Northern California's KTSF web site

[Andru]

Here's another topic for folks who live in the KTSF viewing area (or at least now THEORETICALLY in the digital TV viewing area): Has anyone been to the big Daiso store near Serramonte Mall?

I just went last week for the first time and although most things were $1.50 and not $1, as I had expected, I was still impressed. They actually did have ALL the stuff you would find in a regular Daiso in Japan! (Natsukashii desu yo!) I stocked up on my favorite osembe and bottled coffee, since at $1.50 each it still beat anything you would normally find in SF's J-town (Ichibankan only occasionally has my favorite osembe as cheap).

And the place was BIG, comparable to the multi-story Daiso on Takeshita Dori in Harajuku (most Daiso stores in Japan are much smaller).

[Itazura ichiban]

Andru wrote:

100 yen ramen!! On my DVR I've been watching the most recent episode of Moshimo Tours from last Sunday on KTSF, and they were doing a common theme: dirt cheap eateries. They first featured a yakuniku place that charges only 105 yen per plate of meat.

I missed this week's epi. Last week they visited a shabu-shabu place that was around $5 a plate, I think? So they're working their way down the scale...

Kinda funny to see all the cast members ooh-and-ahh over these menus as if they were back the classy places from the earlier episodes! Interesting show, anyway. They go to some interesting corners of Nihon-koku.

And back to commercials, it's STILL "Weathrford"!
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- Douglas

[Andru]

Itazura ichiban wrote:

Kinda funny to see all the cast members ooh-and-ahh over these menus

Not to mention the ones who sometimes throw their heads back and cry out as if in ecstasy: "UMAAAAAIIIIIIIII!"

Itazura ichiban wrote:

And back to commercials, it's STILL "Weathrford"!

Yeah, I think there are a couple of other local commercials that have had misspellings go on for years. The weekly "keijiban" with announcements of Japan-related events often include the classic katakana-ized misspellings.

[Itazura ichiban]

Again with Moshimo tours. They went to the commercial fish market. Was that Tsukiji? Or Daigo?

It seems that Japan is getting some price deflation. The average maguro size is getting smaller too.

Should Moshimo Tours have a separate topic?
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- Douglas

[Andru]

Itazura ichiban wrote:

Was that Tsukiji? Or Daigo?

Gomen, I didn't watch it this past Sunday!

Itazura ichiban wrote:

Should Moshimo Tours have a separate topic?

It might very well have a separate thread in the Jdorama forums. There probably have been separate threads on just about every popular J-dorama made - or at least subtitled and/or widely distributed (legal or otherwise) - so I'm sure there have been threads on non-dorama JTV shows as well.

But I've preferred to only really follow this thread which brought some of us in the SF Bay Area together. I found that on the other threads which focus on specific J-drama series, posters were at different stages in watching the series - some had just started, some well into it, some had already seen the whole thing, and others had never seen any episodes. When I started watching J-dorama regularly in the mid-90's, I wasn't "online" yet, but I always wanted to be able to discuss/share with others whatever J-TV shows had just aired the past weekend (especially as the J-dorama stories unfolded) - as I started to do with the only other J-TV fan I knew at the time (CR are you reading this?).

And after discovering the internet in the late 90's, I immediately had the idea of a website where I could do this. If I had the time and the ability to do website design, I would have done it myself, but never did/could. So I was thrilled when I finally discovered this thread in 2005 and lurked for quite awhile before finally having the courage or compulsion to post.

So, I guess I'm trying to cling onto something that just isn't there anymore. Other long-time posters to this thread have apparently moved on and I guess I should too. I'm now retired (yes, Geezer, if you are reading this, I really am one too!) and have been planning to move either to Japan or to the "utopia" of subtitled J-dorama: Hawaii! But some unforeseen circumstances have delayed my plans. Fortunately though I'm now finally able to get back on track with them. Maybe look for me as a guest foodie on Moshimo Tours?

[Itazura ichiban]

I don't know, we have shared misery, save for those of us who have jumped ship to cable and TV-Japan.

I think that its the lack of quality rather than the lack of quantity that's driving people away. We haven't seen an engaging asadora on KTSF in ages, for instance.I know I complained about Churasan in times past. Forgive me Eri-chan!

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- Douglas

[Andru]

Itazura ichiban wrote:

I complained about Churasan in times past. Forgive me Eri-chan!

Wait a minute!!!! I think Churasan was actually one of the better ones! Especially compared to the real "dogs" like Sakura and Wakaba (the one we loved to hate ). Now, I'm not saying that Churasan was one of the best asadoras but c'mon it wasn't one of the WORST! And I became even a little more fond of Eri and the gang at the rooming house after watching the fan-subbed sequels: Churasan 2, 3, and 4! (Thank God they didn't continue on and on! )

[Itazura ichiban]

You mis-understand me. We haven't seen a good drama such as Churasan. And I complained about it when it was on. Not appreciating it at the time. De aru ka?
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- Douglas

[Andru]

Itazura ichiban wrote:

You mis-understand me. We haven't seen a good drama such as Churasan. And I complained about it when it was on. Not appreciating it at the time. De aru ka?

Gomen! Ima wakarimashita! Although I was fond of Churasan while it was running, I too didn't fully appreciate it until we had to endure Sakura and Wakaba (Kaze No Haruka wasn't too bad though).

And long after Churasan had finished its run on KTSF, I learned about the sequels (two miniseries and one TV movie) and that made me realize that in Japan it was considered one of the better ones too.

