Why, it was just yesterday that I teamed up with Koichi to kick some Katakana butt on edufire. A rather special class, it was – none of your usual vocabulary fluff. We’re talking real, useful katakana and it’s guaranteed to knock the Christmas socks off any native Japanese speaker when they hear you, or Tofugu isn’t a wonky bean-curd fishman! So, let’s get stuck right in to this 2-part blog post – Gakuranman x Tofugu – Fluency through Katakana Special!

I went for a vintage look with the slides – what do you reckon? Is the ‘Fugu a classic fish yet or still wet around the gills?

So, there are four Japanese alphabets, but you already knew that, right? For those of you just starting out, let me explain:

Romaji – Simply Japanese written with the English alphabet. Steer well clear of this lest you want to end just floundering around in Japan. You’ll need to be able to read the signs, so at a bear minimum you should learn the hiragana and katakana alphabets.

Hiragana – The Sexy Alphabet. For Sexy People. Why? Because it’s curvaceous, dynamic and feminine. Well, not really feminine, but I like to think of it as so ;). So soft and curly.

Katakana – Hard, angular and rough. The natural masculine alphabet, right? You’ll notice that the strokes are generally straighter and the letters more rigid.

Kanji – And kanji, everyone’s favourite, originating from China. Be thankful that it’s Japanese you’re studying – the Chinese need to learn about 10,000 kanji in contrast to Japan’s 3000 basic kanji!

And here is above, just for your reference. The amazing katakana alphabet!

Now we’re getting to the meat of it! There are so many uses for katakana, you can’t even count them on one hand! You probably know that it’s generally used for writing foreign words, but what else? Perhaps you know it’s for emphasising words too? Good! But there are more uses, oh yes! It’s used to write onomatopoeia, those lovely buzz-words that sound just like they’re written, as well as scientific and medical terms that have kanji that are simply to difficult to waste time remembering. You’ll also find that katakana is used to write people’s names, joins two words together and generally compresses everything down into one tiny little word. The most popular type are the 4-syllable words!

The examples on the intro slide are nice and basic:

ズボン – Trousers (or for you Americans who can seem to distinguish between underwear and trousers, I guess you’d call them pants).
ピンポン – Ping-Pong! The sound of a doorbell.
チョウ – Very/Super/Extra – an emphatic word.
ホモ・サピエンス – Homo Sapiens. Us, basically.
ワンピース – A one-piece dress. Two words combined.
パソコン – A PC (personal computer). Two words combined and shortened into a classic 4-syllable marvel.

So what’s first? Foreign Barbarians of course! All of the following words come from various countries. Bonus points and Tofugu-shaped cookies to those readers who can identify which word comes form which country in the comment below!

ピエロ – Clown. Like em or loath em?
アルバイト – Part time work. This word is used a lot in Japan.
クレーム – A claim or complaint about something.
サイン – A sign. No, no. Not that kind of sign… The signature, autograph kind!
ジョッキ – A beer-mug. Perplexing.
チャック – A zip. Ever forget to do yours up?
スナック – A…snack?? Nope, this is a Snack Bar in Japan. Usually a place where men go to drink and chat to the owners and often women who work there.
キャスター – A newscaster. Need good vocals for this job.
コンセント – You’ll never get my consent to marry my daughter! Not quite…this consent is a mains plug that you stick in the wall.
シール – Stickers! I must get some Gakuranman ones made…
ウイルス – A virus. Used a lot in the media recently with all the chatter of flu.
ドライバー – A screwdriver! Who would have thought…

Here’s some more. Just so many to choose from!

トランプ – Cards (Trump cards). Anyone ever played trumps?
バイキング – Oh-ho. Those dastardly Vikings. But no, this means an ‘all-you-can-eat’ restaurant.
マント – A cloak or a cape. Interesting, I could have sworn it was Tofugu’s arch nemesis, Manta-ray!
マンション – An upper-market apartment. Not a mansion.
アンケート – A questionnaire!
ホッチキス – A…hot kiss? Hah, you wouldn’t want to kiss this. It means a stapler.
ノルマ – A quota (business term, I think).
パンク – Not a punk rocker unfortunately, but a puncture.
フロント – The front of a hotel. A.k.a reception desk.
メイク – Koichi’s personal favourite. Makeup.
レンジ – A range of..? Nope, microwave I’m afraid.
レントゲン – An x-ray. Woo.

