They can now fold laundry!

Beware of your new robot overlords and their ability to fold clothes! 

This is NOT Japan!

Amazing but true it seems as if Germany is giving Japan a run for its money on crazy TV. Weird!

Just because...

...Pankun is soooo cute in his response to magic. Enjoy!

Japan pulls the big pranks.

Funny how these people being pranked don't seem to get too upset. I only wish I spoke Japanese better so I knew what they were saying. Some of these are really funny. Enjoy!

Merry Chirstmas...

...in a way you have likely never experienced before. Enjoy & Merry Christmas!

I did not forget about these bots

Don't think for a second that I have forgotten about the pending robot takeover. Just look at how well they dance. Make sure you see the end with the overlord of the robot (this will only be a temporary situation if the robots have their way with things) takes the dancing robot off the stage. Enjoy!

Le Crimp et le champignon

This is a fun video of alternative origami. Enjoy!

Cute Monday

This little pooch sure is cute, of course it is from Japan. Enjoy!

Overly cute dog...

...who cannot seem to right himself. Enjoy!

Also in Germany

You thought all the weird stuff happened on Japanese TV (well I did) this entry from Germany certainly shows there are other crazies on TV. Enjoy

Cat cute on Monday

This is really cute. And as a bonus at about the :28 mark you can hear my favorite Japanese sound of amazement. Enjoy

Too cute for Tuesday

You have seen this chimp before on this blog. This is really something as he figures out the tasks before him. Enjoy

Daniel Radcliffe interview

If you are not a Harry Potter fan you might not like this, but still it is really cute and worth a watch. Could you imagine being this young girl getting to interview the actor who plays Harry Potter. It is a sweet scene and is really touching about 5 mins into. So give it a watch you will be happy you did and of course there are plenty of subtitles for you. Enjoy

Stunning

This will start your Saturday off right. I am busy getting folks ready for the ship, which sets sail tonight, so enjoy a glimpse into the beauty of the ocean. Enjoy!

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

from the Vimeo page:

"This was shot at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. kaiyouhaku.com/en/

The main tank called the "Kuroshio Sea" holds 7,500-cubic meters (1,981,290 gallons) of water and features the world's second largest acrylic glass panel, measuring 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters with a thickness of 60 centimeters. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept amongst many other fish species in the main tank."

Cool video

This is a music video for a Japanese pop group. It has some wonderful editing...well actually it is amazing editing. Enjoy!

Japan

I know, I know that I need to get my Japan photos and videos out...just give me some time. Anywho one of the videos you will see is of my hike in the mountains of Japan and on that video you will hear frogs. Watch this...btw it is only somewhat related to frogs!

Peacefull???

Okay folks here is another Japanese video of the moon. This one does not end so well. This is the reconstructed last moments of SELENE. It is pretty stunning, although not as stunning as the other videos below of SELENE doing its work imaging the moon. Make sure to watch the videos in HD...really cool. More info here. Enjoy

Very relaxing space video

Not sure about this but it is really peaceful and relaxing. Enjoy

Busy Sunday

Well today I could not get back to sleep once I woke up at 5:30AM, so I got cleaned up and went to the 7:30 Mass with Fr. Leo (our host) in Japanese. After Mass, a nice breakfast of cornflakes and yogurt. Then a short nap...finally I was sleepy. After the main Mass it was time for the parish bazaar. Fr. Paul went and cleaned house, so I had to take a crack at it and I did the same, lots of cool stuff to buy, oh and the food! Here are a few photos from the bazaar.

After the parish stuff, Fr. Paul and I headed off to a local Shinto festival. It was crazy fun. Right after we stepped off the train we were greeted with this spectacle.

After all that fun we went up to the main shrine and the grounds around the shrine. Then back down the hill for the main drag and more mobile shrines. All along the route were game booths and food stalls. This festival had a similar vibe to the parish bazaar...lots of very happy people! Here is a video of a local shinto band on their cart being pulled down the street.

Most of the stores and homes along the festival route were visited by a traveling shrine and shinto clergy. The family made an offering (money, food and sake) to the local deity (held in the mobile shrine) and then their place was officially blessed for the year. The folks you see in this video were kind enough to share their sake with us, yum!

It was a great day all around. The weather was the best we have had. The food and festivals were great. After all that fun we went to Tonki for pork cutlets, yummy (photos of that are forthcoming). We are off to the mountains tomorrow for a few days of retreat, so this might be the last post for a while. Until next time here are the photos from the shinto festival today. Peace

Ramen

You know ramen...NO, not this stuff, but this dreamy, silky, sultry, creamy soup with noodles. I went to have my first real bowl of ramen tonight. I went to Ippudo and it was fantastic. The meal was too too much! I tried to eat the whole bowl, but it was too rich and creamy to finish. The noodles were great but the broth was to die for. Here is the bowl just after I mixed in all the fixins the waiter told me to mix in.

Here is the bowl a full ten minutes later...does not seem as if I am making a dent in this stuff. Oh, my it was good.

And now here 8 minutes later and I think I can see the end of the race. I was so satiated at this point, I just wanted to sleep and enjoy the feeling.

This last photo was 5 minutes later...when I threw in the towel. I could not finish the whole bowl. I was too much...and did I tell you they gave me another serving of noodles, so that took up quite a bit of room. But I could not and did not finish, but I can still taste the wonderful flavors and remember the great tastes. Ever eaten real ramen? This franchise also has a place in NYC if you ever get there.