Comments for Japan Pulse

Comment on Sales surge for men’s fashion magazines by Usman Makhdoom

Usman Makhdoom — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 02:42:36 +0000

One would thunk Japan would have enough of a sense of self, and of self-esteem, to have done away with the type of cringeworthy idolozing of white people (as the screenshot here typifies).

One sees this thing in poor nations with nothing comparable in terms of modern accomplishments vis-a-vis Western nations. To see white-worship even moreso prominent in Japan, of all nations, is such a sad statement.

Comment on Today’s J-blip: Anti-Loneliness Ramen Bowl by Rayfil Wong

Rayfil Wong — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:53:31 +0000

Perhaps the Ramen Bowl should be in the museum of pop culture.

An accurate reflection of our culture in terms of the horror of being quiet during meals.

Comment on J-blip: flu report app by Margaret

Margaret — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 22:40:58 +0000

Or just get the flu shot already.

Comment on 2012: Food and drink trends in Japan by Tomoko Matsumoto

Tomoko Matsumoto — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:50:48 +0000

Great post! Last year I went to Japan and stayed there for two months. I was just searching for food that didn’t contain meat or fish. At last, I had to eat macdonalds fries, minature pancake and Mets Cola for two days. Then, I searched on the internet and ask around for vegetarian cuisine and finally came to know about some great veggie restaurants. I also bought a Japanese Cooking book as it contains lots of vegetarian cooking recipes.
http://www.printsasia.co.jp/book/japanese-cooking-contemporary-traditional-simple-delicious-and-vegan-miyoko-nishimoto-1570670722

Comment on Cat girls and more: Japan’s fashion trends of 2012 by Steve

Steve — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 23:02:39 +0000

Come on, Rebecca. Don’t forget the bagel head boom… That was huge, wasn’t it? No, wait a minute…

Comment on 2012: The year in social media in Japan by Steve

Steve — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:28:21 +0000

The soon-to-be former Prime Minister Noda or the lovely Rie Kitahara? Come on, no contest!

Comment on Japan’s top 10 buzzwords for 2012 by Simon

Simon — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:11:25 +0000

Now I have returned to the real world, reading this kind of stuff about my home of 15 years, just makes me feel sad for the place and reminds me of the awful, tiny and petty bubble they live in. Perennial comedians with catchphrases and stupid gestures captivating a nation of ‘best not complainers’ whilst being fleeced by a political ‘elite’ who couldn’t agree on the colour of faeces. Never mind, they’ll always have rampant nationalism and feelings of racial superiority to hold the nation together. Sad.

Comment on Pulsations (12.07.12) by JT

JT — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:57:12 +0000

I like today’s blog picks, especially the post by Starry Brooke. There’s lots of good info there – wouldn’t mind seeing it as a monthly column in the Japan Times print edition.

Comment on Pulsations (12.07.12) by Ashley

Ashley — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:08:01 +0000

If you shop at farmer’s markets, you can find seasonal fruit (and veggies) for cheap. Everyone complains about fruit all the time but there really is no need to! Buy seasonal and buy from the farmers!

Comment on Japan’s top 10 buzzwords for 2012 by Steve

Steve — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:57:20 +0000

Yes, a silly and vacuous list. Your suggestions are much better!

Comment on Can you put new wine in new PET bottles? by John Grey

John Grey — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 21:59:21 +0000

Thank you for a little more information on winr, or, rather on the business of selling wine, something that seems to be lacking almost completely in Japan.

I was very surprised when I saw Beaujolais Primeur was so popular in Japan. The cheapest wine you can buy in european supermarkets for about 100 Yen (!)…. In europe we simply drink one glas of it to get an idea.
This cheapest and lowest quality wine is exported en masse to countries like Japan, becuase here almost everyone is completely ignorant when it comnes to quality and prizes of wine.

I think everyone here would appreciate it, if you would do some more research and report something that actually has some real information about wine in it? Something beyond the facts that wine is now sold in plastic bottles for the simple reason of higher profit by lowering costs, and that it is now even watered down, because that is all what is behind the “lowering of the alcohol content”, which also serves profit as water is cheaper than wine. All of this, as wine is already sold for a completely ridiculous and horrendous prize to the as usual ignorent and unsuspecting japanese public.

Comment on Today’s J-blip: nezo art by Annie

Annie — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 11:01:10 +0000

Adele’s approach was the same. She used things she had at home, scarfs, plates etc. Nothing was bought especially for the photos. She also took the photos at home with a small camera. So quite DIY also, don’t you think? She has a very good eye for aesthetics, colours and forms so maybe she is the master.

Comment on Bagel head trend is a big distortion by JTC

JTC — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:28:45 +0000

@Rebecca Milner

Thanks for taking time to respond to this reader’s comment and for preserving the punctuation! That’s journalism at its best in my book. I wish more media outlets, Eastern and Western, would take note and get on the same page.

Comment on Bagel head trend is a big distortion by Steve

Steve — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 22:49:25 +0000

@Rebecca Milner

Yes, you hit the nail exactly on the head! A question mark is even more insidious in this case.

Comment on Bagel head trend is a big distortion by Rebecca Milner

Rebecca Milner — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 22:13:20 +0000

Thank you for your comments. I shouldn’t have singled out HuffPo (as it wasn’t the worst offender), and I’ve amended the story to acknowledge the question mark. Still, if you can’t judge an article by its headline, then what function does a headline serve? And I don’t think the National Geographic clip suggests at all that this *could* be a trend, so even asking if it could be (as the HuffPo headline does), in my opinion, is grossly misleading.