I love this video! I you did this a U.S. city, someone would probably call the cops and accuse you of being a terrorist. Still, I wonder if the people in this video are playing along because Japanese people are just that cool or because the guy pretending to shoot people has a camera man standing beside him?

This photo isn’t particularly enlightening, but it is fascinating. I lived practically in spitting distance of an Asian market for nearly two years, and I used to find browsing its shelves very entertaining. However, apart from the raw fruit and vegetables, pancakes, and rice vinegar, I can’t identify many of these items. Any ideas?

According to the photo’s original caption, this is one week’s worth of groceries which cost ¥37,699 (US$317.99)

Source: Photos from the book “Hungry Planet,” which were featured in the Time article “What the World Eats“.

According to various sources, most Japanese don’t actually expect gaijin to return bows, but most consider it rude for foreigners not to at least acknowledge such courtesies with a nod.

The following video lightheartedly demonstrates the most common forms of ojigi used to apologize, but keep in mind that if you’re actually using this video as a hard reference, the actor’s facial expressions are meant to be comical and that women cross there arms in front of themselves, rather than placing their hands at their sides, palms facing inward during shallow bows.

This video is a bit more realistic demonstration for business etiquette.

If you want to read more about ojigi, there’s an interesting article at the APM Forums on the role of etiquette in conducting business in Japan.

Google has failed to reveal where I buy one of these, but the photo is amusing to look at nonetheless. It looks like it would be tasty, if spice, too. It appears to be standard sushi (sticky) rice dyed pink with curry sauce screens edged in Nori Seaweed and daikon buttons. It would probably be fairly simple to make at home for the average sushi connoisseur.

Source: Alafista.com via Craftzine

This video is hilarious because it’s so true, but if you’re actually looking for tips on how to eat sushi, try Sushi Faq.

Source: Japan Culture Lab

… if not, divide at stairs to flee.

Alright, alright, I might be just a bit biased. When I was little, bugs always fascinated me. And this show has bugs in spades. It pits one bug against another in thirty rounds, including beetles, millipedes, scorpions, tarantulas, and wasps. Even if you don’t find creepy-crawlies interesting, there’s a certain comic value to the videos. The announcer is very enthusiastic and seems to the death matches quite seriously.

Video Mirrors: Gladiator Bugs

An article in Friday’s New York Times featuring this photo cracked me up. Only the Japanese would think something like this up, and Japan is the only place in the world were anyone would actually use one. Designed by a twenty-nine year old fashion designer, the flaps that these fake vending machine consist of are concealed beneath a woman’s skirt. If she feels threatened, such as when she is walking home alone at night, all she needs to do is lift the flap and stand very still.

The invention is interesting not just in it peculiarity, but also, as the article goes on to say, in how much it reflects the deep deference in the mindset of the typical American and Japanese urban dweller. An American’s idea of an anti-crime device (and by American I mean United States citizen) is a gun, pepper spray, or a taser, but “many Japanese favor camouflage and deception, reflecting a culture that abhors self-assertion, even in self-defense” according to the article.

I find that insight a bit funny, too, considering the impression most American are left with by Japanese media. I can’t personally think of a Japanese film, manga, or novel I’ve ever seen that doesn’t involve at least one horrific death, and I’ve seen more than most. However, it is noteworthy for anyone who has taken a real interest in Japanese culture.

Read the New York Times article “Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place.”