girls
TOKYO - A 20-year-old man was arrested for attempted extortion earlier this week after he allegedly tried to make two elementary school girls pay him 50,000 yen each, police said Friday.
Police said Ryunosuke Arima, a second-year student at Bunkyo University, approached the two 11-year-old girls on Aug 26 outside a Taito Ward bookstore, after he put a 1,000 yen bill on top of some books in the store. One of the girls had picked the bill up and told Arima that they were going to hand it in at a police station. Arima told them the money was his, and that if they didn’t want to get in trouble with the police, they should pay him 50,000 yen each.
Arima then tried to persuade the girls to give him some money over the next hour, but fled without success after the girls started crying. He was arrested on Sept 2, based on descriptions of his appearance. He has admitted to the allegations, saying he wanted to pull a prank on some girls.
Police are investigating if Arima was involved in two other incidents in the bookstore last month, in which two young girls were groped. See original at Japan Today
Some pics from the bridge:
Some weird news in Japan. The power of "crying" really can stop a crime dead in its tracks!
Univ student arrested after trying to blackmail two 11-year-old girls
TOKYO - A 20-year-old man was arrested for attempted extortion earlier this week after he allegedly tried to make two elementary school girls pay him 50,000 yen each, police said Friday.
Police said Ryunosuke Arima, a second-year student at Bunkyo University, approached the two 11-year-old girls on Aug 26 outside a Taito Ward bookstore, after he put a 1,000 yen bill on top of some books in the store. One of the girls had picked the bill up and told Arima that they were going to hand it in at a police station. Arima told them the money was his, and that if they didn’t want to get in trouble with the police, they should pay him 50,000 yen each.
Arima then tried to persuade the girls to give him some money over the next hour, but fled without success after the girls started crying. He was arrested on Sept 2, based on descriptions of his appearance. He has admitted to the allegations, saying he wanted to pull a prank on some girls.
Police are investigating if Arima was involved in two other incidents in the bookstore last month, in which two young girls were groped. See original at Japan Today
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Kansai Time Out magazine finished
Sadly, after 32 years, Kansai Tine Out magazine is finished. The Kobe-based, English language magazine about life in Japan has folded.
Sad stuff.
I made a video about it:
Kansai Time Out Magazine has died...
Sad stuff.
I made a video about it:
Kansai Time Out Magazine has died...
Election Day
It is election day. Today is THE big day in Japan. The media is saying that the National Democratic Party which has basically been in power since 1955 may fall today. I suppose we will see!
Voting under way in general election with DPJ favored to end LDP rule
TOKYO - Voting in Japan’s general election was under way Sunday at polling stations nationwide, with the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan seemingly on its way to a landslide victory.
A DPJ win would mark only the second time for the Liberal Democratic Party to lose power in its almost uninterrupted rule of more than half a century over the country and is likely to usher in DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama as Japan’s new prime minister.
Called by Prime Minister Taro Aso, the 45th House of Representatives election has effectively been about a choice between the incumbent LDP-led government and a DPJ-led government. Read more....
Last week my wife bought a sweet potato that looked like a human stomach. i thought it was pretty cool. In the supermarket, my wife said, "Kevin, this potato looks like a stomach." I replied, "Yes it does, let's buy it."
Last weekend was also the summer You Tube gathering in Osaka. In this picture you can see moi (busankevin), KansaiPJ and Daichen. It was really cool because thee Nagoya based vloggers came down for the party. Victor (Gimmabreakman/Gimmeaflakeman), Daichen and Heeton.
Here is my video about the gathering:
YOU TUBE SUMMER PARTY IN OSAKA
Voting under way in general election with DPJ favored to end LDP rule
TOKYO - Voting in Japan’s general election was under way Sunday at polling stations nationwide, with the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan seemingly on its way to a landslide victory.
A DPJ win would mark only the second time for the Liberal Democratic Party to lose power in its almost uninterrupted rule of more than half a century over the country and is likely to usher in DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama as Japan’s new prime minister.
Called by Prime Minister Taro Aso, the 45th House of Representatives election has effectively been about a choice between the incumbent LDP-led government and a DPJ-led government. Read more....
