Hinamatsuri

March 3 is Hinamatsuri Day in Japan.  It is also called “girl’s day”, and families with girl(s) celebrate this day with a display of ornamental dolls (Hina-ningyo).

It is one of Japanese traditional event, and my house also used to display a set of Hina-ningyo on the day of Hinamatsuri.  Since this display set is pretty huge, it takes few hours to set up the stairs and dolls on the right position.  (which is like setting up a Christmas tree)  And, on the day of Hinamatsuri we turn on the light called bon-bori and run the music of Hinamatsuri song.  

Nowadays people don’t set up the traditional display (which is kinda shame), but substitute with something different…

Photos from Japan

These may be silly photos, but I just post them on Umeboss so that I can delete from my computer’s desktop :p 

You can watch NHK news on SBS every weekdays (early morning and night time), and I watch it sometimes.  Watching your country’s tv show make you feel home  I always thought this Otenki onesan, weather woman, on NHK news REALLY look likes my friend!  She is cute…

Some people who understands Japanese kana (a syllabic Japanese scripts) may be able to read what’s on th e weather board…  The sunny signs with orange color is creating two katakana  ”エロ” = erotic….  What a coincidence..   

This photo was taken by my mum, on a subway.  This man fell asleep, and unluckily his wig fell down… :p  I wonder what he did when he woke up.  This photo has been my mum’s caller ID on my phone (^口^)

Grave of the Fireflies

You can watch this film on SBS tonight, 12:20  (midnight) !!! (Perth time)

Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓, Hotaru no Haka) is a 1988 animated film written and directed by Isao Takahata. This is the first film produced by Shinchosha, who hired Studio Ghibli to do the animation production work. (wiki)

I believe this is one of the most powerful anti-war movies ever made.  The story is about a brother and a sister, Seita and Setsuko.  Their mother is caught in the air raid during World War ll, and dies from her burns. Having nowhere else to go, Setsuko and Seita move in with a distant aunt, but the aunt didn’t welcome them.  In the end they leave the house and move into an abandoned bomb shelter.  They’re so alone, and Seita (brother) tries to protect young Setsuko, but they have no food and no parents.  As time goes by, Setsuko suffer from hunger, and she passes away 7days after the war ends.

The story is very sad, and educational to people who don’t know about “war”.  I’ve seen this film many times at elementary school and home, and it told me that a war gives nothing but sadness to people who live normal lives.  This film makes me cry every time I watch.  One of my favorite film of Ghibli.

You can watch this film on SBS tonight, 12:20  (midnight) !!!

Funcy Japanese Drinks

As you may know, there is a wide range of products available in Japan.  Some of the products, you don’t even imagine that exist in this world!  Although I was born and grew up in this country, these things surprise me every time I go back to Japan.

Because of many businesses running across Japan, there are so many competitions going on between those companies.  Drink is an example.  A company produces a pet bottle of green tea named “oishii ocha” (delicious tea) and another company produces green tea named “ureshii ocha” (happy tea).  Naming of drinks is also a war, as company B can’t use a name which has been already taken by company A.  So, you get to see drinks named “o~i ocha” (hey, tea), “kore ocha” (this is the tea” etc etc

A drink company, Sangaria sells some unique drinks.  Standard drinks such as tea, juice and soda …

and …

Beer for kids! 

… NO, of course this is just a soft drink (non-alcohol)  :p  Looks like beer, and the name is “kodomo no nomimono” (kid’s drink).

Sangaria’s popular drink, Osaka’s cafe style mix juice drink is now available as sake (Japanese alcohol drink).  Sangaria’s mix juice is one of my favorite, and now I’m curious to taste this sweet sake drink!

Doraemon iPhone App

Yahoo! Japan released 16 free iPhone Apps simultaneously at Japanese iTunes Store. By locating each app on the screen correctly, like solving a number slider puzzle, you can depict a face of the most famous character in Japan, Doraemon.

5 out of 16 are practical function buttons, such as calculator, kitchen timer and clock.  Other 11 are actually Doraemon comic stories!  For example, if you press “Time Furoshiki” button, you can read the episode from original Doraemon comic book on iPhone screen.  (those comic stories are written in Japanese) 

I love Doraemon and I installed all of them right after I knew about this.  Reading those comic recall a memory of childhood.

And, just few days before knowing this Doraemon iPhone app, I was watching DVD of Doraemon movies.  In Japan, current Doraemon cartoon on tv had been changed a lot compared with the one I used to watch while I was a kid.  The voices of Doraemon, Nobita, Shizuka-chan, Jaian and Suneo all changed as well as illustration of the cartoon.  I liked the original voices, and watching DVD was really fun to me.  I remember watching those Doraemon cartoon on tv and cinema back in Japan.  :)

There are many Doraemon movies, but my favorite is the very first movie episode :  Doraemon: Nobita\’s Dinosaur 2006.   (>v<)