Japanese Commercials

I’m in love with a new blog. It’s CMstyle.tv. What a fantastic blog! Basically it shows you all the different advertisements that are currently going on in Japan right now. As I said before, Japan uses famous peoples to advertise their goodies. So check out CMstyle.tv to see what the wacky famous peoples are advertising now. Is it ache cream? No, it’s probably insurance....

Tales from Middle School in Japan

In all my schools there are probably only two kids that I would consider problem children. Which means I’m pretty lucky. And the two of them aren’t really problems at all. They are both in the same class, a grade 7 class. One just sits there and does nothing. At first I thought he would be a real class disrupter, but really all he does is sit there – he doesn’t stand up,...

I Miss My Grade 3ers!!

Yesterday was the graduation of the grade three students at middle school (9th year of schooling). And I didn’t get to be there Yes, I’m sad about that because I got to know my grade 3 students the best out of all of them – especially the girls who were a lot of fun. Last week they had a fun goodbye party where the whole school played games. One of the competitions was for...

Why books for 10 year olds are easier than books for 5 year olds

Previously I’ve posted about Japanese children’s stories and also websites intended for Japanese children. At the time I was experimenting with children’s books but the experience ultimately left me a bit frustrated. The vocabulary (both content and the fact it was mostly hiragana) was difficult and the content was a bit juvenile (while stories about shrinking and flying on the...

Eating Update

Two weeks ago I said I was working on my fitness. Well, how has the last two weeks been? Well… There has been improvement and there hasn’t been. For starters I think I was getting really good with my food intake, but I’ve let it slip a little this week which is disappointing. All well, this week isn’t over… Let’s look at this first picture of my week of Feb...

Ikuta Toma Is Everywhere And I Like It

Yesterday my grade 9 students were going through the photos on my phone and came across this one. “What’s this?” They asked. I replied, “I love Ikuta Toma!” This got them very very excited indeed. Which in turn got me very excited. One of my students has already seen Ningen Shikkaku, or “No Longer Human” which is Toma’s latest (well, first) film....

Don’t Review Sentences in Your SRS

After a brief love affair with smart.fm (who look like they have actually improved a lot since I last used them – good to know for if/when I go back!), I’ve been back with anki a little while now. One thing I haven’t done in a gazillion years is reviewing sentences. I think perhaps reviewing sentences has its merits but it has never worked for me. I am too focused on trying...

Get Excited!

It’s the last week of winter! Yayayayyaayyay!             That is...

Advertising in Japan

There is a big difference in advertising in Japan vs. Australia. In Australia the majority of advertisement is by (unknown) actors acting as “everyday” people. For instance, an advertisement for KFC in Australia will perhaps feature a family enjoying their meal, or to make the unhealthy content somehow appealing by calling it “fresh”. In fact the majority of ads...

Valentines Day in Japan

Valentines day is different in Japan than it is in Australia. The main thing here is that on Vday girls give chocolate (if it’s hand made all the better) to a special someone. They also have a custom of giving it to male co-workers and the like, but to be honest I’m not all that clued up on the why and how of things. Where as in Australia I think Vday is a thing more for new couples...