The full story is available over at the Huffinton Post.

Ok… that’s a bit of a sensationalist title, but according to Scientific American, an active fault line has been found running below Mount Fuji. It could set off a magnitude 7 earthquake and change the shape of the mountain.

The article doesn’t give a timescale, since further research will be necessary. But it just goes to show that permanence is a myth.

See the full story: Massive Active Fault Found beneath Japan’s Mount Fuji

There are so many taboos it’s unreal… watch and learn!

JustMiyabi – Chopstick Taboos

Problems picked-up on in the video are:

VERY BAD
立て箸 – tatebashi – sticking your chopsticks vertically in your rice.
拾い箸 – hiroibashi – passing food to another person’s chopsticks using your own.

BAD
寄せ箸 – yosebashi – using your chopsticks to pull your dish towards you.
刺し箸 – sashibashi – spearing food with chopsticks.
指し箸 – sashibashi – pointing with your chopsticks.
踊り箸 – odoribashi – waving chopsticks in the air.
握り箸 – nigiribashi – holding a dish and your chopsticks in the same hand.
押し付け箸 – oshitsukebashi – pushing rice down in a bowl with your chopsticks.
押し込み箸 – oshikomibashi – forcing large pieces of food into your mouth with chopsticks.
かき箸 – kakibashi – shovelling food into your mouth from the bowl.

QUITE BAD
迷い箸 – mayoibashi – hesitating over various foods with your chopsticks as you choose the next morsel.
ほじり箸 – hojiribashi – picking food from the bottom of a bowl.
さぐり箸 – saguribashi – using your chopsticks to search for good morsels.
涙箸 – namidabashi – lifting dripping food with your chopsticks.
渡し箸 – watashibashi – resting your chopsticks on a bowl instead of the chopstick rest.
重ね箸 – kasanebashi – eating from only one dish at a time.
ねぶり箸 – neburibashi – licking food from the ends of your chopsticks.

Just don’t do it, ok?!

I became aware of the walk of life when visiting the Nipponzan Myohoji temple in Milton Keynes last month.

I can’t imagine what a difficult decision it must be to suddenly lose 30 percent of your power output.

がんばって日本！Ganbatte nippon!

Japan UK Events Calendar

The Tokyo Gate Bridge has opened to traffic on Sunday 12th February. It has four lanes for traffic, and a walkway for brave pedestrians wanting to cross the 2,618 metre span of the bridge.

There are photos here, showing the walkway and the views – including, notably, the new Tokyo Sky Tree which is due to open in May.

The reason for the slightly strange shape of the bridge is because it has to be high to allow the major shipping lane below to continue operation, but also low because it’s on the approach path of Tokyo’s Haneda airport.

There may be some drop in Japanese morale at the moment, given the economy and knock-on effects from the tsunami last year, but projects like the Tokyo Gate Bridge and Tokyo Sky Tree show that Japan is still a nation of innovation and excellence.6

If you want to cross the bridge by car, please note… it’s toll-free!

[name]-san, [name], [name]-chan, [name]-kun
anata, anta, kimi, omae, omee, otaku, kisama
sensei, inchou, shachou, buchou, kachou
okyakusama, [name]-sama, goshujinsama

The key to ‘anata’ is that it’s generally safe, but it creates a sense of distance; so you will never get close to people using ‘anata’.

The safest form is to use is [family name] + san. For example:

watashi wa chiizu ga suki desu yo. suzuki-san wa?
“I like cheese. What about you, Suzuki-san?”

Miyabi-sensei explains it all…

The list includes such activities as Hanami, the cherry-blossom viewing festivities in April, the expected completion of the Tokyo Sky Tree in May and the winter sports available in December.

They also suggest climbing Mount Fuji very early in the season. That’s exactly what we did in 2008. It was great from the perspective of missing the crowds, but not so good with the weather; the rainy season finished late. You can see our trip on YouTube.

Go have a look right now… Peter Zeglis’ JAPAN Portfolio on Behance

I think snow monkeys are the most commonly raised subject when people learn I’ve been to Japan; maybe it’s the fact they’re lower primates acting in a very human way that captures people’s imagination.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see go anywhere with snow monkeys during my visit in 2008 (and moreover, it was July, so we didn’t see a huge amount of snow*).

The story: Japan in Jan: Snow Monkeys

(*I say ‘not a huge amount’ because we did climb Mount Fuji and see some there).