How a high school girl became world whistle champion
A short video clip that introduces us to Narumi Nakata, winner of the world whistling championship’s teen category:
Apparently she reached her skill level by using whistling instead of words in daily household conversation.
And, while we’re on the topic of Japanese whistling, here are a some clips of whistle champions Wakeyama Kimiko and Chihaya Kosugiyama:
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Categories: General Japan
Lady Gaga’s Hello Kitty Dress
Another TV appearance by Lady Gaga during her trip to Japan:
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Categories: Celebrity News, Foreigners in Japan
Dancing crabs in Wakayama
A clip from FTV news showing some dancing crabs that appear at beaches in Wakayama Prefecture around this time of year:
The announcers claim that nobody is quite sure why the crabs dance.
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Categories: Animal Videos
Japanese News Bloopers
A collection of errors made on live news broadcasts in Japan:
[via Zaeega]
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Categories: Japanese TV
Two Japanese caught smuggling US bonds worth $134.5 billion
A truly bizarre story:
Italy’s financial police has seized US bonds worth US 134.5 billion from two Japanese nationals at Chiasso (40 km from Milan) on the border between Italy and Switzerland. They include 249 US Federal Reserve bonds worth US$ 500 million each, plus ten Kennedy bonds and other US government securities worth a billion dollar each.
Italian authorities have not yet determined whether they are real or fake, but if they are real the attempt to take them into Switzerland would be the largest financial smuggling operation in history; if they are fake, the matter would be even more mind-boggling because the quality of the counterfeit work is such that the fake bonds are undistinguishable from the real ones.
What caught the policemen’s attention were the billion dollar securities. Such a large denomination is not available in regular financial and banking markets. Only states handle such amounts of money.
The question now is who could or would counterfeit or smuggle these non-negotiable bonds.
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Categories: General Japan
George W. Bush impersonator appears in Japanese commercials
George W. Bush lookalike Brent Mendenhall has been appearing in tea commercials on Japanese TV.
Each scene of the Bush lookalike acting goofy/stupid is followed by a message letting you know that Herbal Clear is supposed to help wash away bad things.
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Categories: Foreigners in Japan, Japanese TV