All Blog Posts, Japanese Culture

The 60 Days Challenge Before Going to Japan + Update

60 Day Challenge Before Japan + Go! Go! Nihon Update.

So we are about 60 days out before we take off to the land of the moon people. My friend likes to call Japanese moon people – it’s not my thing but seem suitable at the moment for some reason. With that said I’m looking to double down (coupled with music video below the article at the bottom) and start blasting out much more research for the coming two months. I’ll also be adding some Japanese music into the music section under Japanese entertainment, so look for that. For now this counts as one, but to be fair I’ll add in an update about our travel plans, as well some things you’ll want to know before moving to Japan to go to school. Remember you can always contact us here or on Facebook for help with choosing the right school and accommodations while in Japan.

Moving forward we’ll also be doing more practical research that will benefit us instead of just pure curiosity, but there will still be some fun stuff. Tomorrow I’ll be posting about Japan’s Fat Tax, not really practical as it wouldn’t affect me until I was about 50ish anyway, but I already have some of it started, so I’ll finish it off. If you’re new to Nihon Scope be sure to follow us on Facebook as we always post new stuff to Facebook… We also have about any other social profile you’d want to use, just search us ‘Nihon Scope’.

During the 60 days my wife and I are going to be going through the follow resources for learning Japanese:

Memrise
Wanikani
NihongoMaster
Japanese From Zero

Recently I was given some instructions and the instructions said it would be wise to learn some Kana (Hiragana/Katana) they recommended these resources, I think I’m already ahead of the class being I learned Kana about 3 years ago:

There was one other one, but for the most part, I think iknow.jp is okay, I wish there were a bit more a free use of the program. You get 5 lessons for free then it’s $10/m, I pay that much for WaniKani and honestly as much as it upsets me at times I believe it to be the best way to learn to read Kanji. Marugoto I’ve only skimmed, but Marugoto means wholly/entirely, so by it’s name I’m thinking perhaps it does a good job showing off the Nihongo goods.

Update on Go! Go! Nihon 2017:

If you’re looking to jump into bed with another agency to help you choose a school then you’ll want to ask a lot of questions before pulling the trigger. We recently were told we had to fend for ourselves when it came to accommodations (when they told us in the beginning they would help – the agency we used), up until this point most things have been pretty smooth, although we did almost get throw off the boat after they said we were cleared with the school, after they came back from winter break they then told us we were not approved, it took about a 6 hour back and forth with this agency one night to get everything cleared, and were good now, they at least rectified that challenge so points for that. (If you want to know who this agency was contact us)

BUT, now the challenge is they said at least they don’t help with accommodations in Fukuoka, to be fair they pass you on to an English speaking real estate company, but when you’re moving to a new country, you’re not of course going to be bringing a bed with you, and furnished apartments in Japan are PRICEY, but we’ve been looking at a lot of Chuuko (second hand stores) and it looks like it’s affordable to buy everything you need (Once you get there), it’s just a lot of stress to get everything set before you even step in Japan!

So we’re looking to this specific shared housing company called Ridori Factory – Discover Meinohama South next to the Hakata ward in Fukuoka (specifically in Chuuouku, Fukuoka), they will allow my wife and I to share a room and we’ll be about 25 minutes away from the school by train. About 40-50 minutes by bike.

UPDATE: We ended up going with Sharely Style Verde in Oonojo, Fukuoka.

So just make sure you ask them over and over again if they’ll be able to help you in your situation, we know our situation is quite different then most people that will ever move to Japan and go to school, but I’m sure we are not the only ones to have ever done this before.

UPDATE: We now of course do not recommend the agency we went through and over the last couple years have learned how to help other possible students get the help they need! So again contact us if you need help.

Now we are waiting for our COE (Certificate of Eligibility) sent to us so we can go to the Japanese Embassy and get our visa confirmed later in the month. We did also already buy our plane tickets. We were recommended to use Skyscanner to find cheap flights. We were able to find 2 tickets for $1,300. We’ll be flying into LAX, then into Taipei Taiwan, then into Fukuoka in the first days of April, school starts on the 12th.

UPDATE: That was a good recommendation and we had a GREAT flight to Japan.

