No Soy Sauce For You! Olympic training includes more than fitness. Athletes need stamina. Focus. Specialized diets. And, apparently, foreign food survival and utensil adaptation lessons. Every Wednesday, a special menu based on the food that will be available at the Olympic Village in Beijing, is served at Japan’s National Training Center. A sign at
The price of unleaded gasoline sold on US military installations in Japan has gone up to USD 4.004 per gallon. A price of $3.47 per gallon for unleaded is available only at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. That price has been unchanged since December. The average US mainland price June 28 was 4.59 per gallon.
Japan’s annual “Cool Biz” energy-saving campaign began June 1, 2008. The fashion campaign was initiated in 2005 by former Japan environment minister Yuriko Koike. She argued that by getting men out of suits, office building air conditioning thermostats could be raised to 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) and would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Bye Buy Butter Thirty-five years ago, it was toilet paper. Now, consumers and bakeries are hunting butter as Japan is suffering a butter shortage. Supermarkets are limiting butter to one per customer. At OK Mart, Hokkaido butter brand was available, up 100 yen from it’s previous price of 199 yen. Buyers were allowed only one
The Blue Shield The one-man shelters that many of Japan’s homeless construct from heavy blue tarpaulins can be found in parks, under bridges, and along river banks. An April 2007 Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare report shows there are 4,213 homeless in Tokyo’s 23 wards, and about 18,500 homeless nationwide. The country has
Military Comic Books Not So Novel A comic book created by the US Navy to educate Japanese teens and young adults about one of it’s nuclear powered aircraft carriers is ready for distribution in Yokosuka. The city is home to the Yokosuka Naval Base US installation. The USS George Washington is scheduled to arrive in
Opposite Directions Decreasing auto sales in Japan, combined with new laws targeting elderly drivers and other efforts to prevent pensioners from driving, are making it more difficult for auto manufacturers facing a different demographic future. Newsweek reports automobile sales in Japan have been declining steadily over time. It says aside from minicars and luxury foreign
One man. One beautiful woman. One Vulcan, a demon and a peon. This is a two-part story by the creators of Shin Angyo Onshi: Youn In-Wan and Yang Kyung-Il. Vulcan Markovic lives in a small fishing village in Croatia. He has only two things on his mind–designer goods and losing his virginity. When an indescribably
Experiment Confirms Transparent Swimsuit Concern Swimsuits that can be "Photoshopped" see-through may distract Japanese Olympic swimmers at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The Shukan Post quotes a spokesperson for the Japan Swimming Federation. The spokesperson says that following the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, official swimsuit manufacturers were asked by the JSF to "ensure their
Bathing Gapers Sneak Peeks Mixed bathing at a 320-year-old hot spring is being jeopardized by naked male bathers who stare at the nude females in the onsen. The 260-square-meter bath area at the Sukayu Hot Spring Resort does not have a wall to separate the men’s and women’s sections. Due to recent complaints from female
A suspect in a crime is identified by name, and employer or occupation, but other people arrested for similar crimes are called only “company employees”( whatever that means.) In Japan, it seems the employer and occupation are revealed for anyone in a media-related occupation, who is caught driving while intoxicated, or peeping under skirts, or
Made (Better) in Japan ( Forked, Alan Richman, GQ, March 2008) Also a Newsweek International Special report, The New Food Capital Of The World. This article mentions the fascination with food on TV in Japan, and the 2007 edition of the Michelin Guide, which “gave a total of 191 stars to Tokyo, leaving Paris a
From stylish Omote Sando in Tokyo, to the far rural areas of Japan, “Watch for Molesters” signs are a common sight. (above: The chikan sign in Omote Sando: “Chikan attention. Immediately call 110”) [“Watch for Chikan” gallery ]["Watch for Chikan” homemade][Osaka police “Stop Chikan”] Aichi Police – How to Avoid or Catch Chikan in 10
ABC Cooking Studio is offering two desserts created from ABC recipes, at Seven Eleven stores in Japan. The fresh ?Creme Earl Grey? and ?Grapefruit Yogurt Mousse? packages include QR codes to access the product recipe online using a cell phone. (Once you have the URL, you can also view the web page on your PC.)
To attract interest from homemakers and young women, and to improve its image, the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force is publishing navy recipes on its website. The MSDF is posting recipes for two dishes each week. Recipes for Japanese, Western and Chinese dishes that are served in the navy are being revealed. The original recipes
