Fantastic catalog of HONDA portable gas generator

Last year, HONDA which is a famous car company released a portable gas generator “Enepo” which can produce electricity by a gas cylinder of outdoor camp stoves.

You can find Enepo's catalog in Honda's official web page. It's actually fantastic since its appearance is like that of a fashion magazine giving one the impression that it is convenient and portable. Included in this catalog are phrases like: "You can bake bread outside” “You can use a hair iron downtown” “You can drink a cup of fresh coffee outside with a coffee maker”

The bottom-left sentence says
"Enepo makes your picnic fun"

There are indexes like a fashion magazine on the bottom picture. Future: It becomes Paris wherever I walk♪Extravagant picnic with Enepo. Enepo’s multi-coordination. Why your wish is realized? Tell me the secret of Enepo.

 Enepo is at her feet. It could even look like a carrier bag. But don’t forget Enepo has about 20kg.

The bottom-left phrase says "The welcoming drink is orange juice♪ Birds, butterflies, flowers, glasses, sky, the sun, and everything else is in celebration because of me" I don't even know what the welcoming drink is.

 You can keep your fresh bread hot outdoors through the use of Enepo. You can use Enepo with 2 gas cylinders at convenience stores.

Enpo is not only useful for cooking but also for fashion. “I have always been dedicated to fashion but strong winds ruin my hairstyle. Can't I walk downtown under strong winds? Don’t worry. I have Enepo. Look, if I attach a hair iron, my hairstyle will be restored as perfect as before”

Perfection is the word for me. Even if my hair is a mess, my fashion style won't be.

If you connect a coffee maker to Enepo, you can have a fresh coffee. The top-right statement says “It is good to drink coffee anywhere and anytime, isn't it?　I can always have open-air cafes”　But how was she able to carry the coffee maker, water, and coffee beans?

Enepo can meet appliances with up to 900W of power consumption. The declared power is 900VA. The weight is 19.5 kg.　The fuel is 2 gas cylinders of outdoor camp stoves and they can keep generating for 2.2 hours. The sticker price is 104, 790 Yen (about $ 1,280US). You must not use it in closed-air places such as rooms, cars and warehouses because it emits high levels of carbon monoxide.

Enepo’s strength is that you can carry it conveniently, house it easily, and change the fuel without your hands dirty.

There are some weired things on the catalog, but enepo itself is useful. You can access to the official catalog from here.

Honda/enepo

http://www.honda.co.jp/power-catalog/enepo-book/index.html

Please purchase local specialty products in order to support Fukushima.

Akabeko (赤べこ, red cow) is a traditional
toy from the Aizu region of Fukushima. 

Recently, Fukushima prefecture in Japan has become well-known, now dubbed as the tragic city because of the nuclear power plant’s accident which has still been going on since the 11^th of March. Long before the nuclear power plant accident, Fukushima is already famous for the abundant variety of food products like fruits which are typified by peaches, cherries, pears, and strawberries. And it also has some brand-name rice like Koshihikari and marine products such as bonitos. Also, in case that you are an alcohol-enthusiast, you probably won't miss the many kinds of Sake available there.

If you want to help Fukushima prefecture and the people living there, donation must be the one of and the most efficient ways. Another way will be to purchase its local specialty products like the aforementioned examples.

The red area show the location of
Fukushima Prefecture

However, visiting Fukushima prefecture which is about 250km north away from Tokyo may not be easy because of the distance and concerns of radioactive elements. So, I want to introduce JA Zennou Fukushima(JA全農福島) where you can buy them online.

Unfortunately, this site is written only in Japanese. And probably it won’t ship internationally. However, if you are in Tokyo or nearby, visiting Fukushima Yaesu Tourism and Exchange Center(福島県八重洲観光交流館 address:2-6-21 Yaesu Thuo-ku Tokyo) located near Tokyo station will be an alternative way.

I actually went to Fukushima Yaesu Tourism and Exchange Center. To my surprise, the store was full of customers and there was a line outside of it when I got there on Saturday. I guess there are many people who want to support Fukushima as well as me. 

I bought them. Everything was yummy!

