Photo by guccibear2005

Before I moved to Japan, I never had any idea how delicious seaweed could be. Like octopus, eels, moldy beans, sea urchin innards and salmon eggs, I just never thought to try eating it.

There are many types of edible seaweed in Japan and they’re referred to as kaiso (海藻). Seaweed is a traditional part of the Japanese diet and its cultivation goes back for centuries. Now, Japan’s delicious seaweeds are quickly spreading around the world as folks everywhere realize that Japanese food is awesome.

Nori (海苔)

Photo by FotoosVanRobin

The above-mentioned nori is Japan’s most produced marine product. It’s an edible version of the algae Porphyra that’s also known as ‘purple laver’ in Ireland. Nori comes in blackish-purple sheets and is used as wrapping paper for sushi (寿司) and onigiri (おにぎり) rice balls. It’s also used as a garnish for the rāmen (ラーメン) soup. This crispy algae is exceptionally high in protein and also an excellent source of vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, sodium, zinc, iodine and iron. You can chomp sheets of it like crisps and get all of those vitamins and nutrients. There is also Korean nori and Chinese nori, which are both a little tangier and spicier.

Konbu (昆布)

Photo by FotoosVanRobin

Konbu is greenish-black and is tougher with a slightly sweet taste. It’s used as soup stock and as a filling for onigiri. I have to say that konbu onigiri rocks my world on a regular basis. Among its health benefits, it has penty of vitamin C and eating konbu helps you is said to keep you from losing your hair.

Hijiki (ひじき)

Hijiki is my personal favourite. It comes in black strands that are slightly crispy or chewy and it is often used in salads. There’s actually a hijiki salad that has this seaweed mixed with peanuts, sliced carrots and sliced gobo (牛蒡, great burdock). Hijiki is a little bit dry and bitter. It packs all the same vitamins and nutrients as konbu, but has very high amounts of fiber and calcium as well. It’s a staple of Japanese home cooking.

Wakame (わかめ)

Photo by FotoosVanRobin

Wakame is used a lot in the miso soup (味噌汁) and also as a garnish for sushi. It’s green, chewy and a little bit slimy. I’m not a huge fan of wakame salad, but it works great for me in miso soup. Wakame is actually a type of kelp. It has all the vitamins and nutrients you expect from a seaweed variety, and there’s some scientific evidence that it can help you burn fat and lower blood pressure. It’s also used in Chinese medicine for a number of different treatments.

Other types of seaweed include mozuku (水雲), aonori (青海苔), and umibudo (海葡萄, literally ‘sea grapes’). All kaiso is low in fat and calories and high in nutrients and vitamins, especially vitamin B12. It’s one of the only non-animal sources of B12. But forget about all of that—it’s tasty. What would your onigiri be without its crispy nori wrapping?

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Photo by michael.banovsky

If you thought that fingerprinting and iris scanners were the future of personal identification, you can think again! Researchers, led by Associate Professor Shigeomi Koshimizu at the Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology have released a report outlining their system of driver identification.

The technology looks at the position of the person’s posterior relative to the seat, the way pressure is applied, and its overall shape. Using a seat with 360 sensors, the team claim that they can recognise a bottom with 98% accuracy.

Unlike other forms of identification, which have limited success when there are injuries on the person trying to be identified, there is poor lighting, or they are in any way unclean: this technology is designed to work no matter what state the person is in, and can work through all types of material and clothing. Additionally, those who have tried the technology note that it is less intrusive than having to place a finger or eye on a scanner, and more convenient than having to use passwords, key fobs and identity cards.

Photo by Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology

If successful, Koshimizu anticipates that there will be even wider uses for his technology – in any application where a user who is seated needs to be identified. Just think – no need for train or plane tickets, computers that login as soon as you are in front of them, and restaurants who know your favourite food order!

What do you think about being identified from behind? Useful technology or a step too far?

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5. Announcing Japanese LinguaLift

Users have enjoyed the fully updated Japanese E-textbook, mastered countless words and characters in the Vocab Lab & Kanji Academy, and lapped up our brand new game—Japanese Frenzy—in the Arcade.

We already provide you with several awesome ways to save money over at LinguaLift. If you’re a student, you can get 25% off your subscription price, and if you pre-pay for six or twelve months in advance, you’ll get one or three months for free.

