ALT Online

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T20:11:00.003-05:00

Yup, it's that time of year again -- time to celebrate one of the most commercial holidays of the year (probably neck and neck with Christmas and Halloween -- your choice). I'm laughing at my co-worker, right now, as he sits and ponders (and stresses) as to what he should take home to his girlfriend (flowers or chocolate?). It's also probably THE holiday, if you have a significant other, when you shouldn't come home empty-handed -- unless you're a guy in Japan (or Korea or Taiwan, I'm told). He was shocked when I told him that in Japan, the guys get something on V-day, but then have to reciprocate one month later (March 14) on "White Day".

Watch out for bad gyoza!

2008-02-07T14:06:00.001-05:00

Well, if you haven't been perusing the Japanese headlines, lately, you probably don't know about the big "gyoza" scare that's been going on. Apparently, a bunch of frozen gyoza (both meat and vegetable versions) from China has been tainted with pesticides getting people sick. This, has also been hurting business for gyoza restaurants leading some to take gyoza-related items off of their menus. I wonder if this would affect gyoza in other countries as well.

I Can Get My MUJI now!

2007-12-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

Mujirushi-ryohin (Muji, for short) along with UNIQLO, and Tokyu Hands were my fave stores in Japan. Looks like the first Muji store in the US is now open! :) It opened last month in NYC.

Gairaigo -- beneficial for who?

2007-10-04T17:10:00.000-04:00

This is nothing new, but I thought this article was an interesting one commenting on the concern over the abuse of borrowing loan words (gairaigo) from other languages, particularly English, when there are already perfectly good Japanese phrases that can describe something.

If this is a benefit to anybody, it should be for us non-native Japanese speakers. But seriously, if someone were speaking to you in Japanese, would you be able to understand them if they said something like this: "pa-bu-ri-kku-i-n-bo-ru-bu-me-n-to". Say it with me...come on, I know you want to. :) Or how about this one? "ro-do-pu-ra-i-shi-n-gu"(unless you have a knack for phonetics, you may need to read the article to see what these actually mean). I'm guessing, in the end, though, nobody really benefits from stuff like this.

Earthquake hits Northwestern Japan

2007-07-18T02:03:00.001-04:00

All over the news today: a major earthquake registering 6.8 on Japan's meteorological agency's scale (US Geological Survey put it at 6.6) shook the northwestern coast of Japan (Niigata-ken) causing a fire at a nuclear power station and sparking fears of tsunamis. The earthquake killed nine people and injured another 1,000.

This puts nuclear safety in the limelight as authorities feared the accident could raise public doubts over all of Japan's nuclear reactors. The country relies on the generators for about 1/3 of its electricity.

Ichiro will stay with the M's for roughly $100m

2007-07-13T20:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, that sounds like a LOT of money. Do the Mariners need Ichiro THAT badly? Well, if you look at other ex-M's stars, you'll see that this isn't all THAT crazy:

The M's tried keeping Ken Griffey Jr. with a $148 million over 8 years contract, but he left to be closer to his family.

When A-Rod became a free agent in 2000, the M's didn't want to pay him the $252 million 10-year contract the Rangers shelled out. THAT would've been crazy.

So does Ichiro really need the Mariners? He seems happy at Safeco Field. He also seems to enjoy playing for teams for long periods of time (he played with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan for 9 seasons).

If anything, this is a great time for M's fans. You've got a future Hall-of-Famer on your hands...

Kobayashi Loses

2007-07-06T00:11:00.001-04:00

If you're a U.S. Citizen, hope you had a Happy Fourth of July! Ever since I made the trek to Coney Island a few years ago to watch the annual Nathan's hot-dog eating contest (took the photo to the left in 2003), I couldn't help but continue watching Takeru Kobayashi's dominance in the event and wonder if anyone would ever catch him.

Well, this year, he lost the competition and a few hot dogs along the way (as in barfing). The six-time defending champion barely won last year's event to San Jose (California) native, Joey Chestnut. This year, Chestnut came back with a vengeance and ingested a record-setting 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes needed to win the crown. Gives me indigestion just thinking about it.

Creating Calm in Children's Minds

2007-06-28T13:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. At least in more upscale neighborhoods, they are now teaching children how to relax using yoga and massage in after-school classes.

Don't be surprised if you decide to take on a non-JET English teacher position and they ask to see your massage therapy or yoga certification papers. LOL.

Imaginarius video

2007-06-26T14:28:00.000-04:00

A shameless plug, I know. This has nothing to do with being an ALT or Japan, for that matter, but my band just put together our first video. If you're into Alternative Rock, you can check it out here. Thanks!

Second Life, Second Lingo

2007-06-22T23:30:00.000-04:00

I thought this article was an interesting way for an English teacher in Japan to get his students more involved in cross-cultural exchange.

