Archive for February, 2009

Ryo Ishikawa’s American debut

Teenage pro golfer Ryo Ishikawa is off to unimpressive start in his first U.S. tour appearance, but he remains as popular as ever with older Japanese women and the Japanese press:

As you can see from the NTV news clip, Ishikawa doesn’t quite have the English ability to say much more than a self-introduction, but he is very happy to be competing in the United States. Sadly, Ryo’s attempt to teach reporters the pronunciation of his name was not a success:

Japanese prodigy Ryo (pronounced “Yo”) Ishikawa is a 17-year-old who is making his PGA Tour debut this week, after already receiving a rare and coveted invitation from Augusta National GC to play in The Masters this year.

ESPN goes a little further in their pronunciation:

Ryo Ishikawa (pronounced “Yo-Yo”) is 17, still in high school, and already a top five earner on Japan’s pro golf tour.

Even the New York Times couldn’t hear the “りょ” in his name:

“Yo,” he said. “Repeat after me. ‘Yo. Yo.’ ”

Maybe he should have just told them to pronounce it as “Ri-yo.”

A sushi restaurant in the States has created a “Ryokin’ Roll” to honor the young golfer. Ishikawa is 17-years-old, so it gives the restaurant an excuse to charge $17 for the dish.

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

Special Tama-chan train nears completion

As previously mentioned in an October 2008 post, the Wakayama Electric Railway is in the process of creating a special train honoring ultra-popular feline stationmaster Tama.

There is one month to go until the train begins service, and work crews are adding some of the final decorations to its interior. Here’s a video of how it looks so far:

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

Taro Aso maintains lead over Ichiro Ozawa in manju sales

The New York Times is reporting that Japan’s ruling party is facing political extinction, but it doesn’t seem that the public is particularly thrilled with the alternative to the LDP.

This news clip from FTV shows, souvenir Taro Aso manju boxes are outselling manju boxes featuring the likeness of opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa:

One store interviewed says that the last week has seen a boost in sales of Aso manju, perhaps because some people want to get their hands on a box before his inevitable downfall. Ichiro Ozawa manju sales are, as usual, not so great.

As one might expect, Junichiro Koizumi manju boxes are still the #1 bestseller.

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

The Great Sasuke arrested for assault

Former Iwate Prefecture assembly/pro-wrestler The Great Sasuke has been arrested for assault:

Sasuke, 39, whose real name is Masanori Murakawa, allegedly kicked the 36-year-old company employee and grabbed him by the collar late Thursday night after getting angry about having his picture taken with a cellphone camera while on a JR Joban Line train, the Tokyo police said.

Both men got off the train at nearby Minamisenju Station, where Sasuke was arrested after a bystander called police. Sasuke, who was wearing a wrestling mask at the time, denied allegations of assault.

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

Peanut Butter in Japan

Deas of Rocking in Hakata guides viewers through the various types of peanut butter-ish products found in Japan:

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

New plastic packaging for tofu

If you’ve ever been frustrated by the plastic packaging most tofu is sold in, you might like the new easy-to-open packaging found in this video clip:

Its creators are hoping to cut down on its production costs and make it as cheap as other packaging methods. If they’re successful, the days of using a knife to open tofu packs may soon come to an end.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)