Archive for January, 2009

American woman drinks beer on Japanese TV: II

Another Japanese network has discovered Wendy the beer-chugging American:

This video clip is a little longer than the last one and reveals the following new information about Wendy:

• Wendy teaches English on Yamanashi cable TV.
• She can open jars with her mouth.
• Showing off her trick is a great way to get free beers at bars.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

American painter Chaz Guest visits Obama City

American painter Chaz Guest is visiting Obama City in Fukui Prefecture:

Guest’s portrait of Thurgood Marshall used to hang on the wall of Barack Obama’s Senate office and will soon be on display in the White House, so he was invited to Obama City as a friend of the president-elect.

Guest has come to Japan to promote sales of a couple hundred limited edition Barack Obama portraits, so he wanted to visit Obama City and give them one of the paintings to thank them for their support of the president-elect. Obama City’s mayor was quite happy with the gift. He was given a tour of the city – trying some mackerel and playing a game at the “President” pachinko parlor. Guest also received an Obama necktie. Guest found the air in Obama City to be very clean, and he could imagine himself living there when he is 90-years-old.

Side note: Yes, that guy who greeted him at the airport was Sonny Chiba. Apparently they are old friends.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Japanese women like to play with swords

FTV news reports on how sword fighting classes are becoming popular among young women in Japan:

Their reporter joins one of the 2-hour classes to investigate. The class starts with some demonstration fights. After practicing basic movements, swords are passed out to the students so they can try out some techniques. At the end of the lesson, studen use what they learned to act out a sword battle scene.

Apparently it’s a good workout and helps improve posture. Will this be the “Billy’s Bootcamp” of 2009?

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Baby goat looks like a cow

Video of a baby goat at Narita Dream Farm:

Because the goat looks like a cow, he has been given the pun-tastic name Ushika (ushi = cow). His twin sister, who doesn’t look like a cow, has been given the name Yagiyo (yagi = goat).
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Real Disneyland coming to mainland China

A Japanese reporter visits China’s fake Disneyland to get an opinion on the official Disneyland that will be built outside Shanghai:

The reporter could not find any blatant violations of Disney copyright at today’s Shijingshan Amusement Park, but she did manage to find a few visitors. They said they’d be interested in visiting the real Disney park when it opens for business. A staff person said she had not heard about the new Disneyland and was unconcerned about competition from it because Shanghai and Beijing are quite far apart.

An China expert interviewed said that he believed the fact that the opening of a Disney theme park on the mainland will probably cause the Chinese government to launch further crackdowns on copyright violation. Considering the fact that the Shanghai city government will have a majority stake in the park will probably help the matter.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

City governments mine precious metals from cremated bodies

Ever wonder what happened to grandma’s gold teeth? If she lived in Japan, there’s a chance that a city government made money by sifting through ashes of her cremated body and taking out precious metals:

The Asahi Shimbun asked officials of 20 major cities about the practice. Tokyo and Nagoya said they collect and sell precious metals taken from the remains. Niigata, Maebashi and Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, said they sell residual ashes and bone fragments.

The amount of bones collected by mourners at funerals varies by region. Most of the residual ashes and bone fragments left behind are handled by private businesses.

The Tokyo metropolitan government collected 700 grams of gold, 500 grams of palladium and 1.9 kilograms of silver from cremated remains in fiscal 2007, and turned a profit of about 3.2 million yen, officials said. The metropolitan government also pocketed about 90,000 yen worth of coins that were placed in the coffins before cremation.

An official at a metropolitan crematorium in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward said mourners sometimes ask about the final destination of the ashes, but officials do not go out of their way to provide an explanation.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)