Chara - Crazy for You

A new single from Chara that came out back in November. No relation to the Madonna song or the movie Vision Quest.

The Next Governor of Miyazaki Prefecture

Comedian Sonomanma Higashi was elected Governor of Miyazaki Prefecture this Sunday. Americans may know him as "Kenny Blankenship" from Spike TV's "MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge" (a show put together out of old footage from the 1980's series Takeshi's Castle). He originally hails from the city of Miyakonojo, right next door to the town where I used to live. He was junior high school classmates with my former JET program supervisor, and rumor has it he may have sent her a love letter once.

Higashi, who was not endorsed by any political party, defeated four other candidates including a former Director General of the Forestry Agency and a former Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry official backed by both the LDP and New Komeito party.

Miyazaki is a beautiful place, and my favorite Prefecture in all of Japan, but lately it has been plagued by political scandal. The last Governor resigned in December and has since been arrested on charges of bid-rigging and bribery. So congratulations, Mr. Higashi, and good luck. I hope this works out better than the failed celebrity Governors we've had in the US recently.

Ask Milk

More evidence that the commercials are the best thing on Japanese television. This one is part of the Japan Dairy Council's "Gyunyu ni Soudan da" ad campaign, and it demonstrates how drinking milk can give you a nice body.

Other entries in this series promote milk's ability to make you bigger, prettier, stronger, and improve your concentration.

Astute viewers will recognize the use of the old denki anma "electric massage" technique in the episode with the lion.

Asa Chang & Junray - Kana

Asa Chang founded Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra way back in 1985, but he left the band in 1993 to pursue other projects. One of those projects is his band Asa Chang & Junray. This song is from their 2005 album Minna no Junray, and features vocals by Hanaregumi. Recommended for fans of tabla, harmonica, cut-up vocals, and interpretive dance a la the landlord from Big Lebowski.

Rip Slyme - Funkastic

Rip Slyme with a single from their 2002 album Tokyo Classic. Love the song, but their lip synch skills are less than convincing.

Boss Coffee

As Akiko described, Japanese tv is mostly terrible. In many cases the commercials are actually far more entertaining than the programs themselves. Exhibit A: this series of ads for Boss coffee, in which former Al Gore roomate Tommy Lee Jones plays an alien studying the peculiarities of life on Earth. In this episode he discovers the joys of Japanese "host clubs" and tanning salons.

Other episodes from this series:
Newcomer
Factory
Discount Store
Delivery
Parking Violation
Karaoke

Happy New Year!

This was the first time in over 10 years that I got to spend the New Years in Japan. Steve and I took a quick trip to Hiroshima to visit my home, and we had a very good time. My mom made Osechi (New Years feast), we watched silly holiday TV shows, and we did lots of card games. We also went to the shrine in Kui area and made wishes for the new year.

New Years (Oshogatsu in Japanese) is pretty much the time to spend with families, much like how Christmas is in the US. It was good to finally do this with my parents this year.

2007 is the year of the pig (or boar).