no1samurai comments

It's a bit on the expensive side: 6-10 varieties for roughly 4000 yen. From the looks of the website, they are all individually packaged (in plastic I assume) and then shipped. A bit hard on the environment if looking at it from that point of view.

As Zichi pointed out, cheaper and tastier to bake your own. I would also advocate for supporting a local business at this time to be a better option. So many local bakeries that provide basically the same product. Keep your money in your own community.

Don't get me wrong, I admire the idea but it's not really anything new.

Just floating an idea, chime in if you have suggestions.

1 - Scrap GW and make Obon a 5 day national holiday.

2 - Give all full time workers 4 weeks, part time workers 3 weeks, and irregular workers 2 weeks paid holidays to start. For every year of employment, one day of holidays would be added to reach a maximum of 6 weeks, 5 weeks and 3 weeks respectively. (Sort of, kind of, loosely based on the German gov't holiday system.)

3 - These holidays are mandatory and the company would be punished by fines if their workers did not take the holidays.

I'm guessing that if the holidays were staggered as such, travel costs would come down and travel companies would be much more competitive. The insanity of fighting crowds while on vacation could possibly be over following a plan like this or similar to this.

This is highly unlikely to ever happen in Japan. Just a thought exercise and a dream.

My favourite line Keanu ever delivered in a movie:

"You know, Mrs. Buckman, you need a license to buy a dog, or drive a car - hell, you even need a license to catch a fish. But they'll let any butt-reaming a-hole be a father." (from the movie Parenthood.)

Any other faves out there?

There will be good days, great days and bad days...you just have to take the rough with the smooth. Hopefully she will take this loss as a time to refocus and come back stronger in her next outing.

"You can't win them all."

...why abe is sleeping?

I asked the same question to some local officials I had the pleasure of working with a few years back.

"Why were you sleeping during the speeches?"

One old-timer replied, "It helps me concentrate on the speech if I close me eyes." (Jeez...I wondered if his snoring was helping too!)

I can't sleep at work. I would be fired. Abe should set an example, try to keep his eyes open and maintain the facade that he actually gives a damn about the country.

There is this too:

https://www.nature.com/articles/npjamd201612

The handbags seem so 1950s. Why not allow them to carry their SDF issued weapon?

If the UX is no better than that of the smartphone most people carry, there is no point to having these "helpers." It seems gimmicky and someone will be lining their pockets on yet another poorly thought out plan. Here's an idea: save the money, spend it on teaching your staff various languages and pull Japan in line with most of the other modern countries in the world.

My only hope is that powers that be judge the next scandal, regardless of which nationality is involved, with the same standards that they used when taking down Harumafuji. If not, the sumo ruling federation is nothing but a sham. Precedent has been set...or am I delusional?

Would it be better to create a magnet that says something like:

"Driver unfamiliar with road rules."

Achieves the same result and would untwist everyone else's panties.

Violence begets violence.

Hipster culture with a Japanese twist?

A true legend and a class act!

Here's another idea....do away with the one yen and five yen coins completely.

Wouldn't that save the gov't some money?

@jazz350 - Sony has had phenomenal success in the mirrorless market in the past few years. The internet is strewn with testimonials of pros jumping ship to Sony or other mirrorless brands. This particular model may not be the DSLR killer many believe it to be, but that day is coming soon and this is just the first step. The iterations to follow will only improve. I personally know photographers that would make the switch to mirrorless if the shutter lag is eliminated. This seems to be the direction Sony is moving with this new body.

With the rapid advances by Sony and Fujifilm in the mirrorless market, the day is coming when Nikon and Canon had better put out high end mirrorless systems or their share of the pro camera market is doomed.

The silent mode is but one appealing factor of these cameras. The biggest draw for me is the electronic view finder that is pretty much WYSIWYG and allows me to make in camera corrections to exposure and f-stops quickly. I can slow down and push fewer frames knowing that I got it right the first time. It makes my landscape shooting life a lot easier.

@zichi - Most Sony cameras I have played with in stores that are sold in Japan don't have a multilingual menu option. It is the main reason that has kept me from buying one.

Many mirrorless cameras can be put into "electric shutter" mode but from what I have read (and experienced with my Fujifilm), this new Sony doesn't suffer from the typical shutter lag experienced in other mirrorless offerings when using the silent mode.

I have also read that this is being heralded as a sports or wildlife shooter's camera but for many pro's the cost to switch systems from a Canon or Nikon system is estimated to be very expensive.

As for lugging around gear, the bodies on most pro-grade mirrorless cameras are getting larger every year and so too are the lenses. In the beginning the smaller size was a selling point but that is a non-factor now. I'm originally a Nikon shooter and my 70-200 f2.8 is basically the same size as the Fujifilm equivalent that I am considering buying.

No. It's unappealing. Was easier and faster to get the news I needed with the old site. General reviews so far seem negative...will you do anything?

"Hachi-no-ko" (baby bees) and "Inago" (grasshoppers) are actually quite good. Out here in the sticks, we've been eating them for years. Hachi-no-ko are actually quite expensive and I have made my own occasionally. I prefer the crunchy ones to the fat, squishy ones. I'm not very fond of "Zaza-mushi" (aquatic larvae) either.

Which iteration of the J-gov slashed the weekend highway tolls?

I travelled a heck of a lot more when I only had to pay 1000 yen for a trip on the highway anywhere in Japan. But I also spent more on hotels, restaurants and "michi-no-eki" souvenirs and the such. I wonder if they have any spending data comparing the 1000 yen weekend tolls vs the current discount tolls?

For purely selfish reasons, bring that back I say! I would love to see more of Japan at a reasonable price!

Myoko Kogen, Niigata

Niseko, Hokkaido

Nozawa Onsen, Nagano

Hakuba Cortina, Nagano

but it really doesn't matter where you go...a bad day on the slopes is still better than a good day in the office. #idratherbeskiing

@thepersoniamnow

I disagree...I feel this capture is quite "pedestrian". (^_^)/

Hakuba is a great place! Unfortunately not much snow this year or last. Two seasons ago was EPIC!

In all seriousness...

PikoTaro should give up being a "tarento"/comedian and focus on writing material for little kids to learn English. Short little ditties focused on a phrase...great for the 3-4 year old crowd! Especially when paired with his odd dancing, he would be a hit on Japanese Sesame Street, right? (Or for you older folks...Hodge Podge Station.)

@SenseNotSoCommon Sure. I guess it includes all the major companies trying to cash in all over the world, doesn't it?

@Strangerland....you've been here long enough. You understand what I mean, don't you?

I'm not looking down on their takes of popular western holidays, just making a personal observation.

Christmas, like most adopted Western "holidays", are commercialized events. They have accepted the fun parts with only a casual nod to the origin/meaning of the holiday. It's all about the $$$...nothing more, nothing less.

This is an interesting case. Without a direct witness, will DNA be enough to convict?

I hope JT will keep us informed of any new developments.

Lest We Forget.

*offered a bit more variety.

I understand the nostalgic value of bringing back this deep-fried-heart-attack-causing sandwich, but when is McD Japan going to start offering wrap sandwiches and the like? I'd go there a bit more often if they stopped with the bastardized versions of burgers and offered something a bit more variety.