Archive for October, 2007
Kintaro Goes Geisha - a teaser from our exclusive interview with Kintaro Walks Japan
On October 31, 2007 in Interviews
This answer was one of my favourites so I wanted you to see it in context, ergo this short teaser post + video clip:
Daily J: When people aren’t watching do you still dress up geisha? 
Tyler: No, I usually only do it when people are watching.
(Thanks to Angsuman for his post on how to start a video at a specific point)
Stay tuned tomorrow for more fun with Tyler!
Watch KWJ
On October 30, 2007 in Announcements
Daily J is super excited to be bring you, as promised , an exclusive interview with Tyler from the award-winning independent film Kintaro Walks Japan.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for is almost here!
In preparation for tomorrow’s interview you have to watch the movie. So grab some popcorn, sit back, relax and hit “play”
We were graciously given the opportunity to ask “Kintaro” some questions about the movie, his other projects, and the man himself. The answers were HILARIOUS. So come back tomorrow!
How to hack Japan
On October 29, 2007 in Announcements, Interviews we'd like to do
Imagine a site that hacks Japan and gives you all of the efficient living tips you need to get by…
But first what is a “hack?”
Wikipedia defines a “hack” as:
“… a modification of a program or device to give the user access to features that were otherwise unavailable to them. “
From “hacks” came the idea of “Life-hacks,” which today can be defined as anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever way.
What does this have to do with making life easier in Japan?
Enter NihonHacks.com, a site dedicated to giving you tips to save time and money whilst living in Japan.
We will be interviewing this site soon. But I just could not help myself (or wait) because I believe that for the average foreigner living in Japan this site is a must. It is such a good idea.
NihonHacks is a pretty new site, but it is so well focused on what it uniquely provides.
So please check it out. It is definitely worth it. Nihonhacks.com <– do it now
And maybe even help Thomas out by sending in your own hacks
Ganbaru!
On October 28, 2007 in Announcements
Things are super busy right now, but I will keep doing my best to bring you inside information on all of the exciting Japan-related sites and blogs out there.
Yesterday, for the first (and hopefully last) time I did not post anything to the blog. It was a bloody awful day.
Hopefully some of the upcoming interviews will make up for the gaps 
We also have something very very exciting in the works with Nipponster (if you want to be one of the first to hear about it subscribe to the newsletter). Unfortunately it has been keeping me too busy to attend to all of my Daily J tasks.
But I won’t let that go on for long, I know you all need your vitamin J. And who is going to mix it for you besides your friendly neighborhood Daily J chemist? 
Quick rundown
On October 26, 2007 in Announcements, JapanBlogMatsuri
Okay, time for a quick list of things we are working on, etc.
There is a lot going on.
#1 The promised mailing list is up. Yes, that’s it on the left. I know you want to sign up!
Moving along.
#2 We have an interview coming up that I promised you a while back. I’m not going to tell you who it is (you’ll just have to wait), but here is a hint “walking.”
Next
#45 (might have skipped a few)
The ebook… no updates on the progress of it yet. But when it is done it will be given out to newsletter subscribers as a gift.
#? J-blog matsuri: I have contacted our fearless leader, Ken from WhatJapanThinks. I am looking forward to the next matsuri and I hope you all are too. Hopefully the participation will be good and we can realise Ken’s original goal of creating more of a community among Japan bloggers.
Comment spam, tags vs. categories and other wordpress woes
On October 26, 2007 in Suggestions Please
*There will not be any interviews today, but we have an awesome one coming up so stay tuned*
That said, time for me to gripe about wordpress (well, more like my lack of experience with wordpress). I’m hoping someone kind and more experienced will come along and point me in the right direction so I don’t have to hunt for a fix my self (and if they could bring me an ice cream sundae that would be awesome too )
– Beware, this post is just frustration venting and has nothing to do with Japan –
Before I gripe I would like to mention why I love wordpress so no one gets the wrong idea:
- You can create posts ahead of time and set the timer to when you want them to publish (this is my favourite)
- The easy of use, especially when editing templates, blogrolls, etc.
- The dashboard - it is super useful
- Plugins (mods) that will likely solve the problems I’m having once I make some time to play with them…
I have used a number of content management systems *(CMS) like wordpress before, and wordpress is a top notch CMS. But with all CMS you have to go searching for how to fix something or other, or for some add-on. It’s making me tired…
Now about the problems I’m having:
Spam comments:
Is it just me or do wordpress blogs get an insane amount of spam? The only other blog platforms I have experience with are xanga (does that even count as a blog platform?) and blogger.
With blogger I never, ever, had any spam. It was nice really…
I have seen what looked like some kind of spam blocking add-on on other blogs (I think they were wordpress blogs).
Spam trackbacks:
I did not even know that these existed before using wordpress. It seems there are sites out there that aggregate your content and send a trackback hoping to drive some of your traffic to their squatter site full of adsense ads. As one does…
Tags vs. Categories:
I wish wordpress had the tagging features of blogger. With blogger you see all of your posts on the right and on the left you can check them and apply a tag (or label) , basically just like in gmail (Mmmm gmail, I love gmail). To tell you the truth I still haven’t gotten the hang of tags vs. categories.
