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Western Influence
As an artist, I tend to use a lot of reference material for my drawings. Most of the time this entails taking pictures of myself in the bathroom mirror. But every once in a while, I have to draw something unfamiliar like the chairs in the first-class section of a commercial airline or in this case a schoolgirl uniform. In such cases, I rely on a Google search to find what I need. Now, for those of you who've never searched the internet for "japanese schoolgirl uniform," let me just say that the results were somewhat different than I had expected. In fact, the girls I found seemed to be wearing very little of their uniforms. I also tried hanging around Chikusa Station with a sketch book to catch students on their way to cram school, which despite my intentions, made me feel really creepy. So to make a long story short, what you see here is an amalgamation of uncomfortable street sketches, online cosplay store pics, and some fat chick I found on Myspace.
Photos
As we wander around the country we will offer you various photographs to tantalize and dazzle your senses. Like the bedazzler, only directly on your eyes. Imagine that, huge studs thrust into your eyes making the world sparkle.
How to use a Japanese toilet.
A short flash presentation on how to use a Japanese toilet. You probably should have guessed that from the title, but there is no accounting for some people.
Drink I Drank
This is the section where I review some of the many drinks that appear in Japan. There is a whole bunch of them and often they come and go in a seasonal manner, so even I don't know what I will be drinking next.
Welcome to HikanNinja.
Welcome to HikanNinja.com. That pretty much sums up the message for this first post. I am Peter, I run the backend of this site, the other guy is Eric, he does doodlies. We both live in the same general vicinity of Japan, around Nagoya. Not a lot of people come to Nagoya specifically, most people have only vaguely heard of it at all.
How to eat sushi
We didn't make this, we can't take any credit for it, but I couldn't pass it up since ifilm puts up the code for blogs. It is perfect for our How To... section. Please note that what is being said in the subtitles is a direct translation of what is being said on the audio track.
(via hwans links)
Seijin no Hi
On Seijin-no-hi, Coming-of-Age Day, 20 year-olds across Japan attend ceremonies held to celebrate their passage into adulthood. Traditionally held on January 15th, Seijin-no-hi is officially celebrated on the second Monday of the year, as a result of the government's "Happy Monday" initiative to give it's overworked labor force more three day weekends. Women attend the ceremony in kiminos, while men typically sport a suit and tie. These pictures were taken at Kanayama Station of 20 year-olds on their way to post-ceremony get-togethers (aka drinking parties).
Disappoinments
Just for the record, the woman depicted in this comic was not modelled after my girlfriend. She hardly ever wears skirts.
How to interpret Japanese manga
Japanese manga is world renowned. It's depraved, violent, contains graphic images of mutilation and acts of a sexual nature. So it is only natural that we would want you to become more familiar with the more subtle aspects of the genre. Some of the signs are universal, some are very Japanese. Lets take a closer look.
Fashion Research: Winter
Eric hits the streets of N-Town to annoy the local populace that dresses way better than Peter ever will. Then sends in pictures so that Peter can remember what the outside world looks like.
Morning Musume makes me wet
It is a difficult statement to make because what I am talking about is a pop band that is generally marketed to young teen girls. What gets me isn’t even the fact that there are about 15 main members who are all young, firm blossoming young taut Japanese girls.
Drink I drank Kids beer
There’s been a lot of stuff around the internet about Kids Beer, the beer for kids, because even kids need a drink. It seems ludicrous, but I just found another version of kids beer, which means now there are two. It looks like beer and there is something just as insidious about it even though there is no alcohol.
Fashion Research, Gothic Lolita Complex
Lurking around Sakae Station's vast underground shopping complex, we happened upon this amiable gang of gothic lolitas (and their one strictly goth friend). The kanji characters they gave us during the interview are somewhat unusual for use in names, so we've included them here. Note to guys: when checking out the visual kei rock stars who were sited by these ladies as influences, please look very closely before deciding to touch anything. Actually, it's probably a good idea not to touch yourself at any point while on Hikan Ninja. Peter has this tendency to Photoshop his head onto the bodies of supple semi-nude women and post them at random. How he's engaged to be married is beyond my comprehension.
The Naked Man Festival
Intrepid Simon Beaman braves the cold to see naked men for HikanNinja. That is dedication, that is a little disturbing and by all acocunts he enjoyed himself a little too much as every story he told around the office began with the words 'While I was in the toilet...'
Cosplay made simple
Cosplay, you know nothing about. You won't learn much in this article, but still, it's worth reading. That and it has pictures.
You like pictures, don't you?
Yes you do...
Hygiene
The other day, I caught someone picking his nose on the subway and felt embarrassed. I tried to avoid looking directly at him, while he indiscreetly dug something out of his nose, examined it for a moment, balled it up, and flicked it away, then began the same routine on the other nostril. This was not the first time I'd seen blatant nose-picking in a public place. But this time I couldn't help but ask myself, why am I ashamed to see someone picking his nose, when the other person obviously isn't?
Fashion Research: Osu
Go shopping in Sakae and you may get the impression that everyone in Nagoya dresses like a mannequin at Mitsukoshi department store. Once you've seen enough Louis Vuitton bags and Chanel accessories to last you a lifetime, head a few blocks south to the Osu Shopping Arcade for the opposite extreme.
