Japan News Today

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• 26Aug

  Taiji Sister City Ties Threated Due to Yearly Dolphin Slaughter

  Japan, Japan News, Japan Tips, Reviews 3 Comments
  
  

  Found an interesting article about Broome a city on the Western Australian coast informing the Japanese city of Taiji they will cut off their sister city ties if Taiji doesn’t stop their yearly covert slaughter of thousands upon thousands of dolphins.

  There is a new documentary about this topic called The Cove that is getting great reviews.

  This link leads to a great first hand account about the topic.

  What are the details about this issue?

  Every year thousands and thousands of dolphins are slaughtered in a gruesome and gory orgy of blood and dolphin screams. See this link for some graphic video footage about the topic.

  

  

  See flipper as he is sentenced to death in a pool of his own blood.

  
  

  So what happens to all these executed dolphins? They’re served up as lunch for school children.

  Why is this bad? Dolphin meat is loaded with Mercury!

  Not all the dolphins are sentenced to becoming lunch. Some of the lucky ones are sent ones are sent off to aquariums and Sea World like theme parks in Japan and Asia.

  They roughly make a cool $100,000 to $150,000 for each one apparently.

  

  Look how happy he looks. Not only is he in prison he gets to be forced to perform every day!

  So what’s the bottom line? Thousands of dolphins are massacred every year to provide Mercury tainted meat to the Japanese public and the rest are shipped off to aquariums for a healthy profit.

  I think the animal rights activists have a case with this one.

  I also love how the how these fishermen cover up and try to do their dirty work as covertly as possible. Cover ups seem to be a common thing for the Japanese

  Technorati Tags: The Cove

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  Tags: Broome, Dolphin Slaughter, Japan, Taiji, The Cove

• 06Jul

  How to Play Pachinko

  Japan, Japan News, Japan Tips No Comments
  How to Play Pachinko

  When you try Pachinko you realize it is as brain dead an activity as slots. At first you might think there’s skill involved when using the complicated looking machines but that is not the case. How well you do depends completely on chance and there is no skill involved at all. Also these days Pachinko in  reality is a hybrid form of gambling that is combined with electronic slots.

  Step 1) Your hard earned cash will buy you a certain number of tama or marbles. Depending on the Pachinko parlor you will buy the tama before hand by putting your money in a machine that spits out the tama in to a small container once you put in the money. In other parlors you put your money in to a slot in the top left corner of your machine and the tama come out right at the machine you are using. The general standard is you will get 1 tama for every 4 yen there are some parlors that will give you 1 tama for every 1 yen.

  Step 2) Once you have your tama choose your machine and load a handful in to the holding tray right in front of you and turn the knob on the right to shoot the tama in to the machine. That’s all there is to it.

  Step 3) In the middle of the machine there is a slot that is large enough for one tama to fall in to the winning slot. The objective is to get as many tama to fall in to this slot as possible. As the tama are shot in to the machine it depends on luck how many tama will fall in. The tama that don’t fall in are lost.

  What happens when you get one tama to fall in to the slot? That’s when Pachinko turns in to electronic slots. Just like slots 3 spindles will spin and if you can get 3 of the same item to line up you win kind of.

  Step 4) Even if you can get 3 items to line up you don’t actually win anything there is another step involved. For a limited time a mouth will open at the very bottom of the machine when you can get 3 items to line up. Once this opens up the goal is to get as many tama in to this opening as possible. For every tama that goes in to this opening you will win a large number of tama I am unsure of the exact number. This is how you increase the total number of tama you have and ultimately how much money you win. If you win enough your holding tray will almost overflow and you need to feed your excess tama to your holding container underneath by pressing a button.

  Step 5) If you are lucky enough to win buckets and buckets of tama once you quit at the counter you will be given a number of what looks like a chip inside a plastic case. These chips are the equivalent of money and they will be a different color depending on the denomination. The more you have the better. To get around Japan’s ridiculous anti gambling laws you have to take the chips outside the parlor to a small area that looks like a bank teller sitting behind the counter. You can’t see their face. You give the chips to this person and they give you the money.

  Note1 : Inside a Pachinko parlor it is so loud you will go deaf bring earplugs.

  Note2 : The house has the ability to control which is a wining machine or not by manipulating the pins on the machine to change how the tama fall. Also since their is an electronic slots element to Pachinko just like any casino I’m sure the house can electronically choose which machines are winning machines and which are not.

