Happy Belated Birthdays!!!

Happy Belated birthdays Steph and Grace!

Steph had her 24th back in late March and Grace her 23rd in early April.

Mmm...that cake was good! So nice of SHAME to give us FREE cake AND Champagne - Nice!!!


This one's for you Beth - Happy Finger Hearts!!!


The fun Irish/San Fran one on the right (You're fun too Ash, only from New Z) had her birthday early April as well.

Happy Belated Birthday Siobhan!!!

CHEERS ALL!!!!

Shibuya's Host Clubs

Shibuya's Crossing
(Hichiko Exit)
Every three minutes complete anarchy ensues at the world's busiest intersection. We observed it all from the 2nd floor Starbucks as well as joined the crowd below!

What is Shibuya like ?

The style being referred to as "Shibuya-ke" had origins in the early 90's, during Japan's era of economic excess, also known as the 'Bubble Period.' Music and culture tastes turned to America and Europe for inspiration. Culture imported from around the world was bought up with all of the excess income floating around Tokyo. From this spawned Shibuya-ke, originally associated only with a group of musicians, which somehow turned into a fashion mentality and now has perhaps contributed to it's current popularity.
There's the famous Shibuya scramble, an octagonal intersection right out from the Hachiko exit of Shibuya Station, as well as the Hachiko Dog statue and two giant TV's mounted on skyscrapers that blast music videos and commercials all day and make you feel like you've been sucked into a Japanese TV.
Despite being a major node on the JR Yamanote line, it is also a cultural playground for Japanese businessmen, high schoolers, musicians and foreigners alike. It is newer than Shinjuku and yet more confusing to navigate through.



Newest crave in Japan - Host Clubs! Why in Shibuya? Well....it's the place of night clubs, sex clubs, and love hotels: the place to find it, buy it, and get it on. Why not host clubs too!?!


In a twist on traditional adult entertainment venues, Japan's growing band of 'host clubs' are nightspots where male hosts serve well-heeled female customers. The women pay by the hour to be flattered and flirted with, and they also pay for all the alcohol, which is consumed in copious quantities. It’s a light-hearted look at a growing social phenomenon in Japan – the increasing numbers of independent single women and a divorce rate that’s doubled in the past decade. In the last two years, one hundred new host clubs have opened in Tokyo alone. They cater for a new class known as “parasite singles” – working women still living at home and with money and time to burn.



















Now let me just say - Beth and I didn't go to any Host Clubs but it was mighty interesting watching these guys work the streets and try to get ladies to go into their club. Seriously we had to have sit in that Starbucks for over an hour! The guys would only look for certain women in the crowd and Beth and I were having fun trying to pick the girls before the guys did.
Sooner of later all the guys got nick-names : Slick-back, Boot boy, Sunglasses, and my favorite Fur guy. Nice!

http://www.iias.nl/iias/show/id=56141/framenoid=42832

Feeling Nostalgic

Where are they now???

I know it`s only been like 2 weeks since they've graduated....but I actually miss those punks. Today is my first visit back to my Monday (Ryokawa) JHS and when I walked into the 3rd grade classroom and saw my 2nd graders sitting there....I got a little sad. Then when I walked around the room I kept getting flashbacks of the students who sat there before and got all nostalgic.

Awww! :(

Funny read for a Sunday Afternoon!

Hunt for karate legend goes cold
Three Singaporeans on a mission to find a karate legend have been found huddled in an abandoned car on a north Japanese mountainside, local media reports say.
One of the Singaporeans told police in Hirosaki his dying father had told his group to seek the master.
Thirteen people had set out from Singapore but one group became lost on the slopes of Mount Iwaki.
One member told TV Asahi: "Japan looked so small on the map that we thought we would find him straight away."

Light clothing
Japanese media said the group included the wife of the man who made the dying wish.
The 13 had split into three groups, with another four resting at a hotel.
The three men who got lost telephoned for help from a mobile phone.
Police said they were wearing only light clothing on the mountain, which is 1,600 metres (5,249 feet) high.
"Neither police nor local people know of anyone running karate classes in this area," the Reuters news agency quoted a police spokesman as saying.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4883608.stm

Congratulations Mandy and Scott

April 8, 2006A long time friend is getting married tomorrow in Maui - Hawaii.

Mandy - What a Happy day!!!
I wish you and Scott the best from
the bottom of my heart!!!
They'll have a small (family only) wedding on the beach. My best friend Dawn and her other sister Hillary are her Maid-of-Honors and I know her parents (Allen and Rose Ann) are very excited and proud of their wonderful daughter.

The wedding day details....

Colors: white, black, olive green
Wedding attire: Classic, elegant, cocktail attire
Flowers: Crimson roses wrapped in satin ribbon for bride's bouquet and white calla lilies wrapped in white satin ribbon for bridesmaids

KAT-TUN

Kamenashi Kazuya, 亀梨和也, (born February 23, 1986)
Akanishi Jin, 赤西仁, (born July 4, 1984)
Taguchi Junnosuke, 田口淳之介, (born November 29, 1985)
Tanaka Koki, 田中聖, (born November 5, 1985)
Ueda Tatsuya, 上田竜也, (born October 4, 1983)
Nakamaru Yuichi, 中丸雄一, (born September 4, 1983)

The group's name is an acronym formed by the members' surname initials.

