Category: Japan

Walkman Monkey Commercial

The Walkman is a popular Sony brand used by the company to market its portable audio players, and is synonymously used to refer to the original Walkman portable personal stereo player and as a generic term for similar devices from other manufacturers. The original Walkman brought about a change in music listening habits, allowing people to carry their own choice of music with them.

The Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata), also known as the Snow Monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species native to northern Japan, although an introduced free-ranging population has been living near Laredo, Texas since 1972. It is the most northern-living non-human primate. Individuals have brown-gray fur, a red face, hands and bottom, and a short tail.

Crayon Shinchan Goes Cherry Blossom Viewing

Crayon Shin-chan (クレヨンしんちゃん, Kureyon Shinchan) is a manga and anime series written by Yoshito Usui. The American version of the manga is titled “Crayon ShinChan” while the UK, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, German, Hindi and American version of the anime is titled Shin-Chan. The series follows the antics of a five year-old boy Shinnosuke Nohara, his parents, neighbours and friends. This story is set in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The show is called “Crayon Shin-chan” because “crayon” signifies the fact that it is a tool commonly used by kindergartners and that Shin-chan goes to kindergarten. “Shin-chan” is the affectionate name for the main character.

Hanami (花見, Hanami, lit. “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, “flower” in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms (æ¡œ or æ«», sakura), or ume blossoms (梅, ume). From late March to early April (early May on Hokkaidō), sakura bloom all over Japan. The blossom forecast (桜前線, sakurazensen, lit. cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. Hanami at night is called yozakura (lit. “night sakura”). In many places such as Ueno Park temporary paper lanterns are hung for the purpose of yozakura.

Hiroshima-Style Okonomiyaki

The Japanese city of Hiroshima (広島市, Hiroshima-shi) is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the ChÅ«goku region of western HonshÅ«, the largest of Japan’s islands. Geographical location 34°23′07″N, 132°27′19″E (City Hall). It is most known throughout the world as the first city in history subjected to nuclear warfare with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き, Okonomiyaki) is a pan-fried Japanese dish cooked with various ingredients. Okonomi means “what you like” or “what you want”, and yaki means “grilled” or “cooked” (cf. yakitori and yakisoba); thus, the name of this dish means “cook what you like, the way you like”. In Japan, okonomiyaki is usually associated with the Kansai or Hiroshima areas. Toppings and batters tend to vary according to region.