It is certainly a must-visit place and you will not be disappointed. So what are you waiting for? Schedule a visit now and invite more people to do the same.

Thanks, but it’s too much. A ranking of annoying etiquettes

Source:Goo Ranking   

Do you follow some etiquettes pertaining to women, like opening a door for ladies? It can be sometimes annoying for Japanese ladies who are not familiar with it. We asked through internet polling about what the annoying rules of etiquette are.

The first place is, “Putting down a handkerchief on a puddle in order to protect a ladies’ cloths from dirt.” It’s like a story of a shojo manga(Japanese comic books for ladies). If you really did that, all Japanese ladies would escape from you. The second place is, “Blowing on ladies’ hot food to cool it down”  Your kind will think that ladies don’t want to get burned. However, if you try that to a Japanese lady’s hot food, you would also blow off her feelings toward you.

Rules of etiquette come from the United States and Europe. Not a small number of Japanese women may be happy when they experience it while traveling. However, since it's not well-established in Japan they get confused instead. But if you show   appropriate etiquettes to ladies, they will probably appreciate your actions. If you will examine the ranking, you might have second thoughts before you follow the etiquettes.

1.      Putting down a handkerchief on a puddle in order to protect ladies’ cloths from dirt

2.      Blowing on ladies’ hot food to cool it down

3.      Giving ladies a piggyback ride when she's tired of walking..

4.      Lifting up ladies to go over bumps.

5.      Doing ladies’ shoelace.

6.      Carrying ladies’ bag which has their important stuff.

7.      Putting down a handkerchief on a bench when ladies sit down.

8.      Holding ladies in your arms when they get injured.

9.      Ordering all sort of food in a restaurant.

10.  Watching ladies until they disappear from your sight at her leave.

11.  Drafting a chair when ladies sit down in a restaurant.

12.  Lending your jacket when it’s cold.

13.  Gibing ladies a hand when they go down stairs.

14.  Putting on a jacket on a lady

15.  Presenting to eat the food that ladies don't like, instead of them.

16.  Sharing food with ladies when we have big portions of the food.

17.  Locating an empty seat on a train and giving it to ladies.

18.  Opening a car’s door for ladies.

19.  Letting ladies go ahead at elevators or stairs.

The original Japanese site has the ranking until 30^th but I’m tired of translating. Japanese addresses these rules of etiquettes as “Lady First”. Some of the Japanese think that these are the manners how to deal with ladies and they come from the North America and Europe.

“Welcome back, Hachi.” Reunion of a pet dog after 11 days.

Source:Iwate Nippou

Hideko and Hachi celebrated the
reunion after getting over the
tsunami.

On the 22nd of March, a Shiba Inu who was taken care of by an animal hospital when it was still weak in Miyako city, Iware prefecture, was taken back to the owner. It was engulfed by a tsunami which happened on the 11th of March, but somehow it managed to survive. Then, after 11 days, the dog got reunited with its owner and the reunion brought so much happiness to the family's owner whose house was washed away.

The Shiba Inu, Hachi, is owned by Naoshi Iwata, a local official of Kuwagasakishimomachi, Miyako city.

Desperately, Hideko tried to pull Hachi and escaped, but they were swamped by the tsunami. Hideko managed to hold a nearby wire mesh and got out of trouble, but Hachi’s collar came off and he was swamped.

After that, Iwata’s family looked for Hachi, but they couldn’t find him. However, On the 22^nd, they knew that he was receiving care in an animal hospital and they brought him back.

Iwata said, “He often becomes ill recently. Therefore I almost gave him up.” “I’m relieved he was able to hang on.”

Hideko was the happiest among the family for this reunion. She lived in a new rented house through her relative but her sorrow grew when she was alone and she remembered him.

Hideko said, “It is the greatest happiness.” “Even if I lost all of my money because of the tsunami, Hachi would make me energetic.” She strongly held her pet dog.

One in four people are Dekichatta kekkon. Dekichatta kekkon’s ranking by prefecture in Japan.

