YeinJee's Asian Journal

Ryo Ishikawa (石川 遼), a 15-year-old Japanese school boy, has become the youngest person to win a major golf tournament in Japan.

Ishikawa with his red winner’s jacket
(Image courtesy of Dailytelegraph)

Ishikawa earned the red winner’s jacket of the Munsingwear Open on Sunday; and to make his victory more impressive… it was his first competition in a professional tour.

Ishikawa set a new record as the youngest person to win a Japanese male tournament, previously held by Spanish world golf hall of famer Severiano Ballesteros, who won the 1977 Japan Open at the age of 20.

The Japanese media are crazed about their new teenage star; some even compared Ishikawa to Tiger Woods, Ishikawa’s idol and the world’s most famous golfer.

Hope that this is not a one hit wonder; it would be great to see a world class golfer from Asia.

[Update] Ishikawa turns pro in January 2008.

“Sinking of Japan” was a Japanese box office hit in summer 2006. It was a loose remake of 1973 movie “Japan Sinks”, based on the fictional novel by Sakyo Komatsu.

The 2006 movie (日本沈没; “Japan Sinks” or “Nihon Chinbotsu“) was directed by Shinji Higuchi and starred Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Kou Shibasaki and Etsushi Toyokawa etc.

Sinking of Japan Synopsis

The movie was based on fictional story that Japan was sinking into the sea due to tectonic plates’ motions. Japan had less than a year to migrate all its population, as volcano eruption, earthquakes and tsunami began to erupt the Japanese soil.

The hero and heroin of the movie were Toshi (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi) and Reiko (Kou Shibasaki); who developed a special feeling for each other during the crisis. As the situation worsened for Japan, Toshi was offered an opportunity to leave the country, while Reiko who was a rescue worker decided to stay on and helped the needed.

When Toshi was pondering to leave the country (or not), scientists found out that Japan still had a chance of survival… and Toshi was the only one that could save Japan from destruction.

Despite its box office success, the movie received mixed reviews by movie critics; a sarcastic award actually named Sinking of Japan the worse movie of the year.

Personally I think it was a decent movie. I don’t really like the love story between Toshi and Reiko; I thought it was a bit boring. The CGI effects weren’t top class compared to Hollywood productions, but it’s still pretty cool.

How much would you pay for a pair of the best melons in the world? $16? $160? $1,600??

A pair of cantaloupes from the bankrupt city of Yubari, Hokkaido, fetched a whopping 2 million yen (over USD16,000) at the first auction of the season at the Sapporo central wholesale market.

The $16,000 Yubari melons displayed
at a Sapporo department store

The price paid by Marui Imai Inc, a Sapporo based department store, for the upmarket produce surpassed the previous record of 800,000 yen for two cantaloupes.

The two melons were put on display at Marui Imai’s flagship outlet priced at 1 million yen apiece. Yoshikazu Hoshino, 59, a purchasing officer at the department store, said the cantaloupes were more for publicity than profit.

“We were bullish in the bidding because we’re celebrating our 135th anniversary this year. We wanted as many customers as possible to see them,” he said.

One of the million-yen fruits has already been sold, the store said. [Japantimes]

Yubari melon - popular summer gift

Yubari melons are known for their high quality and sweet taste, and are popular summer gifts in Japan; an average Yubari melon could have cost US$50-100.

Giving gifts to corporate partners and clients is a traditional Japanese business custom. It’s usually done twice a year in mid-winter and again in mid-summer.

Kimchi (김치; also known as Gimchi and Kimchee) is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of seasoned vegetables.

The most popular type of kimchi is made with napa cabbage; other varieties include kkakdugi which is a kimchi made with cubed radishes, oh-ee so-bae-gi which is a stuffed cucumber kimchi and kkaennip (깻잎) kimchi with layers of perilla leaves marinated in soy sauce and other spices.

Kimchi has been a Korean cuisine for over 2000 years; it is probably right to say that a Korean meal these days is incomplete without Kimchi. Kimchi is often eaten with rice and other dishes, but over the years Kimchi has developed into various forms of delicacies like Kimchi soup, Kimchi ramen, barbecue Kimchi and Kimchi spring role etc… creativity is the only limit to the reinvention of Kimchi recipe.

Kimchi (Image courtesy of Nagyman)

An extra bonus for eating Kimchi is its health value; it has been claimed as one of the world healthiest food for its richness in vitamins and healthy bacteria that aids digestion.

Taiwanese pop trio S.H.E dressed in wedding dress to promote their latest album, “Play”…

Read the rest of this post »

Korean drama “If in Love… Like Them” (also known as “Perhaps Love”) is suspended indefinitely by Korea’s Broadcasting Committee on May 2, 2007.

Posters of “If in Love… Like Them”, featuring the main leads

Read the rest of this post »

Walk your dog virtually… at least you won’t need to worry about the poo…

‘Walking the dog’ (Image courtesy of Tokyomango)

Read the rest of this post »

A video of Andre Kim Best Star Awards 2007 on April 30 in Seoul, Korea…