Interview with NikkiHatsune

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! Today, this article is going to be a very special article because this is something that many of you were waiting for! This is Liv N' Luv Japan's very first interview and this interview is with NikkiHatsune~!! (^_^)

Here is a little bit about NikkiHatsune. NikkiHatsune is just her stage name, her nickname is Nikki but, her actual name is Nikola. She is a 16 year old girl from Slovakia who is a rising star on YouTube and NicoNicoDouga. She oftens uploads dance covers to YouTube and NND. The dances she covers are J-POP and Vocaloid songs! You can obviously tell that she is a huge fan of the vocaloid Hatsune Miku and J-POP singer KyaryPamyuPamyu! You can also tell from her social media such as her YouTube channel, Google+, Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook that she loves chatting and interacting with her fans! Now...let's get straight to the interview!:



Liv N' Luv Japan: When and what interested you in Japanese culture?

NikkiHatsune: I've been interested in Japanese culture since I was a little kid. I used to dress up as a geisha when I was 5. Haha! But, I got more into it through anime when I was 9.

Liv N' Luv Japan: What inspired you to dance? Is dancing something you want to do as a lifelong career?

NikkiHatsune: A well known dancer, Aikawa Kozue did! I love the way she dances and spread smiles all over the world. I'd never thought of dancing if not for her. And no, not really. I want to keep it only as a hobby since I can't imagine doing it professionally.

Liv N' Luv Japan: Do your friends and family support you with your hobby of dancing? If so, how?

NikkiHatsune: I consider myself very lucky, because they all do. My friends always go filming with me and even take photos of places where I could dance, which is really lovely! And as for my family...umm let's say they are proud of me, which has caused some awkward family meetings where everyone watched my videos. Well, they weren't really awkward but I felt incredibly awkward!

Liv N' Luv Japan: What are some challenges that you had come across when you first started dancing?

NikkiHatsune: Since I hadn’t danced before starting on YouTube, pretty much everything was a challenge. Mostly sloppy moves though! It took a lot of time to get rid of them but I’m happy to see some improvement now. Also energy, I used to dance like a zombie (same goes for my expressions).

Liv N' Luv Japan: Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?

NikkiHatsune: Hopefully somewhere abroad... and doing something artsy! I’d like to try to live either in Japan, Ireland or England (at least for few years).

Liv N' Luv Japan: What musical artists has had the most impact on you?

NikkiHatsune: I’d say Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Perfume and H!P groups like Morning Musume!

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Thank you guys so much for checking out my very first interview! I also want to thank Nikola for taking out her time to let me interview her. We have tried this once over Facebook but because of my bad connection during the time we couldn't finish and never really started. I was going to wait to post this until the beginning of 2015 or it was going to be post on the first of December but I have gotten so excited about this post, I wanted to publish it today! Plus, I know that I haven't being posting like I should lately and I currently I don't have my laptop on me so that makes it even harder! >.<

But I want to thank everyone and I hope that you guys will enjoy Liv N' Luv Japan very first interview!! ^_^

Twitter: @LivNLuvJP

Email: livnluvjapan@yahoo.com

MUSIC: C-ute - I miss you (Promotional Ver.)

Hello everyone! I know I haven't done this in a long time by showing you guys J-POP music videos that you guys should check out hahaha! And the reason why I do this is because I want to show people who don't know about J-POP or any artists or any good songs to listen to so I post them up here sometimes for people who often read my blog Liv N' Luv Japan.

So, today I decided I should post C-ute latest song "I miss you" but this video is the promotional version. So, for those of you who don't know the J-POP group C-ute or just feel like listening to J-POP songs you haven't listen to then I recommend this song because I'm listening to this song right now and I'm really into it! (^^)


                                               C-ute - "I miss you" (Promotional Ver.)

11/14/14 Liv N' Luv Japan Announcement

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! I have an announcement I would like to make. This is going to be normal that I'm not going to be able to post often. Between school, studying, friends, and family...I'm not going to have very much time to devote to my blog. But, that doesn't mean I have stop posting, or thinking about you guys wanting to read more post from me!! Lately, I have been interviewing NikkiHatsune early this November and things are going great as planned!

