Goodwill_Hunting comments

Looks like Japanese-style rooms run just under 10,000 per person (for a couple staying overnight) not including meals. Need to log-in to use their reservation website.

" the respected Nikkei" WTF?

Translation: "Dress" paid me a truck load of money to say whatever. Laughing all the way to the bank.

That's all well and good, but can we see any of the seasons with subtitles in Japan??

Sickening stories like this make me totally re-think the characteristics of Japan.

It's only impressive if you're brain dead.

I've found that they remove content too quickly (maybe the licensing fees are too high?). Things I had hoped to watch again when friends were over, mysteriously disappeared from the catalog. And streaming errors occur for me every single episode, often multiple times. The streaming just cuts out and the browser has to be refreshed (on a very new computer no less).

It's all about experimenting with turning the focus toward others rather than yourself. Experiment with service to others, working in the community (as the article stays), helping foster excellence in others, giving back to the sport. Life is chock full of excitement, challenges, and worthy causes. We need to help each other find them (even if they lack adrenaline). It seems to be extremely wise to avoid alcohol throughout the process.

The untold story here is that the beach houses are notoriously influenced by quasi-yakuza groups. Any beach house more than 1 story in height is supposed a yakuza-run operation because the regulations forbid tall beach houses. The tattoo ban is the government's way of trying to obliquely address the yakuza issue. My question: what do the yakuza do in winter? They sure seem to be hyper-active in the summer!

Doesn't the Japanese title 風立ちぬ mean the "wind doesn't rise"?

Did anyone mention "to kowtow" from 叩頭する　こうとうする　?

A lot of these studies judge stretching vis-a-vis sports performance or susceptibility to injury. But how about just judging it as a way of bringing blood flow and relaxation to taut muscles/joints?

What's the significance of the arrows people buy at temples during their New Year's visit?

This article really needs a better title. It is too alarming until one reads the actual content.

SS started as a noble cause. Now it's a real fight. One cause against another. But does SS have any idea at all how ungodly stubborn their adversary is?

Very funny that this article comes on the heels of:

Girls fawn over Nagano police station’s new pretty-boy mascot characters

The list includes courage, compassion, ambition, intelligence, humor, optimism and, perhaps surprisingly, being tall.

Most of these can be crossed right off the list. Ambition? Sounds more like a selfish trait to me. Intelligence? Obviously helpful, but by no means central to being a hero. Humor? Height?

The bottom line is a hero has a positive purpose and makes a real sacrifice because she (could also be a he) has put others before herself. Hence the reason why so many people say, "My mom is my hero" or "My dad is my hero." Normally, there should be an element of the dramatic as well.

Mother Teresa was my hero. She did the hard things we would rather avoid. She didn't keep walking when she saw the destitute person. She didn't avoid the ugly and the dirty among us. She forcefully made people realize she wasn't going to budge until something was done. Who's your hero?

This article seems like a poor excuse to make some kind of local reference to the "Knockout Game." Disgraceful reporting.

Any fans of Akiko Wada out there?

Mr. Kuroda thinks we don't use Google? 2009-2011: negative inflation rates in Japan. 2012: 0% inflation. 2013: positive inflation rates since and including June (no higher than 1% though). Since the BOJ goal is for "average" inflation of 2%, that would require much higher than 2% in the short term to average out. It's still too early to tell at this point, the policy will need time to play out, but it is easy to see that stocks are up, wages are not. The BOJ pats itself on the back. Who are they trying to serve?

Perfect guy to play Thor. Younger brother has questionable taste in women, though.

Are those batteries made by GS Yuasa (here in Shinagawa)? Or do they only make the Toyota Prius batteries?

These antibodies persisted in their blood for up to four years, which is about as long as researchers have expected the vaccine to be effective.

So does this mean you need a new vaccination every four years?

Only caught a few episodes but would like someone to dissect the (apparently obvious) plot devices: over-eager youthful female star attempting to "do right," stern elders, attractive "best friend" who aspires to be an "idol," etc. etc. Is it all tired stereotype? I only caught a few episodes. Perhaps it is part of mass brainwashing in the mores of "good old Japan."

All (or mostly all) Japanese people seem to have those dots on their upper arms from where they got TB inoculations (are there really such things as effective TB inoculations?). But Westerners don't seem to have them. Why the difference?

Eiji Araki, senior official of mobile social game maker Gree, added: “We’ve learned that characters and visuals favored in the United States are different from those in Japan.” -- thanks Captain Obvious.

Kochia = 箒木 = ホウキギ = broom tree (which the shape very much suggests) or also summer cypress (which the shape does not)

Have to be careful reading too much into the exact choice of kanji characters for a surname. Suzuki for example only comes out as "bell tree" by accident. Originally, it was the clan name of a ruling family called Hozumi. Its historical connections with the shrine warden at Kumano shrine in Wakayama also reveal its religious roots. Hozumi literally means "stacked sheaves of rice." Farmers placed a wooden pole in the middle of the sheave maybe for stability, but also to allow the "kami" to descend and bestow blessings/spiritual energy to the rice. This wooden pole was called "sei naru ki" (the sacred beam") which, with regional accents, came to be pronounced Suzuki instead of sei naru ki. Most people use the "bell tree" kanji these days, but other families actually do use other kanji characters. Needless to say, surnames are often from clan names and therefore have ancient roots with lots of detail to each story of origin. [[Dear moderator, I tried to add the kanji like 穂積 and 鈴木 but they came out garbled in the preview]]

Isn't that right in Kaneohe Bay? There's the bluff where Kama'aina Kids rents kayaks, then slightly north is the boat launch area. The water near shore can be super murky, lots of variations with the tide, and has lots of small amoeba-like coral mounds. The coastline tends to be very convoluted and not normally used for snorkeling, as far as I know. Quite a lot of variety in this area, but I'm not used to seeing snorkelers around the He'eia boat launch/pier. Need more details on this story.

Any reason you didn't tell us how much your hotel cost?

And do they offer stand up paddle boarding rentals at those beaches? Never a dull day on SUP, even with zero waves.