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Philip Kendall

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Hailing from Liverpool in the UK, Philip Kendall made Japan his second home in the summer of 2006 after dolefully abandoning his childhood dream of becoming a ghost buster. Setting up camp in beautiful Fukushima prefecture, he brought joy to literally hundreds of junior high school children as ‘that tall, handsome teacher’ or more often ‘the one with the big nose,’ before relocating to Tokyo at the end of 2011.

Writer, foodie, gamer and eternal student of the Japanese language, Philip now works as a freelance writer and translator, submitting to Tokyo Weekender magazine and website and Learn Japanese Pod, as well as co-running Suds, Grub & Joe- a website dedicated to all things beer, food and coffee-related in Tokyo. Follow his ramblings on his personal blog or on twitter.

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Posted by Philip Kendall (Page 25)

The little hedgehog that couldn’t (but it’s still fun to watch him try) 【Video】

Philip Kendall
Sep 26, 2013
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They may not have the swoon-inducing power of 14 baby pandas in a row, but hedgehogs are nevertheless incredibly cute, and they make great little pets. They’re passive, clean, ideal for those who are out during the daytime, and, as this video proves, hugely entertaining to watch wrestle with the inside of a toilet roll.

Internet, Japan
(animals • cute • funny • hedgehog • video)

Bacterium aspires to work in a toilet, dresses the part

Philip Kendall
Sep 25, 2013

You know that line careers guidance counsellors often use: “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have”? Well it looks like one bacterium with its eye on a gig in the bowl of a toilet has perhaps taken that advice a bit too literally…

Global, Japan
(cool • funny • microscopy • science • toilet)

How to survive an earthquake (or zombie outbreak): Expert advice and items to prepare

Philip Kendall
Sep 24, 2013

Being the most earthquake-prone country in the world, earthquake drills are as common in schools in Japan as fire drills are in the West. Knowledge of what to do and how to prepare for big quakes is essential, but many foreigners visiting or living in Japan are simply not used to larger tremors and have little or no idea how to respond should the earth start to rumble. Thankfully, even in Japan the chances of being hurt or killed in an earthquake are relatively slim, but it’s important to know what you can do to prepare. Combining our own first-hand experience with the expert advice of a seismologist from the California Institute of Technology, the following article not only discusses how best to respond in the event of an earthquake, but also lists the essential items that anyone living in Japan or any other earthquake-prone country should have stowed away in their earthquake preparedness kit.

Talking safety is never the most exciting subject, and no one’s asking you to go all Dwight Schrute and build a nuclear fallout shelter here, but it pays to be ready. And if the thought of tooling up in the name of earthquake preparedness fails to get your heart pumping, simply substitute the word “earthquake” for “zombie outbreak” and the process will become infinitely more fun.

Japan
(earthquake • information • safety • Survival • tips)

In Japan, even cute animals obey the law 【Photos】

Philip Kendall
Sep 23, 2013

We’ve all no doubt heard of the polite deer in the city of Nara that have learned to bow their heads to tourists in order to get food, but did you know that they also obey the law and know how to cross the road properly?

Check out these photos for one incredibly cute example of how to use a pedestrian crossing!

Japan
(animal • cute • deer • Nara • tourism)

The price of immersion: Hands on with Sony’s new HMZ-T3 personal viewer headset

Philip Kendall
Sep 23, 2013

As well as showing off its new PlayStation 4 console, PlayStation Vita 2000 handheld and Xperia Z1 smartphone at last week’s Tokyo Game Show, electronics giant Sony was also quietly pushing its newly designed HMZ-T3 personal viewer headset into tech fans’ consciousness, with demo units popping up in a number of booths. Since bringing its first headset to the market back in 2011, Sony has been gradually tweaking and refining its tech in response to consumer feedback, with its newest iteration due to go on sale later this year.

With the HMZ-T3, Sony has produced its lightest, most compact headset yet, retaining the ability to watch movies and play video games in both 2-D and stereoscopic 3-D, as well as boasting smartphone connectivity and, for the first time, wireless operation thanks to a portable battery pack.

Our experience of the previous model having been something of a bittersweet affair, we were keen to see whether Sony had managed to perfect its headset the third time around, so with the help of a friendly booth attendant we slipped on the new HMZ-T3 and put it through its paces.

Global
(3-D • hands-on • headset • personal viewer • review • tech • Tokyo Game Show 2013)

The ultimate in lazy gaming: Ingenious tablet cushion demoed at Tokyo Game Show 2013

Philip Kendall
Sep 20, 2013

We’ve all been there: you’ve got your shiny new laptop, smartphone or tablet computer and you’re lounging around on the floor at home, watching videos on YouTube, tapping away at Plants Vs. Zombies… when suddenly your pampered, first-world body throws a hissy hit. “I’m tired! Why do I always have to hold all the expensive electronic devices!?” it moans as you start to lose the feeling in your arm or your left leg goes to sleep. You wriggle around and find a new position, but before long your body’s complaining again and you just can’t get comfy.

