Lost in KanjiLand

My desk ^_^

2009-05-11T20:13:00.006+01:00

Inspiried by dannychoo I decided to take a piccy of my desk. Sorry it is a bit small and blurry, used my phone as my real camera has gone walkies.
Click the piccy to see it nice and big now :D

Tsuki-board, manage your figure collection!

2009-05-10T22:19:00.012+01:00

I found this website recently

http://figure.tsuki-board.net

It allows you to search in a database for all the Japanese figures you have, and add them to an online collection, even allowing members to buy and sell from each other, keep track of pre-orders, duplicates, etc. etc.

While it is still quite early in development in my opinion, more items get added everyday, and any registered user can add content. This means it improves dramatically everyday, and I really enjoy putting all my collection on there bit by bit and comparing it with others!

There is a vast community to be explored that I have not started to yet, and lots of features such as the ability to tag figures and search by such tags, it then automatically categorises your collection by the number of hits you get on those tags, then displays it in that nice, "the more hits the larger the fointernettyinternetty-way" that seems so popular these days!

Currently I am :

Hopefully this site gets better and better, and I can find all my figures to add sooner or later, although I will do my bit and add one to the database if i find the official pictures and sites ^_^

Happy Ramune Day

2009-05-04T13:59:00.008+01:00

Ramune is a delicious, lemonade-y kinda-thingy drink, very popular in Japan.
According to this blog i found today is ramune day!
Wish I had one to drink right now.

ラムネを飲みたいよ

Although i must say I prefer the ramune sweeties, ate so many when I was in Japan, and have now worked my way through all those I brought back too :(

美味しい

Drift 7 R

2009-04-26T14:29:00.019+01:00

Drift 7 R / ドリフト7-R-

I think this trailer says it all really, if i had seen this before I might not have bothered to watch the whole thing! I did, however, and to be honest felt like a bit of a waste of 73minutes.
Watch it if you enjoy:

Long, drawn out racing scenes done in a very shakey camera style
Multiple reused footage of shifting the gear stick back and forth, and pedal footwork, each clip shown about every 30seconds in each race
Lots of zooming in on the characters eyes, then a quick jump to the the car, then the above mentioned footage then back to characters eyes
The same overtaking manouver shown from 3 slightly different angles one after another with added "vrooom!" sound effects

Don't watch if you are looking for:

Deep & meaningful storyline
Good camera work and SFX
Exciting car chases

I would say the only good parts about the film are the slight twist in the end;it really does not end how you'd expect, and it's quite a humerous scenario, and that the main protagonist, played by 杉浦太陽 is pretty cute;in my opinion anyway.

More information about the film in English and in Jap anese.

N.B it seems to be known as Drift GTR in some places and DRIFT7R in others, in the opening credits of the movie the splash calls it DRIFT7R so I presumed this to be it's official name.

While looking for info on this film I came across another dorifuto movie that I have seen. I saw it while on the plane either to or from Japan, and don't remember much other than it was pretty silly and fun, click on the image for more info!

Getting to Japan on the cheap.

2009-04-15T00:19:00.005+01:00

My circumstances have changed recently, and I may be able to justify a quick break at the other side of the world to cheer myself up :D

Looking at it from a financial point of view, I have found flights for about the £450 mark, which is very reasonable, but with the current bank-crisis-thingy I really should try understand more, it seems the exchange rate would equate even the cheapest hostel to be in the region of £20 a night!
I have a few friends over in Japan at the moment, but none I feel close enough to to ask to put me up for a night or two :(

I really want to be brave enough to go and stay bymyself in a backpackers hostel, but feel a bit concerened for my safety,and also wonder if I willreally enjoy being all alone, everyday on a shoe string budget, in the event I don't make a friend at the hostel.
I feel I shall have to overcome these reservations before searching for a JET type job after graduation anyway, and I know this would help my confidence levels a lot.