We strongly believe that $29 a month is a reasonable price to pay for access to our great suite of tools. It’s cheaper than the cost of a private tutor, language schools, advanced textbook series and even other software alternatives. It’s the best value for money solution you’ll find to learning Japanese.

The time saved with expertly created vocab decks, crystal-clear grammar explanations and faster progress with kanji acquisition means that not only do you progress quicker through your Japanese studies, but you’re also more likely to remember what you’ve learned.

We’re celebrating the coming of 2012, and for one-week only, you have a unique opportunity to get all the great tools and resources at Japanese LinguaLift, including all future updates, at a price that is impossible to say no to for any serious learner of Japanese.

For just $200, you will get access to the E-textbook, the Kanji Academy, the Vocab Lab, to all current and upcoming educational games in the Arcade, as well as all other tools we may possibly add to the website in the future.

Compared to the regular monthly price, this is a saving of over $150. We’ll never offer another discount this good, and we’ll be going back to regular prices on the 7th January 2012.

Because we’ll always look after our existing users better than anyone, if you are already a subscriber to LinguaLift, please email us at hello@edulift.eu, and we’ll extend you current subscription with the same discount we give new users, and even throw in another free month for a total saving of over $170.

We’re really excited for you to check out all that LinguaLift has to offer. All plans come with a 7 day no-obligation free trial, so please click here and see everything for yourself!

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In the Japanese language, this is taken to another level by incorporating keigo (敬語). For a brief summary of Japanese formal speech, please refer to Untranslatable Japanese.

Photo by Max Mayorov

For most Japanese learners, we are almost always taught formal form (desu/-masu, です/-ます) before we are taught casual form (da/-ru; だ/-る). Everyone’s first Japanese sentence structure is “X is Y desu,” and their first Japanese sentence becomes “Watashi wa [name] desu, 私は[name]です.”

At first our homework is comprised of solely “Watashi wa ○○ desu, 私は○○です” We struggle with particles and are never too sure whether it is wa, ga, de, or ni. When we think we finally figure out which particle goes where, there are always about 4 exceptions. This is the way of life for the beginning Japanese learner.

As our Japanese studies continue and we enter the intermediate level, we come to discover that we do not have to start every sentence with “watashi wa…” and in reality, sometimes native Japanese speakers drop the use of particles in everyday speech.

Why then are we forced to learn an aspect of a language that could be omitted or said in an easier way? Would it not be better to learn the more practical words and grammar that natives actually use? To answer this question bluntly—no.

The attraction of learning solely casual language can be very strong. Why focus on the small details of grammar (particles) if you could avoid the stress and troubles of learning it by omitting them like natives do? It is easy to stray from the ‘traditional’ path of learning Japanese and study the material that some may view as more applicable aspects of the language (vocabulary and kanji).

Photo by Max Mayorov

Some intermediate level individuals may feel that they are demonstrating a higher degree of mastery over the language because they speak more like the natives than their fellow foreign learners, and are not using words/sentence patterns that are commonly associated with beginning Japanese. However, their constant use of casual language may actually have an opposite effect.

The Japanese society is built around manners and customs. It is important to use the correct words and phrases during the correct situations. Although initially impressed with their vast vocabulary, natives may view the Japanese leaner as rude and culturally insensitive because the learner has failed to acknowledge and study Japanese etiquette.

I do not condemn learning and properly using casual language because it is fun and exciting to speak like the natives. However, it is important to find a proper balance between learning formal and casual language by asking yourself why you are learning Japanese.

Are you learning to only to converse with young people and make a few friends? Are you learning because you have a great desire to involve yourself in the community and become a member of Japanese society? Or is it both?

In any case, take time to familiarize yourself with formal/proper speech while learning casual speech; you will most likely impress Japanese speakers more by fluidly transitioning from casual to formal when needed than being able to use Japanese slang.

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We’ve hardly kept it a secret, but it may have escaped some people’s attention that NihongoUp has been going through some changes. NihongoUp was only ever meant to be the name for the educational game that so many loved, but which did not get the sufficient attention for over a year, dwarfed by the lessons, blog, forum, drops, and everything else we produced.

What begun as a small update and re-branding has since come to be something bigger than we could ever have dreamed of. With your help, we have learned an incredible amount about serving learners and teaching Japanese, and are now using that knowledge to build what we believe is the best Japanese language learning solution on the market.

