As many of you know I’m now living in China, but I am going to be visiting Japan again in April. This gives me a chance to give the Japan Rail Pass a try!

The Japan Rail Pass can only be purchased from outside of Japan, as it’s meant to give short-time visitors to Japan a convenient way to scoot around the country. With the Japan Rail Pass you can ride JR trains all you want as long as your ticket remains valid. 乗り放題！

There are a few restrictions, for example, you can’t use the fastest Nozomi Shinkansen (shinkansen = bullet train), but you can use Hikari and that should be plenty for most people. Also remember that JR trains do not include the vast majority of the subways in Japan (if any subways at all for that matter).

Our Japan Rail Pass Delivered in China

Given the price of the Japan Rail Pass you need to have about 3 rides on the bullet train planned to make it worth your while, but if you’re planning to see a lot of things in Japan you’ll probably make this every time.

This time I plan to do Osaka, Tokyo, and an Onsen spot in Gunma. Given that I’m also sure to hit Kyoto as well we’ve already gotten our money’s worth.

Note, my wife is Japanese but she was able to get one too. There are some restrictions in place so not just any Japanese person who happens to be outside of Japan can get a Japan Rail Pass. Basically it seems you have to be married to a foreigner and have proof that you are really living in some foreign land. Check the details on the official Japan Rail Pass website.

Anyway, if you’re going to Japan take a look at your schedule and see if this Japan Rail Pass is going to work for you!

Here is an article on the Japan Rail Pass over on gojapan.about.com.

Harvey

Here is a guest post from Erik who is involved in the Annual Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival Planning!

First a few words from me though. Believe it or not, I have never been to the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival… I was close to going last year since I was living on the east coast, but it didn’t happen. I’m sure I’ll make it sometime in the future though! I hear that though it’s really crowded, the blossoms are the best you can see in the U.S. They actually have cherry blossoms here in Kunming China and I plan to check them out this weekend. Maybe I’ll post about it if I get some good photos.

For those of you in Japan, get ready to enjoy the blossoms! Here’s a Cherry Blossom Forecast for Japan 2010 so you can plan your park visits.

Sakura in D.C.

Springtime, perfect for having picnics, wearing shorts and admiring the Cherry Blossom in DC. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an two-week (per annum) event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.

DC Attractions include multiple festivals, museums, monuments, and more. The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization that coordinates, produces, and supports creative and diverse activities promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty and the environment, and community spirit and youth education. It’s also begins peak season for an influx of tourists to Washington, also brought in by the thousands of historical landmarks, museums, and other buildings, The National Museum of Crime & Punishment, located in Washington, D.C. is one of those such buildings, with excellent depictions of historically famous crime scenes along detailed information concerning past wars, forensics, organized crime, and more.

For more Cherry Blossoms in Japan stuff, check out these other posts:

Sakura 2005

Sakura in the Sushi Shop

Early Sakura in Ueno 2007

- Harvey

This is quite possibly the coolest Kansai-ben thing ever.

3:54 これで死んでもうたらしゃれならへんな。

Kansai-ben is an international language. You must learn it.

Near the end it busts into Yappa Sukiyanen by Yashiki Takajin, quite possibly the most famous songs in Kansai-ben ever (except maybe some of Ulfuls tracks).

And… don’t miss part 2!

If you’re curious about Kansai-ben check out our Kansai-ben lessons, and also check out the Kansai-ben iPhone application if you haven’t already!

- Harvey

Yet another iPod Touch or iPhone App to help you learn Japanese has been released. This one was released my my former school, IUC Japan.

iKIC is available as a free limited download, and as a iKIC full paid version with more content. You can also purchase add-ons for the paid version that adds even more content.

iKIC FREE

IKIC PAID

iKIC stands for “i-Kanji in Context” The content from the app is taken from IUC’s very intense SKIP program that the students at IUC use every day to learn the Kanji.

The strong points of iKIC are that it includes 1,947 characters (given you upgrade to the full version) and it gives example sentences (most of the time) that gives context to help you understand how the vocabulary is used. The example sentences it gives are serious and sometimes pretty academic, so it’s good practice for advanced learners.

You can get audio files for the vocabulary and sentences as an add-on pack. I haven’t tried the upgrades beyond the basic paid version, but if it is like the SKIP program which is available at the school that this is based on it should be quality natural Japanese read by the teachers at the school.

Here are a ton of images that should explain what the app is all about.

Note, iKIC also has a simple quiz mode that works like a flashcard program where you grade yourself whether you guessed right or wrong.

iKIC information on IUC Webpage.

Here’s those download links again:

iKIC FREE

IKIC PAID

For more on IUC check out my IUC as an Advanced Student post.

Happy Kanji-ing!

Harvey

My good Twitter buddy @papajohn let me know that he had a new Japanese-related application called Kana Balls in the iTunes Store so I gave it a try.

Fun stuff! Despite the possibly awkward name… Kana Balls is a slick application!

This app will help you learn to read Japanese Hiragana and Katakana quickly. It doesn’t teach you Japanese vocabulary or how to use the Hiragana and Katakana, but after a few rounds with this you’ll really feel the speed reading workout. It’s good frantic fun and a great addition to any Japanese study routine.

Touch the red ぷ to proceed, starts off easy, only 2 balls.

It quickly becomes a madhouse though. Remember, those balls are bouncing!

Good score for 1st game while taking screen shots huh?

@papajohn gave me some promotion codes to distribute so if you’re fast you can try it out for free. If you’re not fast, don’t worry, Kana Balls costs less than a cheeseburger in the iTunes Store and is well worth the money if you value your Japanese skillz.

To use the codes, go to the iTunes Store, click REDEEM on the far right under QUICK LINKS, and enter the code to download the app for free. Unfortunately the promo codes only work for customers with a U.S. iTunes Store account.

Promo Codes for Kana Balls:
RWW4NHRLW6PW
MXRHL76H9HNP
EKWAY9XMPA7F
RR3HKLTJLPYL
4F3AX63TYNPY

Each code can only be used once. First come first served!

Here is a link back to @papajohn’s blog with his post introducing Kana Balls.

Enjoy!

Harvey