The Many Faces of Gunma Chan — Gunma Orientation!

Posted on August 15, 2011 by superhappyawesome

Late last week we had a 2 day orientation for the new participants of JET Program here in Gunma. There were new faces from all over the world–North Americans, South Africans, Austrailians, New Zealanders, Singaporeans and more were there to learn all about their Continue reading →

Posted in Gunma | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Engrish of the Week!

Posted on August 12, 2011 by superhappyawesome

Spotted this during our beach trip to Niigata earlier this week. I didn’t notice it at first, but then we couldn’t stop giggling and mentioning whenever we had to “take a bathroom.”

Posted in Engrish | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Japan Blog Matsuri — Summer Lovin’!

Posted on August 10, 2011 by superhappyawesome

Hey guys! Well, the excellent folk at Nihongo Up have posted the results of this month’s Japan Blog Matsuri–a fabulous collection of posts from a ton of excellent Japan Bloggers, all about Drinks in Japan. If you’re looking for some new reads from some great writers, go check it out!

Also, exciting news! Super Happy Awesome will be hosting the Japan Blog Matsuri, organized by Japanalicious, for the the month of August!

August’s Topic

This month’s topic is Summer Lovin’! What do you love about summer in Japan? Festivals, fireworks, fireflies…there’s so much going on in this hot, hot season, and we want to know what really gets you going!

Rules & Guidelines

  • Submissions should be made in accordance with the Japan Blog Matsuri Rules and Guidelines
  • Submissions should be relevant to this month’s theme, Summer Lovin’
  • The submitted article must contain at least one picture related to the topic
  • The submitted article should contain a link back to this website
  • The deadline for submission is August 30th!

How to Submit an Article

  • Leave a comment on this post with a link to your article
  • Send an email to shaftsa at gmail dot com
  • Don’t forget, your deadline is August 30th!

We can’t wait to read all your awesome entries!

Posted in Japan Blog Matsuri | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Nyan-cat tattoo!

Posted on August 6, 2011 by superhappyawesome

Wow. This tattoo was brought to our attention recently by our awesome friend Cynthia, and, just, wow.

(via Fyeahtattoos)

Posted in you so crazy! | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Happy Friday! Pee all that you can…wait, what?

Posted on August 5, 2011 by superhappyawesome

Our faboulous friend Erica went to Korea recently and found this amazing shirt.

I kind of want one.

Posted in Engrish | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Move over AKB48, it’s time for AKG48!

Posted on August 3, 2011 by superhappyawesome

You may be familiar with AKB48, the ridiculously ubiquitous girl group with a ridiculously large roster of pretty young things. Seriously, these girls are everywhere; at the bike shop encouraging cycling safety, at the grocery store hawking vegetables, at Christmas there was even an AKB48 Cake available at every 7-11!

There have been a number of spinoffs and knockoffs. The initials stand for Akihabara, but there are Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka incarnations of the group. And now? Now Gunma has one too!

Welcome, AKG48! The G apparently represents Gunma, and the initials are also a reference to our own Mt. Akagi. Also, the ‘A’  represents akaruku or brightly, ‘K’ stands for kawaiku or cutely and ‘G’ stands for genkiyoku or cheerfully.

There’s 100 total members, with a huge range of ages (including some very, very young girls.) When I first saw Time Out Tokyo‘s story on the mega-Gunma Group, they mentioned that AKG beats AKB physically, 2.08 to one, so I was slightly worried that the AKG actually referred to kilograms. I’m relieved that it’s not a weight-based group, especially since there is actually one based on age!

Still, I bet our Gunma girls could take those Tokyo chickies in a fight. Gunma is famous for strong winds and strong women, and I’m sure our very own girl group is no exception. Even if their music is (probably) garbage.

Oh, and if you’re in the area AKG48 will be performing at Keyaki Walk (the mall in our town) this Friday at 2pm and 4pm! How, um, exciting. (I’m kind of hoping for a performance of Sandcastles in the Sand, myself…)

Posted in Gunma | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Pokéball Fireworks!

Posted on August 2, 2011 by superhappyawesome

Yukata. Festivals. Fireflies.  かき氷 (kakigori) or shave ice. Sweat trickling down your back as your fan gently pushes the humid air past your face. All of these things mean summer in Japan, and one thing rises quite literally above the rest–fireworks.

Of course, everyone’s seen the fancy shaped fireworks that have been all the rage recently–hearts, smiley faces. Some are more successful than others, exploding perfectly and right side up, unlike their lopsided, misshapen, topsy-turvy brothers.

In Japan of course we have some that I’d never seen before–Hello Kitty and Doraemon light up the night sky on summer evenings. And tonight, at the Nagaoka festival in Niigata, a new shape appeared that’s been lighting up Twitter ever since–the Pokéball.

Captured (gotta catch’em all!) by ひろ on Twitter. What do you think? Does it look like a giant Pikachu should be jumping out of it to battle the wild Seaking who just appeared? Charmander used burning ash attack, it’s super effective!

Posted in Japan, you so crazy! | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

NEW Summer Pepsi — Caribbean Gold!

Posted on July 29, 2011 by superhappyawesome

A few weeks ago I posted about how disappointing this year’s Summer Pepsi offering was, and how it didn’t seem very summery at all. Well, as luck would have it, there’s a new Summer Pepsi on the block! Caribbean Gold, with White Sapote Flavor! Uh, what now? Continue reading →

Posted in Food! | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Engrish of the Week!

Posted on July 28, 2011 by superhappyawesome

Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t gotten a chance to post much this week–I’ve been in Tokyo, helping out with the Orientation for new JET Programme participants. Almost 700 newcomers arrived from around the world, and that many more are coming again this weekend. It was a crazy few days, but great fun.

Sunday we spent the day out at Narita Airport welcoming all the new arrivals, and this was on offer at the breakfast buffet at our hotel. I’m not really sure what obstinate bacon is, really. Inflexible, difficult to change…is that a weird way of translating crispy? This bacon is so set in its ways, you guys. Don’t even try to change its mind.

What do you think? Either way, it tasted delicious!

 

Posted in Engrish | 2 Comments

Hengao, Pon Pon Pon Lyrics, and a Chance to Meet Kyary Pamyu Pamyu!

Posted on July 21, 2011 by superhappyawesome

Yesterday this poster magically appeared at my school:

Most of my coworkers had no idea who that girl in the picture was, and couldn’t even pronounce her name, but I knew. I knew instantly who it was. きゃりぱみゅぱみゅ! That’s right, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who’s delightfully insane debut single has been stuck in my head all week is coming. She’s coming to my town!

But, unfortunately…it doesn’t seem to be for a concert, but rather as a special guest at a Beauty Conference-type thing. I suppose that makes sense, since she’s primarily seen as a model, and even has her own line of false eyelashes. I’m still going to try to check it out!

So, judging by the recent searches, a number of people have been coming to the blog looking for two things recently–lyrics to Pon Pon Pon and explanation of the term hengao.

First off, hengao literally translates as “strange face.” Apparently just being cute is boring and passé, so it’s better to make crazy faces! Kyary is perhaps not the first fashion girl to do this, but hers are pretty amusing. Her signature hengao is in the bottom left corner, with fish lips and crossed eyes, but obviously there is a wide variety.

Next up–lyrics! Below the cut are lyrics, as translated by Wonky Translation. They are not based on a raw Japanese transcription, but rather a romaji transliterscription (also below!)

What do you think? It seems pretty basic candy pop, to me, but I do like the image of holding hands and looking up at the sky in the middle of the city. Um, as long as you don’t get hit by a car.

Continue reading →

Posted in Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments