First post back / In The News?? - Chopstick Robbery?

Okay guys, I went away for way too long, and now my obsession with Japan and all things Japanese has hit back, and this time it's hit hard.

When I first started this blog I had a crazy obsession, I loved everything Japanese and considered moving there. Then over time I had other things to think about, I still loved everything I knew about Japan, but I didn't have the time to think too much into it. However, it seems now I have been having withdrawal symptoms and my Asian love affair (My girlfriend won't like me saying that, so sorry <3) has returned with a vengeance. Now I don't only want to move there, live there, speak their language and eat their food, I don't feel like I'm at home anywhere else. Which is unbearable considering I've never even been. Crazy right?

So here I am again at the blog, trying to channel my passionate fondling through the medium of words.

Japan fans - Welcome back let's get this show on the road.

I thought I'd start back with the thing I loved writing about the most, a segment called "Is This News?"

For those who do not remember, or have never read any other posts of mine, this segment consists of the craziest things I've found in the news, or things I can't believe even happened to begin with, let alone made it outside of Japan;

The first post I found amazed me, as much as I struggled to call it "talent" (as it's unlawful) it is absolutely incredible, and I will be brave enough to call it; A talent.

As you can see, this guy is chasing after a woman on a bike, with a pair of chopsticks in his hands. Seems legit. Also seems like something relatively normal.

Anyway watch what happens next:

Yup. That's him pickpocketing a woman using his trusted chopsticks. And some of you guys thought eating with chopsticks was hard.
So I was reading this story on www.weirdasiannews.com and I was thinking 'this is really cool, but what does he plan on stealing with a pair of chopsticks'

Turns out - A phone. And here he is using the phone just minutes after taking it out of the pocket of a woman riding a bike with a pair of chopsticks.

All sounds easy enough, right?

All pictures were taken from weirdasiannews - check them out

As I said, a crime but at the same time a stroke of genius. Talking of intelligent crimes;

 


Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the world of a man named Shota Ishibashi.
Mr Ishibashi is a 25 Year Old, Unemployed, apparently pretty clever family man.

Here's the story - As someone who was unemployed, money must have been pretty tight for Shota Ishibashi, regardless of the money issues he may have been facing he desperately wanted to go and visit his grandmother ( a good 260 miles away from where Shota was). Now before I go on, I want you to think about this for a second, as the person you are now;

You are unemployed, money is a little tight but you want to visit your grandmother 260 miles away, what's the first thing you think to do? Find a way of making some money for a train ticket, maybe sell some possessions if you're that desperate? that's what I would do anyway. Maybe that's because I'm not as clever as young Shota.

Mr Ishibashi walked into a Toyota dealership lied through his teeth and gained the trust of all staff there. Somehow he managed to convince them to allow him to take a $77,000 Lexus for a test drive with no-one in the passenger seat. All Ishibashi was told was "Make sure it's back within 30 minutes"

Anyway 2 hours later the delearship realised something was wrong and called the police. The police used the GPS tracker in the car to locate it, along with Mr Ishibashi about 130 miles away in a supermarket parking lot. Ishibashi was later arrested for theft (which is a shame, up until then it was fantastic)

I do wonder what he would of said to them when he returned from visiting his grandmother?
Still, next time you are a bit low on cash and need to visit someone, pop down to Ford and see what they're offering.

Source: - Itai News

Okay guys, don't lose focus now, this is important part.

We're back, and it feels great to be writing and sharing my love of all things Chapanese (Chinese/Japanese)
Albeit a bit bias towards Japan.
Thanks for your patience and continued support.
You can catch us on twitter -  @TurnChapanese or facebook www.facebook.com/turningchapanese
It'd be great to hear from some readers and chat some Japan.

Thanks once again, I'm humbled you chose to read our blog.
See you guys next week with a new blog post (please please please share this one)

This is news?:

As you know, I have been adding new sections to the blog. So far it has only been Cultural Notes. 

Today we see the introduction of "This is news?"

 I personally love the idea of this;

In it's basic form, it's just news from across Asia that made me think 'this is news?' 

or just made me laugh, but in it's more complex form it's news from across Asia that... 

Na' it just made me laugh.

So here goes the first post for This is news..

A Japanese company named Seiren has released a pair of pants. .

You can imagine my surprise when I realised this made the news, then I read further into it. 

These pants are genius!

Have you ever been in a situation where you  need to "let off some gas" but really can't. You know; on a date or in a really important meeting.

 Well Seiren have you covered!!  these pants are Odour Eliminators.

They work via "Odour absorbing ceramic particles in the material fibre"

I know, none of us actually understand that, but they stop your farts from smelling, so hey, what more do you need to know?

Originally they were designed for nursing care and hospitals but apparently your average Japanese businessmen decided they were a good idea (which they are) and started buying them.

Now available for men (in grey) and woman (in pink) these pants could save you from a lot of embarrassing moments. 

Brilliant.

Now, if you thought that was good, wait until you see this;

This is number 2 for today's blog post (pun intended) 

The image you see above you is South Korea's newest theme park, dedicated to the humble toilet.

Yup, it's real.

Located in the city of suwon - known for being the home of Samsung - the theme park has replaced what used to be the home of Sim Jae-duck (he happens to be the founder and first president of the world toilet association - bet you didn't know that existed either)

Now I know what you're probably not thinking, "I bet it's only good from a birds eye view". Luckily for you I put that thought in your head, and I can tell you that you;re wrong.

If you ever took a walk into the park you would be greeted by the lovely bronze statues below, of people that seem be "Mid Squeeze".

All laughing aside, deep down this actually has a relatively good meaning behind it. 

Jim Sae-Duck who I believe was dubbed "Mr Toilet" lived in a time of poor living conditions in South Korea. 

He founded the organisation to promote the benefits of hygienic toilets. Since then Korea has had a pretty rapid economic growth and the hygiene of their toilets has greatly increased.

Thank you Mr toilet.

A bit more to laugh at though, the city of Suwon plan on building a "Toilet Culture Centre" next to the park.

Amazing.

So if you plan on taking a trip to South Korea any time soon, then make sure you visit the Toilet theme park.

Thank you for reading, I hope you have enjoyed the blog today. I certainly enjoyed the research for it.

Again, I can't stress enough how much help I need promoting this blog. I really want to be up there with the best. I realise I have a lot to learn, and a long way to go but I'm in it for the long haul. I hope you are too. 

If you liked the blog, there is a share button to post it to facebook, twitter etc. 

I really appreciate anyone doing that.

If you would like to follow us on twitter @TurnChapanese 

Thanks again, Dan