Hopefully I will find the get-up-and-go to book something so I can't back out.
I would invite a friend to come with me, I can think of one work collegue who would jump at the chance, but If I am going, it is alone this time, that I am sure of, and part of the whole growing up and finding myself quest I need to go on!

Not done so many Japan-reated-things recently, rather I have been enjoying the more "British" pursuit of £1-a-bottle nights at my local bars with a good friend!

I have been trying to make some anime characters in the soul calibur IV creation screen, but they are not good enough for posting here yet, maybe in the next week or so...

I also downloaded Bimbo Danshi as something to watch now I have concluded all of Hana Yori Dango, live action doramas and film.

Oguri Shun is the main character shown here, pretty isn't he? ^^

-Update-
I got a new Job (kinda!) yay ^_^, but also boo as no Japan this summer :(

惚れる - To fall in love

2009-04-04T00:23:00.002+01:00

「バカでわがままで自己中な道明寺に惚れてるよ」
Is (or very similar to) an important line in the 花より男子 series/move I am watching at the moment, I already understood the バカ　and わがまま parts but was curious how the rest worked so did a bit of googling and ended up teaching myself a new verb I like very much

惚れる「ほれる」　－　To Fall in Love

I also learnt that in very slang/casual speak the て＋いる　form can be contracted to just てる

Making the above phrase mean, technically

stupid, selfish, self-centered Domyouji[characters name] I am falling in love [with you] !

But a better sounding translation used in the subs is

You're stupid, you're selfish and your self-centered, but i've fallen in love with you, Domyouji.

Not sure which is more correct when it comes to the I am falling in love/I have fallen in love as to me the て＋いる　suggests more of a "ing" state, howeve I have come across this contridiction before and think it comes down to being that the form is more about a continuous state of the verb than how "ing" is used in English. So that would make it more along the lines of
I am ongoing the feeling of having fallen in love with you.
Obviously that doesn't sound so great in English at all!

I must further research in order to understand て＋いる better in different contexts.

The other vocab learnt here is

自己中「じこちゅう」　－　Self-centered (slang again)

Less likely to remember this I feel, but the kanji make it easy to take a guess at it's meaning I feel

as they literally read

Self - I/You/Oneself - Inside

swap it around to get self-inside or self centerted :)

Although this is retero understanding, as in i looked it up before seeing the Kanji and taking a guess, so it is always easy to see the meaning after you already know!

Good learning today, that is one reason, no matter how many people say things against it, I continue to learn the most Japanese from things in anime/movies/dorama that make me go "oh i understood like 60% of that I wondered how the rest fits to the subs" and go away and do some study. Drilling Kanji and doing online tests and other traditional study methods seem very dry and little sticks. I know it is a very "Otaku" way to learn, and would never dream of suggesting watching anime to be a way to learn Japanese from scratch, or anything formal you would say to anyone in Japan, but for me it is a good little vocabulary builder, which I doubt can ever be a bad thing. :)

Japan Trip, Moyashimon, Hana Yori Dango and more

2009-04-02T22:19:00.013+01:00

OK so my plan to post some blogs while in Japan, didn't work at all.

Instead I shall give a brief summary of how my trip went through a series of posts, hopefully looking through my photos will remind me.

がんばります！

First though a little update of the Japan related goodness I have been up to (quite) recently.

I have started going to my beloved animesoc again, and it answered something I had been wondering while in Japan

これは何だよか

These curious creatures were in plushy and keychain form all over the shops and arcades, I had guessed the label もやしもん was some contraction of 虫「むし」 the generic word for bug, and they also looked like some kind of video game character. They also reminded me of a product I had seen in cyberdog which with a bit of google foo i found to be known as GIANTmicrobes
Totally Kawaii representations of real life germs, in plushy form!!

However it turns out moyashimon is infact an anime series, based on a manga. At the anime soc meeting it was described as an anime about a boy who works on a farm and can see and talk to the bacterium and microbes around. It sounded really boring so I didn't bother voting for it, but when it appeared on screen with the cutest opening ever....