LinguaLift is home to a revolutionary Japanese E-Textbook, brand new learning tools focusing separately on kanji learning and vocabulary acquisition, and also introduces the Arcade, where you’ll find exclusive learning games to ensure that there’s never an excuse not to be immersed in the language.

We have been truly touched by the passion from the Japanese learning community, and the willingness from you, the users, to teach us, help us, advise us, and tell others about what we are working on. It’s this that has kept us motivated to continue to explore all of the innovative ideas which result in the products we produce.

LinguaLift is already awesome, but we know we can do better. We are bursting with ideas and we can’t wait to share them with you. Keep in the loop by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and adding us to your Google+ circles :)

We’d love it if you could try out LinguaLift for yourself, and let us know what you think. There is a 7-day free trial available to all new users, and as ever, big savings for students and those who wish to pre-pay for six or twelve months in advance.

P.S. As a special treat for readers of the blog and mailing list subscribers, here’s 10% off your first month! Use this coupon code: 10-fm-7252 on the sign-up payment page.

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The original

Remixes

The smooth jazz cover

800% slower than original

Nyan Cat [speed up 2000%]

1 second Nyan Cat [speed up 21700%]

TACNAYN

Nyan Keyboard Cat

10 hours of Nyan Cat

Nyan Cat – 24 Hour Edition

Nyan Cat 3D

NyanCat: Trollololol Edition

What if the Nyan Cat was fat?!!!

Sad Nyan Cat

Nyan Cat falls in love!!

Nyan Cat [navi hey remix]

Nyan Cat THE ANIME

IRL NYAN TROLL

Old time-y Nyan Cat

Tac Nayn metal version

Nyan Cat overture (18th century mix)

Nyan Cats attack

Nyan Cat on crack

NYAN Cat RAVE

Slipknot + Nyan cat

Nyan Cat around the world

Indian dance version

Rasta Nyan Cat

Instrumental covers

Piano

Grand piano

Violin

Guitar

Bass guitar

Drums

Banjo

Nyan Cat Orchestrat

Nyan Cat everywhere

Nyan Cat for Nintendo DS

Guitar Hero Nyan Cat

Nyan Windows 2

Nyan Cat progress bar for Windows 7

Nyan Cat progress bar on YouTube

Nyan Cat: The Minecraft Edition

Nyan Mario

Nyan horse

Pikachu Nyan Cat

Non-cats

Nyan Cat man

Nyan of Dury – Cat Ops

Toaster Puppy

Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!

Kids react to Nyan Cat

&c.

Nyan Cat nails

Nyan cat cake

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Photo by kayoubi_

There are karaoke boxes all throughout Japan, mostly located near train stations and in big cities. Majority of the time they filled with young and elderly people a like. It is a good way to relax after school or work and blow off some of the day’s stresses. But why hasn’t karaoke’s popularity boomed in the Western world as it has in Japan? What is it about karaoke in Japan that makes it so special?

The most noticeable difference between Japanese karaoke and Western karaoke is the structure. In Western karaoke, participants stand up on a stage in front of other bar patrons and sing their (drunk) hearts out. In Japan however, karaoke patrons are assigned a booth (depending on group size), completely separated from strangers and alone with their friends. Hence the difference in names; karaoke bars in the west, and karaoke boxes in Japan.

Not surprisingly, this plays a huge factor in karaoke’s popularity. Knowing that the only people who will hear them sing are their friends, may allow the Japanese to participate without hesitation. In addition, the dark and intimate setting provides the singers the feeling of being able to hide, while many Westerners succumb to ‘stage fright’ knowing that complete strangers will judge them. This leads to probably the biggest difference between Japanese karaoke and Western Karaoke—ideology.

The ways in which the Japanese and the Westerners view the idea of karaoke are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Where Westerns tend to view karaoke as a talent contest for the vocally gifted, the Japanese focus on participating and giving a sincere effort. This can be viewed through the many talent shows that exist, such as American Idol or The X Factor, both of which look for a new star and spend the first couple of weeks ridiculing those of lesser talent. Where as in Japan, although their actual singing talents are questionable, some Japanese music artists’ albums are able to sell in the millions.