Okay, so let’s check out some hot little onomatopoeia. Ka-ching!

ペチャクチャ – A rabble of chattering grannies.
ピカピカ – Shiny and sparkly. Most likely where the yellow poke-rat got his name.
パンパン – A bloated full stomach. Go figure.
コグコグ – To drink in gulps and gulps.
ニコニコ – *Grin*
ペラペラ – (Italian Voice) I’m-a so pera-pera. Means fluent!
フワフワ – Floaty-light or airy. Also used to describe sickness when you feel faint or drunk.
プンプン – Ever seen those cute Japanese girls that fail trying to look angry by puffing their cheeks out? Yup, that’s pun-pun. Anger.
ブツブツ – Mumble-mumble-mumble. Sources say Koichi does this a lot.
ドンドン – Rapidly. We’ve gotta get going! Up the pace!
ゲロゲロ – Ribbit-ribbit. I love frogs. Anyone know if there are any frogs that are bioluminescent?
パクパク – Chomp-chomp. Munch-much.

Well, how are you doing back there? There are some pretty tricky words here, but don’t let them faze you if you are having trouble keeping up! When you’re ready for more, head on over to Gakuranman.com for the continuation and find out splendid words like ‘a flash of pants’, ‘handsome middle-aged man’, ‘close physical contact’ and the euphemism for being fired!

But that’s not all! The second part to this Katakana Special can be found here on Gakuranman.com: Unusual Katakana Words

Michael is the author of a fantastic blog called Gakuranman (schoolboy coat man), who writes about Japan, bioluminescence, and how to learn Japanese. Of course, when he isn’t looking at colorful sea creatures, you can even find him on hanging out with neon birds on Twitter. If you missed our fantastic live class, be sure to catch us next time by signing up at eduFire!

Related posts:

1. 6 Reasons Why Kanji is Necessary
2. Shiritori (しりとり): Japanese Vocab Saturday Timewaster
3. Resolutions for Learning Better Japanese in 2008

If you’re as blinded by Apple fandom as me, and you’re learning Japanese (good chance if you’re reading this), then now’s the time to act. Oh, and full disclosure, I’m an employee at the nice company giving away this iPhone, but doesn’t mean it’s not an awesome opportunity.

Unlimited Live Japanese Classes for $29 a Month

Over at my work at eduFire (which is a marketplace for live education over the Internet) we released a subscription program called SuperPass. For only $29 a month (you’re not going to find a better deal) you can take all kinds of unlimited classes which includes a lot of Japanese classes as well.

If you’ve been putting off Japanese, there’s no more excuse. Whether you’re just getting started or want to continue studying over the summer, live Japanese classes for $29 is a steal. A ridiculous steal.

I’m teaching a few Japanese classes (a couple with the Gakuranman), but you’ll also find some marketing / social marketing classes being taught by me as well. I’m even doing a class about “finding a job in 30 days.” Paying for it individually costs $40, paying for it with Superpass is $29 for the month, and you get all the other classes under the subscription as well. Seriously, now’s the time to get educated, especially with the nasty economy.

You could get all these classes for $29

Japanese Classes

• Veteran Japanese Beginners Class – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Nihongo Power Up Class: Quick Question Pattern – $10/class (free with SuperPass)
• Gakuranman’s Japanese Masterclass 4 – $7/class (free with SuperPass)
• Beginning Japanese Grammar: Lab – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Everyday Basic Japanese (有料) – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Everyday JLPT4 (有料) – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Kanji, Kanji, Kanji!! – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Japanese – Level 10 Kanji (Easiest) – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Japanese – Level 9 Kanji – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• One Step Closer to Speaking Fluent Japanese – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Tofugu’s Japanese for Beginner’s 1 – $10/class (free with SuperPass)
• Simplifying Japanese Particles – Tofugu x Gakuranman – $10/class (free with SuperPass)
• Sound fluent in Japanese with Katakana – Tofugu x Gakuranman – $10/class (free with SuperPass)
• Rainbowhill’s Japanese for Absolute Beginners – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Rainbowhill’s Japanese Language Lab for Absolute Beginners – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Rainbowhill’s Fast Track to Fluency in Japanese – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Rainbowhill’s Fast Track to Japanese Fluency Lab – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Rainbowhill’s Fast Track to Japanese Fluency Lab 2 – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Rainbowhill’s Japanese for Beginners – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• Rainbowhill’s Japanese Language Lab for Beginners – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• JLPT level 4 (有料) – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• 日本語道場　Intermediate Japanese with Wren – $12/class (free with SuperPass)
• Japanese Literature -Haruki Murakami – $7/class (free with SuperPass)

Non-Japanese Classes I’m Teaching

• Blogging from Scratch to Success 4: Social Media – $15/class (free with SuperPass)
• How to Find a Job in 30 Days – $20/class (free with SuperPass)
• Learn Advertising via Bumvertising – $5/class (free with SuperPass)
• 1001 Twitter Followers in 4 Weeks – $10/class (free with SuperPass)

We just came out with SuperPass on Friday (a few days ago) and we already have well over a hundred SuperPass classes, a number that’s growing rapidly (what’s your genius? Maybe there’s something you could be teaching too!). Considering that there’s often multiple sessions per class in a month, and there’s a lot more classes than the ones I listed above, you could get $1000+ worth of education for only $29 a month. Holy crap. This is what we’re working towards. That’s what I call revolutionizing education.

How to get that iPhone 3GS

Between now and June 19 (the release date of the new iPhone), every new SuperPass subscriber will be added to a pool, and once the new iPhone is a go we’ll pick one person at random. The lucky winner will get a $200 Apple gift card, which technically can be used on anything (but the perfect amount for that sexy iPhone).

Now, of course, not all of you are going to sign up. But, we still would love your feedback! If you don’t sign up, please send me an e-mail to tell me what you would want changed before you make the plunge (whether or not you actually have any intention of joining). We really want to improve on things, so your feedback really helps!

If you want to sign up, or know somebody who might, click here to sign up for SuperPass! Looking forward to seeing you in class!

Related posts:

1. 39 Free Japanese Courses You Should Sign Up For Right Now
2. Jim Breen on the iPhone
3. Top 10 Online Resources for Learning Japanese for Free

Writing Japanese Characters (Kanji). Mac 1 – PC 0 (Mac wins)

Snow Leopard has announced a new feature that lets you write “Chinese Characters” via the trackpad. This negates the need to have a tablet, and it gives you just one more way to practice your kanji. I know it says “Chinese characters,” but if it’s anything like the iPhone, it’s the same thing.

One of the huge disadvantages about learning Japanese on a computer is that you never have the opportunity to write (well, you could get away from your screen, but we both know that’s not going to happen). With this feature, which looks like it even features stroke pressure, you’ll be able to practice your kanji and see how it looks on the screen. If it doesn’t come up correctly, then you’ll know you write like a clown; if it does, well then, good for you.

Built-in Mic and Webcam. Mac 2 – PC 0 (Mac wins)

One of the nice things about Macs (and one of the crappy things, as well), is that hardware is standard, and there’s very little room for customization. This also means that you’ll see features across the board that you won’t see when you get a PC. Now, that’s not to say you can’t get these features on a PC, because you can, but with Macs, it’s actually really hard to get one that doesn’t have a built in Mic or Webcam.

The world is changing, and the way we are able to learn is changing as well. With a mic and webcam, there is plenty of opportunity to take live online Japanese classes, practice speaking with a language partner, and so on, which you can’t do if you don’t have one. Want to learn Japanese, you can now do so from someone who’s in Japan. Now that’s really cool.

Japanese Learning Applications. Mac 3 – PC 1 (tie)

Most learning applications are either browser-based or work on both systems. Things like smart.fm, Lang-8, NihongoUp (which I just reviewed), Anki, Rikaichan, etc., are available across all platforms.

I think that things like this are heading to the Internet and will be browser based. Now, I think I’m being nice here – we wouldn’t want to have to compare Internet Explorer and Safari. At least both have Firefox to use, though PC wins in terms of Chrome. Good job PC-folk, good job.

Language Support. Mac 4 – PC 1 (Mac wins)

Both Mac and PC have good language support for Japanese. On Windows, however, you have to go out of your way to install Japanese compatibility when installing the OS, but on Mac it’s added via the default installation. You’ll have Japanese support out of the box.