So, you guys will be seeing the interview soon either during the start of the month of December or either the beginning of 2015. (^_^) I have also been thinking about new things to post for Liv N' Luv Japan because sometimes it can be really difficult trying to figure out what to post and making it interesting and try to make it not look like I was being lazy. xD

Well, this post was just to let you guys know that I am not gone or dead!!!! I have just been extremely busy in reality. But, keep checking in to Liv N' Luv Japan because there shall be a post coming soon like maybe on Saturday depending if I will be at the library first thing in the morning to post. So, let me know what you guys would like to see on Liv N' Luv Japan so you guys can be satisfied with what you're reading! SAYONARA~!! (^_^)

Email: livnluvjapan@yahoo.com

Twitter: @LivNLuvJP

My Top 5 Blogs About Japan

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! It's been a while since I have posted a new article. I wanted to make sure that this blog stays fresh with new articles often so I came up with telling you guys my top 5 favorite blogs about Japan! ^_^

1. JapanBlogList

JapanBlogList is one of my favorite blogs because it's a blog with other blogs about Japan so it makes it really easy to find really good blogs that are Japan based. And the blog is really organized into different categories such as like you have your 'Japan-Related' blogs (which are my favorite), you have your blogs that a native Japanese person writes and post things that are Japan related and you have blogs by foreigners of Japan that are living there and writing about things that are Japan-Related. Also, I have dealt with the owner of this blog as well and his name is Jon Allen and he has submitted my blog onto his blog! Because of him, my blog is becoming more well known and scoring more views! Thanks Jon Allen!! Make sure you guys really check out his blog and follow on Twitter: @JapanBlogList


2. The Rising Sky

I really love this blog! It's so amazing and it has everything that you can think about such as Japan's traditional and pop culture such as it tells you about the country, this blog helps teach you the language and it has things about Japanese celebrities, J-Pop, Anime, etc!! And if you actually go to the site, the website design is so beautiful that it just makes you want to sit there and take your time exploring the site and read every single article. And you can find The Rising Sky on almost every type of social media. The blog is very organized and very modern. I highly recommend for you guys to check out this blog because you will love it as much as you love Liv N' Luv Japan!


3. 1000 Things About Japan

I really haven't done much reading on the blog "1000 Things About Japan" but, I think that it is a really great blog because it's about a foreigner in Japan and talking about their experiences and things you probably assumed about Japan. I think it's really interesting because the story articles are really interesting. I would recommend it if you're interested in knowing about travelling as a foreigner to Japan and get their point of view.



4. Tofugu

Now, Tofugu is an epic amazing and awesome blog! ^_^ And I also think that this blog is one of the most popular blogs about Japanese culture, language, music, foods, etc.! Also, Tofugu also haves a YouTube channel. His blog is one of my most favorite blogs and just reading his blogs and watching his videos really motivates me to do better for my own blog! ^_^ I highly recommend you to check out his blog!



5. Kirainet.com - A Geek In Japan

Now, I don't know much about this blog but I just started reading about it today and I think that they post really interesting things and have so many articles and topics! I find that the way they have their blog set up is outstanding and they must be racking in tons of views! What's similar between Kirai and Liv N' Luv Japan is that both blogs post tons of things about Japanese pop culture more than anything else! ^_^ So I recommend it if you also enjoy Liv N' Luv Japan.


Well, that is it for this post for today! I tried to post something up for you guys because I know I haven't posted in such a long time and I thought maybe if I give you guys a list of my favorite blogs would be a nice and decent post. Also, I want to make an announcement that I will be doing the interview with NikkiHatsune and will post it on Liv N' Luv Japan soon! I will make sure that it will be posted before year 2015! ^_^

If you have any suggestions for what more you would like to see on Liv N' Luv Japan:

Twitter: @LivNLuvJP
Email: livnluvjapan@yahoo.com


Thank you guys for reading! ^_^

Support Liv N' Luv Japan With Artwork!

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! I know I haven't been posting in a while but that is because I have been so busy at school and I haven't had my laptop in two months now! So, I am just posting this because it is almost the end of the year of 2014 and Liv N' Luv Japan has finally reached more than 10,000+ views. So, I decided that we should support Liv N' Luv Japan by making our own artwork to represent it! Here is mine:

I'm so happy that my dad helped me by letting me use his phone so I can take a picture of my artwork! Here is my artwork that I had drawn to represent Liv N' Luv Japan! And I got the color ideas from my template which, would probably be changed by the year 2015 once I learn more about templates and designs so I can edit one of my own. So, this is what I would like you guys to do and I hope that many of you guys that are reading this now will participate!!!

