How many earthquakes were there? One or two earlier? There seem to have been two announcements tonight - one at 11:55pm and one at 11:57. I see 7.3 on the Japanese scale up on the TV.

Just watching NHK. Tsunami warnings for virtually the whole Pacific side. Up to 2 metres high around Mie Prefecture - south of Ise Bay, Wakayama Pref. and Aiichi Pref. Coastal areas there are recommended for evacuation.

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forum/album_mod/upload/5ca717722380aecb145b2a022747fcb4.gif Interesting change in direction for Typhoon 18 (Songda) which has been battering Okinawa. If you check the Japan Meteorological Agency Site you'll see No.19 (Sarika) ready to make a tighter turn and hit Tokyo. L...

Eikoku Digest is often in Japanese restaurants but it can go quite quickly. There are a number of places along Brewer Street where you might find it since a lot of Japanese students hang out there. Marylebone Lane has restaurants and Japanese hairdressers who also have it. An open ticket usually equ...

I don't visit YD too much (for some reason, my internet security software pops up 4/5 alerts on every page - cue virus jokes) but I've often turned up there when I've been doing a search. They have some good information and I think the regulars there would get pretty bored if it was all knob-jokes a...

And speaking of cleaning up Shinjuku, what's the status of the investigation of that fire that happened there almost exactly three years ago? Buck passed for Kabukicho fire They seem to have no leads on who started the fire but they are going after the owners and managers for negligence. The compen...

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forum/album_mod/upload/ead719dbe08406a1e677e7eef9f86110.jpg The Asian Wall Street Journal today has an article on ryokan entitled "Room at The Inn - For Foreigners" . The main rationale for the new welcome mat appears to be economic since "about half the r...

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forum/album_mod/upload/881ce7d5599092e997f809ead31aae62.gif Tokyo's red light district faces a ritual cleansing Shintaro Ishihara, better known for his nationalist views than any puritanical bent, has declared war on Kabukicho, promising to rid it of crime and sleaze. Wi...

GomiGirl wrote:Has Mercutio left Japan yet???

I keep seeing this same Australian girl every time I walk into a bar.

I must mention that this sites participants are NOT the most knowledgable about Japan, no matter what they may think of themselves. Knowing about a country isn't a competition. Everyone has their own experience of Japan. I'm not married to a Japanese woman, I've never been to Nikko, climbed Fuji, b...

Curious, isn't it about her plunge back into global anonymity? Then again, Uno was only one of the many stop-gap PMs folowing Takeshita's resignation. The mainstream press would have never mentioned her at all except the story was picked up overseas - including in France where the press used the occ...

u can make it anywhere....all u need is the desire....believe in yourself...... That's fair comment and it is the way a lot of people make it here. But not everyone has unlimited drive no matter how much energy you have when you start. It's good to develop some plan or skills to fall back on. I don...

Feel the love

Local gov'ts to provide entertainment for transit passengers at airports

TOKYO; The government plans to expand services for foreign transit passengers at airports as part of a campaign to attract more foreign visitors to Japan, government officials said Thursday.

KAZUKO Tsuji has broken the deepest taboo of the geisha's profession -- listen but don't tell. Anyone remember Prime Minister Sosuke Uno ? Uno eventually had to resign after less than three months amid a sex scandal revealed by a geisha. The controversy surrounding Uno's extramarital affair was mor...

Hasn't her hook always been her ability to change fashions and send the school-girls hurrying to Shibuya 109? That's more Ayumi Hamasaki. Utada has never really been a fashion trendsetter. Utada is the Japanese music industry's idea of what foreigners will like. I don't think she is quirky enough t...

The manga titles that are translated and published overseas are usually fantasy, science fiction, samurai, humour and romance stories. While it is true that the typical level of violence is higher than you would find in American comics not so many of the pornographic and extremely violent titles tha...

I don't see brianhh as a troll. If someone asks me whether they should go to Japan, I always say yes but then follow up with a bunch of qualifications. It all depends on your expectations and, often, expectations are pitched too high. brianhh and skanster are right. Anyone posting a unspecific query...

The Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku has a higher proportion of short-stay foreign visitors than many Tokyo hotels. Many non-Japanese travel web sites include it as a link and it is easy to book on the internet so it appeals to tourists as much as businessmen. Shinjuku also has convenient bus and train ...

The Sports Nippon newspaper, not generally a reputable source, reported in Japanese HERE on the 9th August that the men had German passports. The article also mentions a short note left behind in English and no reports of drug use. It says that reports from the family in Germany say that the two wer...

Letter to the FT: Vandals tore down Lloyd Wright hotel From Mr Jonathan Allum. Sir, Whatever the merits of your coverage of the Japanese economy and financial system, your expertise clearly does not extend to architecture ("Japanese turnaround firm eyes stake in Imperial", August 26). Fra...

didn't they raise the tax once already? Yes, it was introduced at 3% and then raised to the current 5%. All tax advisory panels have recommended shifting Japan's taxes from direct (e.g. income) taxes to indirect (e.g consumption) tax. It is always bad news in the polls but MoF constantly raise the ...

Don't know about the iriver but here's another ipod/walkman comparison New Sony Walkman Can't Break IPod's Stride If Sony's product had come out two years ago, we all would have been blown away. It would have been hailed as a huge leap forward in personal audio because it is tiny, can store a ton of...

The good news about this book is that it is thin and you can probably finish it without leaving the bookstore. The bad news is that it isn't very good. A very overwrought and over dramatic treatment for mundane material. But I did read to the end and I still remember it so maybe it had something. I'...

Tax hike looming due to impasse in spending cuts "The fiscal 2005 budget is likely to mark the turning point in government fiscal policy, shifting from cutting expenditures to increasing tax revenues," said a ranking ministry official. The extension of this argument inevitably leads to a ...

If you buy a discounted ticket then, usually, you will be committed to travelling on the day and time you have chosen. If something comes up to change your plans then you will have to buy a new ticket. Some tickets will allow you to change the departure date of the return leg free of charge or for a...

Cho does not equal fuck. More like 'Damn good!' Whereas Greek athlete Voula Patoulidou, after winning a surprise gold in the 100m high hurdles in Barcelona did say in her first interview "For Greece, fuck it!" (...Ellada gamo to - not sure what "for" is in Greek). It became such...

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forum/album_mod/upload/a1474bc1aeefa31bd9a39d5bd222f8cf.jpg Danger! What vile threat could possibly warrant this vivid warning?? http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forum/album_mod/upload/360d87aa9bb7165481f3191216c1799e.jpg Yes, it's that old fiend, the self-destructing, killer...

don't put a label on those that may share their beliefs, but choose to exercise them in a less radical fashion Well...wading out into deep waters...that is the same issue raised by Muslims in response to labels like "Islamic terrorism" which have gained wide currency. "Animal Rights ...

That's fucking courage! She had the heart of a lion. In the same vein, Derek Redmond is a better memory for British fans: Redmond in 1992 Down the backstretch, only 175 meters away from finishing, Redmond is a shoo-in to make the finals. Suddenly, he hears a pop. In his right hamstring. He pulls up...