Another thing I like a little more on the Mac is the language bar. The Windows language bar kind of gets in the way, and does funny things sometimes. The Mac one is always tucked away in the top menu bar, nice and compact. I also like how the shortcut keys only take one step. On a PC, you have to activate Japanese first, then you have to switch to the correct input. One less step makes me a happy typer.

Japanese Text Rendering. Mac 5 – Windows 2 (tie)

Can’t really complain about either. I personally like the Mac’s version of Japanese default text rendering, but they’re both acceptable. Mac makes things more smooth, and I think more natural, while Windows is a little more choppy.

We’ve got a tie here, folks. It’s just text we’re talking about.

Watching Japanese TV. Mac 5 – PC 3 (PC Wins, for once)

There are a few ways to watch Japanese television via your computer, and PC’s have more options, which are often better. There’s KeyHoleTV and Gya0 for PC only. Then, there’s some other alternatives that work on both like TVU, Livestation, and Freshverse. I suppose there’s also Japanese television on Hulu for both platforms as well.

More (and better) options when you’re running a PC box. That’s all there is to it.

Final Score. Mac 5 – PC 3 (Mac Wins)

Yep, you can accuse me of bias. You can accuse me of being a mactard. Both are probably true, but I still think Macs are better for Japanese study (not to mention almost everything else… I’ll give PC’s gaming though).

So, with that, let the age-old debate begin. Macs versus PCs. Go! …and do your best to pull Japanese related stuff into the convo, if you can.

APPPLLLLEEE FANNNBOYYYY

Related posts:

1. How to Study Japanese Over the Summer
2. Nipponster’s Japanese Toolbar
3. Top 10 Online Resources for Learning Japanese for Free

Philip Seyfi sent me an e-mail asking me to check out his Adobe Air application Nihongoup (for a long time I thought its name was some sort of weird misspelling, or a fish reference, which of course we approve of Ha! Logo is now NihongoUp! Don’t say we never did anything for you). He hooked me up with a free copy (it’s normally $4.99) as well as five more to give away to all of you. You’ll have to keep reading to figure out how you can win.

Nihongoup is nice and simple and runs very smoothly. When you start up the application, you have four choices: Katakana, Hiragana, Kanji, and particles.

Hiragana and Katakana:

In this game, balloons with different hiragana (or katakana, if you’re playing that game) come down. Before they fall all the way down, you have to type in the corresponding romaji to make them disappear. My only complaint is that there aren’t enough zombies in this typing game. I suppose we’ll have to settle. If you’re learning hiragana or katakana, this is definitely an easy way to study. It’s not particularly exciting, but it’s better than a lot of other options out there.

Kanji:

In the kanji game, you get a sentence at the bottom with a highlighted section. You have to click on the balloon containing correct kanji to move on to the next one. I do wish more of the sentence was in kanji, but I guess it makes sense since the game is only available in JLPT 3 & 4 levels. According to the website JLPT 1 & 2 are coming soon, so I’ll be playing Nihongoup a bit more when those are released.

Particles:

The particles game is Nihongoup’s “ace up the sleeve.” I really like this idea. You get a sentence with a missing particle, and then four choices. You have to pick the correct one, and it’s a lot harder than I thought! I think I need to practice my particles a bit more. Just like the kanji sentence, I wish more of the sentence was in kanji (perhaps with furigana, for beginners?). All hiragana is difficult to read, even with the little spaces.

Really, though, if you’re going to buy Nihongoup, this is the section to do it for. I haven’t seen too many other resources out there that do particle practice, and Nihongoup does a good job at it. Perhaps it would be good with my Japanese Particles Cheatsheet?

Overall Impressions:

Nihongoup is a good application, it runs well, and does some neat things for Japanese language practice. There’s some room for improvement, which is fine because it’s an early product, and I know improvements are being made by the developer. It’s kind of one of those things where it’s really good that it’s simple, but has room for a little more (I think?). I do wish the sentences were easier to read (more kanji, please!), and I’d also like to see more settings for different difficulty levels within each section (faster speeds, etc).

You can buy this application for $4.99, which I think is a pretty good deal. I wouldn’t buy it if it was any higher, but it’s worth the money if you use it a lot.

How can YOU win a copy?

I’m allowed to give away five copies of the game (thanks to the Nihongoup folks). If you want a copy, though, you have to work for it a little bit… though not that much.