I want you guys to draw a picture that represents Liv N' Luv Japan and you can take a picture of it with your phone, a camera, webcam, whatever you can use and send it to livnluvjapan@yahoo.com !! Once I notice that I have many that are being submitted, I will post all of your amazing drawings on Liv N' Luv Japan and it will also be used on Liv N' Luv Japan Twitter (@LivNLuvJP) and Liv N' Luv Japan Facebook page!!!

I am so excited that I actually get to do this because this was something I planned to do months and months ago!! Hopefully, it will be successful if everyone who reads my blog participates and maybe if I get many sent in then I will put all the pictures of the artwork together and make them a collage and that will be our new template for 2015!! Also I think I will make the deadline December 28th! I want to have a chance to write an article and show you guys artwork before the end of the year. ^_^

JapanBlogList

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! I have some very exciting news for you guys and I will also introduce you to a very creative and amazing blog! I shall start from the beginning! A month ago or more I went on Google to check out other blogs that are Japan-related to give myself ideas and motivate myself to work on my blog more. Soon, I ran across a blog called JapanBlogList. I thought it was very interesting because it's a blog with about blogs that are Japan-related. Such as you can have a blog and you're a foreigner in Japan or you can be a Japanese person in Japan that blogs about Japan, etc. (Liv N' Luv Japan is Japan-related.)

                                                                     (JapanBlogList)

Soon, I realized that you can submit your blog by sending an email with your blog name, URL, and category. I sent it out a month ago like, the middle of August. I was really unsure and doubting myself that my blog would be accepted . Soon, I was so focused in school that I forgot I even submitted my blog! The only reason why I remembered was because of when I was check Liv N' Luv Japan Twitter, I happened to notice JapanBlogList followed me, then it all came to me. So, I was rushing to check my email and soon I realized I have been accepted!!! Here is the email that have been sent:

Hi Keyatta

Welcome to the JapanBlogList.  Thank you for your submission,

your blog has now been added.

I rarely provide any comments to the bloggers that submit their blogs, 

but after I read some of your blog entries I thought I'd offer a little encouragement 

and advice. 

I first started my own blog about eight years ago when blogging was way 

more popular than in it is now.

As you have discovered it takes a huge amount of time and effort 

to build up and maintain a blog.I admire your determination and

you have obviously done a great job to build up the content

and followers. 

A good way to build up more followers is to have a blog roll on your blog of other blogs you read. 

Follow other bloggers, comment on their blogs, and do posts that include

links back other people's blogs. It builds up a community spirit and increases 

the chances of reaching more potential readers. 

Check out some of the other blogs from my list with similar interests and see what

they are talking about and join in. 

I have been maintaining this list for over four years now, the number of new

blogs being submitted has been slowly declining ever since then. 

I used to have 15 to 20 new blogs submitted every month. 

Now it's less than one per week. ( I have literally had 4 submissions this month) . 

So good job, keep up the good work and wish you luck with your ambition. 

We welcome a link back to the site : http://www.japanbloglist.com

if it's not too much trouble.

Thanks.

Jon Allen

http://www.japanbloglist.com

follow us on twitter:

http://twitter.com/JapanBlogList

I was so happy when I realized that Liv N' Luv Japan was submitted. I submitted Liv N' Luv Japan because I wanted my blog to be out there with all the other blogs that are very successful and I wanted more people to check out my blog and notice it and appreciate all the hard work that I have been putting into it. And I was so happy when I read this that I actually printed myself a copy! So, the reason why I am posting this on Liv N' Luv Japan because I wanted you guys to see all the hard work I have been doing and I wanted to support JapanBlogList and show them that I really appreciate for what they have done and how they helped Liv N' Luv Japan by a lot!! ^_^

So thank you guys for reading this article! Don't forget to follow and tweet to @LivNLuvJP and make sure you also follow and tweet to JapanBlogList to @JapanBlogList! Also make sure you guys email me at livnluvjapan@yahoo.com! ^_^

Celebrities: Kawase Tomoko (川瀬 智子)

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! Like I told you guys before on my article on the article about "Tommy heavenly6", I was going to do a celebrity category on Tomoko Kawase!! ^_^

