JapanSugoi

Some pets love to exercise (or run about all day long!).  Japanese TV show “Nanikore” visits a small souvenir shop in Nikko where the owner has an American pit bull dog terrier called Teroru, who loves to exercise . Even after going on a long walk with his master, Teroru wants to be taken to his home-made treadmill to continue exercising.  The machine is powered by his own walking and he can stop whenever he feels tired.

The giant Japanese salamander (Andrias japonicus) also known as Ōsanshōuo オオサンショウウオ (or pepperfish) can be found on the islands of Kyushu, Honshu, Shikoku in Japan.  The salamander grows up to 1.5 meters in length and is the second largest salamander in the world (the largest being the related Chinese giant salamander (A. davidianus).

The nocturnal and long living salamander (up to 80 years in the wild)  is an endangered and protected species (included on CITES) and lives in clear cool water streams.  It faces a struggle in its natural habitat due to dams that prevent the gi­ant am­phib­ians getting up­stream past the dams to lay their eggs.  Read more...

Growing rice 100 years ago in Japan – not much has changed in terms of the backbreaking manual work.

Japan Post has many post offices all over Japan but in case you don’t live near an office, you can find mail boxes like this bright red one in your community.

Hi Chew is a popular Japanese candy and the Hi Chew King ハイチュウキング is the Hi Chew character mascot.  Here is an entertaining TV commercial with the HiChew King.

Tokyo’s famous Ueno Zoo恩賜上野動物園 (in Taito, Tokyo) is located in Ueno Park, a large and popular urban park that also has museums, a small amusement park and other attractions. Every year one of the more comical sights in Tokyo is when Ueno Zoo performs an escaped animal drill.  A zoo worker dresses up in an animal costume and mimicks the behavior of the animal out of his enclosure while other zoo workers try to capture him.

It’s not just Ueno Zoo but other zoo’s in Tokyo  that hold similar drills practicing the capturing of  a tiger, rhino, monkey, zebra, rhinoceros and other animals that might make a break for freedom!  Read more...

Having trouble finding the right Japanese girlfriend or  boyfriend? Finding the right one is difficult in any country but if you live in Japan, you can always head to Kyoto’s Jishu Shrine  (built by Shogun Iemitsu in 1633) tucked away behind Kiyomizudera Temple which is the home of the famous Love Stones (koiuranai no ishi).

The shrine receives alot of visitors because this is where the god of love and marriage (Okuninushi-no Mikoto) is enshrined.  The shrine does a brisk trade in Omamuri (amulets) that promise to help “for love knot”, “for good marriage”, “for love chance”.  The Love Stones are a pair of rocks set in the ground about 6 metres apart. If you can successfully walk from one stone to the other with your eyes closed you will be lucky in love.  Read more...

The neon signs for the big pachinko parlors near the west exit of Shinjuku Station in Toko are pretty darn impressive.  This one advertises “Jumbo Pachinko”

Sumo the traditional Japanese sport in the 1930′s – the ceremony, the crowds, the excitement – only the big modern stadium and TV cameras are missing!