Archive for January, 2011

Tsushima Cat Caught on Film

The Tsushima cat is a very rare subspecies of leopard cats that only live on the island of Tsushima. Only about 100 of them are known to exist in the wild, so when makes an appearance in broad daylight and gets caught on film, it’s a newsworthy event.

Here’s a clip that was filmed a few days ago:

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Travel Washlet – The Portable Japanese Toilet Experience

Do you love Japanese washlet toilets so much that you can’t imagine using a restroom without one? Have no fear, somebody invented a portable washlet that you can use to spray water on your behind at any time and in any place of your choosing!

Here is a clip from a FTV show that introduces some Japanese people and foreign tourists to the invention. A couple skeptical foreigners are asked to try it:

One Australian guy really seems to like it.

If you’re interested in getting one of these, they do sell them on Amazon.

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Fruit-headed Cats

Some fantastic videos from a Japanese blogger that likes to balance stuff on cats’ heads:

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Snow-covered Temple of the Gold Pavilion

A few videos of Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto, which is now covered in snow (like many other parts of Japan for the last couple days):

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New Year’s Shrine Visitors = Vile Sinners Who Must Repent

Redditors ju2tin and moufestaphio have made some interesting posts about groups of Christians who gather outside major shrines in Tokyo and warn people making New Year’s shrine visits about the hellfire that awaits them if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their savior:

“They were out in full force in Asakusa this morning. Pretty asshole thing to do for sure. Can you imagine the reaction if you went to a christian country on Christmas and pulled this shit?? I got a few pics I’ll post in a minute.”

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Move Futenma Air Station….to Hokkaido?

The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the Japanese government is trying to come up with new options for moving some of the functions of US Marine Air Station Futenma from Okinawa to other parts of Japan. Included on the list of suggestions is a training area in a training area in far away northeast Hokkaido:

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa has instructed government officials concerned to begin looking into the feasibility of the proposed transfer.

A major mission of the Futenma helicopter unit is the transportation of ground troops, the sources said.

The unit is responsible for flying troops to Camp Hansen and other training sites in the north of Okinawa Island, where integrated ground- and air-squad maneuvers are conducted, they said.

The leading candidate sites for the transfer are large or midsize GSDF training areas suitable for such maneuvers, the sources said.

Specifically, those training grounds include Yausubetsu in northeastern Hokkaido, to where U.S. forces’ live-weapons training has been moved from Okinawa Prefecture under a 1996 Japan-U.S. agreement; Ojojihara in Miyagi Prefecture; Kita-Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture; Higashi-Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture; and Hijudai in Oita Prefecture, the sources said.

Also under consideration is the rotational use of midsize GSDF training grounds on Honshu and Hokkaido that already host joint Japan-U.S. ground exercises, they said.

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