                                  Name: Kawase Tomoko (married name: Okuda Tomoko)
                                    Stage Name(s): Tommy february6, Tommy heavenly6
                                                            Nickname: Tommy
                                                    Birthday: February 6th, 1975
                                                              Blood Type: B
                                                              Height: 161cm
                                                    Hometown: Kyoto, Japan

Now, time for some detailed information about Kawase Tomoko! Kawase Tomoko was originally the lead vocalist and lyricist of an alternative rock band called "The Brilliant Green". She was asked to join the band in 1995 after her now husband, Okuda Shunsaku, and Matsui Ryo heard her sing when she took part in a karaoke contest. And as the band's lyricist, she wrote songs and sung them in both Japanese and English. And in her videos, she speaks really great and clear English and she isn't even a native English speaker. Since the indefinite hiatus of "The Brilliant Green" she started doing more soloist music on her own so she came up with "Tommy february6" and "Tommy heavenly6".

And other than music, she is involved in other things as well.She writes songs for other singers. And she also once lent her voice to an anime called Piroppo as a character named Pikki. She also modeled for an Italian fashion house, Fiorucci, and for some time she hosted "Break Down", a show on MTV Japan.

She is also known for having an obsession with "Elmo", the red Sesame Street Muppet, Harry Potter, and more recently Pikachu from the anime Pokemon!

Now, more about "Tommy february6"!  Kawase Tomoko began developing the character of february6 way before her debut. The february6 persona is known for her geeky looks, theme of cheerleaders, strange habits, her librarian-esque glasses, and her innocent personality (portrayed in her lyrics)!! The name itself was inspired by her birthday.

Here is a song from "Tommy february6":

                                                                       RUNAWAY

Now, about "Tommy heavenly6" which many of you that read my blog probably read an article about it before! Now, Tommy heavenly6 is meant to be the dark side and the alter-ego of Tommy february6. This one is released under "heavenly6". It is pop rock based and features Tommy as a more sophisticated and a classy person. Tommy heavenly6 is obessed with her image, and almost parodies modern culture in a way. Her persona loves reality shows, alcohol, and junk food.

That is also all what I have to say about Tommy heavenly6 so now I will show you guys a song from Tommy heavenly6:

                                                             CAN YOU HEAR ME?

And before I end this article, here is her in the alternative rock band "The Brilliant Green"!!


                                           THE BRILLIANT GREEN - A LITTLE WORLD

Well, that is all I have to write about on Kawase Tomoko! Thank you guys for reading! I will make sure to post more and more! ^_^ Thank you! And don't forget to comment and follow and tweet @LivNLuvJP and email me at livnluvjapan@yahoo.com !! ^_^

Anime: Beyond the Boundary (境界の彼方)

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! A couple of weeks ago, I read an article in Otaku USA magazine about an anime called "Beyond the Boundary". Then, I was really interested in watching the anime so today, I have watched the first full episode of Beyond the Boundary and so far I really like it! ^_^ So, I decided that I should go ahead and write my own review about it!!

The genres of Beyond the Boundary are Urban Fantasy, Supernatural, and Action/Adventure. It is an anime and a light novel. The anime is quite new since it aired in Japan between October and December 2013. So far, it only has 12 episodes but, it will soon have a season 2. The main characters are Akihito Kanbara, Mirai Kuriyama, and Mitsuki Nase.

                                                              AKIHITO KANBARA

                                                                 Race: Half-Youmu
                                                                   Gender: Male
                                                                     Sign: Libra
                                                             Birthday: October 7th
                                                                        Age: 16
                                                                   Blood Type: A
                                                              Height: 171cm (5'7")
                                   Occupation: Sophomore & Literary Club Vice President


                                                               MIRAI KURIYAMA

                                                         Race: Spirit World Warrior
                                                                Gender: Female
                                                                   Sign: Aries
                                                            Birthday: March 31st
                                                                       Age: 15
                                                                 Blood Type: O
                                                             Height: 152cm (5'0")
                                                          Occupation: Freshman

                                                                   MITSUKI NASE

                                                            Race: Spirit World Warrior
                                                                     Gender: Female
                                                                      Sign: Scorpio
                                                              Birthday: November 1st
                                                                           Age: 16
                                                                   Blood Type: AB
                                                                 Height: 165cm (5'5")
                                         Occupation: Sophomore & Literary Club President