-NihonScope

All Blog Posts, Food and Sake, Japanese Culture

Cheap Restaurants in Japan – B-Class Gourmet

Cheap Restaurants in Japan – B-Class Gourmet (B-きゅ）

Japan is certainly a culture who adores and appreciates all types of foods. In fact it’s said that Japan could certainly have the finest food in all the world. Many famous chefs have come to Japan from all over the world to learn the food culture in Japan, but to also bring their own cuisine. Over the years you get a melting pot of all types of foods that have in many ways been improved on and at times given that Asian flare!

But when it comes to eating out, a lot of people of Japan are not always looking for that 5 star restaurant to eat at, in fact there are some stable favorites (meals) in Japan that the majority of the people of Japan enjoy and don’t mind if it’s from a cheap izakaya or restaurant.

The term B-Class Gourment (B-kyu – said like B-Q) is used for restaurants who make good affordable meals (it could also mean a term for someone who likes good affordable meals). People from around Japan will travel long distances to eat at an affordable BUT delicious restaurant. Perhaps you’ve heard that at times a certain ramen or izakaya shop will end up with lines going around block corners off and off into the sunset?

Well, it’s because these shops are offering amazing quality food for an unbelievable price. This happens even here in America too, and I know the sign of a good restaurant. My wife and I live in Colorado and we shop at many of the Asian markets in Denver at times, and we would always go to this smaller Asian market to pick up tea, hot sauces and some Asian sweets that you can’t get from regular American grocery stores.

Every time we’d pull up to this place it the parking lot was packed because of an authentic Chinese restaurant called ‘Star Kitchen‘ next to it, and although for the most part it was purely individuals of Asian descent coming in and out of the restaurant I knew it was epic because it was just crawling with the older generation. There is one thing I’ve found for the most part, when a restaurant is PACKED and has a good amount of older folks going to it, it’s a winner.

So we tried it, and it was certainly different then I’ve ever experienced in a restaurant scene before, but it was certainly an eye opener on how other cultures enjoy a meal at a restaurant. But with that said, a line 95% of the time usually means there’s something on the menu that you’ll enjoy (even if it’s frog legs!). It’s said that if a B-Class Gourmet restaurant keeps up it’s reviews and can continue to handle their customer base in a somewhat timely manner, it will become a ‘trendy’ B-Class restaurant and will stay that way for a decade or longer. It’s basically like winning the restaurant lottery if you want to put it in other terms.

Many big hits in the B-Class Gourmet niche are usually ramen shops. Many of these shops will make their own noodles and soup bases, giving it their own distinct flavor which is what pulls in people from all around Japan and what creates those extra long lines. It’s said that a certain B-Class food restaurant will even increase local travel to the area. For example, Fukuoka which is the city I’ll be going to school in became extremely popular because of their local specialty Motsunabe, which is a beef and pork organ stew. Many different areas will gain attention because of their local specialties.

Here is a list of some of the most popular B-Class Gourmet foods in Japan:

Yakisoba – Grilled Buckwheat Noodles
Sushi – High Quality and Cheap = Long Lines!
Gyoza – Chinese rice wrapped dumpling (Star Kitchen has famous Shrimp Gyoza! – and they’re really really good!!)
Okonomiyaki – It’s basically a whatever you want pancake
Yakitori – Grill Chicken, in fact a lot of the chouchin lanterns are famous for saying yakitori (やきとり） and ramen (ラーメン) on them. –>
Curry Rice – Vegetables, Meat and Curry around rice
Tongatsu – Fried Pork Meat Strips.

You can learn a bit more about some of these on this page too.

Of course this a small list and any type of food can make the list of B-Class gourmet as long as it’s delicious and CHEAP! You can see a couple more options of famous types of B-kyu foods here.

-Nihon Scope

All Blog Posts, Food and Sake, Japanese Culture, News in Japan, Spiritual

How I Used Water to Get Me to Japan

The Power of Water Can Grant Wishes

by: Nihonscope

So what is this seemingly odd title to a post about Japan have to do with anything, and can anyone legitimately say that water has the capability to grant a wish? Well through out history there has been one solid substance that has held a long life of belief in it’s magical powers, and of course that substance is water. The more that you may find yourself browsing this blog, the more you’ll see that my beliefs of magic is not an illogical attitude towards the mystical, I firmly hold my beliefs of magic and attraction to a level of science as well.

So how can I say that water has assisted me in attracting myself to Japan? Well the answer to that lies in vibrational resonance. What do I mean by that? To easily explain what I mean, it’s a feeling and if you believe it or not (right now), I can prove to you that feelings and beliefs can be harnessed into a physical geometrical shape and, I can prove it to you… With Science that it’s true!!! Woah!