I instantly recognised the little guys, and it settled the wondering in my head. XD
The episode itself was nothing special to me though, think i watched the first 3 or so later at home then lost interest.

Here is a photo of one I took myself.
Yes it is in a Santa Hat, it was November!
Japan makes perfect sence ¬_¬

Also over the last couple months anime soc meetings I got to see the first episode of KeroroGunsou, everyones favourite commander frog from outerspace, for about the 10th time, and surprisingly it STILL made me laugh. I don't have the dedication to sit and watch my way through what is now (according to good old wiki) hundreds of episodes of the stuff though.
Keroro = cool nevertheless. I think my plushy of him would agree. ね？

The other anime I remember I liked enough to mention is dot Hack, a series I had heard of. and was vaguely curious about for years, didn't disappoint and I plan to slowly watch more episodes than the first 3 or so seen with animesoc.

Aside from animesoc, I also went to the give-it-a-go start up session of a new society, dorama-soku, or known to everyone else as fransoc after the girl who started it. It is very similar to anime soc, sit in a room and watch fansubs, only this time of Japanese TV drama series rather than anime.

I got to see the original super sentai or as known in the west "Power Rangers" episode in original Japanese without the American actors cut into it, it was really amusing, as it seemed to have zero budget and make even less sense! There was also a random episode from the Akihabara@Deep series, of which i have seen some kind of OVA/Movie thing in the past and love for all the sights & sounds of 秋葉原 as well as the general idea, which seems to be a group of otaku who fight gangs, they all have their own quirks and were somehow all united by a mysterious online persona ... bizarre but totally 楽しい

The best thing to come out of the meeting though, （aside from the free and 美味しかったケーキ）was my introduction to the series 花より男子 , I was hooked from the first 30seconds, and have managed to watch nearly all of the two series in just 3days! That is what happens when my job gives me so much time off work!
I cannot decide which of the male protagonists is my favourite as it seems to change every couple of episodes, the most gorgeous award goes to Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui at the moment, and even though i know it is just light fluffy romantic nonsense, with some really bad acting at places, the whole series warms my heart and I really really want a happy ending! :)
It reminds me a lot of Ouran High School Host Club, but with real life actors, so cannot possibly be a bad thing ^_^

My major anime news is the end of　ガンダム00 s2, and the shock announcement of a movie, but I think gundam related stuff deserves a post of it's own sometime.

I think that is about it!

I am here

2008-11-05T22:48:00.001Z

I made it!!

No time for a real blog post i have got to eat breakfast and start my day, plus this screen is making my eyes go funny...sigh

xx

24時間に飛行機で日本へ行く

2008-11-03T13:20:00.006Z

とても元気だよ。

でも飛行機が大嫌いだ。怖いから。

：（

そしていまAirFranceに電話しなければならないけど私のPassportNumberは正くない。

ごめんなさい。。。日本語は難しいだ。

Last minute checkku risto.

2008-11-02T19:45:00.008Z

Right tommorow night I shall be heading to the airport, so it is packing, packing, packing.
Rather than actually doing anything useful I thought I would make an online list of what I have left to do.
Some of it important, some of it stupid.

*Put Mp3s on phone
*Charge Phone
*Ring Air France to confirm change of passport number
*Charge DS
*Update DS flashcart
*Find/Buy & Pack Travel Adapter
*Charge Camera
*Wipe Camera Memory Cards
*Pack a lightweight pair of trousers
*Pack Hairbrush
*Arrange Yen and £'s into different purses, remove store cards etc
*Pamper myself so i look a little prettier for holiday snaps >_< *Make emergancy and other contact details and flight info sheet for Dad
*Tidy room (a bit.. maybe)
*Decide which trainers to wear & take
*Pack Phone & ~~Camera Chargers~~
*Check hand luggage has passport/money/phone/headphones/paperwork/house key/eyeliner *Check hand luggage has ZERO liquids
*Finish watching Code Geass r2, and catch up on Gundam 00, so ready for merchandise overload
*Pack notebook with handy phrases/shopping list
*Finish Chocolate Ice Cream in Freezer
*Unplug TV/Sky/Xbox/Heater/Lamp/etc (PC too)
*DOUBLE CHECK PASSPORT & MONEY

Ok wow that list is quite long, must get on with it, think ill start with the anime and ice cream...