Now, since you guys know a lot more about the main characters, I will tell you guys the main story or you can say plot. It all started in episode 1 when Akihito Kanbara went to go save his friend Mirai Kuriyama from committing suicide. Then soon, she stabbed Akihito with a sword formed from her blood!! Soon, she was shocked that Akihito was immortal and a half-youmu. Soon, Akihito learns that Mirai Kuriyama is a Spirit World Warrior which is a person who protects humans from being affected by youmu. Mirai Kuriyama is also the last survivor of her spirit clan. Soon, Akihito learns the truth of why Mirai Kuriyama keeps stabbing him and trying to kill him and turns out because Akihito is immortal, she uses him for practice! (O.o);;;

That is all I am going to say about the anime "Beyond the Boundary". I don't want to give out too much that I might spoil it for you guys. But, I did experience watching this anime and like I said I am enjoying it so far. And if you a fan of supernatural anime then you will surely love this one. Also, I think that this anime should also count as a comedy because it is very funny to me~!! ^_^

Now, I will show you guys the opening and ending of Beyond the Boundary to get you guys excited about watching it~!!

                                              BEYOND THE BOUNDARY OPENING

                                                BEYOND THE BOUNDARY ENDING

Well, that is all I have to say about "Beyond the Boundary"! I hope you guys make the decision to check it out and watch it! It is available to watch with English sub on YouTube and Crunchyroll! And if you have any questions, comments, requests, etc please comment below and/or email me at livnluvjapan@yahoo.com and don't forget to follow and tweet @LivNLuvJP !! ^_^

Otaku USA

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! Today, I want to talk about this popular magazine that is sold in the USA called "Otaku USA".

                          (This is the magazine issue I have that I have bought in April of 2014)


Otaku USA is a bi-monthly magazine that otaku people would really love! It features everything from anime, manga, J-pop, J-Nerd lifestyle, convention dates, cosplay, video games, reviews,  etc!! Honestly in my opinion, I love this magazine and I wish I could purchase every upcoming magazine! And I have started to get some of my ideas from Otaku USA. It also help me keep up what is new and trending in the otaku world! ^_^

It's a pretty new magazine if you heard that this magazine started in August in the year of 2007. They also have there own official website for you guys are interested in checking it out: www.otakuusamagazine.com
or you can just CLICK HERE.

But, there is not much I can really talk about about this magazine except for the fact that it is totally awesome and I highly recommend for you otakus to start purchasing these magazines!! I'm not sure if they sell it in other countries but, in the USA, they sell it for about $5-$6 dollars! ^_^ Pretty cheap for such an amazing magazine with so much content!!

Well that is all I have to say about Otaku USA Magazine! Please let me know you guys opinion on it by commenting below or tweeting @LivNLuvJP !! ^_^

J-POP: Juice=Juice - Stretching to be a Grown Up

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! Here is Juice=Juice latest single "Stretching to be a Grown Up"!

                                                     "Stretching to be a Grown Up"

Let me know your guys opinions about their new song by commenting below and/or tweeting Liv N' Luv Japan @LivNLuvJP !! ^_^

Music: Tommy heavenly6

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! It's been a while since I have posted articles. I have been so busy with school lately since I started last month but today I will make sure to post plenty of articles for you guys to enjoy! So starting first, I wanna talk about "Tommy heavenly6"!

Tommy heavenly6 is a mixture of pop, alternative rock, punk, etc. The singer is Tomoko Kawase (which I will soon do a celebrity article on soon!). She is part of a J-rock band called "The Brilliant Green". But, when it comes to singing solo, she has her own thing called Tommy heavenly6.

There is not much I can really say about Tommy heavenly6 since their isn't much information I can find about it. But what I can say is that many songs from Tommy heavenly6 has been on many animes. It has been on Soul Eater, Bakuman, Shugo Chara, Bleach, Yu-Gi-Oh, Gintama, etc!! Also, here is the girl herself Tomoko Kawase~!!

And now, I will show you guys a couple of her songs from Tommy heavenly6!! Also my opinion about her music is that her music is very similar to the Western music from Avril Lavigne and Paramore so, if you love that type of music like I do, you will surely love Tommy heavenly6!!