Japanese people do not care if you are a skilled singer or not. They only want you to participate in the fun and enjoy yourself. Karaoke is a good bonding experience. Not only are you in a small setting, where you are able converse with everyone in the room, you are able to show your true self without the fear of being judged based on your singing abilities.

Shimatachi summarized the difference between the ideology of Japanese karaoke and Western karaoke in Japan Pop!: “[...] karaoke must be seen as a positive social development. In short, the Walkman isolates and the boom box domineers—but karaoke unites.” ¹.

Obviously, Shimatachi wrote this article in a time where people used Walkmans and boom boxes, but the message remains unchanged. Walkmans, or more recently mp3 players, keep individuals isolated from each other and encourage introverts; boom boxes, or more recently American Idol, encourage the separation of the talented and the less talented.

The success of Japanese karaoke boxes is contributed to the combination of structure and ideology. The unifying power of karaoke to bond and connect with others around them overpowers any fears and embarrassments an individual might have, a leads to an awfully fun Friday night!

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With a limited grasp of Japanese, I was overwhelmed. I could read some hiragana and katakana, but I had no idea what all this food even was. Okonomoyaki? Yakiniku? What?

A year later, I can share with you some of the foods I’ve had the pleasure (or pain) of experiencing in Japan.

1. Yakisoba (焼きそば)

Photo by rishisensei

One of my favorite food discoveries in Japan. Ramen noodles are fried on a skillet with a kind of Worcestershire sauce and stirred together with pork, cabbage and other vegetables.

This is classic Japanese barbecue food, cooked on the skillet over hot coals. Japanese grillers offered Yaki Soba to my friends and me after watching us struggling to heat pre-cooked hot dogs. I’ve been hooked ever since.

2. Yakiniku (焼肉)

Photo by syunsune1206

This is just grilled meat, served raw. You cook it yourself on a grill at your table. It’s soaked in a Japanese barbecue sauce made of nihonshu, mirin, sugar, garlic, fruit juice and sesame. You can grill chicken, seafood or steak in various forms, from tongue (tan) to liver (reba) to tripe (mino) and intestine (horumone).

3. Mentaiko (明太子)

Photo by konnofromtokyo

Marinated pollock roe: fish eggs. Often formed to look like little bright red sausages or tucked into onigiri. The taste is sometimes overwhelming to foreigners. You can also get a spicy version of this served over spaghetti in many Italian restaurants in Japan.

I won’t be too blunt, but its appearance has made Google searches for “mentaiko” images worthy of a “NSFW” disclaimer.

4. Nattō (なっとう)

Photo by fotoosvanrobin

Fermented soy beans with a slippery texture, strong smell and flavor. They look like nuts. Actually, they look like what happens when you spill water on a Mogwai.

An acquired taste for sure, but far away from its undeserved reputation as being the nastiest food in Japan.

5. Takoyaki (たこ焼き)

Photo by jannem

Deep-fried octopus balls wrapped in pancake batter. Served with mayo and a rich sauce. These sometimes include a filling of shrimp pieces or tempura. Common at festivals, these tiny spheres are deceptively small. They’re dense and very filling.

Takoyaki is responsible for some of the best food signs, because octopuses are generally underrepresented in Western cuisine’s fast-food options. Seeing cartoon octopuses everywhere always reminds me that I am in Japan.

6. Katsu (カツ)

Photo by autan

A breaded cutlet, often with a rich Japanese curry. Almost universally made of pork. Japanese curry is distinct from Indian curries—it’s not spicy, it’s darker and seems starchier. Chicken Katsu is written out in Katakana (チキン), but it’s harder to find.

7. Karē (カレー)

Photo by jannem

Curry – distinct from Indian curries, Japanese curry isn’t as spicy. This is a total staple family dinner food, the meat and potatoes of Japan. You make rice, you take a block of curry cube and boil it. Presto! Dinner. It has a really distinct, filling taste to it.

8. Kujira (鯨)

Photo by eyesofrc

This is whale meat, which is available in Japan, though I’ve never seen it. I’m also never looking for it. You probably won’t see this stuff unless you head to a school cafeteria, these days.

Happy eating! Let us know any food you love (or hate) in the comments.

Not full yet? Check out 9 more foods to try (or try to avoid) in Japan!

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It’s ironic that the national sport of Japan—who’s inhabitants are some of the skinniest and most gentle in the world—involves two overweight men trying to shove each other out of a ring.

