Tenko Hikita, a magician known for her association with deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, has declined the country's invitation to attend his funeral Wednesday, her management agency said. "I decided to refrain from taking part in an official event taking all circumstances into consideration," Hikita, who is also known as Princess Tenko, said in a statement released Monday. North Korea invited her to the funeral in Pyongyang after it announced Dec. 19 that Kim had died. The magician was invited to North Korea in 1998 and 2000 to perform magic shows and attend private dinners with Kim, her manager said. (Japan Times 
Kinwashi Tour Japan Thread
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35km per Litre
the latest in Japan.
forget about Fit anymore..
here come.
Toyota Aqua.
story.
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Toyota officially unveils the Aqua hybrid car in Japan. It's set for its US debut at the Detroit International Motor Show in January, when it'll be named the Prius C.
Toyota has officially unveiled its Aqua compact hybrid car, set to be called the Prius C when it comes to the USA. It’s the first spin-off of the popular Prius brand, and is similar in size to the Toyota Yaris.
The concept appeared at the New York motor show back in April, then again as a leaked set of press shots in October. In-between time, the car lost the barking mad headlights and the steeply raked roofline, which made it look more like the VW Scirocco than a compact city car.
It goes on sale in Japan today, where it costs the equivalent of $21,700, which is 22% less than the entry-level Prius according to Bloomberg. Toyota claims to have received 60,000 pre-orders for the vehicle, and expects monthly sales to be around 12,000.
Aimed at younger buyers, the Aqua uses the same 1.5-liter Toyota Hybrid System II engine found in some of the most recent Prius cars, which has returned a touch over 35 km/l or 82mpg in Japanese tests. This will be revised to between 50mpg and 60mpg for the US launch though.
Performance using both engines is quoted as being 10.7 seconds to 100km/h or 62mph, and in the mid-range the 25mph to 44mph (40km/h to 70km/h) dash is covered in 3.6 seconds.
The Aqua is expected to make its US debut as the Prius C at the International Auto Show in Detroit this coming January, and will potentially go on sale before June. The price has yet to be confirmed, but could be similar to the Aqua’s $20,000 price tag.
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Premonition of fortune [...] Moteki wonderful first experience! !
December 27, 2011
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"Well the bad fortune of four or five years ago," is said, a wry smile reporter (left), Fukushima-ku, Osaka = Nanako shooting Ito
※ Click photo to enlarge
Cut and easy to determine the relationship between things (Station I think) = District, Fukushima, Osaka, shooting Nanako Itoh
※ Click photo to enlarge
※ Click the map to enlargeThis year more than 10 days. Welcome want to be happy next year. Well, be happy to know how.Suddenly, who was immune to this "fortune" in that first experience.
Asked for the "shopping mall fortune selling well" ascended through Fukushima, Fukushima-ku, Osaka is known (as ten Shou) mall. Fortune is a permanent building two sites.
Customers have different ways of telling the fortune-teller. 推命 four poster, tarot, Marble ... easy. There are many get lost. At that time, Ms. Gao has always 西窪 management of reliable optician. "Fortune concierge" to advise us as.
According to Mr. 西窪 "How can I marry him dating" and "boyfriend to marry when I do not" 難Shiirashii in the latter. Mumutsu, I'm the latter.
Draw a tarot card fortune-teller's first pure Gaya. First one is "calling" cards. What was the priority Kotorashii work. Card showing the love of the past then. Upside down picture of what people Dzurino."Hey is that after the wrong direction," says Gaya and pure.
Also good news. "Some people I approached about coming next spring. And two." Oh, get married? "It's about 1994 or earlier." How much is the destination.
We asked the following four pillars 推命 Mr. � beauty. If you tell your date of birth, "was born at about what?" Whereby different results. I heard my mother on their phones.
"Well, such that long ago, I forgot." Mom Treats ....
Now my luck is "volcano journey". 時Rashii feels lonely traveling alone. "In the person of 5,6,7 Mon, run (only), horse (horse), p (sheep) Choose a person of the year" and gave specific advice.
And finally Joe Li Sakamoto (as examples) I. Mathematics and date of birth accounted divine life and the protection I Ching stick like bamboo (district brittle) and got a fortune on.
"Next year, the year after next, and I feel good out of marriage. Wait passively, I feel that I take the bus came,"
You got that fortune, feeling somewhat refreshed. But, if possible, or next year or the year after next, or the flag again after six years anyway, you know the proper name of the person encounters. (Miki various wheat)
â– 6000 yen
2,000 yen 1. The reporter got it three fortune in a fortune-teller. "How can marriage" "I broke up with him better now," confirmed cases of 2,000 yen since one such question.
