Wasp Crackers

There’s a wasp in your rice cracker.

あのさ。せんべいにハチが入ってんで。

I know. That’s the way it is. Want some?

うん。知ってる。そいうもんだから。食べる？

No thanks.

いや、いいわ。

Japanese Language School Recommendations

A reader sent me a message asking for Japanese language school recommendations… But didn’t specify a return address!

So Lisa, take a look at this post I did a few months ago all about… Japanese Language School recommendations!

Let me know if there are any questions, or if anyone else has any additional knowledge about language schools to add!

Hope this is some help!

- Harvey

Yellow Corn

Biker gang from Iowa?

YELLOW CORN (RED CROSS SYMBOL) SLEDGE HAMMER HIGHWAY THE 3rd!

Frightening.

- Harvey

All talk…

Here is a Japanese expression you’ll hopefully never have to hear…

「口だけ星人」 (kuchi dake seijin)

Basically it refers to someone who is all talk, no action.

Hey, it happens to the best of us!

- Harvey

Fun Japanese Vocab: Reckless!

「暴飲暴食」- “bouinboushoku”

The character 「暴」is used in the verb 「暴れる」which means to “act violently” or “rage” or “struggle”. You know, like if a little kid throws a fit on the floor of the shoe store cause he want the green shoes instead of the blue ones… That’s「暴れてる」. Or if you’re scuba diving for the first time and start freaking out, flailing about recklessly and using up your air too quickly… that’s 「暴れる」.

The 2nd and 4th Kanji here mean “Drink” and “Eat” respectively.

「暴飲暴食」means, “(to) eat and drink excessively.”

Awesome.

The nuance has to do with drinking beer, and eating to the extent that it is unhealthy.

Next time someone asks you if you know any 4-character Kanji compounds, this would be a great one to tell them. I love this language!

- Harvey

Japanese Video Game Breaks Gaijin Arms

Newsflash! 2 of 3 of the previously mentioned video games arm break victims were Gaijin. One incident occurred in Osaka.

Why weren’t Japanese also hurt? Why???

“But I’m afraid some foreign nationals couldn’t understand the instructions well as it was written only in Japanese,” she said.

Seems it’s because gaijin can’t read… One more reason to learn Japanese I guess…

The Japanese name of the game is Udedamashii 「腕魂」. Watch for it.

Arm ripping robots in other news…

Asahi

YahooNews

- Harvey

Japanese Video Game Breaks Arms

Japanese video game breaks players arms.

Imagine. You’re in a Japanese game center, and you see it. The arm wrestling game simulator… Arm Spirit!

You’ve just toppled the maid character, when the next boss shows up and you start doubting your biceps and triceps and whatever else goes into arm wrestling.

Nevertheless, you grasp the mechanical arm and brace yourself for the battle.

No! The enemy is too strong! You refuse to let go.

SNAP.

Arm’s broke. Next player.

I’m not making this up. For the most part.

Favorite quotes from the article.

Distributor Atlus Co. said Tuesday it will remove all 150 “Arm Spirit” arm wrestling machines from Japanese arcades after three players broke their arms grappling with the machine’s mechanized appendage.

Three!

and they defend…

“The machine isn’t that strong, much less so than a muscular man. Even women should be able to beat it,” said Atlus spokeswoman Ayano Sakiyama, calling the recall “a precaution.”

Even women!

Note, despite her confidence, the spokeswoman for Atlus is not Macha Macha, the pro wrestling comedian.

ハ！？ Broke your arm while playing a video game?! I just gotta say one thing. Go to the gym before you go to the game center! Weaklings.

Sakiyama-san from Atlus could probably clear the game left handed.

Macha Macha could body slam her.

- Harvey

PS, anyone played this game?

World of Golden Eggs - Japanese Comedy

A friend sent me a link to more of those Golden Egg animated comedy clips that I love so much. I used to watch them on YouTube, then they disappeared. Seems they are available on YouTube Japan now though! Check them out, they’re quite entertaining…

- Harvey

Camera Balance…

You don’t need a good camera to take bird pictures.

Just a gianormous lens!

I spotted these birdwatchers while on the Fukuchiyama railway hike.

Look at the size of that lens… Look at the size of that camera! It’s a similar model to the camera I use to take JapanNewbie snaps.

By the way, totally off-topic but… I can talk about off-topic things right? You guys don’t mind do you? Anyway, I recently re-watched the 1986 animated Transformers movie. (なつかしい！) I remember it was one of the first movies to make me cry when I was a kid… Most of my favorite Transformers die in that movie… (T_T)… Anyway. In one scene one of the transformers uses the phrase “gianormous” to describe Unicron after he eats a planet.

“Gianormous.”

I had a friend who uses that word all the time… I wonder if that’s where he picked it up…

- Harvey