Oh, wouldn’t it be great if there were something – a piece of furniture perhaps – that would hold your tablet or computer for you while you did massively unimportant web browsing and lay on the floor!?

Enter the Goron tablet cushion, which not only supports your head and neck while you laze around, but comes complete with an adjustable holder for tablets, laptops and even small monitors! Yep, gamers just got that little bit lazier!

Japan
(cool • ipad • lazy • leisure • tech • video games)

Epic body slam action at US Sumo Open【Video】

Philip Kendall
Sep 18, 2013

One of Japan’s most ancient sports, sumo is both steeped in tradition and considered to be one of the most demanding in the world. Professional sumo wrestlers, or rikishi, must not only commit to a strict regime of physical training and the daily consumption of gargantuan meals in order to maintain their enormous mass, but also obey rules that cover everything from their hairstyles and the clothing they may wear in public to the use of vehicular transportation.

Although sumo’s popularity in Japan is on the wane, the sport is becoming increasingly popular in Western countries, particularly in the United States where groups such as USA Sumo are growing ever larger and receiving more and more media attention with each year that passes. And we’d be willing to bet that after seeing the following video taken at the US Sumo Open 2013 event, even the most sceptical of Western sports fans will start taking sumo a little more seriously.

Japan, USA
(cool • sports • Sumo • video • wrestling)

Ninja language skills: Boost your Japanese with the power of onomatopoeia

Philip Kendall
Sep 17, 2013

It rarely appears in beginner or intermediate textbooks, but spend a day with any native Japanese speaker and you’ll soon realise that onomatopoeia is a vital part of the language. Utterances such as, “The rain fell like ‘pssshaaaa'” and, “My heart was going ‘boom boom boom’ the whole time!” may come across as a little ineloquent when said in English, but in Japanese these kinds of mimetic words are not only considered perfectly acceptable, but pop up absolutely everywhere.

So if you’ve ever wondered what sound a Japanese pig makes, how best to describe a rolling boulder as opposed to a tiny marble, or would be perplexed if a doctor asked whether the pain you’re feeling is more shikushiku than kirikiri, now’s your chance to hone your language skills and add a few new words to your Japanese vocabulary!

Japan
(giongo • gitaigo • Japanese • language • onomatopoeia)

Blood money: Yesterday’s typhoon leaves one man in an awkward predicament

Philip Kendall
Sep 17, 2013

Tokyo may have escaped with only minor damage compared to poor old Kyoto during yesterday’s powerful typhoon, but it would appear that there is at least one Twitter user who suffered losses of a truly horrific nature.

Internet, Japan
(funny • photo • typhoon • weather • wtf)

Canadian artist’s “what happened next” Street Fighter character designs are dark and awesome

Philip Kendall
Sep 17, 2013

Montreal-based artist and owner of personal blog Novamesh Arman Akopian (perhaps better known by his DeviantArt tag of GUYJIN) is causing quite the stir here in Japan today with a series of illustrations depicting the cast of Capcom’s genre-defining fighting game series Street Fighter years after the events of the game’s martial arts tournament.

Tremendously dark but expertly drawn and with detailed character descriptions alongside each illustration, we learn that things are not looking good for the majority of the Street Fighter crew, with Blanka struggling with alcoholism, Guile’s “sonic boom” attack eventually causing him to go deaf, and Chun-Li… well, Chun-Li is still looking as flexible and muscular as ever.

Global
(art • manga • Street Fighter • video games)

Tokyo police issue advice to women on safe use of elevators, includes button mashing

Philip Kendall
Sep 14, 2013

Which of the above locations, from A to E, would you consider the safest when riding an elevator with a person you don’t know or are suspicious of? Chances are you’ve never really thought about it, but the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department recently published the following safety information intended to educate women about riding elevators alone with men, advising them of what to do should they feel uncomfortable.

Japan
(chikan • elevator • police • safety • self defense)

Japanese Twitter user displays the awesome power of her makeup kit, men gasp in horror

Philip Kendall
Sep 13, 2013

At first we weren’t entirely convinced that this was the same girl in both pictures. They’re just so… different. Look closely though, and beneath those layers (and layers) of makeup and the fake eyelashes, you’ll see that it really is the the selfsame young lady. Her little mole is there; her duck-face smile curls in the exact same way; the shape of her jaw and cheeks are the same. But, just, wow. Welcome to the world of “power makeup”.

Internet, Japan
(before and after • makeup • niconico • video • wtf)

Tokyo Game Show floor map revealed, Battlefield 4 confirmed as playable on PlayStation 4

Philip Kendall
Sep 13, 2013

In less than one week’s time, the doors of the Makurai Messe convention centre will be opened and Tokyo Game Show 2013 will begin. RocketNews24 will of course be heading along to play a few games on your behalf and bring you some of the most original and quirky news we can lay our eyes and ears on (we were warned about touching last year), and during a little research session this afternoon we stumbled upon none other than the official exhibitor map for Tokyo Game Show 2013, which was released earlier today.

