Grave of the Fireflies.

This movie was a little confusing. In the beginning the boy dies in the city, so I thought that something was going to happen in city to him, but it didn't. After his mom dies he just moves to smaller city with aunt. The movie was so sad. The boy's sister dies at end and I don't get why happened. The boy tried so hard and end up with nothing at the end of movie. Every time there seems to be hope, something really bad happens and the boy is worse off than before. It's depressing. I probably won't watch this movie again.

Japanese protest Google Street

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/technology/japanese-protest-google-street/2008/12/21/1229794286897.html

Once, I use Google Street in US. It was good that it shows what you will see on the way but there were people and cars on the pictures. While I work at school for website, I fount out that there are people who doesn't want their pictures on website. Japan is more busy cities. Many Japanese walk around the city. They don't know that they are on the pictures or not. Many Japanese entertainmenters have picture privacy that people cant use the pictures without asking the company. I think that Japanese take privacy very seriously.

Trilateral Cooperation

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/editorial/news/20081215p2a00m0na011000c.html

This article touched on this new type of alliance between Japan, South Korea, and China.  The three leaders of Japan, China, and South Korea held a meeting in Daizafu, Fukuoka Prefecture.  The purpose of the meeting was to envision a sustainable and prosperous future for the region of East Asia.  Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso, South Korea's President Kim Dae-Jung, and China's Premier Zhu Rhongji agreed to hold these trilateral summits annually (in 2009 the meeting is to be held in China).  The leaders hope that these meetings will task as an axis of stability for East Asia.  Many problems were among the topics of issues these three countries had to discuss, including South Korea's depreciation of currency.  The three leaders agreed to expand the size of bilateral currency swap agreements between each other to support South Korea.

-Janice Kim

Calming Effects of Blue Lights.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20081211TDY02313.htm

I thought this article was very interesting. If blue lights do indeed decrease the amount of crimes where they are installed then it could make a huge impact on crime and suicide rates in Japan. However, without long term studies of the effects of blue lighting it will be impossible to tell if the blue lights are just making people go elsewhere or if they actually do calm the population.

Japanese karaoke!

Perhaps the greatest invention of all time and the best form of entertainment in Japan...Karaoke! Karaoke in Japan is all that you dreamed and more. With a number of friends you can pay for a private room for 1, 2, 3 or all night karaoke sessions. Usually this includes free drinks until the bar closes around 3 am. The drinks are usually syrupy concoctions but you can request straight liqueur and visit the equally free soda machine to create your own cocktails. Prices are incredibly reasonable. Some people will even pay for an all night karaoke booth over a hotel room in a big city if they are planning a late night anyway. Every karaoke bar has a book that includes English songs. There may not be the greatest selection but you can always find the classics as well as a surprising amount of new songs. The booths can fit up to 10 or 15 in most places. Language barriers can be a problem as it is much more difficult than you can imagine to sing in another language. But the experience can be a lot of fun with drunken Japanese singers excited to practice their English with the foreign visitor. Be warned however, the karaoke staff will not look fondly on this interruption and will scold you back to your room.

For more interesting visit this website:
http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=359&pID=337

Manhole covers

Dear Alice,


Can you please tell me what the heck is the deal with all the pretty manhole covers in Japan? They can be so lovely that I've started taking pictures of them when I travel around the country. When I shared these sewer snaps on my photo blog, I got some interesting questions from friends and family at home. For example, does every city and town in Japan have a special manhole cover? And who is in the business of producing them?

Nicole C., Komono, Mie Prefecture

Dear Nicole,

You know why I love doing this column? Because every question opens my eyes to something new. I must pass over dozens of manholes every day, yet I've never given them more than a passing thought. And I've certainly never noticed any particularly pretty patterns. But a quick check on the Internet confirmed what you say — Japan has some very snazzy manholes, ranging from a stylized pine tree in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, to the traditional doll adorning sewer tops in Kuroishi City up in Aomori.

This is all a relatively recent phenomenon, as I learned on a visit to the Japan Ground Manhole Association, a Tokyo-based alliance of the 32 companies that keep the country in manhole covers. Although Japan had sewage and drainage systems as early as the Yayoi Period (about 2,200 years ago), its first modern sewer systems, the subsurface kind with access points called manhoru (from the English word), were built in the late 19th century with the assistance of foreign engineers. For its manhole covers, Japan simply adopted the geometric designs already in use in other countries.

I should explain that there is more to manhole-cover design than meets the eye. The most important function of the raised design on manhole covers is not to look good, but to provide traction for the traffic moving over it. This is particularly important in wet weather, when manhole covers can be treacherously slippery, especially for two-wheeled conveyances such as motorcycles, scooters and bicycles. A good design, in terms of preventing slippage, will have multidirectional lines for better grip. Designs should also be recognizable no matter which direction they are viewed from, and have lasting appeal, since manhole covers last for decades at least, and often much longer.

