Budget Night Bus to and from Tokyo to Various Places in Japan

Pictured: Kyoto


Their prices are very cheap!
Their homepage is: http://hisexperience.jp
Tel: 03-5322-8988


Tokyo to:


Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe: \3,900
Hiroshima: \7,200
Kokura, Hakata (Kyushu): \8,000
Sendai: \3,200
Aomori: \5,000
Kanazawa: \4,300

The Four Agreements--Ruiz

The Four Agreements--Ruiz

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to
speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of
your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a
projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune
to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of
needless suffering.

3. Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want.
Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid
misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement,
you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be
different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any
circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment,
self-abuse and regret.

Police Lieutenant arrested for taking picture of woman’s legs on train in Kanagawa

Monday 12th January,

KANAGAWA —

A 59-year-old police lieutenant was arrested early Monday for violating a Kanagawa public nuisance ordinance, accused of taking pictures on his cell phone of a woman sitting across from him on a train on Sunday.

Shigeyuki Usui, head of the traffic section at the Misaki police station in Miura City, is accused of taking a picture of a 24-year-old woman’s legs as she sat across from him on the Keikyu line at about 6 p.m. on Sunday. The man sitting with the woman told police he noticed Usui’s cell phone camera flash and heard the camera function twice. He took Usui to station staff when the train stopped at Kanazawabunko station.

One photo of the woman’s legs was found stored on Usui’s cell phone, but he has denied the allegation, saying: “I pressed the wrong button on my phone. I didn’t mean to take a picture.” Usui also said he had been drinking at a friend’s house in Yokosuka City and was on his way home.

--Japan Today

Narita Airport Express Lane for Non-Japanese Residents of Japan

Well, I just got back from a holiday trip and lo and behold... Narita, at least
at terminal 2, has
instituted lines for people holding re-entry visas. So now there are 3 lines.
One for Japanese,
new entry foreigners, and now one (with about 4 or 6 windows to it but not bad)
for those
with re-entry visas.

It's basically back to the old days except getting to put the fingerprints into
the system.


Sisyphus

They have had that set up since they started the fingerprinting. The longest I have spent in line now has been under 10 minutes.

I have also had people from the other lines ask if I was in the wrong line with a look of jealousy on thier face, when they find out the re-entry line is so short.

C. Zanella


I don't recall this being the case at terminal 1 then. I remember only
the two lines. That said, I got preferential treatment when i went
there with my two kids. We got moved into the priority lane which is
almost always a no-waiting line. Time to rediscover that crick in your
back...


Sisyphus

How to Learn Kanji

Check out Jim Breen`s site which is free and hopes to
help you master this very difficult alphabet/

Jim Breen`s Learn Kanji Site

Odawara`s Annual Hojo Godai Matsuri

Annual Festival in Odawara, May 3
http://www.globalcompassion.com/gallery07.htm

Learn Japanese Easily - All It Took Was A Movie...

Pictured: Kanazawa courtesy of Fuji Film Staff

by: Suzanne and Paul Brown



My quest to learn how to speak Japanese began with the Anime movies, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, by the renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. These amazing movies were the catalyst that propelled my interest in the Japanese culture and hence, my desire to learn Japanese fast but in the most proficient way possible.

I was determined to learn a language that most of my fellow North Americans either have no interest in or find it too challenging. Why? Japanese not only sounds significantly different from English but the Japanese letters, (Hiragana) that represent the sounds that make up the Japanese language and is central to the Japanese writing system, are very different. Because of this, I was even hesitant to learn basic Japanese but I put my fears aside and proceeded to find the best way to learn Japanese. After weeks of researching the Internet and networking by word of mouth, I found an amazing course that teaches you to speak Japanese online. So, here's a brief overview of this course to help you in your goal to learn Japanese easily.

First, there is a 31-lesson Interactive Audio Course that covers everything that you need to know to learn Japanese quickly and to become part of a Japanese community. Second, their software: the vocabulary software is a word building game designed to help you learn about 1000 Japanese words and to cover 20 different topics. You can also use this game indefinitely because it allows you to add your own images. The audio software will help you overcome the most difficult aspect of learning Japanese and that is the comprehension. The Hiragana Software learning game helps you to easily recognize and memorize the Hiragana character set used in the Japanese writing and pronunciation system. Third, there are the Grammar Newsletter Series that provides you with 31 illustrated Grammar Lessons and examples. These are invaluable cultural informational tools with explanations of written Japanese and of popular Japanese grammar. The visual tools of this series are unique to this product and their value is priceless enabling you to learn Japanese easily.

Finally, there is also access to a Learner's Forum and Support system that is staffed with fellow students, natives and Japanese teachers. This provides you with extra free resources to further assist you on your quest to learn to speak fluent Japanese.

I am pleased to say that I am able to watch Miyazaki’s movies in their original Japanese and I look forward to visiting Japan one day. Thank you, Hayao Miyazaki for opening up the door for me to experience, acknowledge and respect the Japanese culture.



About The Author
Suzanne and Paul Brown

We are passionate about languages and life-long learning. To find out more information on Japanese you can visit, http://www.learnbasic-japanese.blogspot.com or http://www.speakjapanese-online.blogspot.com