What's Hot in Tokyo by Tajee

A cool video bloggers event will be held in Roppongi, Tokyo on January 26th 2008!! It's called DOUGA(video) JIN(people) JAPAN!! We will have 3 sessions. 1, Speech by vloggers and service providers(B) 2. Speech by American video bloggers and Tajee 3, Presentation by Japanese video bloggers The event is run by AMN and Voice Bank, Inc! AMN hosted the alfa bloggers award the other day!   

Something salty is in the boom in Japan, I feel. You will find something salty, especially for sweets at many convenience stores or cafes. Tully's Coffee has released "Salty Caramel Latte"! Sounds interesting...and tastes good!! 「塩(Shio)」 is Salt! 「はやっている」Hayatteiru is "in the boom"!   

"Thamansa Tavasa, Making a Global Brand"
Samantha Tavasa is a brand of woman's bags or purses. Their stores are located in Omotesando,Shibuya,New York,etc. One of the features is the design, I think. Very shiny and glittery. Many Tokyo girls love their bags. Mr. Terada, CEO of Samantha is famous for its character. He changes his clothes many times a day just to refresh himself! He also has reputation that he's always caring for their staff as a family. More than 90% of the staffs are women, and he's very successful to manage them. His goal is to build up the brand worldwide like LV. His passion is real, so I hope he will break through!  

Some of my friends abroad asked me what kind of book I read. I love reading, so I read a lot, but I wondered how I can explain and give my friends useful or interesting informations for them. I came up with one idea, telling titles! I think you can learn culture, trends, and local business by just walking around book stores. I hope my friends overseas will enjoy what books are hot in Japan!

『日本人はなぜシュートを打たないのか？』"Why don't Japanese people hit the shot??
Nipponjin ha naze shot wo utanaika?
Nipponjin = Japanese
naze = why
utanai= do not hit

The author thinks that Japanese people are not good at taking risks. He's a soccer coach, and he felt himself afraid of taking risks when he used to be a trainee in German. He thinks players have to be positive and responsible, which make the team more strong! I liked that he describes soccer as a free sport. I didn't know that soccer balls were so rough that you would not be able to expect their bounds.

『「ひきこもり国家」日本―なぜ日本はグローバル化の波に乗り遅れたのか』

"Why is Japan behind globalization? The country staying indoors (means not sociable or active)"

Hikikomori = staying indoors, (Hot word)
Kokka = country, state


The author thinks the reason that Japan is behind globalization is golden time postwar. Japanese people were too rich in general(people don't have to think about food or houses everyday.) So people forgot to make effort to live. But the truth is that Japan is not so strong as it used to be. The author rings an alert to train yourself by having more than one professions, learning foreign languages, etc.


『不都合な真実』"The inconvenient truth"

Futugou= inconvenient
Shinjitsu= truth


The author alerts the environment of the earth. I actually felt so scared when I read this for the first time. But this book is not so negative. We need to change ourselves.   

魚料理がおいしいという定食屋さんにきてみたよ。 定食屋さんは「おかわり」ができるから、男性の利用者が多いみたいね。



Today I had lunch at a Japanese restaurant which had a good reputation about the fish. At many Japanese restaurant (especially for lunch hours), they have service, "Okawari", second helping for steamed rice. That's why many business men(mostly guys) love to eat Japanese food for lunch! "Okawari(おかわり)" means second helping! When you want more, try Okawari!! The waitress will give you the second helping with smile:)   

"Suica" is a ticket for trains and buses in Japan. It's very convenient! You can also buy something at some stores around the stations!! "Kantan" means easy! If you have Suica, everything is gonna be easy, "Kantan!!"

スイカってつくづく便利ですよね！ お買い物も最近これですることが多くなりました！

If you're interested in learning Japanese, I recommend this podcast!



こちら大好評！日本語学習用のポッドキャスト！！   

I ran for charity-marathon!! I saw cheer guys who encourage runners to go through the race! Cheer guys always say "FURE FURE". I'm not sure if it's Japanese or not, but it's a typical phrase to cheer people up in Japanese!

日本にいれば当たり前の「フレーフレー」もなんでフレーっていうのかなって考えると面白いね！ 今日はチャリティマラソンに参加です。 走る以外にもユニークなサービスが一杯のこのイベント。世界の恵まれない子供たちのために、という心と楽しむことの大切さを教えてくれます！

If you're interested in learning Japanese, I recommend this podcast!



こちら大好評！日本語学習用のポッドキャスト！！   

I went to Shibuya to get iPod for my mom. 109, the shopping mall is very popluar among young girls! If you love fashion, you must go to "Shibuya"!! 109 is called "Ichimarukyu". "Ichi" is one(number). "maru" is O(like zero). "kyu" is nine(number).

母の日のプレゼントを買いに渋谷へやってきたよ！ 渋谷といえば１０９！相変わらずすごい人だった。。。 母はiPodを使いこなせるかなぁ？？

If you're interested in learning Japanese, I recommend this podcast!



こちら大好評！日本語学習用のポッドキャスト！！  

I went to Tokyo Midtown, the hottest place in Tokyo! You will see many cool stuff there! Roppongi is very famous for its high culture! You will see cool restaurants and shopping stores!!

東京ミッドタウンに行ってみたよ！ こりゃすごい。人もすごいが店もみんな一流って感じ。。。リッツカールトンにも行ってみたいなぁ。。。

If you're interested in learning Japanese, I recommend this podcast!



こちら大好評！日本語学習用のポッドキャスト！！  

Hi! If you come to Japan around at the bigenning of April, you will see full-bloom of cherry blossoms! People enjoy eating or drinking under cherry-blossoms. People call the party "Ohanami".

日本ではお花見が４月初旬に開催されます！ 外で飲み食いOKなのです！！実は外国では外でアルコール飲むのはだめなんです。。。

If you're interested in learning Japanese, I recommend this podcast!



こちら大好評！日本語学習用のポッドキャスト！！