Japanese Song of the Week Kata Omoi Finally by SKE48

This week's Japanese Song of the Week is Kata Omoi Finally by SKE48, which has debuted at number 1 on the Japanese J-Pop Oricon charts. SKE48 are an all-female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. They debuted in October 2008 and perform in the newly built studio at Sunshine Sakae in Nagoya every Saturday. This is the groups 7th single. The song is very upbeat and happy and this is a live version of the song.

Setsubun

Image by siren7

Today, February 3rd is Setsubun no hi (節分の日) which marks the start of the spring season risshun(立春) in Japan. The word Setsubun literally means a division of the seasons. Setsubun no hi is not an official national holiday, but it is celebrated in ways meant to drive away evil spirits and bad luck and bring in good luck.

Fukuoka Japan

Fukuoka located on the island of Kyushu in Japan has been voted one of Frommers Top Travel Destinations for 2012.

Fukuoka is the biggest city in Kyushu and is about 880km west of Tokyo. Fukuoka is not as widely known on the International scene as some of Japan’s other big cities, but has transformed itself over the last decade into one of Japan’s most cosmopolitan and internationalised cities. Fukuoka has been placed in the spotlight recently as a model green city and all of this has taken place before the March disaster bought energy conserving measures throughout Japan.

McDonald's Japan Big America Burgers are Back in 2012

The McDonald’s Japan Big America Burgers have returned for 2012. If you loved the previous editions of the burger get ready for the set of four being released this year. The series has already started with the Grand Canyon Burger released at the end of December.

The Grand Canyon Burger offered a quarter-pound beef patty with “steak filling,” cooked egg, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, crispy onions, steak sauce (with soy and "smoked" flavors) and an extra middle bun.

The Las Vegas Burger has just made its debut and is topped with a spicy sauteed sliced beef, onion “salsa”, and drizzled with special cream cheese sauce.

Japanese Song of the Week MAMORE!!! by IDOLING!!!

This week’s Japanese Song of the Week is MAMORE!!! by IDOLING!!!, which has debuted at number 2 on the Japanese J-Pop Oricon charts.

IDOLING!!! (アイドリング) is a Japanese female idol group created by Fuji TV. The concept of the group was to watch the girls grow as idols and experience various things. They have a weekly variety show on TV and release albums, singles, DVD specials and perform live. They debuted in 2006, and have gone through many generation changes with the 5th generation of the group due in February 2012. This is the groups 17th single.

Melbourne Japanese Summer Festival 2012

The Melbourne Japanese Summer Festival is on at the Docklands on Saturday, February 11th from 4-8pm. Summer Festivals are popular annual events throughout Japan and now you have the chance to experience one here in Melbourne.

Admission to the festival is free and will showcase a number of performances including Dances, Taiko Drumming, Shamisen and Sumo. The festival will be packed with a wide range of stalls with traditional Japanese games, activities and food including Sushi, Okonomiyaki, Japanese Bento and Japanese Beer.

Japan Australia on Facebook

Japan Australia is now on Facebook. It has been a while in the making, but you can now follow me on Facebook by following this link http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Australia/314387065264301

I hope to see you all there and thank you for the continued support of Japan Australia.