It’s been quite a while indeed since my last post here, hasn’t it? To be honest, I had more or less given up on this whole blogging thing and considered closing up shop, leaving only the archives for the occasional Google visitor to peruse.

Fortunately, I decided not to throw in the towel just yet, and instead have cooked up several new and (hopefully) interesting posts that will be going up in the near future. Before I go any farther, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a big shout out to my friend ghostlightning, whose continual pestering and seemingly boundless creative energy was in large part what motivated me to start writing for Epic Win again. In between yelling in all caps about the outcome of the latest UFC event, or waxing eloquent about Rafael Nadal, he managed to infect me with his enthusiasm for blogging, and anime in general.

Also, for all of you who e-mailed asking about the blog, thank you so much for taking the time to contact me, and I apologize I wasn’t able to respond to all of you. I was genuinely surprised at the number of people who apparently enjoyed reading the content on this site and were willing to write up an e-mail asking us to come back.

To be fair, things have been pretty hectic this year with quite a few major transitions for me, and a few of them are worth mentioning.

First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate my erstwhile co-blogger Guff for receiving his TEFL credentials and having been accepted  into the JET program as a teacher. In a few weeks he’ll be shipping out to Tokyo for orientation, before moving on to his new residence in Hokkaido, where he’ll be teaching at a number of different schools in the region. Speaking as someone who previously taught English in Japan, I’m incredibly excited for him, as this is will no doubt be a very enriching and challenging once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Second, although I previously posted about taking the JLPT level 2 exam this last December, I never got around to posting about the follow up results. I’m happy to say I passed with flying colors, doing especially well on the grammar and listening comprehension sections, so now all that remains is the final examination level – the daunting JLPT1. I’m under no illusions that I’ll be able to pass the level 1 test this coming December, but I am continuing to study when time allows, and hopefully can make a good attempt at it next year.

Finally, I had the chance to take another sightseeing trip in Japan this spring during the height of the sakura bloom, and I was able to visit some really interesting off-the-beaten-path locales that I’d love to post about when time allows. Most notably, I spent 3 days on Yakushima, a nearly uninhabited island several hours off the southern coast of Japan, which boasts some of the world’s most ancient and unspoiled cedar forests. As a photographer it was a dream come true, and once I finish sifting through the roughly 80 gigabytes of photos I took during my time there, I’ll definitely have one or more posts up recounting my experiences on the island.

(click for slightly larger version)

Well, if you’re still here reading this, thank you very much for hanging around and still visiting this site even after so long. It really means a lot to me, and I hope I can return the favor by bringing you guys some good new content in the coming weeks. Thanks again to the many readers who wrote me and to ghostlightning for the encouragement and much needed kick in the pants.

…and yes, I realize the second Matrix film was a disappointment. Hopefully referencing it in the title of this post won’t jinx me.

Well it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, and although this is most assuredly due to my laziness, it’s not entirely accurate to say that I’ve been doing nothing but loafing about drinking shochu and watching anime during the punishing summer months here in Japan. Not entirely accurate.

Anyway, what I’m planning to do is share some of my more interesting adventures during my time here. I’ll have leave the serious discussion on the finer points of Japan’s rich cultural heritage to 0rion; my tales will serve as more of a series of facepalm inducing incidents.

So I met Yotsuba the other day, as in IRL.

I was sitting in the cafe area at the local DOMY supermarket, minding my own business, enjoying some of their scrumptious yet very reasonably priced salmon nigirizushi. In the background I could hear the sound of a kid running about shouting something about “okashi” (candy).

As the sounds drew closer, it became apparent that the voice belonged to a small child approximately five years of age. As she entered into the cafe area, which I need to stress is just a couple of tables and chairs seated next to some vending machines within the store, her eyes met with a horrible sight. Namely, my face. Read the rest of this entry »

Somehow the discussion from a couple days ago about Tokyo Tower inspired ghostlightning to comment that the tower somehow possessed some kind of moe quality to it:

.

“I find it interesting, within the context of usagijen’s post and the comment that inspired it how your photo is from a vantage point that’s higher than the Tokyo Tower itself. It’s as it it’s small, or diminished and is now being defended for reals, because it needs to be. The tower is somehow… moe.”

Well, leave it to regular Epic Win guest artist jupeboxgal to go and actually turn that completely random concept into a reality. While somewhat bizarre, much like the original comment that spawned the idea, this picture is entirely too awesome to not post about. So, here it is, Tokyo Tower-tan. Ain’t she adorable?

Now we just need somebody to make a corresponding image in response to usagijen’s comment:

“Now if Tokyo Tower is moe, as ghostlightning said in your post, then Mt.Fuji might as well be its GAR counterpart”

Greetings all,

So I’m back in Japan again, here to take up my Japanese studies once more. This time I’m staying in Okazaki City actually, with a very nice host family who for some inane reason has decided to not only tolerate my presence but also supply me with delicious foodstuffs.  The Sugimoto family have been marvelous hosts and also assisted greatly in answering my endless barrage of questions about Japanese grammar.

Okazaki is quite a peaceful place, which is nice for contemplative reflection whilst sitting outdoors…

…or at least it would be if not for the ceaseless, deafening assault of noise from the hideously massive 蝉　(せみ cicadas) that have installed a veritable cicada Disneyland in the tree outside my bedroom window.  At 6 AM sharp every morning they are open for business, and lately business has been booming. Read the rest of this entry »

…has never really bothered trying to appreciate it.

