Japanese New Year

Shogatsu - January 1st to 3rd are called shougatsu - Japanese New Year's holidays.

Kagamimochi - New Year's Decoration Rice Cakes

Nengajo - New Year cards

Gantan - January 1st is called gantan

Shinnen - New Year

Japanese people eat special dishes called osechi ryouri during shogatsu. Each dish has a particular meaning. For example, prawns for long life, kuromame (sweet black beans) for health, kazunoko (herring roe) for fertility, tazukuri (teriyaki taste small sardines) for a good harvest, kurikinton (sweet chestnuts and mashed sweet potato) for happiness, and so on. It is traditional for Japanese people to visit to a shrine or a temple during New Year's holidays.

As a Japanese custom of exchanging new year cards, first you have to greet them, then add words of thanks and requests for continued favor or wishes for health.

Greeting Phrases:

Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu ( 明けましておめでとうございます｡ )
Shinnen omedetou gozaimasu. ( 新年おめでとうございます｡ )
Kinga Shinnen ( 謹賀新年 )
Kyouga Shinnen ( 恭賀新年)
Gashou ( 賀正)
Geishun ( 迎春)
Tsutsushinde shinnen no oyorokobi o moushiagemasu.( 謹んで新年のお喜びを申し上げます｡)

Word of Thanks:

-> Sakunen wa taihen osewa ni nariarigatou gozaimashita.

( 昨年は大変お世話になりありがとうございました｡)

Thank you for all your kind help during the past year.

-> Honnen mo douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

(本年もどうぞよろしくお願いします｡)

I hope for your continued favor this year.

-> Minasama no gokenkou o oinori moushiagemasu.

(皆様のご健康をお祈り申し上げます｡)

Wishing everyone good health.

When dating the card, the word "gantan （元旦）" is used instead of the date that card was written. "Gantan" means the morning of January 1st, therefore it is not necessary to write "ichi-gatsu gantan". As for the year, the Japanese era name is often used. The year 2008 will be "Heisei nijuu-nen （平成20年）, the 20 year of the era Heisei. Although nengajo are often written vertically, it is acceptable to write them horizontally.

When sending New Year's cards from overseas, the word "nenga （年賀）" should be written in red at the front (side with stamp and address). This way post office holds it and delivers it on January 1st.

Source:

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japaneseholidays/a/newyearday.htm

http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa120900a.htm

Sky City 1000

Tokyo population reaches record 12.56 million. Sky City 1000 is a possible future urban project aimed at helping put an end to major congestion and lack of greenspace in the Tokyo, Japan ward area.

The proposal consists of a building 1000 metres (3280.8 feet) tall and 400 metres (1312 feet) wide at the base, and a total floor area of 8 km² (3.1 miles² or 1976.8 acres). The design, proposed in 1989, provides for 35,000 full-time residents and 100,000 workers. Apparently, the project is taken very seriously and fire simulation tests had been conducted to see what the danger would be if a fire were to break out in one of the buildings. Also, triple decker high speed elevators which would be used in the building and would contain up to 70 people are being designed in experimental labs outside Tokyo.

Check out: http://www.takenaka.co.jp/takenaka_e/superhigh/2skycity/skycity.htm

Japan’s Major Power Generation Sources

(Picture: Nuclear power plant, Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. Ohi Power Station)

Nuclear Power is indispensable for Japan. Japan’s first commercial nuclear power plant began operation in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1966. As of January 2006, Japan had fifty-three reactors operating around the country, usually accounting for around one-third of the country’s total electric power output. Nuclear power makes a great contribution to energy security for resource-poor Japan by producing the energy-equivalent of approximately 465 million barrels of oil per year, which corresponds to about 30 percent of total annual crude oil imports.

Hydroelectric power is one of the few sourcesof self-sufficient energy in resource-poor Japan. Hydroelectric power is an excellent source in terms of stable supply and generation costs over the long term.

Thermal Power initially, coal was the dominant fuel for thermal power generation in Japan, but it later lost that place to oil. Today, a diverse range of fuels including coal, oil, and LNG are used for the important generating role that thermal power plants play.

Japan Water Resources

Japan's water resources are characteristically plentiful mainly during the tsuyu, typhoon, and spring thaw seasons.Although annual precipitation far exceeds the world average, this does not mean abundance of water resources. Due to Japan's dense population the per capita precipitation in Japan is only about one-sixth of the world average. Furthermore, since the rivers have small basins and steep channels, rivers flow erratically and relatively little of their water is actually available for use.Compared with cities in other countries, Japan's major cities store surprisingly little water reserves, and every year there are water shortage problems somewhere in the country.The annual volume of water for municipal and agricultural use taken from rivers is estimate at about 78.21 billion cubic meters, and that from groundwater about 13.15 billion cubic meters. It is apparent from these figures that river water is the important water resource in Japan and that its efficient use is essential.

For more details check: http://www.mlit.go.jp/river/english/land.html

Traditional GO Game

GO is a strategic, two-player board game originating in ancient China between 2000 BC and 200 BC. which was later adopted and promoted by the Japanese. The game is now popular throughout East Asia. The English name go originated from the Japanese character 碁 (go). The Chinese name (圍棋) roughly translates to the "Board Game of Surrounding (Territory)". Two players compete in acquiring territory by placing markers on a smooth wooden board with a simple grid drawn on it, usually 19 by 19 lines. Each player seeks to enclose territory with his markers (called "s-tones"), much like partitioning a field with sections of fencing. Further, each player may capture his opponent's markers. The object of the game is to enclose the most territory, a simple goal the leads to the elegant and fascinating complexities of go.

DOWNLOAD: Enjoy this GO game with this free 9 x 9 lines software http://www.smart-games.com/igowin.exe (Igowin software) . This small download comes complete tutorial and game rules.