Last week my wife bought a sweet potato that looked like a human stomach. i thought it was pretty cool. In the supermarket, my wife said, "Kevin, this potato looks like a stomach." I replied, "Yes it does, let's buy it."
Last weekend was also the summer You Tube gathering in Osaka. In this picture you can see moi (busankevin), KansaiPJ and Daichen. It was really cool because thee Nagoya based vloggers came down for the party. Victor (Gimmabreakman/Gimmeaflakeman), Daichen and Heeton.
Here is my video about the gathering:
YOU TUBE SUMMER PARTY IN OSAKA
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Did Jesus live in Japan?
Jesus Christ lived in Aomori - really?
An active conspiracy theory that rivals the revelations of “The Da Vinci Code” awaits visitors to the sleepy village of Shingo, between Hachinohe and Lake Towada in Aomori Prefecture. Every year in June, a ceremony unlike any other in Japan awakens Shingo (called “Herai” in times long ago) and women in kimono dance around the grave of Jesus Christ. Yep, THE Jesus Christ.
You didn’t know? You can visit his grave in a beautiful park in Aomori. But, behold, there is a lot more to this legend. Back in 1935, a well-known researcher dug up some ancient scriptures in Herai. They were written in Hebrew and supposedly signed by none other than the man, Jesus Christ, himself. These scripture allege that Jesus came to Herai when he was 21 to study religion for 12 years. Then he returned to Judea to teach everyone what he had learned in Japan.
As the story goes, people there didn’t agree with what he was trying to preach and arrested him. It seems however, that here’s where the story takes a twist. Jesus managed to escape crucifixion by having his little brother take his place on the cross. Jesus had a brother? You ask. Apparently so. The real Jesus did a bit of backpacking, then came back to Japan where he settled down in Herai. He married a Japanese woman named Miyu and became a rice farmer. His gravesite marks the end of his 106-year life (or 118 according to some people). His brother’s grave sits comfortably beside Jesus’ grave. Read More...
Two police officers stabbed while trying to subdue 74-yr-old man
OKAYAMA - Two police officers were stabbed while trying to subdue a 74-year-old man brandishing two kitchen knives in his home in Nadasaki, Okayama Prefecture, on Friday. The man, identified as Kenji Nanba, was charged with assault and interfering with police in the line of their duty, but he has denied the charges. Read More...
Former South Korean President and Nobel Prize winner, Kim Dae-jung laid to rest in Seoul.
South Korea Remembers Kim
An active conspiracy theory that rivals the revelations of “The Da Vinci Code” awaits visitors to the sleepy village of Shingo, between Hachinohe and Lake Towada in Aomori Prefecture. Every year in June, a ceremony unlike any other in Japan awakens Shingo (called “Herai” in times long ago) and women in kimono dance around the grave of Jesus Christ. Yep, THE Jesus Christ.
You didn’t know? You can visit his grave in a beautiful park in Aomori. But, behold, there is a lot more to this legend. Back in 1935, a well-known researcher dug up some ancient scriptures in Herai. They were written in Hebrew and supposedly signed by none other than the man, Jesus Christ, himself. These scripture allege that Jesus came to Herai when he was 21 to study religion for 12 years. Then he returned to Judea to teach everyone what he had learned in Japan.
As the story goes, people there didn’t agree with what he was trying to preach and arrested him. It seems however, that here’s where the story takes a twist. Jesus managed to escape crucifixion by having his little brother take his place on the cross. Jesus had a brother? You ask. Apparently so. The real Jesus did a bit of backpacking, then came back to Japan where he settled down in Herai. He married a Japanese woman named Miyu and became a rice farmer. His gravesite marks the end of his 106-year life (or 118 according to some people). His brother’s grave sits comfortably beside Jesus’ grave. Read More...
Two police officers stabbed while trying to subdue 74-yr-old man
OKAYAMA - Two police officers were stabbed while trying to subdue a 74-year-old man brandishing two kitchen knives in his home in Nadasaki, Okayama Prefecture, on Friday. The man, identified as Kenji Nanba, was charged with assault and interfering with police in the line of their duty, but he has denied the charges. Read More...
Former South Korean President and Nobel Prize winner, Kim Dae-jung laid to rest in Seoul.
