Free Fun in Tokyo
ATV’s team of Foreign reporters checks out fun and free activities in Tokyo:
- Free Cycling – Every Sunday one can borrow a bicycle for free and ride around the Imperial Palace. Between 10AM and 3PM a major road is closed to automobile traffic, creating a nice cycling course (see above map).
- Free Zen Meditation Experience – A free course at Choukou Temple in Shinjuku on the first Monday and 3rd Saturday of every month. (Be prepared to get smacked if you don’t take it seriously!)
- Tama New Town – You can check out free exhibitions of ancient pottery at the Tokyo Metropolitan Buried Cultural Property Research Center. Visitors also have a chance to try Jomon Era cuisine.
- Tokyo Fire Department Bosaikan – This disaster preparedness center lets visitors experience simulations of fires, strong winds, and smoky rooms.
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Categories: General Japan
2010 Shanghai Expo Theme Song is a Shameless Copy of a 1997 Japanese Song
Be prepared to see this story on the Japanese TV news over and over again. It turns out the unauthorized copies of the Shanghai Expo mascot being sold on the streets were just the tip of the iceberg – even the Expo organizers seem to be guilty of blatant copying!
It turns out that the official theme song of the Expo is almost identical to a hit Japanese song from 1997 by Maya Okamoto (“そのままの君でいて”). Here’s a YouTube video that plays portions of each song back-to-back:
If you’ve got headphones, try watching the video [via Nico Nico Douga] – you’ll hear the Okamoto song in one ear, and the Shanghai Expo song in the other:
China Smack has translated some comments form Chinese netizens, which range from sarcastic jokes about Japan copying China to statements of disgust and shame. J-Cast has also translated some netizen comments into Japanese.
Here are a few Japanese TV news clips about the scandal:
According to the reports, the Chinese songwriter who “wrote” the Expo theme song has denied that it is a copy. However, most of the people they interviewed on the street in Shanghai seem to lean towards the idea that it is based on the Japanese song. The Expo authorities are apparently in the process of investigating the claims.
In the first clip, the news casters wonder if it really is a copy. In the second clip, the pundits in the studio are 100% convinced it is a copy and they discuss how legally difficult it is for victims of copyright infringement to sue for damages in Chinese courts.
[hat tip to Matt]
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Categories: General Japan
Curry-loving Cat
A cat in Japan that goes into a state of ecstasy when exposed to the smell of curry spices:
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Categories: Animal Videos
Bobby Ologun in an “all Black people look the same” Joke
Nigerian-born Japanese TV personality Bobby Ologun visits a restaurant where the owner tells him he’s been a customer before:
He says it’s his first time. She insists she has a photo of him, and she goes to get it. The photo shows Bob Sapp, not Bobby Ologun, but the owner doesn’t seem to realize it. Either she genuinely thinks they look the same, or it is a scripted joke because Bobby once faced off against Sapp at an MMA event and lost.
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Categories: Foreigners in Japan
Fish Vending Machine
A reporter discovers a fish vending machine at Tobe Zoo in Ehime prefecture, which allows visitors to feed the seals:
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Categories: Animal Videos
Top Reasons Why It’s Cool to Visit Japan
On the most recent edition of “Bankisha” their reporters asked 250 foreign tourists what makes Japan cool. Here are their top answers:
- 1. Kind People
- 2. Nature
- 3. Japanese Food
- 4. Beautiful Temples and Shrines
- 5 [tie]. Fashion
- 5 [tie]. The trains run on time.
- 7. Made-in-Japan Products
- Honorable mention: the cool chirping sound made by Japanese crosswalks
The food answers were particularly surprising because the foreigners mentioned “B grade” fast food instead of more traditional Japanese food. Numbers 2 and 7 seem to be associated with the new wave of tourists from China, some of whom have come to enjoy the scenic locations where a popular Chinese film was set.
One example of the “kind people” answer was the story of an Israeli man who lost his passport on the train. In any other country he probably would not have expected to recover it, but some kind Japanese person picked it up and promptly handed it over to the missing items section of a rail station. Thanks to the assistance of so many nice Japanese people, he was able to get his passport back the next day.
The report ends with a showcase of photos taken by an Australian tourist. They include typical pictures of temples and flowers, but there are a few noteworthy items that Japanese people might not think are cool. They include a high tech sink, a taxi with doors that open automatically, and some vending machines.
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Categories: Foreigners in Japan