Recommuni (the name stands for ‘record”, ‘recommend”, and “communication”) is a music SNS for music lovers, musicians, music creators, and industry-related people. Read More
Tokyo
Time for Fitness? Plug Yourself into Virtual Reality!
Asia Scout | July 31st, 2009
“Minna no Fitness (Fitness for Everyone)” has been a free SNS application distributed by G-Cluster Global Inc. since April 2008. The company incorporated their special technology into the application in order to offer the exercise program, “Yourself! Fitness”, which was originally developed for XBox in the U.S. in 2004. Read More
When I mix, I find Mixi (.jp)
Asia Scout | July 30th, 2009
Mixi is one of the earliest developers of SNS in Japan. The service launched in February of 2004, and now has more than 20 million registered users. You can join Mixi only by invitation from an existing member, although they’re planning to change that policy. The main focus of Mixi is “community entertainment”. Users can meet new people with common interests.
Climb colorful rocks!!!
Asia Scout | July 22nd, 2009
“Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large boulders or artificial man-made boulders. However, it may also be practiced at the base of larger rock faces, or even on buildings or public architecture” (from Wikipedia). Read More
Japan’s Pole Dance Fever
Asia Scout | July 16th, 2009
When I hear “pole dance”, I imagine sexy blond showgirls in smoky strip clubs, like in the movies. But, now ordinary working women are learning how to pole dance. Read More
BMX Dynamite!!!
Asia Scout | July 1st, 2009
Bicycle Motocross, or BMX, became popular after it was introduced to the public in a stunt scene in the movie E.T. in 1982. Read More
The Era of Marriage (Spouse) Hunting
Asia Scout | June 30th, 2009
Right now in Japan, the word of the minute (and this word will most likely win this year’s Wordsmiths award!?” is “Konkatsu” (literally meaning “Marriage Hunting”, but more like “Spouse Hunting”). It all began with this book called Konkatsu Jidai (The Era of Marriage Hunting). Now you see the word in magazines and online articles. There was also a TV drama about the theme. You can even hear about it in news shows.
Sepaktaraw
Asia Scout | June 30th, 2009
Sepaktakraw is still not something commonly known, but it’s certainly something that’s slowly getting public attention. Read More
Steps of the Soul of Youth
Asia Scout | June 30th, 2009
Among today’s youth, there is just as many, or even more, dancers than musicians. At night, at the nearby station where I used to hear young aspiring artists strumming the guitar and singing in harmony, I now see groups of dancers practicing. Hearing the phrase “street dance”, I used to picture break-dancers and hip-hop dancers, but I found out there are a variety of dance styles on the street, one of which is called “Be-Bop”. Read More
Capoeira in Japan
Asia Scout | June 27th, 2009
You might have come across a group of people in the street clapping and singing in a circle and wondered, “What in the world are they doing?” 2 people in the circle are interacting with each other in dance-like, acrobatic-like movements. It’s something that you have never seen, yet it’s so fascinating! Read More
Futsal – Beware! Not merely “mini-soccer”
Asia Scout | June 16th, 2009
Initially recognized as “mini soccer” in the ’70s, futsal has been gaining popularity in Japan, especially after FIFA World Cup held by Japan and South Korea in 2002, when great enthusiasm for soccer (or football) wrapped the whole nation. At the time, it was introduced to the public as indoor soccer where even people with little experience could easily join the game and play a smaller scale of soccer. Read More
Miss Universe Japan: “from anonymous to famous”
Asia Scout | May 20th, 2009
3 years ago, nobody on the street seemed to care or even think about it, but when Miss Chibaya Kurara won her place as the 1st runner-up in the 2006 Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, and then Miss Riyo Mori won the title in 2007, all of a sudden great public attention was paid to the Miss Universe Japan (MUJ) Office, and especially to the national director, Ms. Ines Ligron. Read More
J-Hip Hop (+R&B): Part 2
Asia Scout | December 8th, 2008
Initially, language was a big barrier for the Japanese hip-hop crowd. In the beginning, rappers mainly rapped in English, and it was believed that the gap between English and Japanese was too great, so it felt inappropriate and impossible to rap in Japanese. But now they have somehow overcome that dilemma. Check out the latest hit songs of J-Hip Hop!
J-Hip Hop (+R&B): Part 1
Asia Scout | December 8th, 2008
Although Japanese Hip-Hop music dates back to the 80′s, it still continues to evolve. Like in other countries, the early days of Japanese Hip-Hop was something not of corporate interests, i.e. major record companies and large performance venues. Read More
V for “Visual Music” in Japan: Part 3
Asia Scout | December 8th, 2008
In the wake of the domination of Nagomu Records and Trance Records, a big fad for street gigs called “hoko-ten” (“pedestrian’s heaven”) took place in Harajyuku, along with the famous TV show called Ika-Ten (Cool Heaven), which supported and heightened that trend. (Ika-Ten was a music audition/competition show for amateur bands.) Read More