                                                                       "RUBY EYES"

                                                               "Monochrome Rainbow"

Well, thank you guys for checking out this article about Tommy heavenly6!! I will still be posting more articles today!! Also, don't forget to follow Liv N' Luv Japan on Twitter @LivNLuvJP !!

And if you have any questions, comments or requests...feel free to comment below and/or email me at livnluvjapan@yahoo.com !! ^_^

Celebrities: Hikaru Utada (宇多田 ヒカル)

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! Today, I will be talking about a popular Japanese celebrity who is a solo artist named Hikaru Utada~! ! ! ^_^

• Name: Hikaru Utada (宇多田 ヒカル)
• Birthday: January 19th, 1983 (currently 31 yrs old)
• Birthplace: Manhattan, New York City, NY
• Height: 5'2" (1.58m)
• Spouse: Kazuaki Kiriya (married from 2002-2007)
• Parents: Teruzane Utada & Keiko Fuji
• Occupation: Singer & Songwriter

 
 Hikaru Utada is a Japanese-American singer and songwriter. She has been in business ever since 1996 and then ended it in 2011 on hiatus. Which means she probably paused on her music to handle personal things in her life. She is originally from Japan but, was born in the U.S. Her music is really popular in both Japan and the U.S. among both Japanese and American people. She plays many varieties of different music such as pop, R&B, rock, alternative, dance, electronica, synthpop, and experimental. She also knows how to play the piano, vocals, and guitar.

On September 7th, 2002 she married Kazuaki Kiriya. He is a photographer and a film director who was 15 years her senior and he had also directed several of her music videos. After 4 and a half years, the couple divorced on March 2nd, 2007. Soon, she confirmed she had a boyfriend 8 years her senior which they begun their relationship in about September 2009. Then on January 27, 2010 it was reported that their relationship had ended due to the fact that Utada was extremely busy with her "In The Flesh 2010", and the fact that they never saw each other. 

Sadly, on August 22, 2013...Utada's mother, Keiko Fuji, died by apparent suicide by jumping from the 13th floor of a 28-floor condominium building in Shinjuku, Tokyo. 

Soon, she announced on her personal site, that she was engaged to be a wed, asking for her fans and the media to view her personal life from a "respectable distance" as he is not in the entertainment industry. On that same day, her ex-husband congratulated her on her marriage. Then, on February 10th, 2014 Utada and her fiance Francesco Calliano left a message on Hikaru Utada's official site about how they met each other, him being a bartender in London hotel and asking for privacy. They were wed on May 23rd, 2014.

Here are some amazing photos of her family:

                                                This is Hikaru Utada's mother Keiko Fuji

                                        This is Hikaru Utada's ex-husband Kazuaki Kiriya

                                             This is Hikaru Utada's father Teruzane Utada

                                    This is Hikaru Utada and her husband Francesco Calliano



Now, I will show you guys videos of a few of her songs that she had written (it is kinda hard for me to find the official version of MVs but all the songs is the official version) Also most of her songs that she I have written are also part of the video game "Kingdom Hearts".:



                                                                  "Simple and Clean"

                                                                         "Passion"

                                                               "FINAL DISTANCE"

Thank you guys so much for checking out Liv N' Luv Japan! I will be posting more articles soon for you guys to check out! Bye Bye!! Love you!! Arigatou gozaimasu~!! ^_^

Liv N' Luv Japan 100th Blog Post!!

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! I have some very exciting news! I have finally reached my 100th blog post!! This was one of my goals for Liv N' Luv Japan last year during the winter. I wanted to reach my 100th blog post!!

I am so excited right now and I am feeling speechless! After blogging for more than a year now, I want to talk about what I learned about blogging........

• First things first, blogging takes A LOT of time! Blogging isn't just something that you do for like 15 or 20 minutes a day. It takes about an hour or more! For me, I be working on my blog for almost 3 hours a day. If you don't put the time for your blog then, it may not seem like much or it's maybe not your best interest.

• Secondly, blogging take motivation and passion! If you don't have motivation and passion then, I suggest you to stop blogging and find something else that you may enjoy because if you don't have motivation and passion then your blog will be unsuccessful and uninteresting. And you need to have lots of ideas to come up with to continue with your blog.