â– Note commerce store Fukushima city ascended masters of the liquid phase of the Edo era, the land of South Yukari Mizuno. Extruded from the front of the fortune in 2002, aimed at activation. Once a month "data also horoscope also sold sold" to the mall to be opened to a vast array dozens soothsayer.Price 1,000 yen (about 15-20 minutes, so expert in the room in winter).
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source..
Japanese Lifestyle.
JAPANESE NEW YEAR
NEW YEAR IN JAPANOseibo
In Japan people give some gift in a lot of occasion. Oseibo is the most common issue as a year-end gift. They give it to their superiors, customers and teachers to express appreciation for the special services they have extended to them. Picture Asakusa Temple (c) Tomoyuki.U.Bonenkai
Bonenkai is a party usually held among office colleagues and bosses. Bonenkai litarelly means a "Forget-the-year party" to forget the unpleasant memories of the passing year and to welcome the New Year with a fresh and serene mind. At the party, bosses usually tell their stuff to be Breiko (to forget their position and be impolite!), because the relationship in the workplace in Japan is a bit strict. For example, Japanese language has various expression for each word. One is called a polite word and another is called a modest word. People use these words in formal situation such as in a workplace. Picture Hanazono shrine.Omisoka
Omisoka is the day of New Year’s Eve. Since the New Year is the biggest event in Japan, people celebrate the Eve as well. People work so hard to prepare the New Year around one or two weeks such as cleaning (like spring cleaning in here) and shopping. The reason people do the cleaning in the middle of winter is to get rid of the dirty of the passing year and to welcome the New Year with a fresh and serene mind. And on Omisoka, with preparing the New Year’s special dishes called Osechi-ryori, people finish up all the work of the year. P
eople eat Toshikoshi-soba at night and stay up till midnight to listen to the 108 chimes of a nearby temple bell. Toshikoshi-soba is a bowl of hot brown noodles in broth. The noodle is a homophone for a word that means“being close” and therefore signifies the approach of the New Year. The 108 chimes called Joya-no-kane, rings out the old year and rings in the New Year. It is supposed to release people from the 108 worldly sins.Pictures: Stone statue of Jizo (religious icon) and inside shrine (c) Hirotsugu Oi .Shogatsu
Shogatsu is the celebration of the New Year and is the most important holiday in Japan. Entrances are decorated with a Shimekezari. A Shimekazari is a twisted straw rope with fern leaves, an orange and other items of good omen. Family gather to their hometown and spend the time together. People celebrate the New Year with sweet sake called Toso, a soup called Zoni and Osechi-ryori during the holiday. Picture Kaminarimon (shrine) (c) Tomoyuki.U.Otoshidama
During the holiday, people give special allowances to their children, nephews and nieces called Otoshidama. It is the busiest season for toy shops to attract children to spend their Otoshidama. Picture lucky charms (c) Hirotsugu Oi .
Nengajo
People send a lot of greeting cards to their relatives, friends, business acquaintances and customers to wish them a happy New Year. Post offices in Japan collect and keep them then deliver them on the New Year day all at once. This is a good opportunity to keep in touch with old friends and acquaintances.Picture roadside to a shrine (c) Hirotsugu Oi .Hatsumoude
The shrines all over Japan are packed with people from the New year’s day to January 3rd. People go to shrine to pray for safety, happiness and long lives of the family. A lot of people are dressed up with their Kimono and buy a good luck talisman called Omamori. It is kept as a protection from illness, accidents and disasters. Picture shrine-entrance (c) Tomoyuki.U.How to write "Happy New Year" in Japanese - ã�‚ã�‘ã�¾ã�—ã�¦ã�Šã‚�ã�§ã�¨ã�†ã�”ã�–ã�„ã�¾ã�™
How to say "Happy New Year" in Japanese - Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu -
sing along [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] http://youtu.be/iREdv7j03kc
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Toshikoshi Soba or Year-End Soba: A bowl of hot soba noodles to end the year
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So the next morning...The New Year day.
See what they are doing in the morning the first day of the year.
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HOMEMADE CELEBRATIONS: A LOOK AT NEW YEAR’S IN JAPAN
By Jacqui Miyabayashi, Tuesday, January 4, 20113
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