So let me quickly introduce you to a man who studied this REAL scientifically proven research that feelings can be injected into water. His name is Masaru Emoto and he is the author of “Hidden Messages in Water” (which you can view a book that refines the research even further here in a book called “The Water Code”). This man found that water from certain dams and places around the world have different geometric shapes that come with them naturally, but more importantly he found that these geometrical shapes that can be seen in water can be changed. They can be changed by feelings.

This is a clip from “What the Bleep Do We Know?” but I find this is the best way to get a grasp of what I’m speaking about here. So how exactly is one to use this knowledge for their own benefit? Well consider this, if you were to tape a word say ‘love’ to a bottle of water it’s going to create a shape/feeling based around a true geometrical design, that is attuned to your feeling towards that specific word(s). So when you drink the water you are in sense drinking a vibrational resonance and just like a tuning fork, your own bodies water will begin to ring the same vibration outwards. For those who know the idea of what the ‘Laws of Attraction’ are you will quickly see you are priming your own pump to receive the vibrational energy you’ve put inside your body to come to you over time consistently.

I highly suggest learning more about the concept of Law of Attraction as it’s continuing to plow through conventional science and proving itself to be more and more a reality of those with consciousness (with a lot of teachings throughout history in major religions). Watch the video below for a brief explanation of what it is, as it will help you see how this energy turns into granting wishes. This is actually one of my mentors for spirituality and business, Bob Proctor!

So to carry on, how did I use water to attract myself to going to Japan? Easy! I simply wrote down words and taped it to my water bottle (of course that’s not all I still needed to act!). I added, health, love and Japan. I also added it to my tea pot. Although by the science it’s triggering the vibrational energy throughout my water, it also triggers my consciousness to think about it when I see those words, which also increases the magic/science behind this life hack. So if you’re looking for something in your life… be grateful, stay in love, know there is more to this life then just the black and white, the good and the bad. It’s all based off of you and what you believe. So knowing that there are ways to manipulate in a good way your reality take advantage of it, push forward, believe that magic is true (because science confirms it!) and don’t live a bland ordinary life based of what people say you can do or not!

Never stop believing in yourself, never stop pushing forward towards your dreams. The world is better off having you reach your dreams. If that dream is going to Japan, people depend on you to see that dreams do come true, no matter what the resistance! With that, this is my magic life hack that I can honestly say does make a difference, and it’s so easy to do… you can even be lazy and get a cool looking engraved water bottle from these guys “Blue Bottle Love“.

So to finish this off, start to watch your words, because they truly do affect your life. All religions have stated this as something be aware of. My mentor for the past Kevin Trudeau told me to read a few books based around this idea/fact.

Hung By the Tongue
What You Say is What You Get
The Tongue a Creative Force

These books are mostly Christian based but it couldn’t be clearer, believe in yourself as that’s where the first part of this comes from. You can read about how I came about wanting to go to Japan by reading this page which will then also lead to my acceptance to go to Japan in April of 2017 (confirmed).

Life is too fun, knowing how to play makes a difference for yourself and everyone around you. This is the best piece of advice I can give anyone entering into 2017 and beyond to accomplish their dreams and goals.

-Nihon Scope / Nathan Scheer

PS: There is a really amazing healing water located in the mountains of Colorado. I’ve actually drank this water before. It comes from a guy that bought a home in the back areas of Blackhawk Colorado. He ended up getting his water tested, and found that it’s the cleanest water possibly in the world! I had a infected tooth around the time I was first exposed to this water and when I drank his water it actually numbed my tooth making it feel 95% better for a short time (I’d swear it had drugs in it… it doesn’t just FYI)! I thought it was just water in general until I drank some well water from a friend and found it didn’t do the same thing, I spoke to him about this and he had the very same thing happen to him to confirm it was for real!

You can view more about his water at Uncle Charlies Ranch <- (you can actually buy some! – not affiliated)

Another interesting note is that after the Tsunami in 2011 I decided to change from going to school in Sendai to Kumamoto. We found that Kumamoto has some of the cleanest water in Japan being pumped through their shiritsu! (city). Although we ended up wanting to go to Fukuoka after thinking about it a bit further as we have some friends and clients in the city and Kumamoto is place better to go to after learning the language a bit further. They only had the YMCA there to teach Japanese and we wanted a few more option as well as an opportunity to gain our associates degree in Japanese! (SCORE!)

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