What you have to do: Leave a comment telling me why you think you should get a copy of this sexy software. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux, so everyone should be able to get in on it. If you leave a video comment, you might get extra points (or lose extra points if you’re a sad clown). Poems might get you extra points. Godzilla references may help you as well. Other creative comments are also welcome. I’m just going to choose the ones that I like the best, so yep, bribery works as well. And tweets… Tweets are good.

When will the winners be chosen? Pretty much when I feel like it… Probably sometime in the next week. If I see a comment I really really like, though, I may mark it as a winner early by responding to it. You never know.

How will I get my prize? I’ll send your e-mail to someone who will get you a product key.

Off to the races! It’s time to learn Japanese!

Related posts:

1. Studying Japanese with a Nintendo DS
2. 6 Reasons Why Kanji is Necessary
3. Try our (Free) Tofugu Kanji Memorization Worksheet

I know a lot of you out there are interested in going to Japan to teach English. Luckily, they’ll take anyone with a beating heart, dumb apes included. But is it really worth it? I’ve always been against a lot of these programs that send people off to teach English. Don’t get me wrong, some of them are good (though I think a lot of people who apply and take these jobs take them for the wrong reasons), but there are definitely companies you should avoid like the plague.

Nova was one of them… but, Nova went out of business, fired a bunch of English teachers (who had nowhere to go), and really sucked when it came to treating their employees good. Nova was bought out by G-education, and recently I got an e-mail from an employee there, who saw both sides of the fence during the transition. I sent him a few questions, and he answered… so anyone who wants to teach English in Japan can now be a little more informed. Of course, my source has to remain confidential, otherwise he’d be fired so hard, and we don’t want that (well, maybe he secretly wishes for it).

1. So, Nova folded a little while back, what company bought out Nova and took it over?

“G Education”, a company that’s basically part of a corporate conglomerate called “G Communication”, which basically buys bankrupt companies and turns them around. They have quite a few businesses, including a lot of restaurants, a traditional Japanese-style inn, and various stores.

2. How was the transition?

Rough. Firstly, the new company promised us that anyone who wanted their job back could have it. When they say how many of us still wanted to stay and work in Japan, they told us we had a choice: “option a”, which would have us start working immediately, cleaning up the branches and packing up NOVA merchandise and supplies, sending things to the multimedia center (whose teachers were doing the same thing, as well as sorting and organizing the stuff sent to them), and generally doing menial tasks rather than teaching. Which is understandable; the company went bankrupt, there was a lot of stuff to be done, and they were willing to pay us our old wages to do so. Meanwhile, “Option B”, which we were highly encouraged to take in order to help the company, was that we would receive 150,000 yen (roughly equivalent to $1500 USD) in order to survive while we stayed home for about a month, and report to work on January 10th where it was assumed we’d resume our teaching duties.

On December 23rd, rumors started going out that they had sent emails to some instructors who chose Option B, stating that unfortunately they couldn’t actually offer employment, and that they wished us the best of luck etc, reneging on their promise of employment.

I honestly don’t really begrudge them too much on this issue; they had to do what it took to turn the company around, and I don’t think that Option B was originally intended to be a malicious trick. However, I do still begrudge them on the timing. A lot of people got them on the 23rd, and several others got them on the 24th… Merry Christmas, you’re laid off! Yokoso Japan!

Very poor timing, and this was the first sign of what would become a continuous theme remaining even today; this very Japanese company has no idea how to handle/manage foreign employees.

Some union got involved and a lot of employees were able to return to work towards the end of January regardless of their offer being withdrawn… but within a few months they were telling teachers they needed to transfer to various branches or else get laid off. Again, I personally don’t begrudge them this decision; the company was bankrupt and had quite a bit of debt, and they had too many teachers where they didn’t need us and too few where they actually had customer demand. It was a smart choice, business-wise.

However, further creating bad blood, when some of the instructors were looking for new jobs, they were told they wouldn’t be hired and shown an article from a national Japanese newspaper, where the G. Education management were saying that the instructors they let go were of poor quality and generally bad and/or unreliable teachers. This article didn’t mention anything about teachers getting laid off for declining to relocate. So those who had been laid off were now finding it difficult to get a new job, and seemingly for no reason other than maliciousness on the part of the new management.

