Taiko and Tubetops

Raiden is a festival for the man and women in all of us, respectively. Every year, the people of Mie-Machi in Oita-Ken reenact the spirit of man and spirit of woman coming down from their two mountains to yell at each other. Its a celebration of the two sexes and is a splendid festival that involves a lot of taiko, dancing, and glowing floats. It occured at the tail end of summer in the month of August.

Mou Sugu!

I have been busy since my arrival in Japan, setting up utilities, getting a car, remodeling my aparment, going to work everyday, and I didn`t even have internet until last week so updates have been nonexistant. But I have gone to 3 festivals, 3 cities (haha I called them cities) in my prefecture of Oita, and had my share of drinks. Luckily I have been able to bring my camera to pretty many of the events and will be editing the footage and collecting the photos soon. As a teaser , let me tell you about one of the festivals called Raiden. It involves the people/spirits of the town coming down from Man mountain and Women mountain to face-off against each other, which amounts to a bunch of women in tube tops and men without shirts chanting and getting all hot and bothered to the beat of taiko drums. Yeah, It was fun (+-~)

State of the Podcast

In anticipation of my imminent departure for Japan in less than 3 weeks, I discuss the future of the podcast, videocast, and blog, and some of the material on the horizon. I'm excited to be on the island of Kyushu which gives me somewhat of a unique position in the blog and podiosphere given that most bloggers are located in Tokyo or Osaka. Hopefully I can offer a somewhat different outlook and take on Japan from a region that most people haven't seen or heard about. Think of this site as an alternative version of Japan that isn't focused on the bright and neon lights of Tokyo. Though I will no don't find myself drawn to the capital city eventually. You can download the podcast here.

*FYI my podcast files are hosted on mediafire as of right now. Just click the "here" link and it will take you to the download page.
** I have fixed the link. Enjoy

Japan Photos

Here are some of my favorite photos I have snapped in Japan. Enjoy (+-~)

Sumo

We take a trip to Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Watch as I document sumo matches from the lower ranks all the way up to the makuuchi level. We catch a glimpse of Asashoryu doing his yokozuna dance, and see a couple of vicious and too close to call bouts. Sit back and enjoy this sacred and entertaining competition called sumo.

For more videos check out my Youtube channel

del.icio.us Tags: sumo,asashoryu,fight,tokyo,gaijin guide

Akihabara - An Otaku's Paradise

We jet to the land of bright lights, loud music, maid cafes, and questionable manga shops. Akihabara or as I like to call it Akiba is a surreal experience that might leave you deaf and blind after only a few hours. Come enjoy the land of otaku where cosplay is ok any day.

Safe Sex, a Shrine, and Love Hotel Hill

I take a look at Meiji Jingu, Shibuya's famous cross walk, love hotel hill, and finish in Ginza at a haircut shop. I crammed a lot into this videocast and edited it pretty tightly. I hope you enjoy it.

JET News

Hello everyone, I have some information for you about my progress with the JET program. Take a listen to the podcast and hear all the exciting news. You also might be interested in hearing my first podcast on JET, which I recorded right after interviewing at the consulate in New York. If you have applied to JET or are trying to get to Japan some other way, send me your stories and we can compare notes. Hope to hear from you guys soon.