What’s the Deal with Anpanman?

Photo by Eric__I_E on Flickr

You see this little dude everywhere in Japan. From packaging to toys and t-shirts, you can’t seem to get away from Anpanman. But to be honest, I had no idea who this little dude was…

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The State of Social Networking in Japan

Photo by St Stev on Flickr

Sorry for being late with my typical Tuesday post. I was helping a friend with an appointment, so I was away all day yesterday.

Today I came across an interesting article on the popularity of social networking in Japan. The Japanese are certainly big on media consumption, but often it’s done in a completely different way than in the West.

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Japan’s Population Shrinking

Photo by tokyoform on Flickr

Interesting BBC article on how Japan’s population is predicted to shrink by one-third by 2060. There’s some interesting figures on what this will mean, but no exact reasons are given to why the trend is going on. Perhaps it has something to do with singleness being on the rise in Japan?

The research says that Japan’s population will keep declining by one million people every year in coming decades. – BBC

What’s the Deal with the High Yen?

Photo by 7D-Kenny on Flickr

Ever since returning from Japan last May, the yen has been sky-rocketing in comparison to the dollar. With all the trouble Japan has been having with tourism and the nuclear worries over the Fukushima Power Plant, it’s been hard to wrap my head around why this is happening.

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6 Months After the Tsunami

A friend sent me a link to an article in The Sacramento Bee about the clean up six months after the devastating tsunami that struck the Tōhoku region on Japan. It’s really inspiring.

Japan’s 10,000 Flight Giveaway

Photo by ykanazawa1999 on Flickr

It was actually my sister who first told me about this. It seems the Japanese Government may be looking at giving away 10,000 round-trip flights to Japan next year.

Here’s the details!

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Breaking the Myth: Japan is not that Expensive

Photo by Sprengben on Flickr

I was in a conversation today about the cost of living in different cities of the world. The general consensus was that most statistics we see about how expensive cities are can be way off the mark. Especially for people who actually live there.

Here’s my take on why I believe Japan is not nearly as expensive as we are led to believe.

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Earthquake/Tsunami Before & After Photos

Photo Credits: ABC News

ABC News has a few of the before and after photos from the recent earthquake/tsunami.

My Experience of the Japan Earthquake

Just thought I would write a short blurb on what the earthquake was like to experience…

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Recent Japan Earthquake

Photo Credits: BBC

Just a little over an hour ago, Japan was hit with an 9.0 earthquake (worst in 300 years) . And although little damage was done here in Osaka, it was still quite an experience.

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