Meanwhile, the former company was so successful at shedding its teachers, it ended up having very few by the summer of 2008… not enough to meet even the basic demand. Students were angry at the difficulty in booking lessons, teachers were upset and quitting over the general disregard management had for its instructors. They started calling up former NOVA teachers who had declined to relocate and offering them their jobs back.

3. Why do you say you “Look back fondly to the days of NOVA?”

Old NOVA, while a typically evil corporation out to squeeze every bit of profit it could from its customers and its employees, was at least reasonably efficient and under control. When management told us something, we generally could feel it was reliable (up until the spiral into bankruptcy, anyways). It knew how to manage foreign employees and had a system set up that took care of all the little details that foreign instructors would have to deal with, moving to a foreign country. The new NOVA is lacking in reliability, know-how, awareness of the differences between foreign and Japanese management style / work expectations.

4. You mentioned they were doing some illegal activity. What kinds of things are you talking about?

For starters, the new contracts that they started offering to people whose old NOVA contract had expired included a stipulation that they not be late to work or miss a day without notice. In other words, if you wake up sick, tough luck: come to work. If you didn’t, you’d lose almost a quarter of your paycheck in penalty, which is illegal according to Japan’s Labour Standards Bureau. There are limits on the percentage of your paycheck that can be reduced as a penalty of any type. Nonetheless, the Labour Standards Bureau in Japan notoriously lacks teeth, especially when it doesn’t really care about the issue. However sympathetic the staff are to our situation, there’s a definite feeling of “not a Japanese problem” since the only people affected are foreigners.

Additionally, though this is nothing new as the old NOVA did this as well: our contracts state that we have 4 minutes between lessons that is administration time, and 6 minutes break time. However, it almost always takes the full 10 minutes (as well as time before and after work, to plan lessons and finish your notes / put files away) to do your expected duties. If you don’t do your work, you’re in danger of teaching a lesson that a student has had recently and generally get bitched out by the management… yet when asked why we’re forced to do unpaid overtime, we’re told that we just need to work faster or smarter, and that it isn’t their responsibility. This has gotten worse than previously, though, as the new NOVA has switched to a 5-student lesson format. Unpaid overtime that is absolutely without a doubt a requirement of our job. An undisguised breach of contract.

5. Would you recommend anyone coming to Japan to try and get a job at G. Education?

Honestly? At this point, no. Come to Japan and try to get a job, sure. But don’t try with G. Education… too much is up in the air at this point, the company hasn’t really figured out what the hell it’s doing and is still not turning a profit as of yet. We’re all still sort of holding our breath for the second grand finale, though that is by no means for sure what’s going to happen. The bottom line is that the future is uncertain, and the management is clueless. I shudder to imagine the mixups and lack of help someone brand-new to Japan would have, all on behalf of G. Education.

Best bet is to get a contract with one of the other big eikaiwas before setting foot in Japan, unless you’ve got a significant savings and don’t mind tightening your belt and not indulging in the tourist experience until your situation gets a bit stable. You can build a decent schedule that will support a comfortable lifestyle, including partying and touristy stuff, but it takes time and multiple small companies.

6. If you could be CEO of this company, what would you change?

The entire approach to the teachers. They view us as a resource, and don’t even treat us as full employees. They fail to realize we are their *only* product, and that we’re not loyal Japanese wage slaves willing to put up with an incredible amount of bullshit and abuse all in the name of harmony and company spirit. This is a problem inherent in the eikaiwa industry (and somewhat for good reason; many of the employees treat the industry as a revolving door because that’s exactly what it is for many people; a chance to experience Japan for a year). If I were the CEO, I would make an effort to treat the employees well, and try to recruit only the serious employees in it for the long-haul.

7. How much longer do you think this company has to live?

It is a bit too early to say at this point. In my opinion, there will always be enough of an employee-base just from the curious foreigners who want to experience life in Japan for a year or so; they probably won’t fail for lack of “product”. However, it is already painfully obvious that the quality of the lessons / teaching has fallen drastically since before the bankruptcy. Part of it is the hiring of just about anyone as they grew desperate for instructors. However, it is also due to some of the best teachers from before the bankruptcy just not giving a damn about their job anymore.

(I’m not including myself in that group, but I do know several co-workers who took their job very seriously and strove to follow the company teaching style and lesson format while providing the best service they could to the customer… and they no longer have that motivation.)

This interview was conducted with a current employee at G-education, the company that bought out Nova when it went bankrupt. His identity is a secret, like Batman, so watch out.

