Tag Archives: japan & asia

The original King of the Monsters

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GodzillaI finally saw Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake of “King Kong,” and I’m afraid I was underwhelmed. It was corny, and overly long and not engaging, even when the excitement factor revved up for the final third of the film. It reminded me that although Hollywood has been making monster movies since the original 1933 “King Kong,” the monster with the most staying power and screen incarnations — over two dozen movies — didn’t come out of California, but from Tokyo. Continue reading →

Seoulmates

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Daniel Dae KimThe Washington Post ran this fascinating story today, about the ascendence of all things Korean, especially (South) Korean men, in the world pop culture, especially Asia, and double-especially in Japan. The irony is that Koreans for a century have been treated with racist disdain in Japan, and the country still hasn’t officially acknowledged atrocities committed throughout Asia before and during World War II, including its use of Koreans as “comfort women.” Continue reading →

What do you call your grandparents?

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An interesting recent AP story raised the issue of what kinds of affectionate nicknames people use for grandparents. In Japanese, the words are “Obaasan” for grandmother and “Ojiisan” for grandfather, and many Japanese Americans still use the terms even if they don’t speak much if any Japanese.

But I have a confession to make. I didn’t have an affectionate nickname for my grandmother. Continue reading →

It’s SOO DOH KOO, folks!

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Sudoku on the WebOK, I can’t stand it anymore. I’m not much of a puzzle person — crosswords can’t catch my attention, and jigsaws don’t call out to me. I’m not much of a numbers person either — hence, I work with words (journalism), not numbers (engineering). So, Sudoku hasn’t exactly lit me on fire even though it’s apparently the hottest thing in the puzzles and games world.

I see Sudoku everywhere, from supermarket magazine racks to fancy bookstores, and electronic games to lots and lots of sites on the Web. Continue reading →

Notes from Japan

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Post / Gil Asakawa
Real sushi, from the source: a bento box at a sushi restaurant in Sapporo.

I’m in the middle of a two-week trip to Japan, and it’s been a fascinating visit.

I was born here in Tokyo (an Army brat — my dad, a Nisei from Hawaii, was stationed here and met my mom during the Korean war) and moved to the states when I was 8. But as an adult, I’ve only been in Japan twice — in 1994 and 1995. This time it’s for a family trip, and I’m traveling with my mom.

Here are some observations: Continue reading →