Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

AT (1676 KP) rated After the Quake in Books

Jul 13, 2019  
After the Quake
After the Quake
Haruki Murakami | 2002 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a fictional book of short stories. Each story focuses on a character and his or her life in a period of time after the earthquake in Kobe, Japan in 1995. I think the book was probably better than I think it was. Honestly, I think I'm thinking too deeply about a couple of the stories, and I'm missing the simplicity. The stories were all interesting on a personal level, though.
  
Lost In Translation (2003)
Lost In Translation (2003)
2003 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two great lead characters (1 more)
Great footage of Tokyo and Japan
Rather slow paced (0 more)
A study in relationships
A film most seem to love or hate. I'm right down the middle. It is a good film, well made and the scenes in and around Tokyo are well shot. It's basically about a friendship between unlikely people in an unlikely place. A bit slow for some, but if you like films about human character and different personalities you will like this.
  
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Hector Garcia, Francesc Miralles | 2017 | Health & Fitness
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is one of the must have books.
Ikigai is a way of seeing life in a different light and finding what makes life worth living. After reading this book you will see life in a different and better way. On top the book is full of helpful advise from Japan about food or exercises for example.
This is one of the books you buy, keep it and you will read it over and over again ❤️❤️❤️
  
40x40

Ross (3282 KP) rated At Budokan by Cheap Trick in Music

May 7, 2020  
At Budokan by Cheap Trick
At Budokan by Cheap Trick
1979 | Live Performances
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Rolling Stone's 426th greatest album of all time
An incredibly atmospheric live album (Cheap Trick really seem to have been massive in Japan, like Beatlemania level), including "I Want You to Want Me" and a number of other foot-stomping rock and roll songs. One nice little Easter Egg was discovering that the speaking at the end of "I Want You to Want Me" was sampled to introduce "Jimmy James" by the Beastie Boys on Check Your Head.
  
40x40

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Sep 22, 2022  
Need a playlist to listen to while you pack your suitcase? Check out author Carrie Carter Writes' travelogue WHISKERS ABROAD: ASHI AND AUDREY'S ADVENTURES IN JAPAN on my blog as well as a fun playlist from Audrey! Enter the giveaway for a chance to win the eBook and a set of Ashi Stickers!

PS - The Kindle eBook is at a special pre-order price of only $0.99 if you buy it by October 2nd.

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/09/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-whiskers.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Whiskers Abroad is a lively and charming travelogue featuring a trip to Japan shared by two main characters, Audrey and Ashi, who alternate recounting their versions of events. Audrey, having won the chance to write a magazine article about traveling in Japan, takes along her cat, Ashi. Over the course of a twelve-day trip, the pair visit Tokyo, Wakayama, Shirahama, Kyoto, and Miura Peninsula. Food is of great interest to both, as they sample typical Japanese dishes from ramen to sushi to tuna specialties. They also explore Japanese culture, including food markets, a family farm, temples, and Tokyo nightlife.

Adventures abound, from Audrey losing Ashi in the fish market to Ashi slipping out of the hotel at night to go to a cat café, where he meets an alluring feline. Audrey is still trying to find her place in the universe, while Ashi believes Audrey would sink beneath the waves were he not present to rescue her time and again. Audrey is a dedicated reader of her horoscope, and the prediction for each day offers tantalizing clues as to what’s in store for the pair.

Written by author Carrie Carter and beautifully designed by Stacy Vickers, Whiskers Abroad is both an amusing travel story with unforgettable characters but also a useful guide for tourists going to Japan about such basic travel issues as how to get from the airport to central Tokyo, how to purchase a rail pass, what to visit in Tokyo, and what to eat. Lavishly designed with full-color photographs and arresting page layouts, Whiskers Abroad will delight both your eyes and your sense of adventure.
     
Men Without Women: Stories
Men Without Women: Stories
Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel, Ted Goossen | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Modern day Hemingway without the tangential narratives
Taking​ the title from the original Ernest Hemingway novel, Haruki Murakami has updated it for a modern audience in different parts of the world, primarily Japan.

It is a series of portraits of men who have chosen the path of loneliness away from women and the void that it creates when running away from intimacy. Beautiful, simplistic with a wonderful flow, Murakami has a spectacular way of building characters and their anecdotal narratives.
  
40x40

Andrew Ahn recommended Tokyo Story (1953) in Movies (curated)

 
Tokyo Story (1953)
Tokyo Story (1953)
1953 | Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Tokyo Story is a beautiful document of a specific time, place, and culture. The drama is grounded and driven by what it meant to take care of a family in postwar Japan; the narrative is firmly rooted in history. At the same time, the story transcends this context so easily. We see ourselves in this family. We relate to their flaws, joys, and fears. Watching this film gives us the opportunity to reflect on our own lives; it is a gift."

Source
  
An Artist of the Floating World
An Artist of the Floating World
Kazuo Ishiguro | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Set in post-Second World War Japan, this is a masterfully written novel by the British-Japanese author about ageing, solitude, art, memory and the endless tricks it plays on our minds… Ishiguro is the kind of writer who each time asks the reader to trust him, come along for a walk in an unknown territory, and if need be, change perspective. But he does all this with an unwavering modesty and quiet intelligence that only further contributes to his literary strength."

Source
  
Reaping Wind: A Montague and Strong Detective Novel
Reaping Wind: A Montague and Strong Detective Novel
Orlando A. Sanchez | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Book number 9 (already) in the Montague and Strong series, that sees the titular immortal detective Simon Strong and his Mage partner-in-crime Tristran Montague (and Peaches the hellhound) travelling to Japan to track down the leader of New York's Dark Council (and Simon's on-again off-again) vampire girlfriend Michiko, while she is also being stalked (is that the right word?) by a fanatical group of vampire hunters the Blood Hunters.

And, for once, they manage to leave the surroundings (mostly) intact!
  
40x40

Hideo Kojima recommended High and Low (1963) in Movies (curated)

 
High and Low (1963)
High and Low (1963)
1963 | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

"Stanley Kubrick, Hitchcock, Kurosawa: My father always showed me these directors’ movies, whether I liked it or not. I’m selecting Kurosawa’s High and Low because it’s a little different. It’s based on a story by Ed McBain, and it’s about a kidnapping. During those times in Japan, if you kidnapped someone, you weren’t penalized too much. To have a harsher sentence, other charges, like drugs, were needed. But because of High and Low, the law in Japan changed. The movie had made a positive impact in society. That’s my kind of wish when I create a game. I think entertainment has that power to change society. You don’t have to be a politician or run for a cause to create change. High and Low was, in that sense, really impactful. Entertainment isn’t really just entertainment. It leaves something in people’s hearts and that person might be moved to create something. It’s a push for that person the next day, and I think entertainment should be similar, including games. When you experience something, and then come back to the real world, I want people to feel a little influence in their world."

Source