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leetNEET Readers!

Who among you is itching to break free and cut loose, but can’t do so because the nearest convention is weeks away!? Fear not – for I have brought the solution!

Descending from the haven of rock heaven in 2003, led by Amaterasu herself, the US has been graced with a musical showcase that has rocked hard and rocked its patrons even HARDER!

What the hell am I talking about, you ask? I’m talking about the annual rising sun band showcase – JAPAN NITE!

Every year, an eclectic selection of Japanese bands and artists gather for a short but epic concert tour across the good old US-of-A. Awesomely exploding onto the stage at the SXSW music conference in Austin, TX – Japan Nite will once again bring to you solid walls of sound!

Earlier this year in October, Japan's Tourism Ministry created a plan to boost its revenue, which included giving away 10,000 free flight tickets to Japan. This plan was to recover losses due to the Big Tokyo Earthquake earlier in the March of the same year. A whole plan was devised: the applicants were to write an essay as to why they want to go to Japan on an Internet application and 10,000 lucky people were selected out of the pool. Those people would technically be their advertisement as they would spread their experiences of Japan onto the Internet. All was good... until the plan was cancelled.

Taken from The Wall Street Journal: "The Tokyo-based Japan Tourism Agency didn’t sugar-coat the decision in a statement on its website late Dec. 26: 'The project titled ‘Fly to Japan!’ (to offer flight tickets to 10,000 foreigners with high potential to communicate Japan’s attractions), which had been covered in a number of media in autumn this year, was not approved as a governmental draft budget of FY 2012.'" What would this mean, besides the fact that there are no more free flights to Japan? Well, the money Japan received from various other world powers is for the repairing of their destroyed cities and economy, instead of giving free flight tickets to foreigners (who may not actually even benefit their tourism industry). Well, it'd be a slap in the face to those people who wanted those free plane tickets to Japan. It's not free, guys.

Source: [The WSJ]

A recent report on the Japanese “otaku marketplace” from the Yano Research Institute has conducted a survey in Japan if a person considers their self an otaku. Out of 10, 102 people who answered to Yano’s survey, 25.5% said they considered themselves otaku or have been called otaku. This is an increase of 5.1% from last year. The most notable area that has seen increase in the market is online gaming, making 299.4 billion yen in 2010. Dating simulation games has rose to 11.1 billion yen through efforts on appealing to female audiences. Electronic comics' profits increased to 54 billion yen by the increase of content, more tablet/smartphone usage, and lower costs. The maid and general cosplay market profits grew as well, increasing to 6.3 billion yen.

You can find more information on how much each category of the otaku marketplace rose from here.

Author’s Note: The term “otaku” is quite subjective these days, so I would like to say that this is increase of more “light otaku” (casual fans) and not so much as hardcore fans.

Sources: [Anime News Network, Yano Research Institute]

Good day to all the leetNEET readers of the site. Today I shall be posting a different type of article from the stuff leetNEET usually publishes. I have been recently reading a blog called “Loco In Yokohama” and have been enjoying the posts he has been making. Loco recently made a post called “Accepting Submissions for Hot Fun in the Summertime 2011” in which, he asked for people to offer some recommendations for summer activities in Japan. My first submission was bland and downright terrible. I felt terrible for giving Loco such low quality work, so I have decided to make a second submission, which you are reading right now. Now enough with the intro and onto the submission!

A Day of Fun at Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura

Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura or “Edo Wonderland” as Danny Choo calls it is a place where one can experience the culture of city life in Edo period of Japan. Throughout the theme park, there are many things that will interest people. One of the points of interest is a few of the activities booths. Some have a pretty unique feel to them, capturing some of the essence from the Edo period.

Some of activities at Edo Wonderland

Those activities are not the only thing in Edo Wonderland though, as one can experience the historic representation of being in Edo by the scenery and architecture of the buildings. People will be able to immerse themselves further into the Edo period by looking at dioramas of geishas, samurais, doctors, and regular people living in their homes.

A diorama and some scenery at Edo Wonderland

If you want to fully submerge yourself into your historical experience of Edo, you can even change into traditional clothing and travel around the park for the day in it. Fans of ninjas will be glad to hear that there is a place within Edo Wonderland where you can learn some facts about ninjas and the tools they used.

Ninja Information at Edo Wonderland

Street performances and cultural theaters are also provided for your entertainment. If you’re ever feeling hungry, they provide a couple restaurants featuring food that would be commonly enjoyed in the Edo period. The park also provides a store with packaged snacks if you wish to take some home. After a day at Edo Wonderland, there is a bus stop that takes people to some hotsprings if you wish to relax there.

"Kasumi Ninja House" theater show and some restaurant food at Edo Wonderland

Well, that's my submission for Locohama’s “Hot Fun in Summertime 2011”. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading through this post and has become interested in visiting Edo Wonderland!

Information/Photo Sources: [Danny Choo | Official Website of Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura]

Now excuse me while I go call my father to pick me up from the library, I haven't ate for 8 hours so I need to get the heck out of here and get some food before I shutdown! (Curse you Canadian ISPs and your terrible bandwidth limits, forcing me to go to the library for internet because I went over my limit!)

Hey everyone! Today I'm writing to inform you of a good cause. Some of my fellow students at Hunter College, the Asian Students in Action club, are holding a culture festival in Manhattan. It takes place this Saturday at the college (on 68th street and Lexington avenue) at 3pm to 6pm, and then there will be an after-party. Tickets cost $15 for the culture show, or $20 for the culture show and after-party access. There will be food, performers (including the band Uzuhi) and special guests. All proceeds are going to the Red Cross Japan relief fund, so hurry and get your tickets! Send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call/text (646)470-8113 for tickets and/or questions.

*UPDATE* Fixed the time. It's now 3PM to 6PM, but you knew that already if you saw the flyer. Sorry!

Japan comes up with some of the most pointless items in the world, but along with them comes a sort of awesomeness. This product, "Necomimi", from Japanese Project Neurowear fits the bill nicely. With moving cat ears for cosplayers (and those of us who would wear them in the college class for the lulz), this adds a whole new level of Cat-eared Moé.

Yuuki Aoi putting her signature on the dress.

A young, rising star in the anime industry, Yuuki Aoi has gained the attention of many anime fans for her outstanding work on some very notable shows (Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica's Kaname Madoka, Gosick's Victorique de Blois, So Ra No Wo To's Noël Kannagi). Yuuki raised ¥583 000 (Around $7142.92 USD) through auctioning the dress she wore on both the Gosick special aired on TV Tokyo, and TV Tokyo's anime variety show, Anison Plus. All of the proceeds will go to a non-profit organization helping with earthquake relief efforts in Japan called Civic Force.