Cucumber soda?!

2007-06-13T17:25:00.002-04:00

Apparently, Pepsi Japan has decided to launch a soft drink that tastes just like cucumber. As nasty as it sounds, it seems to be extremely popular.

Nova handed suspension order

2007-06-13T17:19:00.000-04:00

If you decide to work for Nova, don't be surprised if you see a bunch of upset students. This won't affect you, the Teacher, but apparently, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry asked the company to suspend part of its business operations for holding back money from students who cancelled their contracts. Full article can be found here.

Human Tetris

2007-06-12T20:43:00.000-04:00

One of my colleagues passed this Japanese variety show clip along. I hadn't seen it before, but thought it was worth sharing here.

"Teaching English in Japan" Podcast

2007-06-09T00:17:00.000-04:00

I stumbled across this great podcast called "Teaching English in Japan" done up by an ALT named Chaz. He offers a lot of insight into his daily life in Japan. Definitely worth a look!

ALT Online gets a new look and location!

2007-06-07T23:59:00.000-04:00

Notice anything different? Yup, gave the site a new look and location (please update your bookmarks!). I decided to do this so that I could update the pages more easily and efficiently. Hope you like it -- and thanks for dropping by!

What the World Eats

2007-06-06T18:13:00.001-04:00

Not sure how long you will have access to this, but I thought it was pretty interesting. It's a series of photos showing what people around the world eat in one week. This week's issue of Time Magazine has the gallery and it starts off showing a Japanese family and what they consume during one week.

Japan at the World Cup

2006-06-14T18:14:00.000-04:00

What happened to the Japanese soccer team on Monday? Losing 3-1 to Australia was almost as bad as the US team losing 3-0 to the Czechs (hopefully, they'll play better against Italy on Saturday).

Head coach Zico should've replaced tired players sooner rather than later in the game. Hopefully, they'll do better against Croatia. If Japan doesn't win, their fate will probably be sealed because then they'll face Brazil.

Virtual England in Japan

2005-03-21T12:09:00.000-05:00

British Hills is a "virtual England" that was set up 11 years ago by a Japanese family who also run a private university and language school in Tokyo. They wanted students to have the ability to "escape" Japan and be immersed into an all-English environment within Japan. Interesting read. The JET Program is also mentioned in this article.

I would definitely agree with the view of how the English curriculum is structured at the high school level: As students get closer to graduation, they generally get stuck cramming for the College Entrance Exams. Classes become not only boring, but they tend to steer away from native English.

Learning Japanese

2005-03-20T22:39:00.000-05:00

Are you looking for a way to study/learn Japanese? Then check this site out. They even offer up a dictionary containing Kansai-ben (dialect used in the Osaka region)!

Beard Papa

2005-03-20T22:38:00.000-05:00

Move over, Krispy Kreme, now there's something better! Well, that's how some see it. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided I had to try the latest thing to come out of Japan. My wife and I went to a Beard Papa location while in NYC last weekend and when I bit into one of the cream puff morsels, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Okay, not quite to that extreme, but it was really, really good! You have to make sure you eat it right when you buy it, though. Otherwise, it starts to go flat as time passes. Read the article and you'll see what I mean.

Kombini in Japan

2004-09-27T22:43:00.000-04:00

Ah, I miss hitting the 'kombini' that were in my neighborhood: Lawson, 7-Eleven, Hotspar, etc. Never been to one before? Thinking they're like the convenience stores back in your country? Think again! Man, this is really natsukashii for me.

English Magazine -- Made in Japan

2004-09-27T22:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a novel idea...an all-English magazine that is actually published in Japan. Unlike many foreign magazines that simply license their name and "concept" to overseas publishing houses and have them localized, Kateigaho International Edition is prepared in English, in Japan. You can check out their website here. If any of you get your hands on a copy, let me know how it is! :)

Japanese Baby Names

2004-09-27T22:41:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I've been a bit busy lately. I am now the proud father of a baby boy! I was looking around the web to see if I could come up with a great Japanese name for my kid. I came across this page and found it interesting because it discusses trends in baby names. If you're lucky, maybe I'll tell you what name I decided on. ;)

Jobs in Japan

2004-06-22T22:44:00.000-04:00

Came across this site as I was looking to help a friend possibly look for a non-JET English teaching job in Japan. Might come in handy for some of you.

'Parasite' Singles

2004-06-03T22:45:00.000-04:00

I'm not really sure to what degree this is really happening in Japan (you know how media likes to sensationalize things), but the fact that it is probably happening is kind of sad. According to the USA Today article, "More and more Japanese men and women are finding relationships too messy, tiring and potentially humiliating to bother with anymore.