Japanglish

Japanglish is a topic I enjoy talking about with many people. It’s great entertainment, sometimes confusing, but overall, it’s fantastic to sharpen your own english skills. I even use japanglish examples for my students to identify the mistakes and correct it in proper english.

Here is a sign from a cute little shop in Yokohama:

A t-shirt found in Harajuku:

A sign in an office building near Tokyo station:

and a children’s play mat:

It’s everywhere, but not only mixed english, there are very interesting french signs as well -I’ll have to get some snaps for next time!

Manners in Tokyo

Many people say that Japanese people are among the most polite in the world. This unfortunately, isn’t the case in Tokyo, especially when travelling, so Tokyo Metro created a series of fantastic ads to promote good manners on the trains.

I know some readers might feel shocked about it, but I just want to clarify that I have never met a rude Japanese person, until I moved to downtown Tokyo.

The ads are pretty much based on facts and I will try to match some photos of real people doing exactly what the posters show.

This is my best example:

Here are three of the Tokyo Metro Ads followed by a picture of two people pretty much doing all three things. Not only is the man sleeping and taking up space, and the girl putting on makeup, but they are both sitting in the “priority seats” (sign behind them on the window) which is reserved for older people, pregnant and those with special needs.

Stay tuned for more ads coming soon!

Dinosaur Game for Children

I teach and play with preschool children part-time and try to make fun and interactive games for every class. Keeping two year olds focused can be tough at times, especially when they don’t understand english at all!

Here’s a game I made up to help the children develop their gross motor skills using a ball and large dinosaur head. Basically, I would hold the head in front me while standing with my legs apart. The children will then “feed” the dinosaur by rolling the ball into the mouth.

Here’s the dinosaur:

Another game that I tried last year for Halloween (and was a great success) was “feed the monster”, where the children would throw balls or small balloons into the mouth.

Monster Box:

As you might be able to see, the picture was taken after the children played with it……hence the torn and bent edges…missing ears and so on. It was a lot of fun for the kids, so I hope the dinosaur will be a big hit as well. Will let you know the outcome later!

Vending Machines in Japan

Yes, it’s a topic that has been talked about for years now, but I just wanted to mention how convenient and unusual vending machine contents are at times.
I pretty much pass a hundred or more of them daily and frequently wonder who decides what should go into these things.

For example, this was fantastic:

Kit Kat in a can!

Mini chocolates in a can are great, but then you get random things like….

Let’s see…..milk tea……..hot cocoa…..

hot corn soup in a can?!?!?!? Why???

Somehow, it just doesn’t seem too appealing to buy creamy soup from a vending maching on a train platform -but perhaps that’s just me.

I’ve seen quite a few things from packaged clothing, to comics, dvds, to random food, fresh flowers, full hot meals, alcohol, phone cards, makeup and the list goes on.

Photography to Personalize Cards and Gifts

I love photography. I know many people say they love photography, and they are truly passionate about every aspect of the art, but I just love to take snaps of things I find pretty or interesting, without worrying so much about the type of camera I have or the different setting that I should use.

I always call myself “a point and click kind of girl” which, most of the time I am. If something presents itself to me, I get that urge to take a picure of it, and most of the time, they turn out great (at least in my eyes).

I used to sell my prints but wanted to create something a little more useful, so I decided to print small images and place them on cards. For the ones I would give as a gift, I would personalize them by either decorating with a specific name or special message, kirigami cut out around the image, or use chiyogami/washi to frame the image with complimenting colours.

Here’s an example of one I made with Fuji San:

and another with a lovely flowering tree:

For more examples of Japanese photography cards please check out the shop!