Ken Watanabe Movie Hunt
Posted by harvey in Media on 30. Jun, 2009 | 11 Comments
I have a friend asking about a Japanese movie she once saw… I’m clueless, need your help!
Anyone out there know what movie this might be?
On my first JAL flight to Tokyo in January 2005 I saw a film – all in Japanese with English subtitles. I was enthralled and have tried to find it a [...]
Japan and Tanzania joined by Peppers
Posted by harvey in Culture, Language on 15. Jun, 2009 | 8 Comments
As you may or may not know, I’m actually now in Tanzania doing an internship. I’ll be here until August. I’ve picked up a few words and phrases in Swahili (really, just a few) and recently came across something pretty interesting.
The word for a “chili” or “pepper” in Swahili is “pilipili.”
In Japanese the phrase [...]
Kansai-ben Speaking Vending Machine
Posted by harvey in Crazy Consumers, Language, Osaka on 07. Jun, 2009 | 9 Comments
Here is a kooky video of a vending machine in Japan that speaks to its customers in Kansai-ben.
It says “maido!” (まいど！) When a customer inserts their money, which is the Kansai greeting used like “irasshai!” (いらっしゃい！Welcome!) when people enter your store. Once the user makes their selection it says, “Ookini!” which is Kansai-ben for [...]
Love Hotels by Ed Jacob
Posted by harvey in Books, Crazy Consumers, Culture on 05. Jun, 2009 | 2 Comments
Ed Jacob sent me a copy of his book Love Hotels: An Inside Look at Japan’s Sexual Playgrounds quite some time ago, but I only got around to reading it now. My excuse is that I was only able to receive a PDF copy due to my not being in Japan and I was too [...]
