Japan Mono

Man Killed for Hogging Karaoke

Apparently some 23 year old Malaysian was today stabbed to death for hogging the karaoke microphone at a karaoke bar. You can see the full article posted by the BBC here.

Now, I`ve known a few people that hog the mic at Heartland, a local karaoke bar which myself and friends sometimes visit. My American friend from Nebraska was probably the worst [...]

Japanese Yen to the Auzzie Dollar

With the whole world economy currently going down the gurgler (forgive the Auzzie speak - you know we’re all just a bunch of bloated, beer-guzzling drongos anyway), as in the financial meltdown, I’d just like to mention that now is the best time (actually it was two weeks ago) to send all that Japanese yen [...]

Bad Japan - TV Advertisements

One thing which became evidently clear when I originally moved to Japan was the sheer difference in advertising methods compared to my home country, Australia.  Adverts back home are all re-hashed versions of themselves; they all scream “Bargain!” and thankfully we’ve learned to ignore most of them.  The only advertising trick which seems to work [...]

How to Download Free Manga

Free manga (Japanese comics) are easily available from the internet.  Just run a search through Google by typing “download free manga (+ name of manga)” and it should be easy to find.  When you find the manga you’re looking for, simply download it to your computer and open it using a manga reader.
I personally prefer [...]

Japanese People and Society

Are Japanese People Really Polite?

The majority of Japanese people, like most people from other countries are courteous and polite (actually, they’re very polite). However, compared to other societies, there’s a different type of breeze in the air if you take my meaning. Japanese society insists that at all times people are mindful and take other people’s [...]

Japanese Monsters - Akaname

I just picked up a wonderful book from Junkudo, a huge bookstore here in Japan called “Yokai attack!” From time to time I will be introducing various Japanese monsters unknown to foreigners found within this humorous and informative book.  Forget Godzilla and that creepy girl from The Ring.  These Japanese monsters, known as yokai, will [...]

How to Download Free Anime

There are many ways to download free anime such as Naruto and One Piece from the internet, but basically it falls into two categories; high quality and medium quality.  Downloading high quality anime involves using Bit Torrent, which can be a little tricky if you are new to it.  Downloading medium quality anime on the [...]

How to Make Money in Japan

Making a lot of money in Japan with a regular job can be very difficult for Japanese people who often are required to work long hours with excessive amounts of overtime. Pay is low, stress is high and it’s virtually impossible for the average worker to save a lot of money.

For a foreigner living in Japan though, making a lot of money is quite do-able and it relies simply on [...]

Pick up Japanese Women

To a foreigner, Japanese women look much younger than their actual age. Women who are 30 usually appear to be around 25 or so, or maybe a little younger. Some of these girls actually look young while others are semi-professional at [...]

Tokyo Game Show - R.O.I.D

R.O.I.D, a new gaming console from Level 5 Inc, which also transforms into a robot was on display at the Tokyo Game Show 2008.

Well, actually despite it`s looks, R.O.I.D isn`t exactly a gaming console and certainly doesn`t transform - a little prank from Level-5 which did create some excitement amongst the crowd.

Basically it`s a [...]