Archive for November, 2009

Ichiro Mizuki in a car commercial

World-famous anime singer/songwriter Ichiro Mizuki has his own dramatic car commercial for Mazda:

He tells viewers to “Maz-dash” to their nearest Mazda dealership to take advantage of some great deals on new cars.

—

• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Ai Haruna, Miss International Queen 2009

Japanese TV personality Ai Haruna is back in Japan promoting her new photo book. A few days ago, she was crowned winner of Miss International Queen 2009 pageant in Thailand:

The winner, Japan’s 37 year-old Haruna Ai, was overjoyed at press time, but also aware that her beauty and victory would not be well-received among all audiences, including her home country. “The way of life in Japan is more traditional and transsexuals cannot live freely, but in Thailand they can do what they want,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

In fact, the pageant, which took place at the Thai beach resort of Pattaya, is taken very seriously and respected for its open tolerance of sexual diversity. The contestants, all born men, were competing for the grand prize of $10,000, a year’s stay at the Pattaya hotel, and a 500-dollar surgical voucher, all of which Haruna Ai took home.

The prize money and the surgical voucher probably seem big to the other contestants, but they wouldn’t even come close to paying the bill for all of Haruna’s cosmetic surgery. In a past TV appearance, Haruna said that she has spent about 60 million yen ($660,000) on various surgical procedures.

—

• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Japanese celebrity wins 2009 Crystal Dig World Championship

Comedian Daisuke Miyagawa recently traveled to Arkansas to compete in crystal digging contest for an episode of NTV’s “Itte Q.” Mark and Mike, twin brothers who are longtime veterans of the event, are hired to guide and assist Miyagawa in his 3-day search for big crystals.

Part 1

Daisuke learns the basics of crystal digging, and he is quickly able to uncover a pretty big crystal. It’s a pretty good find for a beginner.

About 8 minutes into the clip, he dons a giant rubber gaijin nose and does a little Indiana Jones impression as he introduces some value types of crystals.
Part 2

Miyagawa may have found a big crystal, but somebody else is beating him in the rankings. The second day of digging is rained out, but on the last day they have a final chance to find a big crystal and win. After some manual digging, they call in the assistance of some big machinery. They then dig in the newly opened area, finding the prize-winning crystal.

As reported by Arkansas.com:

A Japanese film crew from Nihon TV covered The World Championship Quartz Crystal Dig in Mount Ida this weekend. The footage is expected to be viewed by 15 million Japanese TV viewers. The event is held annually the second weekend in October. A Gem & Mineral show as well as a Quilt show is also held over the weekend. During the dig, contestants compete for cash and trophies and can keep all the crystals they mine during the contest. Due to rain the crystal fields were quite muddy but that didn’t stop competitors from digging in. Dig sites this year included Sweet Surrender, Arrowhead, and Fiddler’s Ridge (Bear Mountain). The Mount Ida area has been identified as one of the major deposits of quartz crystal in the state and makes up a major “quartz belt” within the Ouachita Mountains.

The official website of the contest has a gallery of photos and a ranking chart that lists Miyagawa as winner of the “Cluster Division.”

—

—

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

Hot dogs in Japan

No nationwide fast food chain in Japan specializes in hot dogs as a non-breakfast menu item. Mini Stop convenience stores have started concentrating on hot dogs, aiming to become a fast food contender:

—

• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Japanese government PSA: A mask is the only way to cover your cough

The Japanese government has created this PSA to warn people about proper coughing etiquette:

Apparently proper coughing etiquette only means wearing a mask to cover your mouth. Those without masks are given no proper advice on how to cover their coughs.

Public service announcements in other countries usually don’t assume that everyone has masks, so people are told to cover their coughs with a tissue or a sleeve:

It is common to see people in Japan wearing masks to cover their coughs when sick. However, it is not unusual to see mask-less people coughing and making no effort whatsoever to cover their coughs. Such people will no doubt always exist, but I’d wish the Japanese government made more of an effort to educate people about coughing into their sleeves…

[hat tip to Adamu]

—

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

Tatsuya Ichihashi had plastic surgery

The Japanese media is reporting today that suspected murderer Tatsuya Ichihashi has had some plastic surgery done to his face:

Police also received information that a man who looks similar to Tatsuya Ichihashi, 30, had cosmetic surgery at a clinic in Nagoya, the sources said. Ichihashi is wanted for suspicion of abandoning the body of Lindsay Hawker, 22, a language teacher, in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture.

The Chiba police have dispatched investigators to Aichi to further probe into the first detailed information on the suspect since his has been on the run in March 2007.

Ichihashi has gone missing after escaping questioning from police officers on March 26, 2007 at his apartment, where Hawker’s body was found in a sand-filled bathtub.

If you think you’ve seen Ichihashi, please contact:

Chiba Prefectural Police, Gyoutoku
047-397-0110
gyoutoku@police.pref.chiba.jp

If you don’t trust police, you can alternatively use this contact info.

—

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