*edit*
all done..time to go

What to do if you have heartburn in Japan

2008-11-01T22:15:00.004Z

So, I suffer from acid reflux..a more severe type of heartburn, and can't take my medicine to Japan because it is in a glass bottle , open and will probs leak or smash or something.
It is basic over the counter stuff so i decided to learn how to ask for it in Japan

I can already say "My stomach hurts" so figured it can't be that hard to say I have acid reflux..."ashido referukusu..."right?

WRONG

acid reflux is:
胃逆流性食道炎

igyakuruseishokudoen for those of you who can't read such crazy Kanji, myself included ofcourse.

I will *never remember* that

However the word for heartburn is

胸焼け
muneyake

and you use it with suru not aru... I can remember that no probs!

胸焼けがします！

On another note, i put my PC into Japanese mode to try and get some Idolmaster emoticons to work.. and failed miserably :( Now all my file directories use the Yen sign instead of / and my PC is throwing a bit of a wobbly, i'll sort it when i get back..maybe..

Code Geass, SHIRLEY NO! and Harajuku shops.

2008-10-24T21:03:00.007+01:00

Sooo, at the moment I am slowly getting through Code Geass R2, also started on Gundam00 season 2 but meh the first episode bored me to sleep, so no comment on that yet.

Loving r2, just watched episode 13, and almost cried! Well, not cried but deffo got a lump in my chest/throat.
Am I the only perosn who wanted a happy ending for shirley and lulu? :(

I think this video that uses a Gundam Seed song sums it up well.
<3 for the Gundam seed song also.

My google adventures have led me to add two new shopping destinations for when i visit 原宿

Spiral Toy & blister

Can't find a decent pic of spiral toy though, but the website is interesting, and luckily both have a map.

Listening to a video that includes the Yamanote line jingle, I am all hyper about Japan once more.

Passport, Liverpool and New Job!

2008-10-24T20:34:00.008+01:00

So after finding my passport, I discover it is ruined!! I spend two days talking to friends, family and post office employees to try convince myself all will be well. Then finally rang the passport officials. Bad news, I need a new one, it is going to cost be the best part of £100 and I have to go to Liverpool. Fair enough, can just about be done I guess. Then I realise on the form I have to fill in, I need someone of high standing in society, who has known me for a few years has to sign a photo of me, panic and up all night till i realise someone who can help!
Cut a long story short, I got all the paperwork signed, some new photos as back up, got it all ready, then the next day set off for liverpool (with a quick call at the dentist first for some boring brace related stuff)
Arrive at liverpool about 3hours ahead of schedule!
Passport office agrees to see me early, takes my paperwork with barely a smile, tap, tap, tap on the computer , "go over there to pay" and that is it, no passport and over £100 poorer including train fare, but she assures me the postman will bring it in under 7days.

We wander back to liverpool centre, look round the "posh" and "chav" areas then in an effort to try forget the troubles, Boyfriend and I go look for dinner, find a nice all you can eat Chinese and stuff our faces full of ribs, rice, prawn toast, curry sauce, noodles, chicken, pork, the works and wash it down with Jelly! All for under a tenner each!

I highly recommend the:

May Sum Buffet King Restaurant

180-181 Elliot Street, St Johns Precinct, Liverpool, L1 1NH T: 0151 707 6886

Stuffed full we head back to the train station, to find we have a while to wait for the next train, so decide to look for an interesting shop. We find a forbidden planet like shop, we spend ages in, seeing all the Japanese and other nerdy toys makes us all giddy and excited about the Holiday!
I buy a little voltron toy, as I don't want to spend much, then we head home.