South Korea Remembers Kim
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Japanese Toilets and H1N1
Another weekend and another bit of H1N1 news in Japan "Sugoy"....lots of sarcasm there:
New flu enters epidemic stage in Japan as number of cases rises
Another unfortunate case of bad english in a Japanese retail business. I know of the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee, but haven't heard of his "urine soaked" colleague!
WEIRD TOILET THING
Last week I went to Kyoto to visit some fellow You Tube video bloggers. While there, we went to a bar and check out the bizarre contraption in the men's room. I have never seen something like this. It appears to be some sort of urinal, but one that possibly more than one person could use at a time. I suppose this sort of urinal could lead to some sword fighting and a possible mess everywhere. Two of my friends who were there, who are long time Japan residents also said that they had never seen anything like this before.
Bizarre Japanese urinal.
More strange men's room goodness in Kyoto, Japan!
TONIGHT IS THE OSAKA YOU TUBE GATHERING!
6pm in Osaka. Near Tennoji Station in a bar called Tin's Hall.
New flu enters epidemic stage in Japan as number of cases rises
Another unfortunate case of bad english in a Japanese retail business. I know of the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee, but haven't heard of his "urine soaked" colleague!
WEIRD TOILET THING
Last week I went to Kyoto to visit some fellow You Tube video bloggers. While there, we went to a bar and check out the bizarre contraption in the men's room. I have never seen something like this. It appears to be some sort of urinal, but one that possibly more than one person could use at a time. I suppose this sort of urinal could lead to some sword fighting and a possible mess everywhere. Two of my friends who were there, who are long time Japan residents also said that they had never seen anything like this before.
Bizarre Japanese urinal.
More strange men's room goodness in Kyoto, Japan!
TONIGHT IS THE OSAKA YOU TUBE GATHERING!
6pm in Osaka. Near Tennoji Station in a bar called Tin's Hall.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Kyoto Nights and stuff
Another weekend has come and gone and my very long and enjoyable Obon Holiday week has come to an end. Like millions of other folks across the fine country of Japan, I will be draggin my weary bones into the office tomorrow morning. My wife certainly feels no pity for me since she unfortunately had to work all last week (she does like her job though).
Last Friday I went to Kyoto and met with a newcomer to the country. Although he has visited a few times before, this is Dusty's (aka....DeeDoubleYou81 of You Tube Fame) first time living here. He came here a few weeks ago and is teaching English in Japanese high schools s part of the JET Program. Also meeting us was KanaiPJ and reyonaldsair. we had some drinks, ate some food and generally had a lot of laughs.
Oh yeah....everyone! I got a new hair cut this afternoon. It is really damn hot here in japan, but I have also officially (a few weeks ago) begun marathon training. I will run the Osaka Yodogawa Marathon again this year and maybe a few other runs this Fall.
Dusty taking a picture of himself infront of Kyoto Tower before he journeyed off into the deep recesses of Shiga!
Kyoto Tower at night. Looks cool at night once lit up, but during the day you realize it's basically a large antenna attached to a ghetto motel!
Kevin (BusanKevin) and Dusty (deeDoubleYou81) hangin and having a few drinks in Kyoto.
Johnathan (reynoldsair) and PJ (KansaiPJ) hangin and relaxin in the same joint!
Last Friday I went to Kyoto and met with a newcomer to the country. Although he has visited a few times before, this is Dusty's (aka....DeeDoubleYou81 of You Tube Fame) first time living here. He came here a few weeks ago and is teaching English in Japanese high schools s part of the JET Program. Also meeting us was KanaiPJ and reyonaldsair. we had some drinks, ate some food and generally had a lot of laughs.
Oh yeah....everyone! I got a new hair cut this afternoon. It is really damn hot here in japan, but I have also officially (a few weeks ago) begun marathon training. I will run the Osaka Yodogawa Marathon again this year and maybe a few other runs this Fall.
Dusty taking a picture of himself infront of Kyoto Tower before he journeyed off into the deep recesses of Shiga!
Kyoto Tower at night. Looks cool at night once lit up, but during the day you realize it's basically a large antenna attached to a ghetto motel!
Kevin (BusanKevin) and Dusty (deeDoubleYou81) hangin and having a few drinks in Kyoto.
Johnathan (reynoldsair) and PJ (KansaiPJ) hangin and relaxin in the same joint!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
