Shogi, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player strategy board game. Its earliest predecessor of the game, chaturanga, originated in India in the 6th century was brought to Japan where it spawned a number of variants. Two players, Sente (Black; more literally, person with the first move) and Gote (White; person with the second move), play on a board composed of rectangles in a grid of 9 ranks (rows) by 9 files (columns). The rectangles are undifferenti
Takoyaki, the Japanese, fun-sized snack that's sure to rock your world! たこ焼き (takoyaki) literally translates to octopus (tako) and fried (yaki). Takoyaki are small balls of flour batter cooked in specialized takoyaki pans. In each ball, there are pre-cooked octopus bits. Takoyaki is usually eaten with takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, green seaweed bits, and dried bonito shavings. Most takoyaki contain ingredients besides octopus, such as green onions, pickled red ginger, and tempura scraps. The t
For products, scroll down to the bottom ↓ It’s about time we dedicate an article to the hugely popular hobby of GUNPLA ( ガンプラ Ganpura) , which has been around for decades with a devoted and growing fan community in its homeland as well as abroad. Gunpla is the abbreviation (oh how Japanese like to abbreviate things!) of the words GUNDAM + PLASTIC MODEL and the products are manufactured by the renowned Japanese toy compa
As you already know, Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation film studio based in Koganei, Tokyo (Japan), and founded on June 15, 1985. "Spirited Away" (2001) was their highest success, grossing over US$290 million worldwide and also winning a Golden Bear in 2002 and an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2003. Many of their works have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award, and four have won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. Five of Studio Ghibli's films r