• Blogging has really improved me and open me to new information that I haven't even known about. When I first started blogging, I started blogging because I had passion for Japan and my dream career is to become a journalist. So, I thought that journalism and blogging tied together and was related so, I thought that blogging will help me learn a little more. Sometimes, blogging can be stressful but, for me I always find it fun to do and share the things I am interested in with other people. So as an opinion on myself, I think I would make a perfect journalist~!

• Because of blogging, I have made a lot of new friends online and they have taught me so much and we would always share our tips and talk about our experience with blogging and the things that strongly interested us into blogging about the things that we love. Blogging also improved me as a person as well. It made me more open-minded and made me also want to learn more about the advance part of blogging and makes me want to learn more about different people and cultures. Things like this really inspires me.

• I have had times when I loved writing so much and had so many ideas flowing through my mind while writing that I didn't want to stop and, I have also had times when I wasn't in the mood for reading, writing, blogging or even thinking about writing that when I worked on my blog I didn't know where to start.

•  There have been many times that I thought to myself that my blog Liv N' Luv Japan is a very great blog and someday will become very successful that I wanted to start a second or third blog but, I wasn't inspired by them and decided to keep Liv N' Luv Japan.

I am happy to be able to share most of what I have learned from blogging with you guys. And I really appreciate all of you for supporting me and viewing my blog. When I first started blogging from last year on July 11th 2013 to now, my priorities for my blog change from time to time. At first, the most important thing for my blog at the beginning was getting my blog to get notice. As soon as I got a couple of views and posted around 10-20 posts, I thought that I would get a really huge amount of views in almost a couple of days. But, I notice that I doesn't work that way so, then my priorities change from getting noticed to raising my view count.

Afterwards, I became more experienced and noticed I wanted more communication on my blog and wanted to be able to communicate with my readers and get to know more about their opinions on about the articles I be writing and about my blog as a whole. There is communication on my blog but now as much as I would want it to be so, I try to add social media into it by making a Facebook page, Google+ community, Twitter page, etc. And it helped a lot because it let me know that people were actually interested and took the time to actually follow. but, after making a couple of social networks for Liv N' Luv Japan, sometimes it is very hard for me to actually to keep up with everything.

The only thing I could actually keep up with is the Twitter account for Liv N' Luv Japan. I find it more fun and interesting to use than Facebook, Google+, etc. and so far the Twitter page as 13+ followers, and the Facebook as around 8+ followers and the Google+ community as around 29+ followers.

I also try to make my blog look a lot more interesting by coloring the font, adding photographs and videos, trying to interact with the readers, trying to find different subjects to talk about. Things I talk about is all Japan-related so I have the entertainment such as J-POP, Anime, Manga, Celebrities, etc. and I have some things on the Japanese language and help other people by finding resources that I recommend them to use. And now, I am starting to write more on what's going on in Japan and adding more of the traditional culture and history as well. 

Well, there is really not much I can actually say right now on this article. But, I now really my goal is to order in the hoodies and get more communication on my blog which is now my top priorities for Liv N' Luv Japan. Also, you guys can follow and tweet at @LivNLuvJP and you can also comment on my blog. And if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, compliements, etc. you would like me to know then please email me at: livnluvjapan@yahoo.com !! ^_^

Thank you guys so much for all of your support!!   

Today In Japan: Raising Awareness About Refugees

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! I decided to start a new category for Liv N' Luv Japan. I always seem to talk about entertainment in Japan such as celebrities, anime, manga, J-POP, etc. But, yesterday I notice that I rarely and none at all talk about what's been going on in Japan or any history really at all. So, starting today I will start talking more on about what's going on in Japan and I will label this category as "Today In Japan".

First, I want to talk about "Raising Awareness About Refugees". There was an event and children was with the members of the Nadeshiko Japan which is Japan's women soccer team. So, the team members decided to join in fun and games with the children that was there that day and asked them true or false questions about the refugees, I guess to test the children knowledge on the subject. The event was organized by the UNHCR at Toyosu Lalaport in Tokyo on Friday (it is Friday here today but, it was Friday for Japan yesterday).

