DISQUS

If you are going to try this out, please make sure to get a Japanese iTunes gift card. I can't confirm that the US iTunes gift cards work for this method of buying Japanese content from the iTunes (Japan).

If you are wondering where you can buy a Japanese iTunes gift card, you can navigate over to the Japanese online Apple store (http://store.apple.com/jp) and purchase a card from there, OR visit one of my favorite sites, the JBox (http://www.jbox.com/SEARCH/itunes_card) which is basically the same way of getting the card, except the ordering process is in English.

Posted on the site, there are detailed instructions on how to get your Japanese content once you have ordered and received your Japanese iTMS gift card. Follow the directions on the JBox site and you should be able to get your Japanese goodies with ease.

PLEASE NOTE: The cards obviously come at a slight premium. A 1500¥ card, which is worth just under $13 in US currency costs $18 at the site. A 3000 card, worth closer to $25, costs $35. That means that individual tracks, which would normally cost between $1.25 and $1.30 based on the Yen/US dollar conversion rate, will set you back about $1.75 to $1.80. For the convenience and access to the foreign store, that's not too horrible a deal.

TIP: If you actually plan on buying actual content from the iTMS, you might want to check the US/Yen exchange rate before buying. I suggest buying content when the exchange rate for the US dollar is higher than average. With the way the US economy is right now, you want to get the most bang for your buck, so by checking the exchange rates before buying, you'll probably be able to get 1 or 2 more songs out of your gift card. IMO, a low exchange value would be 106¥ for $1, and something higher would be 110¥ to 112¥ for $1. Just something I thought you'd like to think about.

PS: Did the comment system change? Doesn't seem that the site is using the Disqus commenting system anymore.

I'm curious about the 'yankee' image. Does that just apply to any type of 'gangster' persona in Japan, or is that a completely different image on its own. When I think of yankee, I think of baggy school uniforms, bleached hair, the words 'コラ！' and 'テメラ！', purple clothing, and baseball bats. Wondering if you'd like to make an article or video about it, but then again, the subject might not be worth while.

@Koichiben

Pretty much the same like normal beer. I guess it was food coloring, although, I heard some pubs use apple schnapps to give it a unique flavor.

Ah, green beer leaves a stain on my tongue.

Actually, I think she said 怖い　instead of カワイイ。

Oh and lol at the greedy deer. どん欲！

@ Chi

Dont worry, I was just kidding. I only said that because I was comparing it to the examples Erin gave in the article. If you were offended, I apologize.

@ Erin:

I was out there between Dec. 15 - Jan. 8th. What sucked though was that I lost my hat while hiking Diamond Head. It was kinda windy and my hat blew off when I was taking a picture for these people. The hike turned out horrible anyways because I had a big breakfast over at Big City Diners (Bad idea before a hike).

(-_-) I received my first cold for the new year.

PS: How recent are those pictures from Diamond Head? I spent my xmas through the first week of the new year in Hawaii.

@ Kirby

It may be hard.. really hard, but in the end it will be every rewarding.

@ ^^^

It's because he has the panda hat...

@ Brett

Erin wrote this article... (-_-) Koichi FTW! hehe jk.

Another solution could be that you actually just learn the language so you can pretty much say anything you want without having to find it on the web.

@ Erin

"Irony: people posting links to translator sites in response to this article."
It's no use Erin, it's a lost cause. Just like the Terminators, there's no stopping the Online Translators.

As for romaji converters, I completely agree, even though I did use it for my kanji (shame). But even since Veit post that popjisyo site, I'll never have to return to romaji.

@Chi

This comment kind of sounds like it was put through an online translator.

