Yokosuka Naval Port Cruise
ATV reporters Sahel Rosa and Alain visit Yokosuka and take a cruise around the naval base:
Since Japan is in the midst of a Sakamoto Ryoma boom, they romantize the cruise as if their viewing of modern American warships is similar to Sakamoto’s encounter with the American “black ships” back in the 1850′s.
I actually went on the same cruise boat earlier this year. The most memorable part of the experience was the group of pacifists who held a demonstration of sorts in the area where ticket holders were waiting to board to boat. They wanted people to sign a petition demanding that the Japanese government dismantle its “unnecessary” Maritime Self-Defense Forces. Everybody in line had already paid to go on a cruise so they could view Japanese and American warships and they did not appear to have much sympathy with the ultra-leftist views of the pacifists. Most people turned away and completely ignored the protesters. I didn’t see anybody sign the petition.
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Categories: General Japan
Japanese Soccer Fans Break Twitter Record
Apparently Japanese soccer fans recently broke the global record for the most-ever tweets per second:
In the small hours following the Samurai Blue’s surprise, but comprehensive 3-1 victory over Denmark June 25, Japanese fans were most visible pouring onto the sidewalks of Shibuya crossing, the congested pedestrian crosswalk in Tokyo made famous by the 2003 movie Lost in Translation.
Less obvious – Japan fans diving into their Twitter accounts. According to Twitter, the average numbers of tweets in the 30 seconds after the final whistle spiked at an intense 3,283 tweets per second, or tps. The average number is 750 tps. To put that in perspective, the number tops the previous record of 3,085 tps set when the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Championship the previous week, according to Twitter.
Related reading: The Mainichi has an article about Twitter and politics in Japan.
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Categories: Technology
Cat Cafe
Time Magazine visits a Cat Cafe in Japan:
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Categories: Animal Videos
Experience the South of France…at a Highway Rest Area in Japan
The Yorii highway rest area in Saitama prefecture has re-opened after a renovation project that has turned it into a tribute to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince:
The rest stop is like a miniature French town, with a gift shop and a garden dedicated to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s creations. There is also a bakery, cafe, and a restaurant that serves southern French cuisine.
Le Petit Prince is quite popular in Japan. This will actually be the second Saint-Exupéry-themed tourist attraction in Japan. The other attraction is a pretty nice museum in Hakone.
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Categories: General Japan
Cat World Cup
Just a little cat video shot by a Japanese blogger that has received over a hundred thousand views on both Japanese and international websites:
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Categories: Animal Videos