Needless to say, the exhibitor list is positively enormous, with hundreds of booths filling eight halls (plus a separate area dedicated to indies and cosplay) with gaming goodness to be drooled over. Not only that, but Electronics Arts Japan has confirmed that forthcoming first-person shooter Battlefield 4 will also be playable on PlayStation 4 at the event.

Japan
(Battlefield 4 • event • news • Tokyo Game Show 2013 • video games)

Live-action Princess Mononoke fan film “Wolf Girl” goes live on Kickstarter

Philip Kendall
Sep 12, 2013

It’s only September, but 2013 has already been quite the year for Studio Ghibli news. What with the critical success of Kaze Tachinu, jaw-dropping theatre adaptations, incoming movie Kaguya Hime no Monogatari and the last week’s announcement of Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement, we can’t remember a year like it. And now, just when we thought we couldn’t possibly squeeze in any more Ghibli goodness, we’ve received word that a new live-action fan film inspired by Princess Mononoke is in the works!

Global
(crowd funding • Kickstarter • Live action • movie • Princess Mononoke • Studio Ghibli)

Sony explains decision to delay PlayStation 4 in its homeland, Japanese gamers not happy

Philip Kendall
Sep 12, 2013

It’s been two days since Sony delivered the shocking news that its newest console, PlayStation 4, won’t be launching in Japan until February 2014, despite the fact that it will go on sale in America, Europe and Australia this November. Now that the dust has settled and Sony has had chance to make some further clarifying statements via press releases and on its PlayStation Blog, Japan’s gamers have a much better idea of what to expect when the console eventually rolls out in its homeland.

Sony’s main reason for delaying the highly anticipated console, it maintains, is in order to provide a stronger software lineup when it eventually launches. Comments from Japanese gamers, however, suggest that they are neither convinced that this is the real reason for the delay, nor especially happy about being sent to the back of the queue.

Japan
(delay • opinion • Playstation 4 • Sony • video games)

PlayStation 4 not launching in Japan until 2014

Philip Kendall
Sep 9, 2013

Despite launching in Europe and North America this November, Sony’s next generation console, PlayStation 4, will not launch in its homeland until 2014, it has been revealed.

Japan
(launch • news • Playstation 4 • video games)

Why Puppeteer is one of the grandest romps ever to grace the stage 【Review】

Philip Kendall
Sep 9, 2013

We have to admit we fell quite in love with Puppeteer‘s visual style from the very first moment we saw it. Although essentially a 2-D platformer, the game is presented as a live puppet show, heavily influenced by Japanese Bunraku puppet theatre, with a healthy dose of pantomime thrown in for good measure, and it looked positively spellbinding.

Due to go on sale both on disc and as a digital download via PlayStation Store in North America and Europe this week, the game was in fact released in Japan on September 5, so naturally we rushed out to grab a copy right away. Three days of platforming, applause and magical scissor snipping later, we’re delighted to say that Puppeteer is not just a superb platformer, but one of PlayStation 3’s most inspired titles to date.

Internet
(playstation 3 • Puppeteer • review • video games)

Twisted Japanese: It’s not what you say, but how you say it!

Philip Kendall
Sep 7, 2013

As any Japanese speaker will no doubt tell you, the Japanese language, although tricky to master, is incredibly convenient. Not only can we entirely omit words such as “I” or “you” and simply say things like “taberu?” (“eat?”) or “iku?” (“go?”) and it still be perfectly acceptable, but there are also set phrases for use in a multitude of situations, the like of which simply do not exist in many other languages.

But even something as simple as the phrase yoroshiku onegaishimasu (lit. “Please do good (for me),” and used when asking for something or beginning a meeting, class, or even a work or training session) can be quite a mouthful at first. Thankfully though, a recent post made by a Japanese net user suggests that so long as you mutter something that sounds like the actual phrase, you’ll probably get by just fine.

Japan
(funny • Japanese phrases • language • wtf)

Freaky gourmet: Mango yogurt noodles, anyone!?

Philip Kendall
Sep 6, 2013

During the height of summer, we’ve been known to plonk ourselves down in front our home-made air conditioner with a pile of sliced watermelon or even chilled soba noodles and mentsuyu dipping sauce as a way of keeping cool while engaging in our favourite pastime of filling our faces. But we never imagined for a second that someone would put noodles, yoghurt and fruit together in one dish.

Tokyo and Osaka-based noodle chain Tsurutontan, specialists in udon wheat-flour noodle dishes, is currently offering patrons something rather tropical with its Mango Yogurt Udon. The very thought of eating a cold, sweet version of one of our favourite kinds of noodle at once excited us and made us feel a little bit queasy, so we sent one of our bravest reporters over to try it out. Find out what they thought after the jump.

Japan
(food • fruit • gourmet • Noodles • tsuruton • weird)

Kirin announces its entry into the peculiar new hot fizzy drinks market

Philip Kendall
Sep 6, 2013

It’s barely even autumn and yet Japan’s beverage makers are showing off their new winter warmers. Hot on the heels of Coca Cola’s Canada Dry Hot Ginger Ale, Japan’s Kirin drinks company has unveiled a new hot version of its popular carbonated drink, Kirin no Awa.