Notes from Under the Tatami Mats – My Adventures in Japan … (Part 2, with links to Notes 51~87)

“Few countries are that civilized when it comes to holding a beer in your hands."

  

Below is an index to Part Two of my “Notes from Under the Tatami Mats.”  
(It comprises 37 individual posts, with separate links to each post.)
(For Part One, see link at bottom of this post. )

51 – Top 3 Great Names for English Schools  
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"The only thing that mattered was whether it sounded good to the Japanese ear."

52 – Top 3 Moronic Ad Slogans Used by English Schools  
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That nonsensical word “ma-nay”  might sound a little bit like the English word “money” – well, to the hard-of-hearing or to lip-readers.

53 – Top 4 Types of Student Most Appreciated by English Teachers  
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"This futile process often continues for 3, 4, 5 years or more."

54 – Top 4 Reasons to Bash Japan or Otherwise Lord it Over the Nation and its People  
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"They resorted to excoriating the country – usually with no basis, or for entirely spurious reasons."

55 – Top 3 Rates of Interest Paid on Savings Accounts at Japanese Banks  
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"Abenomics dragged the Japanese economy further and further into the abyss."

56 – Top 4 Curry Restaurants in Japan  
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"I missed the great Indian and Thai food that I had eaten in Japan."

57 – Top 4 Favorite Restaurants in Japan (other than curry)  
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"Food that is true to the original, yet unique. And exquisitely delicious."

58 – Top 4 Drinking, Drinking, Drinking Buddies in Japan  
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"Not only does Japan provide many excuses to drink. It also provides plenty of opportunities to drink."

59 – Top 3 Bars / Drinking Spots  
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"Few countries are that civilized when it comes to holding a beer in your hands."

60 – Top Japanese Porn Star  
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"She took control of her life, in a way that most Japanese women could never do."

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61 – Top 7 Evocative Bowie Lyrics Referring to Japan  
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"Bowie's otherwordly incarnations were as unique and alien as … well, as someone from Japan."

62 – Top 3 Japanese Band Names  
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"A great, nonsensical name for a very good band."

63 – Top 1,000 Worst J-Pop Bands  
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"I don’t wanna promote any of the banal crap. Or torture you with it."

64 – Top 5 Pop Artists  
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"This is what pop music would sound like in an ideal universe."

65 – Top 5 Japanese Pop Songs  
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This music is way out there. It’s unique, weird, surrealistic, transcendent, and sublime. Ultimately, it’s "dreampop."

66 – Top 4 Over-Sung, Over-Rated, and Over-Rotated (in Japan) ‘70s Pop Songs  
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"Imagine there's a country where you can escape the insidious influence of pop culture."

67 – Top 3 Enka Songs  
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"Enka" is Japanese music, and it is indeed blue. Very blue.

68 – Top 4 Alternative, Trad-Rad Music  
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"Rockin’ minyo folk … Ching-dong punk … Dub trad-trance … and more such music to your ears."

69 – Top 3 Concerts I Attended  
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"Some local residents complained about the noise, and politely asked us to tone it down."

70 – Top 3 in-Bar Live Music  
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"Too bad for the bandits and the thieves and the robber barons. Great for the artists."

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71 – Top 3 Musicians Who Appreciate the Support of Their Japanese Fan Base  
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"These great artists deserve all the dollars, yen, and ka-chings they can get."

72 – Top Guitarist  
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"He was concerned only with playing great music."

73 – Top 3 Unbearably Dull Tourist Attractions  
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"Stuck in the middle of nowhere, these so-called ‘tourist attractions’ were sterile, unattractive, and excruciatingly dull."

74 – Top 3 Stormy Days  
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"I had to walk through raging rainstorms, blinding blizzards, or screaming typhoons."

75 – Top 2 Great Weather Days  
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"The quiet rain was pleasant, indescribably restful, and becalming."

76 – Top 5 Camps, featuring a Bonfire of Insanity  
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"Even in parks where our camping was illegal, people smiled and waved, and made us feel welcome."

77 – Top 3 Onsen (Hot Springs)  
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"A truly delightful and agreeable aspect of Japanese life."

78 – Top 4 Sento, aka Public Baths  
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"The Japanese have taken the art of bathing to a whole new level; transcendence."

79 – Top 2 Misspellings of My Name by Japanese People  
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"Spelling words or names in a foreign language is a lot tougher than you might think."

80 – Top 6 Nicknames for Yours Truly  
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She cleverly came up with this appropriate nickname by blending my real name with the Japanese word meaning “old man."

81 – Top 3 Meanings of “Koorin” When Written in Kanji  
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"The name ‘Mr. Rear Tire’ sounded suitably absurd. And most people smiled in approval when they heard it."

82 – Top 2 Cool-Sounding Girl’s Names  
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"The sound of the tide. ... Ooh, la la!"

83 – Top 3 Weird and Wimpy-Sounding Boy’s Names  
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"Suddenly, her name took on an agreeable ring. And it still sounds wonderful."

84 – Top 5 Odd or Interesting Japanese Family Names  
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"Hey, Mr DogKeeper! … or … Hey, Mr Second-Floor Hall!"

85 – Top 3 Ways to See Japan  
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"Cycling along the coast and through the countryside, we saw much more of Japan than most people ever see – more of the country than even many Japanese see."

86 – Top 5 Destinations After Leaving Japan  
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"The best laid plans of mice and men . . ."

87 – Top 4 Reasons for Leaving Japan  
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"In a sense, ‘tatemae’ allows certain psychopaths to get away with murder."

          Notes from Under the Tatami Mats – "Part One – Notes 1~50"  
_{Images sourced from Google Images, unless otherwise indicated or unless my own.}