  Technorati Tags: Pachinko, gambling

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  Tags: gambiling, Osaka, Pachinko

• 29Jun

  Internet Enables Access to a Wealth of Eikaiwa Information - Do your research before you choose

  Japan, Japan Tips 1 Comment
  I love how the internet gives us access to so much otherwise inaccessible information. Information and opinions you couldn’t otherwise get anywhere else. Information that can go a long way to protecting you from a terrible experience.  Information an offending company would rather you didn’t have. Especially if you are a fresh faced University graduate.

  I think forums can be a great source of information about Eikaiwa English schools/Placement Agencies such as Interac, Geos, Gaba, ECC, Berlitz, AEON. I would encourage all people thinking about English teaching to read up as much as possible before choosing.

  When you cruise various forums there are a lot of complaints leveled against various Eikaiwas. Although your mileage may vary when you read the forums that are out there you can see most people end up hating Eikaiwa work. Why are there so many complaints?

  I’m guessing it’s because there is no incentive to treat you well. In general every year fresh faced University graduates come to Japan looking for a new experience and are hired for about 250,000 Yen (2500 USD) per month. Next year there will always be another crop of graduates. Out with the old and in with the new

  JET seems to be the one anomaly. This Japanese government sponsored English Teaching exchange program seems to treat participants better in general when you read about people’s experiences. Again your mileage may vary

  I’m going to list in this post what I think are pretty good sources of information about companies in the English teaching business in Japan. These sites are also pretty good sources of general Japan info.

  Dave’ ESL Cafe - www.eslcafe.com
  Japan Forum - www.japanforum.com
  JREF - www.jref.com
  ELT News - www.eltnews.com
  Big Daikon - www.bigdaikon.com
  LetsJapan - www.letsjapan.org

  Technorati Tags: Eikaiwa, English teaching

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  Tags: Eikaiwa, English Teaching

• 24Jun

  Golloyds - International Money Transfer Service Review

  Japan, Japan Tips, Reviews 2 Comments

  If you need to transfer money from Japan to your home country Golloyds is a good option. I tried the service myself and give it high marks for my positive experience.

  Step 1) I submitted my account application via the web.

  Step 2) I I filled out the required documents and mailed it to them. If you are approved for an account they will mail you back with an acknowledgment you are approved and instructions on how to transfer money.

  Step 3) From your Japanese bank account you need to transfer or furikomi the money to an intermidiary account they set up for you. Golloyds will then wire the money from the intermediary account to your home country bank account once they receive your furikomi. This system works very well if you have a Shinsei bank account because you get a certain number of free furikomi transfers a month for me it’s 5. Using online banking it is possible to furikomi transfer money from your Shinsei account to the Golloyds account they have set up for you. This lets you skip the need to go to an ATM machine to do the Furkikomi

  Cost: Golloyds charges only a flat rate of 2000Yen for this service. Searching around the different options available a common figure you see is 4000Yen per transfer so Golloyds is very competitive price wise. The other cost you will need to deal with is the fee your home bank will charge. For Canadian banks its usually about $15 Canadian. Total cost to you is 2000Yen plus $15. You can see what your home country bank will likely charge on the Golloyds website

  Speed: The money successfully showed up in my account the very next day. No delays no screw ups.

  Exchange Rates: It is possible to see what exchange rates Golloyds is offering on their website the rates are usually posted at around 10AM Japan time. They also offer a service where they mail each days rates to you by email.

  Based on my experience I recommend this money transfer service.

  Technorati Tags: Golloyds, furikomi, money transfer

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  Tags: Furikomi, golloyds, Money Transfer

• 21Jun

  Pizza in Japan

  Japan, Japan Food, Japan Pictures, Japan Tips No Comments

  If you’re looking for pizza in Japan, American icons Domino’s and Pizza Hut are just as prevalent as they are in America.

  Only problem is the prices seem to be much higher than in the United States. Also for some reason Pizza in Japan tends to be a lot thinner than compared to the United States for some reason.

  

  Technorati Tags: Japan, American, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, America, Pizza, United States

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  Tags: America, Domino's, Pizza, Pizza Hut, United States

• 31May

  Japan News Today - Tip of the Day - Pointless, Worthless, Waste of Time Japanese Cops

  Japan, Japan Rants, Japan Tips No Comments

  Today I saw three Japanese cops staked out at a quiet park at night, stopping and ticketing people who didn’t have their bike lights on.

  Holy Shit give these fuckers the death penalty its a crime against humanity!

  Your tax dollars are going to pay these 3 cops to do dick all other than bother otherwise law abiding citizens.

