Simor Intellectual Network

Simor is a great tool for you to connect with native and non native Japanese speakers. It allows you to connect with like-minded people from all over the world. In Simor rooms, you can find a Japanese room where people instantly share their interests, questions, answers and thoughts on Japanese culture, language, food, cities, and more.

What is Simor? 

Simor is an online intellectual network located at Simor.org. Registration and all the services that the Simor team provides are forever free and there is no premium account. You connect for free and share for free with people who have the same interest as you. It is really easy to connect to the network via either your Facebook or Linkedin account.

The platform allows you to build a network of intellectual peers across various topics that interest you, including Japanese. You can add friends and colleagues to your network and follow them as they post, questions and answers.The Japanese room allows you to connect with native speakers or others learning the language. The rooms are a lot of fun and are both informative and interactive.

Sharing with like minded ones

It is easy to log into the Japanese room and find new people who have a love for Japanese culture, language, food, etc. An innovative chat room instantly connects you efficiently to new people and your favourite content.

Smart Profile

Unlike other social networks where "About" is age, gender, or nationality related, on Simor, "About" is your knowledge on different subjects. Creating your profile is quick and easy and it is fun to discover all the different rooms available that interest you.

Simor has launched into the top 50 universities in the USA and starting today (October 1st, 2016) it gives access to Facebook and Linkedin users.

Share your brilliance with the world at Simor.org

Learn Japanese with Nihongo Master

Nihongo Master is a fantastic Japanese language learning website to help you learn Japanese.

The biggest challenge for me in learning Japanese was trying to stay motivated with my studies. One of the best ways I found to stay motivated is to learn while having fun. You are more likely to learn something and retain it after all if you are enjoying it and having fun. I also found that having a competitive nature behind my studies whether that be an upcoming Japanese test that I wanted to pass, or simply beating my friends in Japanese also helped me stay more motivated.

The Nihongo Master website is all about fun and provides fun interesting lessons and tools that are adaptive and change according to the needs of the learner. The learning system is not dull and boring like a lot of Japanese textbooks can be, but engaging and fun. The easy to follow lessons teach you how to read, write, and speak Japanese with ease.

The site is set up like a competition with rewards and points for the user. This makes it challenging as well as highly motivating. You can test your Japanese skills by completing drills and exercises with your progress recorded by the site and posted on leader-boards. You can celebrate milestones as well as trying to match or beat the progress of your friends or other community users.

The website also has a great community behind it, which means you have other Japanese learners there who are always willing to help. This is great for exchanging ideas or simply asking questions.

If you are looking to learn Japanese, improve your Japanese level or just needs some extra incentive and motivation to get back into the language, definitely give Nihongo Master a try.

Tamagoyaki Recipe (Japanese style Omelette)

This Month’s Easy to Cook Japanese Recipe is Tamagoyaki, which is a Japanese style sweet omelette. In Japan, it is usually served as a side dish to breakfast, but it is a great side dish for any meal.

Tamagoyaki Recipe


Serves 2

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp dashi
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp light colour soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp grated daikon
• soy sauce

Method 

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and add dashi, caster sugar, mirin and soy sauce then whisk.
2. Strain into another bowl.
3. Heat up a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat for 1 minute. Pour in a little oil and swirl evenly over the pan.
4. Pour in one third of the egg mixture and cook until set around the edges.
5. With a spatula fold one third towards the front of the pan, then fold over again in the same direction onto the remaining portion.
6. Add a little more oil to the pan and pour half the remaining egg mixture onto the empty area of the pan and cook until the edge sets.
7. Again fold one third towards the folded egg, then fold this over the top of previous roll, making a flat roll on one side of the pan.
8. Add more oil and pour in the remaining egg mixture, and repeat the folding process. With the spatula, give a little push to mould the shape.
9. When cooked remove from the heat. And place on a bamboo mat. Wrap the omelette with the bamboo mat and shape. By pressing with your fingers on one side only along the length of the roll, you can make a wedge shape which produces attractive “petals” when cut across the roll. It can also be squared off for a simple version.
10. Cut into pieces and serve with grated daikon and soy sauce.

Note: Tamagoyaki is also a popular sushi topping and is a great addition to any bento lunch box.

Japanese Ice Bra

Japan’s hot and humid summers have led to many great ideas and inventions to try and stay cool and beat the summer heat. Last summer it was the Air Conditioned Jacket.

The latest is a bra with built in ice packs that promises to keep women cool this summer. The ice bra from underwear firm Triumph Japan dubbed the “Super Cool Bra” was unveiled on Wednesday. The bra features a pair of small fish tanks encompassing the breasts, a traditional Japanese wind chime and a mint leaf.

How does it all work?


The cups are filled with a gel that remains soft and supple even when frozen, giving the wearer a cool sensation. The mint gives a refreshing fragrance, while the sound of the wind chimes is a pleasant cooling sound during the Japanese summer.

A lot of these ideas and gadgets have come about due to the need to save energy in Japan after the recent nuclear reactor disaster and especially so during the long hot summers. The Cool Biz campaign has started again, urging people to dress down for work to stay cool and avoid the need to have the aircon on high.

Check out the video below featuring the models wearing the new ice bra

KARA Generasia Website

Japanese Song of the Week Makeoshimi Congratulations by SDN48

This week's Japanese Song of the Week is Makeoshimi Congratulations (負け惜しみコングラチュレーション) by SDN48, which has debuted at number 2 on the Japanese J-Pop Oricon charts.

SDN48 which is short for Saturday Night 48 is a Japanese idol girl group formed in 2010.

Read more about SDN48


This is the group's 5th single and is a very happy and upbeat.

Watch the music video for the single Makeoshimi Congratulations by SDN48