Rich text editor:
It’s just really, really basic. Maybe there is a better one that can be added, I don’t know. The default one does not have a text color / text size function. I know html so I can do all of that by hand, but it would be easier with an editor.
Okay. I’m done venting now. Wow, this is a very uncharacteristic post for this blog.
*UPDATE*
All solved by http://dev.wp-plugins.org/wiki/PluginDirectory
Why the Japan Blog Matsuri is such a good idea
On October 25, 2007 in JapanBlogMatsuri, On the J-web
“In order to get a bit more of a community and interaction going on here with my fellow Japan bloggers, I have decided to hold a Japan Blog Matsuri (outline and guidelines described there), basically a chance for everyone to recommend their best, or favourite, or most under-appreciated blog post for the month, based around a different theme every month.” - Ken from WhatJapanThinks
The part that stands out in my mind is “In order to get a bit more of a community and interaction going…” It seems to me that we do need more of a community and I think that a matsuri is a great way to do it.
I’ve talked a lot about the next matsuri but knowing that talk alone isn’t going to do anything I have also been chatting up some of the past hosts and hopefully the ball will start rolling again with the monthly J-blog matsuri.
TAKE YOUR VITAMINS - past interviews in chewable form
On October 24, 2007 in Interview Highlights
Time for your daily dose of vitamin J!
We have had some really good interviews over the past few weeks, good enough to repeat in fact. So that is what we’re going to do.
That’s right, it’s time for interview highlights!
Our last highlights post covered Daily J’s first four “launch” interviews, so this post will start with #5:
Highlights
#5 Why KeepingPaceinJapan is a perfect site for Japan-enthusiasts (click for full text)
Highlights
Daily J: What motivated you to start blogging?
Turner: Most of my research upon deciding to come to Japan was in the blogosphere. I found many people writing personal stories for their families and friends, mentioning places they’d been, but not too many with specific information about living conditions, travel advice, or hard-hitting essays on the culture.
Since I was coming over with one of the major English eikaiwa, I knew there would be plenty of people looking through my blog for detailed information on the experience, even if they ended up staying for only one year. As such, I really wanted to give them my perspective on Japan, letting them experience this country using all five senses through my writing; I’m still working on how best to do that, but I think some of my observations have been very helpful to others.
#6 You, Me, and Mari - Interview with “Watashi to Tokyo” (click for all the fun details)
Highlight
How you can help Mari out:
Daily J: I noticed that you have a section where you ask people to proofread your posts. Have you had much response to that (are people help in you)? And, if you need more, how can an interested person help you out?
Mari: I have a few proofreaders now. Everyday some of them send me a proofed
post.
They offered to help me by mail and I welcome new offers by mail too.
It is very great that people who I have never met help me.
#7 Harvey on housing, travel, and skinny girls - an exclusive interview with JapanNewbie (click for full)
Highlight
Daily J: Is there any post in particular that is your favourite, and why? (You’ve been blogging since 2002, right? If you can’t narrow it to one I understand)
Harvey: Favorite posts… Yes, as you said, that’s very very tough. One that has brought a lot of traffic is this one comparing female BMI in various countries. Japan sticks out like a sore thumb. http://www.japannewbie.com/2006/11/26/skinny-girls/
Personally, I like my posts about the Hanshin Tigers and takoyaki! I love Osaka.
# 8 Learn Japanese With Takanori Sensei! (Click for the rest)
Highlight
Daily J: What motivated you to start your site? Also what motivated you to want to start teaching/teaching on the internet?
Takanori: Because I found out that there are a lot of people who want to learn Japanese, but things you learn at a normal school is only grammartical Japanese language.
I want to teach the Japanese language for real communication. So, they can speak Japanese.
# 9 Alternative perspectives on Japan - an interview with Gyaku.jp (click for full interview)
Highlight
“The goal of the project [gyaku.jp] is to amplify (partly through translation) certain voices and stories in Japan that might not otherwise get heard in an international context. “
I wrote a post about one of their translated documents here –>What translated documents on gyaku.jp have to do with you and the fingerprinting of all foreigners in Japan
# 10 “Alright Kids, Who Wants to Write for DigitalWorldTokyo?” “I do, I do!” (click to read all)
Highlight
Daily J: Where do you see DigitalWorldTokyo going in the near future?
Mark: I’m opening it up to contributors who wish to post stories that publicize their own sites. A good example is the noted anime expert Emru Townsend, who posts trailers for his own stories on DWT — those items are really popular and drive lots of traffic. Both sides benefit, as we can send lots of readers to the partner site and we get some nice new content.
Anyone reading this is welcome to contact me at jml[att]digitalworldtokyo.com to talk about the opportunity.
