Archive for December, 2010

International Pole Dancing Championship

And a couple other videos of Mai Sato, who won the Women’s Ultimate Pole Champion competition:

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

Police Arrest Man Who Punched Ichikawa Ebizo

The man accused of attacking Kabuki star Ichikawa Ebizo has been arrested:

The Metropolitan Police Department said the man, identified as Rion Ito, a resident of Tokyo, owned up to the assault. He was quoted as saying: “It’s true that I punched him. I’ll provide details after I’ve cleared my mind.”

As you may remember from a previous post, some Japanese tabloids printed accounts of the incident that said the man looked like Bob Sapp. Here’s a side by side comparison:

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

Burger King Brings New York Pizza Burger to Japan

Japan’s NTV news takes a look at the newest fast food burgers in Japan, including Burger King’s New York Pizza Burger:

This mammoth burger, which is meant to be shared, has already been available for some time at BK restaurants in America, where it sells for $13. In Japan it is being sold for 1,680 yen, which roughly equivalent to $20. I don’t know about its flavor, but that price makes me want to gag.

Some American media outlets, such as CBS, have called the burger a “fat bomb” because of it contains an unholy 2,530 calories, 144 grams of fat (59 grams saturated) and 380 mg of cholesterol [well over one person's recommended daily intake]. This Japanese report doesn’t try to preach about the health value of any of the burgers it introduces.

Sales figures show that hamburgers are popular in December. Here are a few new menu items that other fast food chains are rolling out:

• McDonald’s Japan has brought back the Texas Burger.
• Lotteria is selling a Hamadashi Steak Burger. It has a slab of New Zealand sirloin sticking out from the sides of the bun. At 840 yen, it’s Lotteria’s most expensive burger.
• First Kitchen is selling a Nikomi Hamburg Sandwich.
• Mos Burger is selling a Hokkaido Koroke Focaccia sandwich.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Dirty Hippy Clowns Protest Against U.S. Base

While surfing YouTube last night, I came across a video that was filmed at a protest march held in Tokyo last Sunday. It’s got some filthy-looking hippy clowns in it, and they’re dancing around and doing clown stuff:

The protest was calling for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to be relocated to somewhere outside of Okinawa. The video says about 160 people participated, which would make it a very small protest by Tokyo standards. Either the event was poorly organized, or few people in Tokyo care about the Futenma issue.

The clown army in the video could be the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, or they could be another group of foreign hippies that like to dress up like clowns and attend leftist demonstrations.

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

Russian Planes Force Interruption of U.S.-Japan Training Exercise

American and Japanese forces had to temporarily halt large-scale naval exercises the other day after two Russian military patrol aircraft decided to drop by for a visit:

The U.S.-Japan training — part of the bilateral Keen Sword exercise now under way in the skies and waters surrounding Japan — was briefly stopped because of safety risks posed by Russian IL-38’s entering the maneuvering space, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Kenneth Hoffman said. The IL-38 is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.

Because the exercise was taking place in international airspace, the move by Russia was “not unexpected” and did not significantly affect training operations, Hoffman said.

It is the second incident in as many months that some have interpreted as a potential strain on Japan-Russia relations.

In November, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited outlying islands claimed by both countries, which the Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara reportedly toured by a plane last week.

The Russian military has denied any intent to cause trouble, stating that it was just a regularly scheduled maritime patrol over international airspace.

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Making Japanese Noodles

An Asahi Shimbun video gives us a look at how Ibonoito Sōmen noodles are manufactured:

Ibonoito Somen is manufactured during a limited period between October and the following April (production peaks from December to February).

Salted water is added to flour and then kneaded well to create the dough. The dough is then stretched carefully to make one long strip of Somen. This is the traditional hand-stretching technique that originated in the Banshu area some six hundred years ago.

The dough may separate if it is forcibly stretched out to quickly make it thin. Instead, it should be stretched out as much as possible while being twisted. After it is left to ripen it is stretched out again.

This process of ripening and stretching is repeated several times to make Somen. The entire process consists of eleven steps.

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