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Views from Futako-Tamagawa hanabi
Today, I had the chance to attend the much-anticipated Tamagawa Hanabi, a spectacular fireworks event. But first, do you know what “hanabi” means? The term combines the Japanese words for “flower” (花) and “fire” (火), perfectly capturing the fleeting beauty of fireworks displays. Hanabi festivals are a quintessential part of Japanese summer, with events taking…
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Haedong Yonggung Temple (해동 용궁사 or 海東龍宮寺)
[Full size] A sign at the entrance describes it as “the most beautiful temple in Korea.” While Korean Buddhism is deeply rooted in mountain worship, this “temple of the Dragon of the East Sea” demonstrates that coastal landscapes can evoke a spiritual experience just as profound. Further proof: More content searchable with the tag #instead of…
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I love acoustic female vocals
[Featured: Artwork by Rutger van de Steeg] In my mind, nothing can’t emotionally move me more than female vocals. Most of the cases, the lyrics don’t even have to be meaningful, even mediocre is acceptable. The warmth and fragility of a female steady voice is unparalleled. Who I listen to now: Sasha Sloan – The Only…
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Cicadas
Most languages in the world contain specific words to describe animal cries, deriving from the actual sounds, but in a more abstract form. Those words are called ‘onomatopoeia’, which in greek means ‘to make name’. You can recognize onomatopoetic words from their repetitive patterns. Japanese language especially contains a large number of onomatopoetic words, to…
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Googling in Japanese + Face sheets
ΟΚ, so I was trying to find out something about the best invention !ever! – the “ice” face sheets, and typed only half of the query, namely “ice face”. AND THIS HAPPENED! Scaaaary! Cringe! Take it out of my sight! Here is the same phrase in English for comparison. Something went terribly wrong in Japan.…
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A day in Tokyo Big Sight (w. Gallery)
Summer offers many chances for visiting exhibitions. Today I visited the ‘International modern hospital show 2018’, which as expected was international in terms of companies but not so international in terms of visitors and languages spoken. It was my first time to visit Tokyo Big Sight and I was taken aback by the infinite area…
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