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1. Interview with a Pro Fighter in Japan: Roxanne Modafferi
2. Mini Post: Odd Personal Grooming Choices
3. Mini Post: Crazy Food Pun Time!

We’ve had a lot of “fun” with DragonBall as of late, and after this tip I couldn’t help but post this as well. I’ve seen little bits of this live action Chinese Dragonball knockoff, but not more than a couple of minutes. You know, actually, the fact that this is a Chinese movie kind of makes sense, since Dragonball really came from the Chinese Monkey King anyways, and at least it’s better than the American version. So, if you want to watch the entire movie (full of English dubbed goodness), go below the fold. This is good stuff, I, uh, promise?

Now wasn’t that the best hour and a half you’ve ever spent in your life? Never seen anything so campy and classic in my entire life. What did you think of it? Wish you could have that time back to do something productive with it, like learning Japanese from Yoda?

Anyways, I promise for sure this time – no more Dragonballing for a while now.

Related posts:

1. Dragonball Evolution Review: This Movie Sucks Dragon-What?
2. DragonBall (2009) Live Action Film: Makes Super Mario Bros Seem Oscar-worthy
3. Finally, a “real” DragonBall Move Trailer. Let the HeartBreak Begin

Two weeks ago I put up a post about Tenso, the Japanese shipping company, and asked you all to write a haiku in order to win a slick t-shirt. I’ve been through them a bunch of times now, but can’t choose just one. That’s where YOU come in. I need you to vote for your favorites. You have one week to vote, and then we’ll see who won. I’ve narrowed it down to five… which one will you choose?

VOTE NOW!

If you’re learning Japanese, consider using eduFire to get live online lessons!

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Got this tip from @Beta_guy on Twitter. Every word of this video, so true. Brings a little tear to my eye. And is this the shortest Tofugu post you’ve ever seen? Yes it is! Want more Godzilla?

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What Tenso is doing is one of those ideas where you think “dang, I shoulda thought of that.” It’s simple, it’s helpful, and provides a really good service. I tried it out recently, and they let me pick out a Japanese t-shirt and ship it via their service, so that I can give it away to one of you. More information on that at the end of the post.

So here’s the rundown on Tenso: 1) You go to a Japanese website that sells something. 2) You order the item, and have it shipped to your tenso.com address (the address is free). The package is then sent to them, located in Tokyo. 3) They get the package, and then send it to you at a discounted rate.

Now why is this service convenient? Why is it better? First of all, a lot of places won’t ship internationally. If they do, it’s stupidly expensive to do so. Tenso is a shipping company, and all their specialty is shipping outside the country, which means you get a discount. Shipping from a store in Japan to Tenso is very cheap. I know I wish I had known about this service when I was shipping Christmas gifts from Japan. Would have saved a lot of money :(

They also provide a list of shops to give you some good ideas on where to shop. My favorites are Amazon.co.jp and  Yahoo Auctions. With these two sites alone, you can pretty much find anything you want. There’s a ton of other specialty shops listed, though, as well as a list of shops that accept Paypal, if that’s how you roll.

Go check it out – there’s a lot of good stuff out there waiting to be bought. There may be hope for all of you who wish you had a ridiculously warm panda hat like mine.

Win a T-shirt

Tenso was indeed kind enough to buy and ship a t-shirt to me so I could give it to you folks. There is a tiny little catch, though.

You have to write a haiku for me. Well, actually, it’s a haiku for Tenso, since they were the ones who paid for the shirt. I also want you to write it on Twitter (feel free to put it in the comments below, too, but it won’t count towards the contest). In your haiku tweet, you must include the hashtags #tenso #haiku at the end of the tweet to make it count. For example:

Tenso, my heart wanes / for your shipability / love me ship me now #tenso #haiku

That way, when I search for it on Twitter, I’ll be able to find it! While you’re at it, follow me on Twitter for brownie points (which won’t help you at all in the contest, but will give you awesomely stylish brown noses!). You have until the end of the week to write this haiku (We’re talking Friday, here!). You can write as many as you want, but of course, you can only win one time :)

The t-shirt is a size Medium, but fits kind of large (I imagine it’ll shrink a bit, though). I’ll ship it to anywhere in the world, even back to Japan if I have to, so everyone please give it a shot! Haikus are 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables, and if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask and I’ll help you out.

