Kinoko no Yama

In this first of a series of posts about Japanese Snacks, I am going to start with the popular snack Kinoko no Yama which translates literally as “mushroom mountain”. Kinoko no Yama is a Japanese snack from the Japanese company Meiji. It is a biscuit shaped like a mushroom with a chocolate top. It is very cute and trust me very tasty.

Japanese Gadget

Japan has come up with a new gadget. The Japanese gadget is a giant net, which Japan hopes to deploy in orbit to sweep up space junk. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Nitto Seimo Co, a fishing net company have joined forces, and are planning to tackle the problem of debris in space that threatens to wreck space shuttles and satellites. The thin metal net, spanning several kilometers, will be deployed by satellite and sweep up waste in its path as it circles the earth. After several weeks, the net will become charged with electricity and be drawn back towards the earth, with both the net and its contents burning up on entering the atmosphere.

What do you think? A World Wide Web for junk or a waste of space?

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

Ventana Fiesta

The 2011 Ventana Fiesta is on again on 19 March 2011 at the Wells Street Plaza, Frankston (Melway Ref: 100A D7).

Get your dancing and soccer shoes out for this unique cultural event with Latin Dancing and music.

The event will feature cooking demonstrations and tastings, dance workshops, dance and music performances, children`s activities, storytelling, Zumba and craft market and food stalls.

Don`t miss the Ventana Fiesta and bring along your dancing, soccer and beach wear!

The Best Asian Supermarkets in Melbourne Australia

One of the best Asian Supermarkets in Melbourne, Australia is AKK Supermarket in Springvale. AKK Supermarket is located at shop 18-21 Central Shopping Centre, 268-274 Springvale Rd, Springvale. This one stop-shop covers all Asian cuisines, with a large range of fresh ingredients to complement the hundreds of jars and tins on the shelves. They have a great range of Japanese products and is a great place to stock up on rice, as they have just about every variety you could ever need.

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Picture of the Week Hina Matsuri, Japan

Hina Matsuri (雛祭り Hina-matsuri), or Girls day, is a Japanese Doll Festival, held on March 3 in Japan. Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display a set of ornamental dolls called (雛人形 hina-ningyō) which represent the Emperor, Empress and other court attendants in traditional court dress of the Heian period in Japan.

Families will generally start to display the dolls in February, usually in their living rooms and take them down immediately after the festival.

This picture is of the Hina Ningyo at my home in Japan.

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

Weird and Strange News

Get ready for some weird and strange news from Japan. Japan is well known for its high-tech toilets with prosterior jets and perfume bursts, but Sega has gone a step further. Sega has just installed urine-controlled games in Tokyo urinals. Each urinal has a sensor and a viewer. In one game, the urines stream`s strength decides how far a virtual girl`s skirt is lifted. Don`t know about that one, but only in Japan could it happen.


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Picture of the Week Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan

Kurashiki (倉敷市) is a historic city in Okayama Prefecture, Japan.

Kurashiki is famous for the old merchant quarter called the Bikan historical area. It contains many fine examples of 17th century wooden warehouses along a canal framed with weeping willows and filled with koi. The unique thing about this area is it has no electricity poles in order to make the area closely resemble the look of the Meji period.

This picture is of the Bikan Historical area. You can see the famous weeping willows and canal in the background and it is a beautiful area to explore.

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

Sapporo Snow Festival

The annual Sapporo Snow festival also called the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri is held each winter in early February. It is Hokkaido`s major event and draws thousands of visitors each year to witness the dozens of large and amazingly elaborate ice and now sculptures. During the festival the city is transformed. The Susukino entertainment district becomes an outdoor gallery of ice sculptures, including popular cartoon characters , dinosaurs and mythological creatures. Odori Park, becomes an avenue of vast architectural models – Including Korean temples, German cathedrals and detailed large-scale replicas of world famous monuments. All these are carved from solid blocks of snow by soldiers of Japan`s Self Defence Forces.

This year the Sapporo Snow Festival is from February 7th to 13th

See www.snowfes.com/english for more details

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Stonefield

One of my favourite bands at the moment is an all girl group from the Macedon Rangers in country Victoria called Stonefield. Stonefield feature four sisters aged from 12 to 20 and play rock influenced by artists from the late 60s to early 70s. The girls grew up on a diet of Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.

They have won various awards including the recent TRIPLE J Unearthed competition and have been selected to play Glastonbury (youngest Australian band ever to play) and the Great Escape festivals in the UK. In Australia Stonefield will be playing the St Kilda Festival on Sunday, February 13th.

Stonefield recently released their debut EP called Through the Clover, which channels Zappa, Zeppelin and 70s soul. It is must listen. Check out the video below.