rosujin comments

Does anybody know why this company is Japan-based in the first place? I can't wrap my head around it. How did that come to be?

Mt. Gox was started by an American as an online trading site for Magic: The Gathering trading cards. Thus the name Mt. Gox = Magic The Gathering Online eXchange. I believe he was in Japan at the time. Then, it was sold off to Mark Karpeles a few years ago.

Is marrying ippanjin foreigners a new trend for j-celebrities? First Hamasaki Ayumi married an American med student from UCLA (my alma mater) Now, Utada Hikaru marries an Italian bar tender. Somebody please pass my info along to Kitagawa Keiko!

Is this a correct quote? Shouldn't he have said, "increase?"

There's definitely no shortage of silly awards. However, the girl does look good in those glasses and she has a super cute speaking voice!

I don't blame 'em for wanting the latest iPhone. However, I refuse to wait in line to pay full price. If I replace my iPhone 5 (not likely), I'll definitely buy online.

Right now, Japan is basking in the afterglow of the successful Olympic bid. However, as we approach 2020 the reality that foreigners will arrive in droves to Japan and the fear/panic will commence. If anyone remembers when Japan hosted the World Cup (around 2002?), they became extremely fearful that soccer hooligans were going to rampage the country, destroying buildings and raping women. Back then I remember reading that car dealerships near stadiums were planning to relocate inventory, barber ships were encouraged to hide sharp objects, hostess bars closed early, and all types of other prep was made for the foreign invasion.

I honestly don't believe "Japanese people" want the country to be foreigner-friendly. Anyone who has lived in Japan has seen the look of terror in the eyes of a local when they think someone is going to begin speaking English. Most Japanese people have no real understating in international travel. The majority will live and die without traveling more than 500 miles from where they were born.

If Japan wants to accommodate foreigners, they should begin with free WiFi access that actually works. Next, prepaid cell phone SIM cards should be available without a gaijin card. I had to jump thorough flaming hoops to buy a prepaid card from SoftBank, and finally had to get a Japanese friend to buy one for me. In contrast, my next stop was Shanghai where I bought a prepaid card with cash and no ID. If the rail stations got together and made an app with offline maps and train schedules, it would make travel MUCH easier. Also, wider credit card access (with mag stripe readers) is a must.

It's great to hear that she's stepping back out of obscurity, event if it is for only one day a month.

Back in my college days, I listened to an MD of First Love on an endless loop while doing my homework. It was some of the best Japanese listening and pronunciation I ever had. I always tell people that Utada Hikaru was one of my Japanese teachers on my road to fluency.

Sadly, I was never fond of her English language attempts. They all sound extremely awkward and soulless. The only English track I liked was her collaboration with Foxy Brown called "Blow My Whistle" which was on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack. Ah, memories.

Today it was just announced that the New York City Marathon, scheduled for 11/4, has been cancelled due to the disruption caused by hurricane Sandy. The city is still in disaster recovery mode.

The very first sentence in this article implies that the man's flight originated in Kansai and he flew directly to LAX. It was not until the VERY LAST sentence that I realized he visited Korea and there was NO MENTION of China in the JT story. This was a little confusing since I haven't been able to fly nonstop from KIX to LAX for at least 6 years.

Earlier this year, I flew from Shanghai to LAX via Narita. During my Tokyo stopover I don't recall having access to my checked baggage, but I did have to go through security screening before entering the boarding area. (I could be wrong). I DO remember that security in Shanghai airport was pitifully incompetent and it does not surprise me that this guy was able to slip through the cracks.

This also reminds me of the time I was stopped at the immigration checkpoint leaving KIX a few years ago when the retard behind the counter insisted that the picture in my passport didn't look like me! The passport was 9 years old and I had a full beard in the pic, but it wasn't that dramatic of a difference. Luckily, the picture of me on the page with my (expired) work visa was accurate enough for her to let me pass.

I hope the cops here in LA have fun with this guy.

Please bring back the LAX to KIX route!

Finally, a reason to visit Saitama.

More plutonium in Japan? Great! Now I can finally get back to 1985.

Thank you JT for the great pic. You made my day!

Great. Another TV segment on how these dumb foreign barbarians don't understand civilized Japanese culture. Well, it will give Japanese people a little more self-esteem to know that "we Japanese" are the only ones advanced and polite enough to do things like:

-remove shoes before walking inside a house or (or school)

-stand to the left on an escalator (or to the right in Osaka)

-experience 4 seasons

The comments in this segment were obviously chosen by a Japanese segment producer.

I'm sure someone must have mentioned the horribly inconvenient business hours kept by the post office and most banks in Japan.

I also think it's strange that Japanese people can throw away so much time studying English and run the other way when a "gaijin" approaches. I've had English students tell me that they are too frightened by foreigners to actually make friends or find a language exchange partner. Why even study English in this case?

Ahh, Japan. I can't wait 'til my next visit.

This pic does not do Koyuki justice at all. She is an extremely beautiful woman. Google her for better pics.

I lived in Fuse for 3 years and, honestly, it is a pretty shady part of Osaka. It's also known as the purse-snatching capital of Japan.

That's an unfortunate story.

Thank you JT. Excellent picture!!

Individually, I don't find any of these girls particularly attractive. However, as a group, they make for one nice fantasy.

I guess this is a good example of a case where the whole is worth more than the sum of its parts.

Nice pic JT.

Thank you JT. You just made my day.

More pictures like this please!

If I walked into our Tokyo head office wearing that, they would escort me out the back door and send me home. We have a policy of "hot, stuffy biz" where we turn EVERYTHING off but the lights and everyone must wear the requisite ossan-style suit and tie regardless of the weather.

Why on earth is there no picture!!!

Looks like Hachiko-mae on a Sunday morning. The streets will be clear in 30 seconds.

It looks like they're holding Pan Am Airlines bags. That company has been out of business for more than 20 years. However I see the logo from time to time in "trendy" parts of Osaka.

I'd hate to pass judgment on this man without first seeing the pictures in question.

Pictures please!

The caption refers to the two as “companion girls," however the proper term is "campaign girls" (as in "marketing campaign" or "promotional campaign" ).

Thanks for the refreshing pic JT. Keep 'em coming!

I truly wish her the best. She seems like a very cool and wacky (in a good way) person.

I remember listening to her first album over and over and over again on my MD player as a college student. She's part of the reason that my listening comprehension exploded early on in my Japanese language study. To this day I can't listen to First Love without getting misty-eyed recalling the final episode of the JDrama Majo no Joken.

She should lay low, leave Japan and see as much of the world as possible. She is entering a time of great personal growth. I'm happy for her, but I already miss her.

Am I the only one who notices that most of the photographers in this pic are taking this opportunity to switch batteries or memory cards before someone really "famous" hits the carpet?

This is guaranteed to bring out all the dreadlock + head rag j-chicks with nose rings.

I estimate that half of the helmets and balls he signed in that pic will end up on eBay by the end of the day.

Growing up in LA, you can always spot a hick from out of town when they harass a celebrity for an autograph. Lame.

Don't be fooled by NASA's sudden diversity in space. The space shuttle Discovery has exactly two missions remaining before it (and the entire space shuttle fleet) is permanently discontinued in September. The Space Shuttle Program has been around for almost 30 years and this is probably the first time NASA has launched this diverse a crew (by gender, ethnicity and nationality). I'm sure they're sending a very capable crew into space, but I can't help wondering whether or not this is a deliberate matchup for PR purposes. A little late if you ask me.

If these girls are really eating donuts everyday, they must be purging them immediately afterwards. Can you imagine how fat Miss Krispy Kreme would look in the US?