AND Mothers, lock up your USB ports… Digital World Tokyo has let the dogs out <– click at you’re own risk
# 11 Rock Out! Why this site is one of my favourites - an exclusive interview with Rocking In Hakata (click for full)
Highlight
Daily J: What would you say is unique about your site and how can readers get the most from it?
Deas: As I mentioned earlier, it’s a different kind of Japan-related blog. No idols, no anime or manga, no ninjas, and very little of sushi and video games. More cultural delights and hang-ups, language conundrums, real world experiences, and culinary adventures. That’s kind of where my site is, I think, and I like that. It’s a more engaged, interesting, playful way to explore Japan and Japanese language. I leave all of that other stuff up to the myriad sites who specialize in it.
You’ve read the highlights, now check out those posts in full! And be sure to give our interviewees a big hello on their blogs!
Thanks again to all of the bloggers who have given us these great interviews. It has been fun talking to all of you and we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making the web a better place for Japan-enthusiasts!
To all a good day,
Daily J
Dreaming of the next Japan Blog Matsuri
On October 23, 2007 in JapanBlogMatsuri, On the J-web
A little break. No interviews today.
I’m busy daydreaming about the next j-blog matsuri.
And I am researching past ones.
Here are some links related to that (in very random order):
http://whatjapanthinks.com/2007/03/08/februarys-japan-blog-matsuri/
http://whatjapanthinks.com/jbmatsuri/
http://www.rockinginhakata.com/2007/03/27/112/
http://www.risingsunofnihon.com/2007/03/japan_blog_matsuri.html
http://www.rockinginhakata.com/2007/05/11/150/
Mmm. Matsuri…
Heroes and horses and whales, oh my… Fun with Rocking In Hakata
On October 22, 2007 in Interviews
Hi All. If you missed yesterday’s post be sure to check it out now (we talked with Deas about the Japan Blog Matsuri). Today we are chatting with him about some of the neat and unique content on RockingInHakata.
Daily J: What is the most interesting project, etc. that you are current working on for your site? (I noticed that you started a series on Japanese used in the “Heroes” TV show)
Deas: The Heroes commentary series was unfortunately dramatically reduced thanks to the computer issues I’ve had of late. To be honest, I was way more excited about it weeks and weeks ago. Now it just feels good to get it out of my system! My favorite thing so far has been the whole Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey exercise. Humor is HARD to translate. But for some reason, I love attempting it anyway, even with my sub-par Japanese.
Daily J: You blog some in Japanese. I especially like your posts translating English humour into Japanese (Weird Al’s song). What motivated you to start posting in Japanese too? Which post in Japanese is your favourite so far?
Deas: Well, it was an attempt to thwart academic laziness and get my Japanese studies back on the right path, originally. But then it became a cultural interest. Some things get across, but some things miss by the widest margins you can imagine. When translating Weird Al, I made sure I’d chosen something easily accessible - the concept behind the song I did was pretty simple. I’m doing another one this week or next week, I think. I also did the aforementioned Deep Thoughts series. I’ve been gathering ideas for other future articles. I’m thinking that I might attempt some Mitch Hedburg and Eddie Izzard eventually. Any ideas for me? I’ve not tried translating Japanese comedy into English yet, but maybe that’ll come eventually, as well.
Daily J: I saw your post about whale. Have you had horse yet? When I was at Jochi U. I had horse and whale (only once). I thought horse was delicious (but hard to find in Tokyo)! Can you tell us a little bit about eating whale? Did they have whale ice cream (no lie, it exists!)?
Deas: I haven’t yet partaken of the famous equine delight. But I’ve located a place nearby that sells horse meat, so that’s a step in the right direction. I guess I should get around to that, huh? The whale was pretty strong tasting. I’d even say funky. Depending on the social situation and the price, I may or may not ever eat it again. Never had whale ice cream…though if you tell me where to procure it I might… The thing is, eating animals that the majority of people agree are majestic and graceful creatures has become super taboo. I got more nasty messages from the whale eating entry than I did for some other stuff. (Second only to the nasty messages I got from the global warming entry. Shudder. Or dare I say shiver?)
Daily J: You blog a bit about your travels (like your trip to Korea), what would you say was you favourite trip and why?
Deas: Tough call! I would say that my favorite trip is still the one I made to Hokkaido when I was an exchange student. I caught the Sapporo Yukimatsuri, went on a cruise through the frozen over Okhotsk Sea, saw laser shows and Tancho cranes, and basically had a blast with the bus full of old ladies that went on the same tour. It was awesome. Unfortunately, it’s on the old website. You can see it here: http://www.furman.edu/inted/viewentry.cfm?id=91 . It’s less sophisticated, but you can still enjoy pictures and video clips of the trip. I highly recommend it! Do it!
I’m going to repeat that last link because there are some really great pictures there, so click it! –>http://www.furman.edu/inted/viewentry.cfm?id=91
A big BIG thank you to Deas! It has been a lot of fun doing this interview.
And thank you all for reading.
Have a great day,
Daily J