By the late 1950s, a few of Japan's larger cities had developed original (but not very exciting) manhole-cover designs. When engineers from those cities moved out to help build sewer systems in other parts of the country, the manhole-cover designs went with them. This is why you see what's called the "Tokyo design" and the "Nagoya design" in many other cities and towns. But it wasn't until the '80s that Japanese manhole-cover design went designer.

According to Noboru Fujiwara of the manhole association, credit for the proliferation of patterns goes to a man named Yasutake Kameda, who was then a ranking bureaucrat in the construction ministry. At the time, only about 60 percent of Japanese households were hooked up to municipal sewer systems. To raise acceptance of these costly public works, mostly underground and largely underappreciated, Kameda thought the one part that is visible — the manhole covers on the surface — ought to be more attractive. In particular, he encouraged cities, towns and villages around Japan to develop designs with local appeal.

Custom covers cost on average about 5 percent more than off-the-rack designs, but even so, nearly 95 percent of the 1,780 municipalities in Japan now have a manhole-cover design to call their own. Trees and plants adorn nearly half of the designs, with official flowers being particularly popular. Animals, birds and local spots of natural beauty are also popular themes.

Given that just about anything can be turned into a hobby in Japan, it's no surprise that manhole diversification has spawned its own group of enthusiasts. There are a number of Web sites where manhoru mania (manhole fans) can trade information on attractive lids, and there's even a subgroup of people who make takuhon (rubbings) from manholes. Foreigners, too, have become captivated. Photos of Japanese manholes show up regularly on overseas sites, and an American woman named Shirley MacGregor has produced two books of quilting designs inspired by Japanese manhole covers.

Look under the lid and there's even more of interest about Japanese manholes. In many countries manholes are a source of noise pollution, because the covers rattle every time a vehicle moves over them, but that problem has been largely eliminated in Japan. In the '70s, in response to noise complaints, manufacturers introduced a tapered fit that has pretty much put the lid on rattling.

Japanese manholes also have advanced safety features developed specifically for local conditions. In a heavy, concentrated rainfall, especially on steep terrain, the air and water pressure inside a sewer can increase to the point that manhole covers are blown off and thrown as far as 10 meters. This is a hazard in and of itself, but a manhole left open is also very dangerous, particularly when obscured by raging waters. After two people died because they fell into open manholes during a storm in Kochi City in 1998, manufacturers developed a hinged safety system that holds the cover on while allowing pressure to escape. Once the pressure is off, the cover settles back into place. And just in case the system fails and the cover is blown off, new safety grills inside the opening are designed to prevent anyone from being swept into the open sewer.

The most up-to-date and comprehensive guide to Japanese manhole design is "Nihon no Manhoru" (1997), which provides photos and details on 1,546 different manhole cover designs from all around Japan. It's all in Japanese, but includes just enough English (the prefecture and town for each manhole) that you could track down designs you find attractive, or know what to look for when visiting a specific destination. The book is not available from online booksellers, but you or your local bookseller can order it for ¥6,300 from the publisher, Suido Sangyo Shinbun-sha (1-19-10 Toranomon,Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001; [03] 5251-0303; fax [03] 5251-3802; www.suidou.co.jp).

The manhole covers you see on the street are most likely to be atop sewers, but there are also manholes leading to storm drains, fresh-water supply pipes, telephone lines, fiber-optic cables, gas pipes and electric supply lines. In some communities, even the fire hydrants lie under street-level covers. All in all, there about 120 million covers in Japan, or one for every woman, child and man.

Wild boar goes on rampage in Wakayama; four injured

WAKAYAMA —

Four people were injured on Sunday when a wild boar attacked them in a residential area in Iwade City.

The boar first rammed a 14-year-old junior high school boy riding his bicycle, knocking him to the ground. His 11-year-old brother tried to run away, but the boar chased him and bit his left hand. The boar then used his front legs to attack a 15-year-old high school boy, and then rammed a 40-year-old man who had tried to seek refuge in the elementary school nearby. All four suffered bruises in the attack but were not seriously injured.

Police received several calls around noon saying there was a boar in the area, and two police officers rushed to the scene, where they battled for about 10 minutes to control the animal. Local hunters then killed the boar, which police said was a female about 2 years old, 1 meter long and weighing 80 kilograms.

The scene of the attack was several kilometers from the mountains. Police said there have been five instances of boars damaging crops this year, but that it is rare for them to venture into residential areas.

i always think it's interesting to hear about wildlife from other countries. I wasn't aware that there were wild boar attacks going on in Japan. It's a good thing that they stopped the animal, but it makes you wonder, what made it so agressive in the first place?