Viral Marketing
Japan has some famous marketing, mainly because of saturation campaigns that they often employ. Pretty much everything that exists in Japan exists in some Hello Kitty form.
Recently Final Fantasy XII came out.
Okazaki Castle
While they may not be as beautiful as plumb blossoms, having a website about Japan without pictures of cherry blossoms in the spring would be like having a KFC without mashed potatoes and gravy -- practically unfathomable.
The Kano Sisters
Do you like boobs? Big raunchy fake boobs? How about when they are attached to really inorganic looking women? One woman who is even rumored to have once been a man who then had a sex change and still hangs with what was his girlfriend who now claims to be his/her sister?
The thing I ate
Melonpan is all over Japan. It is good stuff, but then there is the day you stare hypnotized in the store.
It's the color you seem the color that haunted your dreams that time your uncle stared at you while you were sleeping.
You see what pain is if pain had a physical form that was sweet and breadlike.
Mullets & Fishnet Stockings
Last Sunday, I decided to introduce a new friend and newcomer to Nagoya to the pleasures of Osu Shopping Arcade. As we were heading south from Sakae on Otsu-dori, we stumbled across a crowd of punks and band under the highway overpass.
For your good health
My roommate found a business card in our box from JJ Ozone, a nearby "health club," with a handwritten message on the back which he claims to know nothing about.
NHK Fees
When I first came to Japan there was a little man who came to my door. When he saw me his face sunk a little, he obviously was not happy with his lot in life. He asked me, in Japanese, if I had a television. I didn’t understand what he was saying. I though he either wanted to sell me a television or wanted to come in and watch mine.
Fashion Research: Hot Fun Summertime
Since it's been raining for 3 days straight here in Nagoya Eric went out to brighten all our lives with more pictures of girls.
There is a reason I love that guy.
Homo Sausage - As Delicious as it Sounds?
Homo Sausage. If those words have you salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs, then perhaps it's time for you to pay a visit to the local convenience store. That's where I first spotted Homo Sausage - its long package hanging there next to the beef jerky.
World Cosplay Summit
Eric and I head out with our intrepid group of fashion photographers to capture the magic that is the world cosplay championships. People who dress like anime characters from around the world spent all their allowance to get to Nagoya Japan to prove one thing...
Fashion Research: Hot Fun Summertime II
In July and August, Nagoya's weather is no different from my home state of Florida's; it's hot, absurdly humid, and occasionally there are typhoons or hurricanes. I have a few rules which have enabled me to survive in climates such as these. The most important of which is don't walk around in the scorching heat wearing layers of thick black clothing.
Sex Museum
You know how when you go to sex museums they never seem to have smoker friendly theaters with ancient Japanese pornography or private rooms for beating off or live horses being forced to screw each other for the amusement of a small audience.
Hikan Ninja Japanese Lesson 1
Start with the basics. In this lesson we cover some basic vocabulary and give you a useful Japanese structure that you will find yourself employing in conversations every day.
You too can master the language of Japanese, simply practice the set vocabulary and when you are comfortable move on to the whole sentence.
Audio provided by a real life Japanese person.
Fashion Research: Hot Fun Summertime III
We're half way through September which mean that for Japanese people summer is officially over and summer fashion along with it. Now it's all about short-sleeved turtleneck sweaters, skirts, and knee-high boots. As a Westerner though, I have no concept of season and am more than happy to enjoy these pictures of now out of season fashion. I hope you will too.
Heat II
The experience of watching men brutally beat each other pales in comparison to the spectacle of watching men brutally beat each other live. The whole experience is just more...visceral. Eric takes great pictures while I just try to figure out where the ring girls go after each bout.
Ninja Village
Ninja's come from Japan. Well, the Japanese one's do, anyway. And in Japan the ninja's come from Iga. Iga is a small town where hack and slash is what is served for breakfast.
Shooters Halloween Party
In the hopes of capitalizing on our subconscious desires to dress up like school girls and prostitutes (I wonder what Freud would say?), nearly every gaijin bar and club in town had something going on this weekend for Halloween. Shooters, in fact, had mutiple events going each day, including one for kids that featured a magic performance by my roommate Nagoya Joe. I, however, opted for the all-you-could-drink party on Sunday night instead. And although there was no magic, it did have live music from The Fats and Yumi.
Bits and Pieces
These are sort of the leftovers from the summer articles, Eric has an addition to Hot Summertime Fun and I have two pieces that weren’t long enough to be article by themselves, but were sort of too long to be blog entries.
My visit to the Japanese hospital Part I
This was going to be a nice travel article about Gero, one of the most popular hotspring resorts in Japan, and perhaps a side excursion to Takayama, the Kyoto outside of Kyoto, or Kyoto Lite. Instead a virus hunkered down in my body and I went on my first Japanese medical adventure.
My visit to the Japanese hospital Part II
I figure if nothing else you'll come back for the pictures.
We headed to Gero and the trip almost killed me. The wicked medicine the doctor gave me that gave me a fever really was working and I had a kick ass fever. The drugs to give me a headache gave me an awesome headache. I could hardly look at anything in the light.
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