The TV

Ok, sorry again for the lateness of the blog but yeh am getting a bit slack sorry! This week has been about as exciting as last week but this time at least I had my camera with me!

On Sunday I went shopping in Nisshin in the hope that I could get something in the Dragons sale. Whilst I was after clothes, in the end I found a DVD store with a classics section in which all the films were 500 yen (about 2 quid) so I ended up buying Casablanca. (Since then I have also bought The Maltese Falcon and Strangers on a Train). Sweet!

On Monday and Tuesday I was at work all day so no fun then.

On Wednesday the highlight of the day was a trip to a nearby restaurant (surprise, surprise!). This particular restaurant was specialising in Doria`s (kind of like a Gratin but with rice). This was a three course meal starting with a lush salad, a main of a seafood Doria, and a desert which was awesome! It was a fruit parfait buffet, which is basically where you get a glass and can fill it with as much fruit and lush ice cream as you can.
Yes. I was very impressed by that.

Thursday and Friday were spent planning the numerous trips I have planned. Next weekend I am going to Tokyo with my friend Sam (more on that later), in 2 weeks me and Ayae are going to Kyoto to see the Koyo (the changing of Autumn leaves altho we may be a bit late lol!). Also at Christmas we are going to Okinawa for 3 days and finally I should be heading to Tokyo with some mates for New Years Eve. So there are plenty of blogs to look forward to!

On Saturday I had work, a highlight being Yukiko (one of my adult students) going to the trouble of preparing maps, directions and even information on various tourist spots, for my trip to Tokyo. I was very touched by this and will be sure to buy some Tokyo themed gifts to bring back for her and the rest of the class!

After work I decided to try to explore Osu again since I was completely defeated by it last week, this time armed with my camera. Again my frugalness reared its ugly head and I came away with nothing, however hopefully these pictures will make it somewhat worthwhile. As you can (hopefully) see, there are rows after rows of a sort of indoor market (but huge) each framed by a different ornamental archway. In addition to this there are loads of tiny little backstreets with more obscure hippyish clothes and variouss home wares. There is also loads of huge neon signs beaming from the massive stores all around this area which makes for quite an assault on the senses.

On Sunday again I went shopping in Nisshin, and Monday again I worked. I should also say that on this day I was feeling rather experimental so after some gentle persuasion I decided to buy a can of `Tomato Cocktail` which was basically like a tomato flavoured alcopop. The taste was as expected completely disgusting but hey, at least I gave it a crack.

In need of a topic to further this blog, this week I have chosen the well documented world of Japanese TV. I`ve been here 2 months now and whilst I haven't sat down in front of the `idiot box` very often, the few times I have, have given me ample time to gather some material.

Japanese TV is famous round the world, mostly for bizarre game shows, rubbish soap operas and animation. Actually being here and watching at my leisure has given me a much more authentic taste however.

One particular show I love is called `The One Million Yen Dream` which is a show in which the hosts give the contestants the chance to win a million yen. There are various different opportunities for this. One involves trying to blow out candles on a birthday cake from a 1 metre distance, one involves travelling around a water circuit in a rubber dinghy (dressed as pirates of course), whilst the hosts use various methods to try and knock you from your boat. These include a huge inflatable ball set off a big ramp thing Indiana Jones style, an inflatable ball gun thing, and a huge huge fan. Its basically It’s a Knockout meets The Krypton Factor.
My favourite challenge however is the `If you find me you get a million yen`challenge (great translation!). This is basically a game of hide and seek in which the hosts are invited into the contestants house to find them, and if the contestants can evade capture for 30 minutes they get the prize.

Its such a simple idea but makes for awesome watching. Theres this one where the contestants come up with ingenious ideas such as flooding the bathroom to the ceiling with bubbles, and using a straw to breathe whilst hiding on the floor. It should be said that even on this occasion the family were still found, but Im told occasionally someone does actually win.

Another show I saw yesterday was `Is it Just Me?`. This is a show where various celebreties are gathered together to have all their weird personal habits (such as chewing rice for 5 minutes before swallowing it, wearing a different pair of pajamas each night, and sleeping in a sandwich like state with 5 futons on the bottom and 5 on the top) exposed to the audience. They are then given the chance to say why they have this weird habit, and find out how many people out of 1 million Japanese people do the same. Lastly the two hosts judge them as to whether they are `futsu` (normal) or `Henne` (weird). Its all done in a very comical manner, and typical of Japanese TV features a ridiculous myriad of graphics and bright colours constantly bouncing round the screen. The highlight for me though is when the audience find out what the habit is and squeal a huge communal `EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?????????????!!!!!`.

Being as British TV is generally regarded as the best in the world and Japanese is regarded as well, the strangest, it was interesting that I found these 2 shows so wonderful. Recently British TV has been on a downward spiral (as anyone watching Charlie Brooker will agree!!). It seems the only things of recent success (circa Sep 07) in Britain usually involve some reality element, filled with hosts that are complete bastards and contestants you want to punch. Japanese TV however which is supposedly based on ritual humiliation (well, according to Clive James and Chris Tarrant anyway), seems to be much more respectful and enjoyable on all levels (even with the language barrier!). Its also providing me with good exposure to the Japanese language, although quite when Ill need to know the phrase “Argh! The bathrooms filled with bubbles!` I don’t know.

I also want to take this time to introduce you to a Japanese comedian who goes by the name of Yoshio Kojima. Here he is.

His act basically involves him dancing around in his underwear and singing at a high pitched voice. At the moment he is EVERYWHERE. Seriously if I put the TV on now I can almost guarantee Ill find him. On a commercial, or a talk show, a sitcom or even a food show he`ll be there somewhere. Anyone familiar with Japanese comedians will know this is typical. Apparently when a comedian becomes famous they are on every show every day for a year and then never seen again. I guess if your entire career can only last a year you`re gonna want to put in as many man hours as you can if you want to support yourself the rest of your life.

The names that precede him as `famous for a year then never seen again` include HardGay (a leather clad gimp like wrestler) and someone who I know only as `Bowl Head` (who the Japan `05 guys will surely remember). They become famous, ridiculously over exposed, then disappear. They are everywhere, then nowhere.

(BTW I tried to get a picture of `Hard Gay` but after googling `Hard Gay Pictures` and seeing the results I got, I decided it just wasn’t worth it).

Anyway despite the crudeness and ludicrousness of Kojima, a smile always creeps onto my face everytime he comes on screen. I dunno, maybe Ive just been in Japan too long.

Anyone whos curious enough feel free to check out the movie linked at the bottom of the page. Its worth staying with it, as theres a good slapstick payoff at the end.

Ok, that’s enough for this week, thanks for reading and be sure to tune in next week for a Tokyo special edition of my blog. Got a couple of things planned which Im hoping will be awesome, (in fact I`m certain they will be!).

Take it easy yo!!!!

Jack

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v1237096EAwQaze7