Tag Archives: japan

English Undergrad Programmes in Japan

Toudai’s Akamon, circa 2008 Once in a while, people tell me that they want to study in Japan. Most of the time, they speak no Japanese. Fortunately for these people, the Japanese government has been actively pushing a programme that … Continue reading

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Trip Report: Kagoshima

This is the post about my visit to Kagoshima in southern Japan. I am really pushing out these articles at the breakneck speed of a limping three-legged turtle, considering that I was in Japan in early April and so far … Continue reading

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Japan Anime Map

Japan National Tourism Organization made a simple map showing the locales of some popular anime titles and the major anime retail hotspots across Japan. While an interesting initiative, the map itself is rather light on details, so this is more … Continue reading

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Why Android will dominate Japan

Sharp is releasing an Aquos Android clamshell phone with a 16-megapixel camera running Gingerbread. This is the latest step in Android’s quiet and gradual takeover of the Japanese phone market. I believe that Japan will eventually become a strategic stronghold … Continue reading

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Neurowear Necomimi

A small Japanese start-up called Neurowear is marketing what it calls “Necomimi” — head-worn fashion gadgets that move in response to brainwaves. The company calls it “Augmented Human Body”. Or to put it in simpler terms: goddamn nekomimi cat ears … Continue reading

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Japan’s Southernmost Train Station

So not too long ago, I was in Kagoshima, the southernmost prefecture on Japan’s four main islands. It is a rather backwater place despite the abnormally large role it played in Japan’s contemporary history, but it is very beautiful. Kagoshima … Continue reading

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Trip Report: Nagasaki

So I am finally back in Singapore. Experiencing post-trip lethargy as usual. I figure I should get started on blogging now before it becomes impossible for me to return to my usual weekly schedule and I fall into the eternal … Continue reading

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Gunkanjima

Gunkanjima, officially “Hashima”, is a tiny island just outside Nagasaki Bay. Consisting mostly of man-made concrete-covered landfills, the island was a coal-mining operation run by Mitsubishi Heavy Industry and once boasted the highest population density in the world. Today, the … Continue reading

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Maaya Sakamoto 2011 Live Tour (Osaka)

Concert booklet and T-shirt I expected last year to be my first and last chance to watch Maaya Sakamoto perform live, but I was wrong and my sentiments at the time were rendered somewhat hyperbolic in retrospect. In spite of … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tohoku Pacific Earthquake

Sendai, Miyagi prefecture (Kyodo News/Associated Press) I don’t normally like to write about breaking news because generally I find that I have neither the first-hand expertise nor the retrospective hindsight to comment on most real-time events non-trivial. The story would … Continue reading

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Japan Trip 2011

Miyajima, Hiroshima (sauce) It seems like I’ve been going to Japan every year for the past few years due to various reasons, so I guess this should not come as a huge surprise. Yes, I am flying to Japan again. … Continue reading

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Predictions on the fallout from Tokyo’s anti-manga law

Gadget Tsuushin (getnews.jp) has made some tongue-in-cheek predictions about what will happen now that the Tokyo Metropolitan legislation restricting sales of certain targeted manga and anime has been passed.

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