Ega-chan's Antics

I originally saw this on TV last summer when the theme song from the anime "Ponyo" was a hit. I finally rented and watched the film last weekend, and I thought it was dumb, even for a kid's movie. But this spoof of the theme song, with lyrics about the comedian Egashira 2:50 and featuring him doing all sorts of crazy stuff, is pretty funny.

TV Party

This seems somewhat inappropriate to post just after I talked about foreigners behaving badly in Japan. But this video of the Beastie Boys in Japan from 1987 rocks! Adam Yauch sticking a sausage out of his zipper is just wrong in so many ways, not just because he rubs it against the hostess of the show. It's even funnier because in Japanese sausages are called wieners. And the whole performance with some porno actress on a bed is out of control! Yes, this kind of activity in public is B.A.D. As entertainment, though, I give it a big thumbs up.

Travel TV

Now that I've gotten on the subject of travel programs, I might as well come clean. The majority of TV programs that I watch in Japan are travelogues of some sort. In my previous post, I wrote about my fondness for "Weekend Cinderella." In fact, there are three other shows that I try to catch every week -- all of which involve travel, but are thematically very different. The best is "Sekai Ururun Taizaiki," which has been on TV for the last 13 years. The show has different celebrities go on a homestay for about a week in another country. Most of the time they have a goal to accomplish by the end of their stay, maybe walking a tightrope in a Korean acrobatic act or learning how sing to make a camel cry in Mongolia. Unfortunately, "Ururun" is going off the air this fall. That means I will have to be satisfied with the remaining travel programs.

"Sekai Fureai Aruki" is a really unusual show on NHK that features no visible host. Alternatively featuring a male or female narrator, the show is a virtual walk through various towns all over the globe. Most of the walk is shot in real time, and includes face-to-face exchanges with people randomly encountered on the streets and alleyways.

"AiNori" is the closest to US-style reality TV. It's similar to MTV's "Road Rules," where a small group of girls and guys travels in a van through different countries. The twist here is that they are trying to make a love connection, and they can only return to Japan once they successfully partner with someone of the opposite sex. Or until they "retire" from the show. I find the show odd in the sense that if I had a choice, I would choose to travel the world for as long as I could for free. To me, going home to Japan seems like losing rather than winning.

Cinderella Man

Every Saturday night I make sure to watch "Shuumatsu no Shinderera Sekai! Dangan Torabera." Loosely translated, it means "Weekend World Cinderella! Bullet Traveller." Each episode has a female celebrity go on a seriously short and speedy trip. Originally, the show was supposed to be the kinds of trips most women could either afford the time and money for, but recently the destinations are pretty far from Japan. This has resulted in odd, three-day, one-night itineraries, meaning the travellers spend most of their time on the airplane. Regardless, they make the most of their time once on the ground. Usually they have a specific site they wish to see, like the jelly-fish lake in Palau or the Aurora Borealis in Canada, or a bit of foreign culture they want to experience, like being a "bride" at a wedding in the Greek islands or drinking tequila in Mexico. I've always enjoyed travel shows (yes, I even used to watch Rick Steves on PBS), and this one makes you realize that you don't need that much time to have a mini-adventure (although, you probably do need a lot of money).