SpeakJaplish comments

Klaxon was another that took awhile to figure out. Unrelated but good. Also in hospital and while waiting for something, my wife hears 2 japanese nurses saying "you do it" "what should we do" while an elderly foreigner was nearby. My wife asks if she can help translate...Well, they wanted to tell him they wanted a stool sample. My wife only knew the slang word and said, " They want you to put your sh** in this cup" They guy busts out laughing. After he says "what do I use my finger?" Ha ha ha you are so funny..ha ha ha She then relays the message from nurses that there is a spoon. He laughs more

Okay. My wife is in hospital and in labor. During her ordeal I remembered reading somewhere that sucking on ice cubes may offer some comfort(don't remember the exact details). I ask my mother in law, using my limited Japanese at the time, If she can she go buy some "chi saizu aisu" meaning small ice cubes in my mind. Well, she came back with PINO, small pieces of ice cream with chocolate outside. Not what you need during a 26 hr labor..... We still laugh at that one, 20 yrs later. ウィルス Had me perplexed until a doctor told me the English. Oh... virus. I get it now

Think of that southern Cal surfer accent......Got it? A: thank you B: No problem. Dude. A: what's that on your head. B: oh dude...you don't know what this is? It's a GoPro dude. Check this out dude, I can capture video while shredding man! And I got this App that tells me when the surfs up or when there are fresh tracks to be made in the powder on my snowboard. Check out my YouTube vids dude. A: that's great! B: thanks dude A: you're welcome B: No Way dude! Say, you are welcome again. I will get it on my GoPro and upload you on YouTube.

"EPIC" "Epic Fail". "You know what I'm saying". I once watched an interview on TV and this guy said, "You know what I'm saying," 10 times in one minute... I was thinking, No! I don't know what you are saying because you keep saying "You know what I'm saying" "No Problem". Doesn't anyone say your welcome anymore??? My age is showing.

There has been an unusual increase of albino animals this year. Not just crows. Fukushima related..??? Albino mutation ratios of swallows jumped up to 15% in Ukraine after their accident. Eat Fukushima food! Support by consumption campaigns......Not me!

Surveyed many of my senmon gakko classes (30-35 students in one one class ) "who likes Sumo?" Every time not one young person says ,"me". If the young don't like it, it's on it's way out......This is so anti japanese I hate to say it but,... Total overhaul of the ancient sport. Ripped athletes, healthy, same basic wrestling rules with some modern flare. No match fixing, wrestler apps, etc. Pre match text "who do think will win?" You have a chance to win ...... If you text you answer now. Social media all the way. And whatever else they can dream up to attract the youth.

The comments all are a good resource of information. After 20 years I have seen and done it all. Personally, I took a little away from each company, started to build my private students which morphed into my own school. I love children and 80% of my students were children. They are great(except for the 2-3 who are ADD types)! Starting at 3-4 yrs old, they usually stayed with me until Jr. high. When they did quit, it opened up space for new students who have to pay a joining fee. At 110-120 students I was a little busy with preparations. I could have taken more students, but then I'd have to hire a teacher.(which I tried once) I didn't want to deal with the hassles that go along with a majority of gaijin sensei who don't understand the cultural intricacies of Japan and how that reflects on me and my school. If you are good with kids then I would definitely recommend having a go at it. Very satisfying, great pay (3-4x the average monthly salary of the schools mentioned in the above comments ), make my own schedule, lots of vacations, etc. I stopped doing it because of earthquake fears and the gradual contamination of foods. If you have no worries on these two points, then get in there and start making money. The children's Eikaiwa market is still growing....

I remember when that happened and and few months later Masakazu Kuriyama(my neighbor in Katsushika-ku) was shot in California. Reason unknown,....? Reporters were swarmed at their residence and they refused to talk to the press, so there was very little coverage. I remember the petition with signatures, and thinking if they banned guns at that time, how long would it take for the guns in circulation to cease to work, etc. 200-300 yrs. Banning is a futile discussion or action... America is on the decline and the gun pushers and ban gun people can't see the dark road ahead. They need to focus their attention on education and parental education. I.e. father teasing a handi capped student: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN6zznQHss0&sns=em Lack of morals, lack of parental guidance, declining middle class, almost 30,000 gun deaths in 2000. No idea what it is now???. Hard to see anything good coming out of all the guns floating around. Nightly news in Houston always has gun violence and deaths almost every night. The new thing is home invasions... Welcome to the new America. I would recommend Japanese looking to go overseas to look into New Zealand, Canada, England or where there are less guns and violence. The big thing now is getting your concealed weapons license. Yee haw welcome the the Wild West again.

