Riding the Rails through Canada

My wife and I are currently taking a train across Canada. And while were riding the rails, it got me to thinking about how efficiently trains work in Japan.

Now don’t get wrong, we’ve been having a great time on the old CPR, but certain things about train travel just seem to be polished to perfection in Japan. Being on time for one thing.

It would be unheard of in Japan for a train to be over an hour late as ours was, and I can guarantee you wouldn’t have to plug your laptop into the bathroom because it was the only charger in your car. Just some of the ways that we lag behind the rest of the world in our train travel. But one good thing it’s done is give me plenty of time to think about my upcoming posts all about train travel through Japan. Stay tuned, you wont want to miss it!

Cute Things from Japan – Poupee Girl

What is too cute, Japanese, fashionable and just a little adictive? Poupee girl! (Poupee means ‘doll’ in French)

This adorable site allows you to create an avatar and then go shopping for her! By uploading pictures of your brand named items you earn ribbons that allow you to go shopping. As if that was not fun enough, you get to suteki (lovely,cool) things by clicking on the things you like, you also get to go into other fashion girls rooms and see what outfits they have put together. It’s a really fun way to get to see Japanese style.

The site itself illustrates the cuteness of Japanese culture. In your room you have a tiny, yellow bird that gives you personal updates, and a little pink pig with a ribbon that updates you on the number of ribbons you have earned.

You have to sign in, and there are a couple rules but it is fairly self explanatory. There are some places that are completely in Japanese, but a lot of it is in English. Many of the names are written in hiragana and so it may be motivating to learn a bit. Careful though, it’s addictive!

Japanese Roundup – Wacky Commercials

The Japanese must have some of the strangest commercials the world has ever known, but I have to admit, they are a whole lot more interesting than most of the garbage marketing we get here in Canada. Floating Dairy Queen mouth anyone? (I looked around YouTube to see if I could one of their ridiculous commercials, fortunately I failed.)

So here’s our rundown of some of Japan’s wackiest commercials.

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Cute Things From Japan – Amigurumi

From Wikipedia

Amigurumi (lit. Knitted stuffed toy) is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically cute animals (such as bears, rabbits, cats, dogs, etc.), but can include artistic renderings, and inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features. Amigurumi can be either knitted or crocheted. In recent years crocheted amigurumi are more popular and more commonly seen.

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