If you’re looking for some inspiration, or just want to get a hold of a Godzilla head, check out Tenso for all your Japanese shipping hopes and dreams.

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I’ve been working on a couple of new blog projects the last month or two. As some of you might know, I have a pretty poor success-to-failure ratio when it comes to starting new projects (who doesn’t!? what?), so I went ahead and made sure to write some first, announce later. We’ll see, I’m feeling good about these ones. What about you?

RealGodzilla.com

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from our friend Godzilla, and that’s because he’s been busy putting together his own blog! Life is a lot different for him ever since moving to America (big transition!), and he’s sharing his experiences, opinions, and ideas with the rest of the world. He doesn’t have another movie coming out until 2014 and has a lot of swing time, so he wants to make sure you (and his family) know what’s going on between now and then. Although he’s been writing a little bit already, why not help him out by asking him some questions? I know everyone’s always wished they could pick Godzilla’s brain a bit. What’s your favorite color? What’s the meaning of life? Where did Gamera “touch you” (now use the King Kong doll to show us where!). Also, if you’re really into it, don’t forget to follow Godzilla on Twitter!

*This will also be my private blog (kind of…very very kind of…) replacing BoxedTofu, at least for now. So, expect RealGodzilla to have some aspects of my real life. Just make sure you take things with a grain of salt.

eduPirate.com

Lately I’ve really gotten into education. Teaching and working at eduFire has founded in me a new passion for… pirates… hrm, pirating education. You know how all of you pirate movies and music (of course you don’t)… It’s kind of like that… I’m looking for new and better ways to teach and learn, whether that’s Japanese, algebra, or underwater basket weaving. I really want to explore and follow (and lead!) the new educational movements happening all over the world right now. There are so many teachers and students out there who aren’t teaching and learning to their full potentials, and I want to do my best to change that a bit! I know that most of you here probably aren’t interested in the education field, but if you are, take a look at eduPirate and follow it on Twitter.

Secret Japan-Related Podcast

How many of you listen to podcasts? I know I don’t. I have no idea why I’m starting one up, but it should be a lot of fun. It’s not a “Tofugu Podcast.” Instead, it’s a project I’m doing with a few other talented people. One of them is Deas from RockingInHakata (who did a guest post on Tofugu!) and the other is Michael Downey (The Gakuranman!) from MichaelDowney.net. There’s also an amazing support staff / part-time host as well, TBA. It’ll mostly be a casual talk-show-esque podcast, which will include guests coming onto the show as well as answering listener questions about Japan. We’ll be recording our first episode this coming Saturday, so if you have any questions or things you want to hear us talk about, please feel free to send me an e-mail (we’ll get something more official soon!).

Some Social-Marketing Classes

Mostly all work related, but I thought there might be some people interested in some of these classes. Definitely think there’s some stuff here that could make a positive difference in some of your lives! I know I wish I had these kinds of resources when I was younger (not that much younger, though), which is partly why I’m offering them to you! You will have to register an eduFire account to see these in your own local times.

• What is Twitter? – 4/15 (European Time Zone)
• What is Twitter? – 4/15 (American Time Zone)
• Twitter for Businesses – 4/16 (European Time Zone)
• What is Twitter? – 4/16 (this class includes prizes!)
• Twitter for Businesses – 4/16 (American Time Zone)
• Using Guerrilla Marketing Tactics to Land Your Dream Job – 4/20 (American Time Zone)
• Using Guerrilla Marketing Tactics to Land Your Dream Job – 4/21 (Euro Time Zone)
• Blogging from Scratch to Success – starts 4/23 (8 sessions)

If you’re considering starting a professional blog, or want to have an advantage in getting a job (especially in this economy!) I definitely recommend you check out the Blogging class (not to mention the Guerrilla Marketing classes as well).

Japanese Pen Pals?

This is something I’ve been thinking about lately. Since I have a blog a lot like this one (but opposite, and for Japanese to learn about American culture and the English language), I thought it would be pretty neat to have some sort of pen pal program between the two websites. First of all, I have no idea where to start, since I wouldn’t want to make it a manual process (the more automated the better, probably, but not toooo automated), but I do want to put my creepy feelers out there to see what you folks think about the idea, and if you would be interested / if you see any pitfalls I should be thinking about.

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