  God forbid if you don’t look Japanese and you’re caught on a bike at night with no light on. Don’t be surprised to be asked for your passport or foreigner registration card.

  I’ve had these wastes of tax payer money demand to see my passport for no reason in the past.

  My Japan tip of the day - Make sure you have your bike light on if you’re about to go by one of these cops otherwise the odds are pretty good you will be hasselled.

  Technorati Tags: Japanese cops

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  Tags: Japanese Cops, Japanese Police

• 29May

  Japan News Today - Tip of the Day - How to Handle Annoying Jehovah Witness Visitors in Japan

  Japan, Japan Rants, Japan Tips 1 Comment

  Jehovah Witness is a religion with followers all over the world. Naturally there are followers in Japan. How to handle these un-requested visitors to your home is mostly the same as in the United States. In Japan mix in some English tell them you’re not interested in English and they will usually back down.

  I had one couple knock on the door loudly one Saturday morning all full of those creepy smiles they always have, “We’re from this religious group and uhm could we leave these pamphlets with you?” I tell them in English “Sorry Not Interested” and try to close the door. The guy actually tries to  hold the door open with his hand and block me from closing it. What the fuck!?

  If you ever have problems with aggressive Jehovah Witnesses use my 2 second telemarketer rule. The second you figure out they’re Jehovah Witnesses close the door don’t give them time to read from their script.

  The problem with Jehovah Witness Recruitment tactics

  1) They are always smiling and so nice that it is uncomfortable. Normal Christians don’t do this, Normal Muslims don’t do this. Why do they do it?
  2) Those pamphlets they’re always giving out turn in to trash quick being left on trains, at bus stops and anywhere else.
  3) They do not ask if you are a devout, loyal, and happy , Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, etc. before they try to convert you.

  Technorati Tags: Jehovah Witness

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  Tags: Japan, Jehovah Witness, Religion

• 29May

  Japan News Today - Rant of the Day - How Garbage is Handled in Japan

  Japan, Japan Rants, Japan Tips No Comments

  Japan has strict separation requirements for Garbage. Burnable garbage, Non-Burnable Garbage, Pop cans and bottles need to be separated and put out on specific days. It’s an annoying down side of living in Japan but understandable. What’s more annoying though is making sure garbage is separated and put out on the right day is usually managed by old garbage nazi bag women who will bitch and complain every time you try to put out the trash.

  I had one hag sort through my trash fish out something that had the address and then come over just to complain their precious trash wasn’t sorted properly.

  So my tip to any foreigner living in Japan is to make sure anything with your address and name is ripped up or shredded before you throw it in the trash unless you want an old ugly worthless hag bothering you.

  And to all Nazi garbage hags find something else to give meaning to whats left of your lives.

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  Tags: Garbage, Japan, Trash

• 24May

  Child Abductions Common in Japan

  Japan, Japan Tips 1 Comment

  This article summarizes well the Japan Child Abduction issue.

  If you’re a foreigner thinking about having a kid with a Japanese woman living in Japan or not think damn hard before you do because if things go bad there’s a chance she could take the kids fly back to mommy and daddy and you might not see your kids again ever. No Kidding. There are thousands of documented cases of this happening. Japan is the only country to have not signed the Hague Convention against child abduction.

  There are other documented cases where foreigners who are trying to get their kids back are absolutely fucked because they might not have a spouse visa allowing them to stay in Japan while they fight to keep to get back their kids.

  From what I’ve seen mommy and daddy play a bigger role in their little ones lives even when the little ones are adults. Be careful to avoid being completely screwed.

  Lately there has been pressure for Japan to sign the Hague Convention but it probably won’t make a difference.

  The best site that summarizes this issue is CRN Japan, but it is currently down.

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  Tags: Abduction, Child Abduction, Hague Convention, Japan

• 24May

  How to use a Japanese Keyboard with an English Version of Windows Vista

  Japan Tips, Windows Tips No Comments

  This link leads to the Windows support article that will walk you through how to change the settings so that the keys such as backslash will work properly on your Japanese keyboard and English Windows Vista.

  If you try to use a Japanese Keyboard with an English version of Windows Vista the geniuses at Microsoft have designed it so that you will not be able to enter backslashes. Backslashes are used to access other PCs and servers on a windows network.

  You will need to make multiple changes to the Windows registry and then reboot for this to work. Confirmed this fix works.

  Windows Sucks and that includes Vista.

  If you can’t get it to work get a Mac or create a Hackintosh. See my article on how to get OSX running on a MSI Wind.

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  Tags: Backslash, Japanese Keyboard, Windows Vista

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