がんばります！アス～！ (-_-)

@Kirby:

No reason to learn it? Even if you think you won't have a chance to use it in your lifetime, it's still something nice to learn just to have a sense of culture and knowledge of another country. I actually found a good use today when I went to the Museum of Contemporary Arts in little Tokyo (Los Angeles) to check out the artwork of 村上隆 (Murakami Takashi). He incorporated a couple hidden messages in his artwork, and I guess I felt a little special because when I found them, I was able to read and translate (still a little sketchy on the kanji though). Even one of the tour guides ask me a question about how to say something in Japanese (She was asking me how to say "Why" and how to read a certain caption on one of his works) but none the less, I felt a sense of usefulness. It may seem like nothing, but eh, it made my day go by easier.

If anyone wants to add me my URL is:
http://mixi.jp/show_profile.pl?id=16257863

PS: I think I spent almost 30 minutes deciding which area I was from for my profile. There wasn't an option for California, so I opted for Tokyo lol (Typical)

Thanks for the invite!

コイチさまコイチさま押し置く気分ゥ！ (<- not sure if I spelled it correctly)

^^^^Viet

Omg。。。 Thank you for listing that site. It makes things a lot easier and faster. Now I can enjoy reading my blogs without "alt-tabing" every couple lines. Very exciting! Haha yeah I know... I'm a nerd.

o(^^o)(o^^)o わくわく

@ kevinwhat

Kevin just basically summarized my entire passage in about 2-3 sentences.

舞鳥！

When I first started to learn Japanese, I tried to use online translators, but never got them to work as good as I wanted them to. I mainly used them to read the blogs from some of my favorite idols. Although I got the gist of what the blog was about, I was never satisfied with the translations. So I just gave up on them. Probably the only site I use often is this:

http://www.romaji.org/ (日本　－＞　ロマジ)

It really helps me read most of the kanji that I have yet to learn. I've even recognized a few from just using this site regularly (ex： 道、中、日、大、愛、山、田、子 etc.). I also use the occasional Japanese/English online dictionary, but yet to find one I like.

PS: I didn't notice until Tyler mentioned it, but as I was reading, I thought this was an article by Koichi. I guess I didn't notice because you usually do "other" kinds of articles like the "Super Short Style" or the "Nissen Cup of Noodles" articles. By the way, thank you for those fashion sites.

Well that's my rant for today.
スパムむすび FTW！

( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ ﾀﾀﾞｲﾏｧ
I just finally got done catching up on all the articles you posted from Christmas and the New Year. I've been on vacation for 3 weeks without a computer and I was going nuts not being able to get online. But anyways, I think you mentioned ミクシィ a while ago back on your older website, before you decided to make Tofugu. I took a look at the site before, but I didn't understand anything back then. It has been a couple months now from when I started learning Japanese seriously, and I think I feel comfortable enough to try out ミクシィ.

クリスでございます～！

Don't have something for the ear as well? Like some kind of earwax sucking contraption?

"ママ耳垢トッテ” <- Thats not the real name, but I'm sure I seen something like it on TV.

@ Kevinnwhat

You sure like to say the word "$#!t" haha anyways...

I envy the Japanese and their advanced mobile technology. Too bad we're not able to use their phones over here in America... 哀れ　(~_~;)

Cute look. Anything for the guys Erin?

When I did my search, it gave me Erromango.

I'm not sure on the English translation, but this island was 'formerly known a "Martyr's Island" by the Presbyterian missionaries in the 19th century, because of the alleged risk attached to missionary activity there'. (info. via Wiki) Yes, not the best source to attend to, but it's still early in the morning and I'm lazy ^_^.

I see the "HO" that the little sunshines make, but I was wondering if the formation of the clouds make some kind of kanji?

What school did you go to? I went to Waipahu High for a very short time before moving out to California. I never really noticed the cup-of-noodles as being a trend at school, but then again, I was the one always bringing spam and rice for lunch (>_<)… and sometimes the occasional spam musubi, but thats not much of a difference except for the added nori (うすい).

Anyways, I wish they did have something for online orders, but I guess that’s just one more thing to add to the list when I visit Japan.

PS: Looks like Erin is in the lead for the most obscure and interesting articles. Come on Koichi… were you at?