Comedian Hazama Shigemi (better known as “Kanpei” Hazama) began his 36,000km circumnavigation run and sail in Dec.2008.
He has been running as much as 10 hours per day so far for a whole year.
Here is footage today of his 10,000th km
Hazama’s adventure is titled “Earth Marathon“, and will see him sail 16,000km and run 10 hours a day when on dry land. The journey aims to draw attention to Tokyo’s bid for the 2016 Olympics which has already failed but like Forest Gump he has kept on running.
If you’re like me, studying Japanese with a textbook is not always fun or beneficial.
The black and white boring text in a book is not real, not alive. If you want to pay for a live teacher you can spend a fortune as well and they are likely to give you more black and white boring texts to look over while you study as well. There must be better and cheaper ways of getting quality, real, useful language learning…
Recently I’ve become addicted to watching youtube and there are a few good channels there for learning Japanese.
One that I keep coming back to more and more is run by Gimmeaflakeman and Maggie sensei (who also puts updates on twitter.)
Here is one of the latest lessons and as you will discover after watching a few more lessons, there are many guest teachers who contribute to help Maggie & Gimmeaflakeman.
These lessons would cost a fortune if they were in textbook form or available on DVD so make the most of them and watch them as much as you can.
As well as providing this great service Gimmeaflakeman also has another youtube channel called Gimmeabreakman which cover all kinds of topics and is very interesting on its own. Topics are far and wide but they give a great balanced appraisal of life in Japan. A great supplement for the lesson side of things, especially if you don’t live in Japan.
Gimmeabrakemanflakeman’s enthusiasm for explaining and sharing information will have you subscribed and coming back for more in no time at all.
Youtube phenomenon Ken Tanaka’s short film “I am Robot” was nominated for the 2009 youtube awards. Watch the video to find out how to vote.
Ken Tanaka was born in Los Angeles, adopted by a Japanese family and raised in Shimane, Japan. Now he is back in Los Angeles where he is searching for his birth parents, Jonathan and Linda Smith.
Ken Tanaka is also on Facebook and has his own blog.
Besides making youtube videos he is an artist and keen bodyboarder.
If you are real clever you may even recognize him on some U.S TV dramas cleverly disguised.
If you haven’t seen any of his videos it’s best to start at the beginning and work through them all.
I won’t say too much more about him as it will ruin the story. Here is his channel.
Actress Mao Inoue, 22, famous as Makino Tsukushi in “Hana yori dango,” and actor Jonathan Sherr, 35, will play husband and wife in the upcoming movie version of the popular comic book series “My Darling is a Foreigner.”
Written and illustrated by Saori Oguri, the comic books tell the tales of her life with Danish-American husband Tony Laszlo, as they encounter and overcome cultural differences and barriers. The series has sold over 2 million copies and snippets have been shown inside JR trains in Tokyo since 2007, providing comic relief for the crowds traveling to work and school and so forth.
Filming has already begun and Inoue commented on the warm atmosphere, saying she wants it to continue right the way through. “I’ve never had a foreign boyfriend, but quite a few of my friends and relatives have,” Inoue said. “So they tell me it’s likely I will have one too! I imagine it would be fun being in an international relationship, and the small things of everyday life would be interesting.”
Inoue also commented on Sherr’s good looks, saying: “When I first met him, I thought ‘Wow! He’s cool!’”
Sherr said he couldn’t believe he was chosen for the part. “I wondered if it was OK for me to star beside such a beautiful woman.”
“My Darling is a Foreigner” will open in cinemas next spring.
ダーリンは外国人 the movie.
Invite Friends to join Japan Ichiban’s Friends Network
Invite your friends, and then meet their friends, and friends of their friends for Free…the possibilities are infinite! When you search for other members and read their profiles, we show how you are connected to them through your mutual friends by up to 6 degrees. You can connect with any of your friends and their friends for free. As you add more friends, you continually move closer to every other member on the site. So think about who you know that has a lot of friends and be sure to invite them (they are the ones who will grow your friends list the fastest). The more friends you have, the more friends you can meet… for FREE!
Find out who you already know on Japan Ichiban’s Friends Network:
Actor Johnny Depp has promoted his latest movie in Japan, but admitted that he hadn’t personally gone out to see it yet.
Depp arrived in Tokyo Tuesday for the Japan premier of “Public Enemies.” “I haven’t seen the film yet, but I hear great things about it,” he said at a news conference Wednesday.
The “Sexiest Man Alive,” as described by People magazine recently, was greeted by hordes of screaming fans upon his arrival at Narita International Airport Tuesday.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” stud highly recommended his new movie to the Japanese, and told them he was particularly interested in John Dillinger when he was a child.
John Dillinger was an American bank robber during the Great Depression, and was declared public enemy No. 1 by the federal authorities.
“I don’t think I have any enemies, really,” Depp said. “The scariest enemy is within, allowing yourself to conform to what is expected of you.”