So how did he get through Kansai security??? Bullet proof vest, flame retardant pants, trench coat......and they don't notice this guy for extra screening???

Correction -- no "if"..... jeez I feel like Romney...or that other joker Gov. from Tx. Rick Perry. He was a candidate at one time???

Correction-- If they can only think for themselves

Now if this were a publication originating in the US then the hardcore republicans would be going off in this comments area. I have come to the conclusion that after people have spent some yrs overseas their views seem to change. Is this true or just my imagination??? I'm in Houston now and Obama is so hated here its not even funny. The parents views here passed on to their children and the cycle repeats... They can only think for themselves and start opening their eyes when they are not bombarded by family and friends. Im generalizing but you know where I'm coming from. I'm not saying Obama is so great, but when you compare to Romney the obvious better choice is Mr O. Republicans must be kicking themselves for not getting themselves a better candidate to run against Obama. Personally I'd like to see a new party, no collecting money from anyone, straight up debates, all neg ads banned, a set and equal amount of dollars to be spent by each party for ads, that's it!! Then let the people decide. BTW if I were a leader of a major country, I would start a global campaign to make every person on earth have to spend 2-3 yrs in another country. Paid by governments of course. Get some more culturally diverse people in leadership roles in the near future

It's more like a baked piece of bread shaped into the traditional pretzel shape. Quite tasty so you should give them a try, but wait for the lines to die down first. Wait! ...People are lining up! Quick get in line!

Well here in Houston, Texas you will be lucky if you are served by someone who can speak English. Having just come back to Texas from Japan after a 25 year absence, it ain't like it used to be..... Mac, burger K., Kentucky, taco bell, etc. It's really hard to understand what the people at the register are trying to say. Mac Japan is like a fine dining service when compared to the US. Most of the kitchen workers are illegals who earn 20 dollars a day for 12 hour days....yes things have changed in my hometown where I hear Spanish almost everywhere I go, and people riding bicycles everywhere because they can't get a license. I guess the workers at Mac Japan can't understand the foreigners when we ask for ketchup without using the proper ケチャップ

How about the concern of local beef contaminated with cesium,etc.? Good reason to import more from overseas.

That supposed to say 150,000,000 for a tree

Japan’s government will pay private Japanese landowners 2.05 billion yen ($26 million) for three of the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan

150,000,000 yen for islands You would think they would find a better way to use that money.....but then again...common sense in not in the vocab of any politician

In my experience it's usually the Koreans who go into a rage over the smallest go things. That being said, is it any surprise that they wold not accept he letter.

20 yrs in Japan. Yes the questions in the article are all too common." Can you eat ume boshi?" Is one that I've gotten a lot. When I get this question, I tell them my story of once not having anything to eat in the fridge except ume boshi. I took out 4-5 and threw them on some rice and was eating them when my sister in law came into the kitchen. She laughed and called me a strange gaijin. (in Japanese). BTW they were the large, expensive, sweet type, so they were quite easy to eat with rice. Yes my hashi technique is jousu which was mastered from reading the 'How to use chopsticks' info and drawings on the paper sleeve given out in Chinese restaurants in the U.S. when I was young. All of those that have been here long enough should know that Japanese children pick up bad habits with chopsticks when they are toddlers and some don't correct it later in life. That's why most foreigners have excellent technique when compared to some Japanese. When I point this out to Japanese, they usually say something like " ah soo" etc. then I challenge them to a who can pick up single grains of rice the fastest....it's quite fun when drinking.

Here we go, yet another basroil re-interpretation of the event.

My speed reading technique automatically skips all posts by Basroil. Enjoy your Mugi cha, etc. Butterflies...and the list grows. Glad I was finally able to get out last month. My family has been out since March 12, 2011. For those who can't leave, shop at Costco.