The next day my boyfriend brings lots of Japan maps around and we plan the holiday inch by inch! With a folder full of print outs, we figure the fact we haven't heard from the passport office is good news, as there mustn't be a problem.

The next day he goes home quite early to run errands and stuff, not long after I get up, (actually while I am in the bathroom) I hear a knock at the door, I run to it , and yes yes yes my passport arrived!!

Just over 2days, well done passport office people ^_^

Holiday is saved, I go to work happy.

Whilst all this was happening I got a phone call on one of the mornings to say I got a job at Thomas Cook as a "data controller" and I start when i return from Japan! Sorted a few e-mails and refs with them and just waiting for my contract to arrive. Let my current workplace know, i will be sad to leave them, I made good friends, but they pay is a lot better, as is the job, so I can't be all sentimental about it now! They said I can come back if I ever become a student again and give up my full-time job, so that is good to know.

So basically, in the place of a few days Japan wasn't happening , and now it is all back on, and planned to the Max!

Only just over a week to go now..not looking forward to the flight, but sure am glad the passport super big issue is sorted.

よかったね

Pokemon Centers Nagoya & Yokohama

2008-10-14T18:22:00.010+01:00

Last time I visited Pokemon Centers in Osaka and Tokyo, boy was the one in Tokyo hell to find. We had a rough address/local station print out and took a long walk from Ginza area following the subway lines/major roads, found the station over the road from it wandered around for ages,thinking "must be here somewhere!" it wasn't until we went to a nice park to sit down and looked at the sky we saw it on the Second Floor of something that looked to us like an office building! Cries OF YOKATTTAAAA as i ran towards the escalator! Thanking myself for remembering to wear contacts that day so i could see.

This is the Osaka one, but it was too busy for Photos in the Tokyo one.

I never knew there was one in Yokohama, and Nagoya was too far to travel but this time as we are spending a few nights in Nagoya, and much longer in the General Tokyo are it is easy to find time to visit them both.

Lets home the maps are more use this time.

Note it says the pokemon center Yokohama has moved but doesn't give a new map, it says it is in the same vicinity so hopefully it should still help!

I am not spam!

2008-10-14T17:34:00.003+01:00

I got an e-mail form blogspot saying I am span *cries in a corner*

I think i have done everything to get myself removed from the blacklist now though!

I have been working so hard this week to earn money, but finally I have all my Japan money ready, thanks to the guys at Halifax and their overdraft, but no thanks to the yorkshire bank ATM that stole £300 from me!

6weeks till I get that back...

anyway..

Japan Things.

Money - Check
Passport - Check, after a frantic run around the house I found it, in a folder, under some bags, under a pile of softtoys #Yikes#
Airline Tickets - If my b/f has remembered to print them off, I have nagged him enough..
Hotel Reservations and other paperwork - Same as above!

Am i missing anything... I don't think so

Now for the countdown

1 Month to go

2008-10-06T19:59:00.001+01:00

Hajimemashite Minna~san, Marisa Desu, Dozo Yoroshiku.

Welcome to my Blog about my trip, hopefully trips to Japan, and my daily struggle trying to learn Japanese! I am not going even attempt to try write this in anything above English with the odd Japanese phrase for good measure, so friends and family should have no trouble with it :D

1 month, or there abouts until my second trip to Japan, I was pretty disorganised last time, so this time I am planning every detail, and setting this blog up in advance.

I doubt I will be able to post much while over there, but we will see :D

Until I go I will blog about places I want to go, things I want to do, and any attempts at learning Japanese I struggle through!

またね　皆さん！

Oh and my pics from the last trip are up here.

and here is a winking parking turtle guy just because it amused me. Can't remember exacty where I saw this, but i was Osaka somewhere ;p