Photo by acme

The truth is that it’s not just flab that makes a sumo wrestler’s girth; there’s a whole lot of muscle underneath it all.

The ideal weight for a sumo wrestler is anything from 400 to 600 pounds. This means that it takes not only strength and flexibility to be a sumo—it also takes the right diet. Eating is an essential part of their training.

Sumo-size me

A typical sumo wrestler eats a daily diet of 20,000 calories, which is pretty astounding when you consider that the recommended daily intake for a healthy, active male is 2,500. They eat 10 times what a normal male eats and all of it’s done in two massive 10,000-calorie meals. The sumo’s diet is an expression of my favorite Japanese cultural trait—never doing things halfway.

Here is a typical sumo wrestler daily eating schedule:

Skip breakfast

A sumo wrestler’s day starts at four or five o’clock in the morning with training and exercise. Surprisingly, breakfast is not served. Skipping breakfast and working out instead slows down the wrestler’s metabolism, so they usually don’t eat until around 11am. It also gets them hungry enough for that 10,000-calorie lunch.

Bulk load

The main dish that sumo wrestlers eat is a stew called chankonabe (ちゃんこ鍋). It sounds a little like ‘chunk nabe,’ which is somehow oddly appropriate. This is a stew filled with fish, vegetables, meat and tofu. Nabe (鍋) is a traditional Japanese stew, but chankonabe is the supersized version, stuffed full of extra everything for the sole purpose of providing calories.

To complement their mighty meal, sumo wrestlers eat around 5–10 bowls of rice and copious amounts of beer, required for empty calories. A healthy rikishi (力士, sumo wrestler) may down as many as 6 pints during the midday meal.

Take a siesta

After lunch, there’s one more essential bit of training—the nap. How could you not pass out after a meal like that? Sumo wrestlers take a siesta for as long as 4 hours after lunch, in order to slow down their metabolism and add everything they just ate to their girth.

Dinner and lights out

At the end of the day, sumo wrestlers eat another massive meal and call it a night. While
they sleep, the day’s protein and calories work their magic and they wake up in the early
morning ready to smash their bodies against each other.

Chankonabe: Recommended by sumo wrestlers – it has to be good

Although hearty, chankonabe is actually quite healthy. It’s not your triple Whopper or deep-fried pizza. The stew is full of fresh veggies, tofu, fish and either pork, chicken or beef.
In case they aren’t full after the goodies are eaten and there’s just soup left, the sumo often dump a pile of noodles into the bowl.

You can eat chankonabe at restaurants throughout Japan. It comes in a number of different flavours including salt, soy sauce, miso, kimchee and more. Just bring a good appetite.

The restaurants in the Ryogoku area of Tōkyō, known as “Sumo Town” because it’s the home of the Japan Sumo Association, are particularly popular. You can also find other restaurants there that tailor to rikishi and serve ridiculously large dishes of curry and other typical meals.

Editor’s note: The National Geographic video below is worth watching if you’re interested in this topic:

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Photo by Jackee.lee5

A large grey and black box with its cartoon eyes standing alone against the wall in Akihabara station. It displays a virtual line-up of drinks on a massive 47 inch touch screen.

What makes this vending machine any different than the other vending machines they have in the entire country? These next-generation vending machines are deployed with hopes of increasing sales to entice the general customers through better targeted advertising. There is a camera with sensors embedded which will recognise your gender and age. This allows the machine to recommend a suitable beverage depending on the user profile. If the machine detects a male user, it will recommend a sports drink, and if it detects a female user it will recommend tea. You can even click on the screen and interact with the drink that you’re about to buy. Even Orwell wouldn’t have thought this stuff up.

Payment like the current vending machine can be paid with contactless Suica cards, cash but now payment is possible with mobile phones. When the sale has been completed, it will display a cute “thank you” message.

The machine has a system to display advertising when it is not in use. Also it can provide recommendations appropriate to the time of day, temperature and season. For example, if it is a hot summer day, it will recommend a cold drink and if it’s cold winter day, it will recommend a hot drink. Convenient, I guess?

There are a few other of these new-generation vending machines dotted around Tokyo, and 500 more of these WiMAX-equipped units are scheduled to be installed in and around Tokyo within the next two years. See for yourself on the video below:

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