Off Again

Our latest adventure. We don't have much time, but we have people to meet. The trick then becomes fitting the meetings into a bike trip (saving a couple thousand yen worth of train fair, and getting healthy at the same time). After two days in Chiba, we want to get back to the Nihon minka enTraditional Japanese house Park (Photos above), which I visited with my parents, in time to participate in one of their "making stuff out of rice-straw" classes.

And although I don't have time I can't help mentioning this story on NPR today about how China is preparing for the Olympics by fixing up their English translations.

For example: a theme park dedicated to China's ethnic minorities had been called "Racist Park." The effort extends to English translations of restaurant menus, and dishes such as carp.

Other examples:

A restroom that says "ladies" in Chinese, but "gentlemen" in English translation.
Hospital for anus and intestinal disease = Hospital for proctology
Restaurant menus selling fresh succulent juicy crap = "carp" or "crab"

They are attempting to make voluntary standards for translation. Maybe Japan should try this...