Typically like all other Johnny's group, KAT-TUN not only sing and dance but the members also act and star in commercials. They are one of the most popular talent idols group in Tokyo at the moment and they finally debuted March 22, 2006. Yayy!!
















Members
Kamenashi Kazuya is affectionately called Kame and is one of the two most popular members of KAT-TUN. Although the youngest member of KAT-TUN, he is considered the group's 'unofficial leader'. He works extremely hard, and is supposed to be really talented in baseball. Being good in public speaking, he is often appointed as the main speaker whenever KAT-TUN does their MC in TV shows or concerts. Kame usually leads KAT-TUN's participation in the musicals as he is the one most often actively seeking the spotlight. With Jin, he is the main vocalist of the group. He starred in Gokusen 2 with Jin and as a result, earned an award for best male supporting actor.

Akanishi Jin has some affectionate nicknames from fans. Jin is one of them, but there is also Bakanishi (baka literally means stupid; because he often acts childishly). With Kame, he is one of the two most famous KAT-TUN members. He plays the guitar, has a fabulous voice, and writes many songs for himself and KAT-TUN ("Care", "Hesitate", "Love or Like, "Murasaki""). He starred in Gokusen 2 with Kame, Anego, and a dorama special called Kurisumasu Nankka Daikkirai (I Hate Christmas).

Taguchi Junnosuke is known as Junno. This tallest member of KAT-TUN is currently addicted to tap dancing. His trademarks are the acrobatic stunts he performs in their shows, despite being the tallest of them all, and also his smile, which has been described as 'invincible'. In 2004, Junno injured his knee and has had to take a few months' break from group activities after surgery. Junno is left-handed.

Tanaka Koki naturally gets called Koki. His role in the group is as the main rapper. He writes most of the rap lyrics in their recent original songs and has started to write his own solo rap songs. However, it is also a fact that even his most die-hard fans are usually hard-pressed to distinguish what he is mumbling during performances. His style is hip-hop, and he likes to protray a cuddly personality that is at odds with his image. Koki pairs up with Nakamaru most of the time and they have a comedic unit called TaNaka (TAnaka - NAKAmaru).

Ueda Tatsuya, the appointed and official leader of the group, is one of KAT-TUN's most 'striking' members because he tends to change his image a lot he has been criticized for being "fake" in terms of personality. He is called by the rest of KAT-TUN as Tat-chan. He is learning the English and French language (just like Gackt does - he's a big fan of Gackt, to the point that he was obsessed with looking exactly like Gackt for a long period of time), and prefers songwriting to acting even if he only has a total of two songs to his name. His solo song Love in Snow in their Kaizokuban concert was originally made by him, both lyrics and music. So far, he is the only member of KAT-TUN who still doesn't have a drama.

Nakamaru Yuichi, or Maru, the oldest member, is very funny. He proves that by being in the TaNaka comedy unit with Koki. Maru's trademark skill is his human beatbox (sound of beats he creates with his mouth) that gets incorporated in KAT-TUN's songs a lot. Because of this skill, he seems to be gaining more popularity recently. He is sometimes called Nakama.






***Excuse me if I'm impartial to some in the group. A girl's gotta have her favorites! :P
To see more of KAT-TUN, check out these websites:
http://www.j-storm.co.jp/J-OneRecords/page_top.html
http://junnosuke-taguchi.com/milk_white.html
http://jweb85.blog48.fc2.com/

OR...EVEN BETTER-

Check out this videos of KAT-TUN in the flesh !!!

Commercials (FUNNY!)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sUFG0h6JdpU&search=kat%20tun%20haha


Acting
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fhWU6qJ1fsk&search=kat%20tun%20haha
(Poor Kame's being picked on since he's the youngest in the bunch)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q14SciofMDc&search=kat%20tun%20haha
(My Boy Jun's in this one too)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pmgtum4Hb7k&search=kat%20tun%20vocal%20lesson
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2PcPRXCxGKk&search=kat%20tun%20vocal%20lesson
http://youtube.com/watch?v=a_ynUtZ02YM&search=kat%20tun%20haha
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XEzoL-my8S8&search=kat%20tun%20vocal%20lesson

Performing
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NL88P--h_sY&search=kat%20tun%20haha
(If you're gonna watch this clip, YOU HAVE TO WATCH AND READ THE LYRICS TO HA-HA, I swear....that was the first time I remember watching this on TV and actually STOPPING what I was doing b/c I heard the lyrics and was like WHAT??? - I loved them from that moment on)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eDL3UBs5BDQ&search=kat%20tun%20debut

Tokyo Tower - 東京タワー

The Tower is 333 meters / 1093 feet tall (9 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower, or 33 if the latter's TV Antenna is not included) making it the world's highest self-supporting iron tower and the tallest structure in Tokyo.

Unlike the Eiffel Tower, Tokyo Tower is located in the middle of a city block. The tower only weighs about 4000 tons, which is extremely light compared to the 10100 ton Eiffel Tower, and it is painted in white and orange according to air safety regulations. From dusk to 11 PM, the tower is brilliantly illuminated in orange. The lighting is occasionally changed for special events; for the Japan premiere of The Matrix, for instance, the Tower was lit in neon green.

http://www.nttls.co.jp/webcam/index.html

http://www.tokyotower.co.jp/333/foreign/eng/index.html

I know you guys probably think I'm silly, but I'm having the hardest time just changing around these pics. For some reason they just don't want to go up right - gomen!