More Japanese Baseball

So I went to YouTube to see if I could find a good video of a Japanese baseball game…

#1 – The opening pitch at a Hanshin Tigers game by Aki Hoshino…Yes!

#2 – The crowd chanting

#3 – The trumpet player

Japanese Baseball – やきゅう

Last night in Japanese class some of us got into a discussion about Japanese baseball.  We talked about how the name of the sport began as ベースボール (beesubooru), however in a drive to rid Japan of foreign loanwords around WW2, the sport was given a Japanese name — やきゅう, meaning field & ball.

A movie I recommend about the adventures of an American baseball player (Tom Selleck) being traded to a Japanese baseball team is Mr. Baseball.   It is hilarious movie showing the differences in how the Japanese play the sport as well as cultural differences.

Japan’s Declining Population

Danny Choo posted a very interesting article about the Japanese population decline, dating habits and the role of robots in a rapidly aging nation.  I tend to think that its much ado about nothing…in that it will work itself out.

I think that opening the flood gates of immigration could threaten the homogeneous society that produces so many of the quirky and cool things we love about Japan.

Megumi Kagurazaka

Former department store employee Megumi Kagurazaka has a new photobook that any fan Japanese idols with curves should be happy with.  Check it out at Jlist.

About :55 into the video…it gets good!

Star Wars in Concert

Ok… I know this really isn’t Japan related, but its Otaku.  Tonight I went to Star Wars in Concert and it was very well done.  Having scenes displayed on a digital big-screen while a live orchestra and choir performs John Williams‘ score was amazing.

Plus, Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) was there in person to narrate the Star Wars story.

There were actors dressed as various characters such as these stormtroopers…Danny Choo was missing a few comrades tonight!

A shot of the actual performance:

ボム Bomb Magazine

On the cover of the November Bomb is my favorite idol – Rina Akiyama — She’s known for her nice hips, or bum…whatever you prefer…

and a video:

Tokyo Metro Commercial

While looking for some video footage of the Tokyo Metro, I ran across a commercial showing how helpful the Metro workers can be.  According to the video’s poster, the information officer is the Japanese idol Ito Aiko.

Here is another video with her in a different uniform!

Google Chrome Themes

So I was browsing through the various themes for the Chrome browser and found one by the Good Smile Company…

Hokkaido

Hokkaido is Japan’s second largest island and is known for its mild summers and snowy winters.  It is also home to the ski area of Niseko.  I actually applied for an accounting position with a large resort operator in the area, however my Japanese ability wasnt high enough to make it to the short list.  Recently, Danny Choo blogged about his recent trip to the island.  Here are some of his pictures:

Hiragana Times

As I got more involved with learing Japanese, I began to seek out all the study materials I could find outside of my formal classes.  The Hiragana Times is one of those study aids that every serious student of Japanese should consider subscribing to or purchasing individual issues.

 

 

 

Each issue focuses on current topics of Japanese culture and presents English text along side the Japanese.  Reading and translating helps me a lot with vocab.