Recently I’ve been posting pictures of my cat, Noboru (“Non-chan”), over at hipstacatic.tumblr.com. I post one a day every weekday, and as of today I’m up to 50 images total. Why not go check it out? Hit the “random” button a few times, and maybe it’ll brighten your day little. And if you like it, give it a “follow!”
This past weekend I got to experience a part of Japanese culture that is fairly well-known, but something I had never seen first-hand: Cosplay. The Toyama Cosplay (short for “costume play”) Fest was held on Saturday and Sunday, and I decided to check it out, not knowing what to expect at all, and was blown away by how many people there were and how passionate they were about it. I had no idea that this is much more than just a hobby for cosplayers; for a lot of people, it’s work, and it’s a whole lifestyle. They spend their time studying their characters and learn the best ways to portray them, and they go to conventions all over the country (there were people from all over at the Toyama convention).
At this convention, they had some rental costumes available for people to try for free, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a shot. The costume (as seen in the pictures above) was for some anime character—I forgot the character’s name—and I had to have help putting it on because I had no idea what I was doing. But once I got it on, I had a great time. Being the only white guy there—let alone a white guy in costume—needless to say I stood out quite a bit, and many many people stopped me to ask if they could take my picture. I felt like a celebrity.
I quickly learned that cosplayers have a repertoire of poses that they use for pictures, that I can only assume they practice quite a bit at home because they go into them seamlessly whenever asked if they can have their picture taken. You can see some of the poses in the pictures above. I tried to do a pose, too, but I felt pretty awkward. hahah. It’s harder than it looks!
Anyways, it was a very strange experience, but it was a lot of fun, and I’m definitely glad I went. I was told that the biggest cosplay convention is in Tokyo in December, and I would love to see that someday—I bet it’s a madhouse! haha
Nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be efficient, instead offer us a vision of hell. This is the reality… We should have been working to develop alternative energy sources to replace nuclear power at a national level, by harvesting all existing technologies, wisdom and social capital. Even if people throughout the world had mocked us, saying, “Nuclear power is the most effective power generation system, and Japanese people are really stupid not to use it”, we should have retained the aversion to nuclear power that was triggered by our experience of nuclear weapons… It is the job of experts to rebuild broken roads and buildings, but it is the duty of each of us to restore our damaged ethics and values.
– One of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami, gave an impressive speech criticizing Japan’s embracing of the nuclear energy policy. The full English translation can be found on facebook, or you can watch a video of Murakami giving the speech in Japanese on YouTube.This is the most crazily upsetting thing I have seen to come out of the Fukushima nuclear crisis. I can’t believe how the Japanese government is so shamelessly treating its own citizens this way.
This Is Important, You Should Know About It of the Day: A public meeting between members of Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission and residents of Fukushima did not quite go as the government officials had hoped, with attendees demanding to know what is being done to protect residents from elevated radiation levels detected outside the government’s arbitrary 20km exclusion zone, and Nuclear Safety members responding that Fukushima residents don’t necessarily have the right to live a healthy life free from radiation exposure.
Residents are demanding the government do more to reduce radiation level or else provide financial support to those wishing to evacuate.
Meanwhile, Japan seems content to pass laws censoring reports reflecting negatively on their response to Fukushima’s nuclear radiation.
via thedailywhat
Via The Daily What
This was made two years ago by 30 Japanese university students upon reflection of their English language education in Junior High and High School. These are their thoughts and pieces of advice to students, teachers, and the “Monbusho” (Ministry of Education).
I know EXACTLY what they mean. I wish the whole nation could watch this.
(Thanks to Sally H. for showing me this)
These are some of the people I spent my first post-Charity-Show weekend with. They are awesome, and my weekend was FANTASTICally relaxing, including (chronologically): my first gig of 2011 (and my first ukulele-only gig), bowling, poker, meeting with a guitarist, a drummer, and a bassist to talk about forming a band (looks like it’s gonna happen), going to the beach and swimming in the ocean TWO DAYS IN A ROW!, a BBQ with tons of friends, and discovering a great restaurant that I had no idea was no more than a 5-minute walk from my apartment!
I feel so refreshed and rejuvenated for this work week! Bring it on!
Next weekend is a 3 day weekend, and for me it’s going to be all about our neighboring prefectures. On Saturday I’ll head over to Ishikawa, to the West, where I’ll spend the night on what I’ve heard is the best beach in our area of Japan. Then on Sunday I’ll head all the way back in the other direction to Niigata—our neighbor to the East—to camp out in Geo Park, which is supposedly huge and has beaches, volcanoes, hiking, abandoned mines, rivers, etc. I can’t WAIT!
(picture via behealthyeatcleanliveright)
About Me
My name is Lawrence Denes.After spending 5 years studying Japanese language, culture, literature, and history in St. Louis and Kyoto, I now live in Japan, in a town that most Japanese people have never even heard of, lost amid the rice fields and vending machines.
Please feel free to ask me anything, or send me an email.
