Help a Newbie Get Work in Japan
Posted by harvey in Working on 23. Jun, 2010 | 38 Comments
まったく関係ないけど、写真がなければ寂しいでしょう。 Hey JapanNewbies! A fellow JapanNewbie (but actually not so newbie Newbie) contacted me with a request for help. I figured I would ask the community to see if we can generate some ideas that may help any other people who may be facing the same situation. Basically it shakes down like this. Got the [...]
An Interview with Durf
Posted by harvey in Working on 20. Jun, 2010 | 7 Comments
Hello JapanNewbies! Many of you enjoyed the interview with @sandkatt, so I decided to find another willing Japan-head Twitter friend and put them on the spot as well. Meet @Durf! Durf and his Peeps at JapanEcho I have interacted with @Durf for a while now on Twitter, but I hardly know him. I knew he [...]
Japan The Strange Country
Posted by harvey in Art, Media, Society on 31. Mar, 2010 | Comments Off
A quick video by a Japanese guy called “Japan the Strange Country” that takes a somewhat critical look at Japan. Worth a look. Japan-The Strange Country (English ver.) from Kenichi on Vimeo. There is also a Japanese language version. Japan – The Strange Country (Japanese ver.) from Kenichi on Vimeo. – Harvey
Foreigner Radio Taisou Fun
Posted by harvey in Society, Working on 12. Mar, 2010 | 1 Comment
A friend of mine had the pretty rare experience of working in a company that still does the Radio Exercises (ラジオ体操) before starting work each morning. The video says it all. Japan is a quirky place. I once worked in a company which still had the ラジオ体操 music play over the loud speakers each morning [...]
State-sponsored Cute: Kawaii Ambassadors
Posted by harvey in Culture, Society on 14. Jan, 2010 | 25 Comments
There’s no doubt that there are some quirky aspects to Japan and Japanese culture, but how about state-sponsored quirkiness? Meet Misako Aoki (青木美沙子), one of Japan’s three Cute Ambassadors who were appointed by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs February 2009. Cute Ambassador: Misako Aoki Misako Aoki, in all her ultra-cute Lolita garb, performs an [...]
Japanese Learner Interview with @sandkatt-part 2 of 2
Posted by harvey in Books, Language, Travel, Working on 08. Dec, 2009 | 4 Comments
Hey everyone! This is Part 2 of our interview with @sandkatt. Be sure to check out Part 1 if you missed it! Following you on Twitter it’s obvious that you have a firm grip on Japanese. You read casual Japanese Twitter speak, and can reply in Japanese quickly as well. Your grammar is also very [...]
Japanese Learner Interview with @sandkatt-part 1 of 2
Posted by harvey in Books, Language, Travel, Working on 06. Dec, 2009 | 8 Comments
Hey everyone, let’s get to know the JapanNewbie crowd a little better. I want to introduce you to @sandkatt. The following is part one of a two-part interview exploring @sandkatt’s road to Japanese proficiency. @sandkatt in Hiroshima Sandkatt is a Japanese learner I noticed on Twitter. I noticed her because her Japanese is really good! [...]
An Introduction to Visual-kei with Megamasso
Posted by harvey in Art, Culture, Music, Society on 18. Oct, 2009 | 3 Comments
I bet many JapanNewbie readers know more about Visual-kei than I do. Basically it’s a genre of music, usually rock, in which the “visuals” are extremely important in that the band members wear a variety of flamboyant and elaborate costumes. Don’t take my word for it though – here is an exclusive interview arranged by [...]