Afterwards, the players and the children all took a photo together:

Here is a couple of photos of refugees in Japan:

I learned that there is a such thing such as "Refugee Day". I guess that they want children to learn more about refugees for plenty of reasons such as to help refugee agencies to increase their profile and visibility, to provide an opportunity for refugees to celebrate and express their cultural identity, to attract positive media coverage of refugee issues, etc. So after reading about this, I am assuming that their is low knowledge on people not knowing about refugees. Even I don't know much on refugees myself! For those who do not know what a refugee is, it is a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, natural disaster, etc.


Well, that is all for this article for "Today In Japan". On my opinion on refugees, I feel kinda sorry for them because you have to think about that they have to leave their families and the people they love. Also they are leaving their home country to go somewhere they are basically don't know about. If I was in that type of situation I will feel very worried and sad that I think I would go crazy. I wish I could help and support the people who are refugees and I am glad that I learned something new today that I didn't even know nothing about. Let me know your opinion on this article and how you feel about the people who are refugees in the comment section below. Also don't forget to follow and tweet to @LivNLuvJP !!

Celebrities: Ashida Mana (芦田 愛菜)

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! Today, I am going to be on the subject of celebrities. I want to talk about a famous Japanese child named Ashida Mana~! ^_^

Birthday: June 23rd, 2004 (currently 10 yrs old)

Occupation: Singer, Actress, Model, and Tarento

Birthplace: Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Talent Agency: JobbyKids

 Now, here is a little more about Ashida Mana and my opinions on her. She has been on so many movies, j-dramas, commercials, and voice acting for animations/cartoons. So I am going to give you guys a list of the many things she has appeared in:


MOVIES:

• Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora (2010)
• Kokuhaku (2010)
• Ghost Mou Ichido Dakishimetai (2010)
• Inu to Anata no Monogatari (2011)
• Hankyuu Densha Katamichi 15 fun no Kiseki (2011)
• Usagi Drop (2011)
• Liar Game: Saisei (2012)
• Nobo no Shiro (2012)
• Pacific Rim (2013)

I am planning to check out all of these movies and plan to watch them since I am a huge fan of this kawaii little Japanese girl Ashida Mana. I am really interested in one of these movies which is "Pacific Rim". After I watch these movies I will also plan to write a review on my blog about them. ^_^

Now here is a little bit of information about Ashida Mana that you may not know about her. Her favorite foods are cucumber, fried vegetables, sukonbu and kameni. But, she dislikes eggplants, pumpkin, and milk. Her hobbies are riding the unicycle and reading. She looks up to the K-POP group KARA. She became famous and rose up to popularity after she was starred in the award winning j-drama "Mother" and she end up winning "Best Supporting Actress" at the 14th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix. And at the age of only six, she became one of the youngest leading actress in a Japanese drama called, "Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien" in 2011.

Now like I said before, Ashida Mana is a singer so I am going to show you a couple of her music videos:


                                  Ashida Mana - Sutekina Nichiyoubi ~ Gyu Gyu Good Day!

                                                   Ashida Mana - Zutto Zutto Tomodachi

                                                   Ashida Mana - Minna no Happy Birthday

                                                  Ashida Mana - Maru Maru Mori Mori

That was just a couple of her music videos and I find all of them to be very adorable and I love listening to her music. It's hard to really choose my favorite song by her but, I gotta say that I would choose "Maru Maru Mori Mori" because the song is super adorable and so is the very colorful music video and just listening to the song makes me feel really happy and makes me feel like a really happy little kid~! ^_^

Now also like I said before, she has also been in so many commercials!! So, I will also show you guys a video full of most of the commercials she has been in:

And do you remember when I said that Ashida Mana looks up to KARA and is a really huge fan? Well, here is another video which was on her birthday and she meets the group KARA for the first time! Really cute~! ^_^

Well, that is all for this article on the celebrity Ashida Mana~! I will be posting more articles soon so stay tuned and don't forget to follow Liv N' Luv Japan on Twitter at @LivNLuvJP ! ^_^

J-POP: Arashi (嵐) - Troublemaker (トラブルメーカー)

Hello everyone! Welcome to Liv N' Luv Japan! I am going to show you guys my favorite J-POP song of all time! This song is a couple of years old but it is still a really great song by the Japanese boy group called, "Arashi". And my favorite member of the band which he is my all time favorite...Matsumoto Jun~!! <3 ^_^

I love Arashi forever~!! <3 ^_^

私は永遠に嵐が大好きです〜！ <3^ _^