Archive for June, 2009

Flashback: Michael Jackson’s visits to Japan

Apologies to all those out there who are sick of all the Michael Jackson stories appearing in the media since his death, but here is a very interesting set of videos from an NTV Sunday morning news show that looked back on Michael Jackson’s visits to Japan (crudely translated via YouTube’s annotation system):

Part 1 – Michael Jackson’s 1987 visit to Japan

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Part 2 – The Kansai portion of the 1987 visit

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Part 3 – Michael returns to Japan in 1998

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

How to Moonwalk

The morning news shows are still obsessing over Michael Jackson’s passing. Here’s a “how to moonwalk” clip that was on “Mezamashi TV” yesterday:

The key, apparently, is to slide back one foot and then put all of your body weight on its toe while you slide back the other foot.

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

Uzbek student visits Japan

An Uzbek student who won a Japanese language speech contest for Central Asians was given an all-expenses-paid trip to Japan (and a camera crew followed him around so Japanese TV viewers can see how much fun he had):

A few notes on the contents of the video for those who don’t speak Japanese or don’t want to sit through the whole thing:

• He arrives at the airport wearing a surgical mask, which probably means the segment was filmed during the height of Japan’s swine flu scare.
• During his stay in Japan, he hopes to see Mt. Fuji, bathe in an onsen, visit Nikko, visit Akihabara, meet some young Japanese people, meet his former Japanese teacher, and ask about making a Japanese language school in Uzbekistan.
• When he visits Asakusa, he is impressed with the yellow areas of the sidewalks, which are there to help blind people. His country lacks such things, so it is much harder for blind Uzbeks to walk around freely.
• In Harajuku he is given his chance to meet young Japanese people and ask them what they think of Uzbekistan. He is shocked to discover that they have no idea his country exists.
• On the second day he visits Nikko, hoping to get a look at the famous Nemuri-neko wood carving at Tosho-gu Shrine. He is disappointed to discover that the carving is tiny! (A reaction shared by many Japanese language students [myself included] who have used textbooks that contain grand stories about the Nemuri-neko.)
• At the Kingugawa Onsen Hotel, he bathes in an onsen for the first time in his life. He found the water to be pretty hot.
• Since he wants to start a Japanese language school in his own country, he is allowed to sit in on a language teacher training class. He is grateful for the educational experience.
• There is not enough time to climb Mt. Fuji, but they drive to Lake Kawaguchi for a scenic view of the mountain. Unfortunately, the weather is bad and they can see nothing. (His meeting with his former Japanese teacher took place in the same area, but it has been cut from the clip because of YouTube’s 10 minute limitation.)
• Before going back to Uzbekistan he gives a speech before a studio audience of celebrities (including Yokozuna Asashoryu). The speech beings with a joke about him not bribing speech contest judges. He then talks about how he liked the night scenery of Tokyo (“like being in a computer game”) and found car navigation systems to be amazing (“Japanese people make such nice helpful things”). He mentions how an old woman responded to his “I am from Uzbekistan” with “Oh, your name is Oseki-san?”, drawing laughter from the crowd. He closes by saying he will continue to work hard to spread awareness about Uzbekistan in Japan and hopes that he can see Mt. Fuji the next time he comes to 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)

Toyota i-REAL at Chubu Airport

Chubu International Airport (Centrair) has bought several three-wheeled Toyota i-REAL vehicles to be used by security and service personnel: