日本語英語

Today more examples of loan words that may or may not make any sense to a native speaker of English.

Once in the San Francisco Airport, I saw a group of women trying to order three cups of coffee.

スリーホット！スリーホット！repeated the flustered Japanese woman. The young Mexican-American at the counter stared back blankly.

What the customer wanted was "su-ri hotto," or three coffees.

Another example is アメリカン（American）. This is a slightly weaker cup of coffee.

Moving to the workplace, there are of course the サラリーマン（salaryman）and オーエル（OL, office lady）.

Then there are the dreaded リストラ（resutora, restructuring）and ブランク（blank）. The former means layoffs, the latter a period on your resume that is empty or blank.

Another term with negative connotations is フリーター（furi-ta-）, which is someone who works "freely." What it means in practice is someone who works part-time at several jobs instead of having one full-time job.

The last word for today is マイペース（mai pace）. In general, it means someone who works at their own pace, even if others are rushing.

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高瀬川京都

Kyoto's Takase River is a narrow canal that runs parallel to Kiyamachi Dori (street) from Nijo-Kiyamachi down to Fushimi, in southern Kyoto. The canal dates from 1611.

It is quite close the Kamo River and follows alongside it for roughly 10 km, separated only by Pontocho and Kiyamachi.

Prior to the invention of the steam engine and internal combustion engine, rivers and canals were used to transport both people and goods in Japan.

In the case of Kyoto, small barges carried goods on the Takase River within Kyoto and then, farther down where the canal meets the Kamo River, to Osaka.

Today is is a pleasant break from the concrete and neon, mainly thanks to the willow trees that line the canal. Near Nijo, several of the barges are moored and there is a plaque explaining the history of the area and the canal.

Kiyamachi is beset known today as a nightlife area, with bars and restaurants and brothels on the side streets. At night, students and young people and lovers throng the narrow streets.

Last week, though, riding down Kiyamachi during the day to avoid the traffic on Kawaramachi, we noticed many works of art in the river itself.

They were set on concrete blocks in the river, and labeled. The exhibit was a competition with winners and prizes.

The works ranged from the highly abstract to the merely odd.

One wonders what the pimps and whores, students and salarymen, geisha and tourists make of this as they make their nightly rounds.

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(c) JapanVisitor.com

旧ソウル駅

The former Seoul Station building is one of the few remaining colonial buildings left in the Korean capital.

The brick structure is actually closed now, having been replaced in 2004 with the completion of the new Seoul Station. The adjacent glass structure houses the tracks for the new KTX bullet train and has the feel of an airport.

The former Seoul Station was designed by Tokyo Imperial University professor Tsukamoto Yasushi. Tsukamoto was a student of Tatsuno Kingo, the designer of Tokyo Station.

And, in contrast to the new efficient station building, it is comfortable and good looking.

The elegant building was completed in 1925 while Korea was under Japanese occupation. Based on it design and feel, it bears a close resemblance to Tokyo Station.

It is a three-story structure, which had a restaurant on the second floor and a waiting room on the third.

The building is scheduled to be renovated beginning in April, 2009. In June of the following year, the "Seoul Station Cultural Center" is scheduled to open its doors.

The former Seoul Station was designated in August of 1981 as a cultural property--and as such will not meet the fate of many other Japanese colonial era buildings: the wrecking ball.

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Three young demonstrators were arrested by Japanese police in Shibuya, Tokyo after taking part in a "Reality Tour" to view Prime Minister Taro Aso's luxury mansion located in the area on October 26.



The march to the 6.2 billion yen apartment of Japan's latest PM, Taro Aso was organized by "Part-timer, Arbeiter, Freeter & Foreign Workers" to emphasise the income gap in Japanese society.

Japanese police argue the demonstration was unauthorized and they had issued warnings to the participants to stop before making their arrests.

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Taro Aso Shibuya

今週の日本

Japan: British Lucite Maker to Be Acquired

New York Times

Japanese governor says Tokyo earthquake would be good for his region

Guardian

Neighborhood in Japan Files Lawsuit in Bid to Oust Mafia

New York Times

Ruling bloc OKs ¥2 trillion boost

Japan Times

Japanese General Defends Revised Version of WWII

Washington Post

Free Money? In Japan, Most Say They Will Pass

Washington Post

The Late Story: Egg Face

BBC

Tokyo hosts global gathering of monks

Asahi

Gamba coach hails “dream” first Asian title

Yahoo! Sports


Last week's Japan news

Japan Statistics

In the first six months of this year, 1,202 marijuana related arrests were recorded in Japan. This is a 12% increase compared the same period in the previous year. Home cultivation cases rose by by almost 50%.

In July, Tokyo police seized 180kg of cannabis. That would fetch ¥720 million ($7.4 million) on the mean streets of Japan.

Source: Guardian


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• Date: Saturday Nov 22nd, 2008


• Time: 18:30 - 21:00


• Drinks will be served between 6:30pm-8:50pm.
• Place: The Red Rock (2F Aster Plaza Building,
  4-14-6 Sakae, Nagoya (very close to Sakae Station)


• Fee: 3000 Yen
  
  
• Dress code: Anything (Casual, etc)


• Reservations: Not necessary but recommended and appreciated. Just show up to the party!


• Over 25,000 Yen worth of exciting prize giveaways each month!

There will be free food along with free drinks (beers, wine, cocktail drinks and juices).
Our party is not a dinner party, but we will have light food & snacks.
Quantities are limited, so please come early! Please free to come alone or bring your friends.
EVERYBODY is welcome to join regardless of nationality/gender. Reservation is greatly appreciated.
About 125-150+ people are expected to attend. Approximately 55% female and 45% male, 70% Japanese and 30% non-Japanese.
Pictures from previous Nagoya Friends Parties.

Contact: 080-3648-1666(Japanese) 080-5469-6317(English)

Get off at Sakae Station [Exit #13]

The Red Rock (2F Aster Plaza Building,
4-14-6 Sakae, Nagoya (very close to Sakae Station)

The Red Rock is located behind the Chunichi Building in the Sakae business/shopping district.

Subway access from Sakae Station (serving the yellow and purple lines) Exit 13. It’s a big station connected to a huge underground shopping mall so you’ll need to do a little underground walking.

We’re also just a couple of minutes’ walk from the Tokyu and Precede hotels, and a 10 minute walk up Hirokoji Street from the Hilton Hotel in Fushimi.

Train Directions

From Nagoya Stn. take the Higashiyama Subway line to Sakae Station (GET OFF at Sakae Station!!) Take exit #13 and then walk straight AWAY from Hirokoji-Dori for about 3/4 of a block. TURN LEFT Red Rock is on the right side of the street in the middle of the block. Look for the sign on the sidewalk.

IKEA ポートアイランド

IKEA's Port Island store in Kobe is a massive 293,000-square feet.

From its size to the experience to the way you shop--you are no longer in Japan.

The staff is Japanese and Swedish, and hard to find. No "irrashaimase," no 5 women waiting on you in the necktie section, no excessive wrapping, and no inflated prices: IKEA's business model is, like its design, clean and spare.

The store sells beds, sofas, kitchen items, furniture, etc. In addition, there is a play area for children, a small Swedish super market, and a restaurant on the second floor.

After arriving on the shuttle bus from Sannomiya Station, you wander through the show rooms. Prices are so low you will begin to sense a powerful need for cutlery and glassware.

The smaller items you can place in the over sized shopping cart; larger items you must pick up in the warehouse next door. In the show rooms are small note pads and pencils on which you write down the product name and number. In the warehouse, you then pick them up. This often requires a massive dolly.

All of this "shopping" must be managed on your own. Not surprisingly, most of the shoppers were young couples.

The final step is checking out and then arranging shipping. Like its US stores, IKEA assumes that most of its customers will come by car. For those who take public transportation and the shuttle, it's home delivery, which is the only aspect of the experience that is priced to the local market.

Shuttle Bus:

Weekdays: 2 buses per hour. Weekends and public holidays: 3 buses per hour. It takes around 15-20 minutes to get to the store.

Address:
8 chome 7-1, Minatojima
Nakamachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe City

Customer service:

078-304-7000

Store hours:

7 days a week: 10:00am-10:00pm

Closed on January 1st every year.

Last entry

Småland: 7:30 PM yet closes when it's full
Restaurant (2F): 9:30 PM
Parking area: 9:30 PM
Showroom: 9:45 PM
Sweden Food Market: 10:00 PM

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