Noliving

How is it getting out of control? Total gun violence has been cut by at least half in the past 20 years, that includes homicides, suicides, and assault with a gun and during that time the number of guns owned legally has increased by over 100+ million. So how is something getting out of control when the total number of incidents is going down.

Going down?? Well maybe in the city. I live part time in Nippon and part in the NASA area in Houston. There are shooting deaths all the time and there were not 25 yrs ago. Some dude got popped because 3 people were trying to steal from his car, he went out from his job location to see what was going on. Pop! gone in less than 60 sec. Japanese friend lost his life in San Fran, yrs back. Gun shot! No idea who did it. A month or so ago, a Dollar store was getting robbed then a so called concealed weapons license person who whips his gun out, shots at the guy misses and kills an innocent worker, etc........ Of course the morality issue is a major factor when comparing Jpn to The US. and that takes us down another long road of discussion. The amount of guns is out of control and the way people want to pack all the time is a recipe or disaster. Go ahead and talk the talk " yep mess with me and I'll give ya a new orifice cause imma packin" blah blah blah. Constitution, ....... I've heard it all, just remember this conversation in 25 yrs from now. Let's hope no person you know, or much less love , gets popped because of some perp with an itchy trigger finger

I like shooting a gun as much as the next guy, but its getting out of control. Im not anti-gun, but when you look at 25-30 yrs ago and compare to it now. Most people settled things with a fight. Of course sometimes people died, but now some gun carrying person pulls a weapon and all hell breaks loose. Open your eyes people, imagine what it going to look like in another 25 yrs. OMG another person wants to take my guns away!!!! Yeah yeah yeah....... keep on with this thinking.<>

Green PandaJUN. 09, 2012 - 06:52AM JST He should be counting his lucky stars that it wasn't a giant wooden penis that floated onto his beach.

Hilarious !! Thanks for my morning laugh!

Ishihara said that the lukewarm support indicated that Japanese people have become “selfish and extremely narrow-minded,

LMFAO !!!! He is clueless! Yet somehow he keeps getting re-elected..?? Come on young voters get out there and get this guy out of office!!! あねがい　お願い

He will be re-elected. He is the man!!! How many times have I shook my head in disgust with the likes of him and others who resemble him. Wait! new App idea is coming to mind..... can't tell you what it is now. To be continued....

Android is better! Apple is better!! You people can never let it rest.. Get a life and use what ever the frack you like. Im waiting for iPhone 7 or maybe 8. Shouldn't be that long of a wait....

gogogo:

PLEASE DO NOT KILL THE BEAR, please drug it and move it elsewhere!

You would think, right?

TokyoKawasaki:

IMHO the true compassion of any society can easily be observed by the way it treats animals..

Ditto...

Think different and reap the rewards later. Don't think and don't learn from your mistakes....Well we know how that ends...Well we know how that ends...Well we know how that ends...Well we know how that ends...Well we know how that ends...

Let's hope this ends soon. Way to many as of late. I have been touting the benefits of speed bumps for years here in Japan. I've wanted to go out and buy concrete cone off part of the road at night and make my own in front of the local kindergarten. I was seriously considering it. I could see the officials out there trying to remove it a few days later.. so I figured Id be wasting money. Talking to the school officials is a waste of time. Kuyakusho also is useless. New ideas from afar don't go down well. Foreigner and new idea...... thank him and show them the door, as well as a smile, and be done with them. I had an idea of little mini gardens along the river side (narrow strip of land thats always unkept) and on the street where the tree sticks out of a little plot of land. Rent them for a small fee and let people tend them. They can put a sign in it to say whose it is.Personal or company. Have a seasonal contest for the best garden and award them with a small amount of money and and sign to post for recognition of the seasons best garden. Not to mention the time and money saved for the bi annual weed picking and bush trimming days that are too far and few in between.

We all like a certain amount of head.... I have been fighting the awa thing for years. I've heard it all. Just give me a decent level of beer. How about slurping? You have to slurp your noodles because it taste better? Hot noodles I understand, but cold noodles......? I been told many times that even the cold noodles tastes better when slurped. Easier yes, taste better I have to disagree. Enjoy your foam because that's the way it is. Shoganai!