Source:NicoNicoNews

One out of four people in Japan are in a Dekichatta kekkon (a marriage necessitated by an unplanned pregnancy). The data was gathered by prefecture. According to the statistics regarding birth released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2010, the national average on the percentage of Dekichatta kekkon is 25.3%.

When we look at the nationwide level, the figure is high in Tohoku and Kyusyu region but low in Kanto and Kinki region. The Dekichatta kekkon’s ranking by prefecture is shown below.

< Dekichatta kekkon’s ranking by prefecture >

1.  Okinawa-----38.2%

2.  Saga--------33.3%

3.  Aomori------32.4%

4.  Kumamoto---32.0%

5.  Fukushima---31.2%

6.  Nagasaki----30.5%

7.  Akita-------30.1%

8.  Miyazaki----29.6%

9.  Yamagata----29.2%

9.  Iwate-------29.2%

11. Ibaraki-----29.0%

12. Kochi-------28.2%

12. Fukuoka-----28.2%

15. Ooita-------28.1%

16. Miyagi------27.8%

17. Tottori-----27.4%

18. Shimane-----27.2%

18. Yamanashi---27.2%

20. Fukui-------26.9%

21. Gunma-------26.6%

22. Niigata-----26.5%

23. Ehime-------26.3%

24. Hokkaido----26.0%

24. Wakayama----26.0%

26. Ishikawa----25.8%

27. Tochigi-----25.6%

28. Tokushima---25.4%

28. Mie---------25.4%

31. Nagano------25.1%

32. Shizuoka----25.0%

33. Yamaguchi---24.6%

34. Osaka-------24.3%

35. Tokyo-------24.2%

36. Gifu--------24.1%

37. Saitama-----24.0%

38. Chiba-------23.9%

39. Hiroshima---23.5%

40. Toyama------23.4%

41. Kyoto-------23.1%

42. Nara--------23.0%

42. Kagawa------23.0%

44. Hyogo-------22.9%

45. Kanagawa----22.7%

46. Aichi-------22.2%

47. Shiga-------21.6%

Is it true that more than one third of Okinawan people are in aDekichatta kekkon? There is a 16% gap from Shiga, the lowest in rank.

We can think that this is ranked by prefectures that don’t care about public images. Does that mean that those prefectures’ environment, which are over 30% such as Okinawa, Saga, Aomori, Kumamoto, Fukushima and Nagasaki, are natural behavior,  little interruption from parents, and free love?

Well, we also can suppose that this is ranked by prefectures that are responsible because they get married after discovering the pregnancy. We can treat it's various interpretations.

What do you feel about this ranking that Tohoku and Kyusyu areas are high, but Kanto and Kinki areas are low?

Old lady’s pet dog saved her life.

Source:Yomiuri Online

Akanuma lives with her pet dog who 

saved her life in an evacuation area. 

Taken by Tetsuya Kikumasa.

There is a lady who was saved by her pet dog in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, which was damaged by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that happened on 11th of March.

Her pet dog seemed upset then jerked the lady to a higher place which led to an evacuation area for 30 minutes before the tsunami attacked. 

Her name is Tami Akanuma. She lived at about 200 meters away from the coast. She was hit by the earthquake when she was relaxing in the living room with her dog, Babu, a female Shih-tzu. When the fluorescent light turned off, Babu bustled running around and wagging her tail strongly with her nose whimpering.

The community wireless system went on a big tsunami alarm while AKanuma was attaching a leash to her dog, though, she thought it was not yet time to go walking for her dog.

When Akanuma opened the front door, Babu flew out and headed for a hill which is an opposite direction of their usual walking way.

When Akanuma slowed down, Babu turned around and gestured as if she was urging her to walk faster. When Akanuma caught up with Babu, she vigorously moved forward. As they repeated that, they climbed up to a steep slope without stopping until reaching the evacuation area which is 1 km away from their house.

When she looked back, the way she had been walking through was swallowed by the tsunami and her house was also washed away. She wondered that Babu might have felt the tsunami would come, in light of Babu's unusual behavior that Babu usually hated walking.

Babu is living with Akanuma and 60 other residents in a neighboring public hall. On 23rd, when Babu tuned 12 years old, Babu got her favorite pink cloth washed and looked happy.