(Click for larger version)

This post is in response to usagijen’s article / mini-rant about Tokyo Tower and aesthetics in general, which was itself inspired by a comment on ghostlightning’s latest Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 post where someone referred to Tokyo Tower as “overrrated”.

Both are highly recommended reading, by the way, whether you’ve been watching Tokyo Magnitude or not. Her post really helped remind me just what a significant place Tokyo Tower holds in Japanese history, as both a visual landmark and a symbolic one.

From her article:

“As for Tokyo Tower, well let’s just say I gained much more appreciation for it after watching the AWSUM movie ALWAYS ~Sunset on Third Street~, as I witnessed how this landmark became the pillar of hope back in the 1950s where people are starting out a new life after the war. It was a sign of a new era in Japan — an era of hopes and dreams, an era of a bright future (a bright ‘mirai’).

They built Tokyo Tower with the ambition of making it the TALLEST tower in the world, and other towers might have ‘outgrown’ it now, but you can’t take away the fact that it was successful back in its time. Having known its significance made me all the more realize that TOKYO TOWER IS BEAUTIFUL.”

While Tokyo Tower is a bit dated by today’s standards, and while it’s kind of a rip-off of the Eiffel Tower, you certainly can’t deny its major cultural significance. Even from just a purely visual, aesthetic standpoint, I still find it quite beautiful. In typical Japanese fashion, they even modify the lighting to different colors seasonally or during certain events to help give the skyline a different look. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a while since our last humorous entry, and we haven’t talked about Japan much since our post about Junky Healthy Taco Rice and other fun Engrish stuff, so we thought a good way to kill two birds with one stone would be to show you guys some of the funny Engrish-style T-shirts those crazy Japanese have cooked up.

Dental hygiene is of extremely great in portance in Japan. Whilst I was perusing the various and sundry clothing shops scattered throughout Harajuku, I came upon this incredible shirt. It’s awfully rare to find a T-shirt that so unilaterally implores others to follow societal mores, really. Come to think of it, I think teeth are often undervalued in our society…well, or maybe that’s just England?

Nevertheless, it serves as a good reminder. Also, check out that bad tooth – do all cavities have such a huge bite taken out of them? Thankfully, they provided three standard teeth to allow for comparison. Gosh, I love this shirt so much. Read the rest of this entry »

This year I decided to forego the usual western customs in favor of following a more Japanese approach to celebrating the New Year. Fortunately for me, the Japanese community in Los Angeles puts on quite a celebration on the first few days of the year, with traditional food, music, and dancing.

After enjoying the first sunrise of the year (hatsuhinode), I headed down to Little Tokyo to catch the festivities (and buy some manga, of course). They had stages set up for various performances at both Weller Court in front of the Kinokuniya bookstore, as well in the Japanese Village Plaza, pictured below. Read the rest of this entry »

Yet another case of a young child trying to murder a sleeping parent. This time it was a 13 year old boy in Osaka who clubbed his father over the head with a bat while he was sleeping.

From the Mainichi news article:

“My dad is always telling me off and he bashes me about once a month. Dad’s always playing pachinko and I thought it was unfair that it’s always me who’s getting told off,” the boy told the police.

Police said that on early Monday the boy belted his sleeping father to the head with a metal baseball bat, bruising his head and breaking his fingers. The boy ran off but was found at a nearby convenience store about 30 minutes later. When he admitted to attacking his father, mistakenly believing he had killed him, officers took him into custody. Read the rest of this entry »

Amidst all the furor over Japan’s newly implemented policy of fingerprinting every foreigner entering or leaving the country, as I was reading through the various comments on different blogs and news sites there was one particular type of reaction that stood out to me.

Many people were making comments like “That’s too bad, I was thinking of taking a vacation to Japan, but now with all these things I’m hearing, maybe I should stay away.”

Now certainly, Japan is not the magical land of rainbows and ponies and gumdrop smiles that your average weeaboo imagines it to be. In fact, sometimes it looks pretty bad. But at the same time, it’s also not all doom and gloom, racism and xenophobia, which is the impression that many people seem to be getting from all of the recent negative press.

So let me just reiterate a very important point:

Japan is still a wonderful place to visit.

Japan is a beautiful country with a rich culture and heritage and some of the kindest, most hospitable people I have ever met. It has some of the most breathtaking sights, most delicious cuisine, and best entertainment anywhere. It is also arguably the safest countries in the world to travel in.

Matsumoto Castle

Yes, if you are not Japanese you will generally be treated differently. This doesn’t necessarily mean in a derogatory way, however. On the contrary, the Japanese generally go to extraordinary lengths to be accommodating to guests in their country. Read the rest of this entry »

Minami-ke’s Kana-chan apparently thinks that she is boss.

And certainly, in addition to frequently bending Chiaki to her will, she seems to have the show’s male cast pretty well under her thumb.

What she does not realize, however, is that someone else has already laid claim to that title:

NO ME

As a matter of fact, SUNTORY BOSS is actually the real boss. And not just the usual garden variety “hit their weak point three times” kind of boss, either. He’s the boss of them all, and apparently has been since 1992.

Sorry Kana, looks like you lose this one. Read the rest of this entry »