Of course I don't think any have been as popular as Oshin, which I only saw as a condensed version a few years back on KTSF. I wonder: Did the entire Oshin run on KTSF back in the 80s?

Funny note: After I had seen the condensed version of Oshin, I was channel-surfing one day (as I do almost constantly!) and stopped on something called "SCOLA" (which doesn't seem to be on my cable line-up anymore!) to watch TV from some obscure Central Asian country, and it was Oshin, dubbed in the local language! I later learned that the Japanese govt had the popular asadora exported to many different countries to introduce J-culture to the world. I recently met someone from Indonesia who has fond memories of watching Oshin when she was a little girl.

[CherKell]

Andru wrote:

Here's another topic for folks who live in the KTSF viewing area (or at least now THEORETICALLY in the digital TV viewing area): Has anyone been to the big Daiso store near Serramonte Mall?

I've driven by it a few times, but could never stop to browse. But amazingly, there is a new Daiso and a Marukai grocery right next door to each other on near Cupertino Mall (a/k/a Vallco -- The Mall That Time Forgot).

The first time I stumbled across a Daiso was when I was fortunate to attend the Apple Store opening at Fukuoka Tenjin in December 2006. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven over all the koudougu (sp?). So to have one close by (and another in Mountain View) makes my bank account get smaller and smaller every week.

CK

[CherKell]

Andru wrote:

Here's another topic for folks who live in the KTSF viewing area (or at least now THEORETICALLY in the digital TV viewing area): Has anyone been to the big Daiso store near Serramonte Mall?

I've driven by it a few times, but could never stop to browse. But amazingly, there is a new Daiso and a Marukai grocery right next door to each other on near Cupertino Mall (a/k/a Vallco -- The Mall That Time Forgot).

The first time I stumbled across a Daiso was when I was fortunate to attend the Apple Store opening at Fukuoka Tenjin in December 2006. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven over all the koudougu (sp?). So to have one close by (and another in Mountain View) makes my bank account get smaller and smaller every week.

CK

[Itazura ichiban]

Next to Daiso is a Beard Papa and on the other side is a decent sushi bar. Is this area turning into a little Japantown?
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- Douglas

[Tadao-chan]

Hi to all -

new member - was looking for info/commiseration partners on KTSF's gutting of their Japanese programming and google returned this thread/topic.

so, those of you who watched KTSF last night already know about the subject line in this post - Moshimo Tours is gone, replaced by yet another junk infomercial. My Sunday is even less happy now... The tradeoff was that NHK News was *supposed* to be expanded to a half-hour but was the same heavily edited 10 minute snippet followed by a 20-minute discussion of swine flu prevention in Japan (I think this must have been old...). I was hoping to see an election report - silly me.

Ah, I guess I should count myself lucky that I was able to see the Golden Age of Japanese programming on KTSF in the 90s - Iron Chef, Kinpachi Sensei, IQ Suppuri, Futarikko, so many more.

[Jazmyn]

It is disappointing, the change in programming.
I was learning so much about Japanese culture.
(What? Are they turning away from cram schools?
I may never know.)

The first show I saw was Suzuran, a bit like Jane Eyre,
but telling something of the impact of trains on Japan.

So does anyone know how to find what we're missing?
What would be on, if they hadn't changed things?

[Itazura ichiban]

Jazmyn wrote:

It is disappointing, the change in programming. I was learning so much about Japanese culture. (What? Are they turning away from cram schools? I may never know.) The first show I saw was Suzuran, a bit like Jane Eyre, but telling something of the impact of trains on Japan. So does anyone know how to find what we're missing? What would be on, if they hadn't changed things?

Welcome, Jazmyn. Many cable services offer the option of a Japan TV channel for an extra charge. One month of that is quite an education, although don't expect subtitles.
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- Douglas

[Jazmyn]

Thanks. I suppose I will have to get cable one day.

In the meantime, there's the Korean shows.
The histories seem to be rather good,
even if the hours are awkward.
But as far as I can tell, the love stories are mostly soap opera.
Not something you'd say about Haruka no Kaze
or My Little Chef? A reason to encourage
KTSF to bring them back. No competition.

[Itazura ichiban]

You know Jazzie, many of the members here download episodes from the web.

I tried that, but it's daunting to see all the episodes lined up in a DVD. I always feel that I have to watch all of them in one night.
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- Douglas

[MikeNolan]

There's a new Japanese NHK channel on 26.2 but its not really good

http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/schedule/index.html

[Andru]

MikeNolan wrote:

There's a new Japanese NHK channel on 26.2 but its not really good http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/schedule/index.html

Mike: Thank you so much for the heads up!! I have cable TV, so I rarely access my OTA digital channels and would have not noticed this change... unless there was an extended blackout of my cable service.

Out of desperation, I have watched NHK World programs through the website since they became available several months ago. But it seemed the most interesting shows were rarely available. When I was able to watch them, like Tokyo Eye, it seemed like a fluke because the next time I'd try, they wouldn't be there. The live streaming feed usually only showed the Newsline program and blocked out the other programs in-between. When I checked the website just now, the same non-news show that was being shown on 26-2 was on the live feed, so maybe there's been a change...at least for the SF Bay Area (I think somewhere on the website it mentions certain "regions" are not authorized to receive certain programs).

BTW, I found the Newsline show rather boring, compared to the regular NHK News7 we used to get on "regular" channel 26 (now 26-1) at 11:30pm M-F (now only 8:30pm Sundays), I think because it is just international and business news..which I get from many other sources. It was the local/national Japanese news that only News7 provided which made it so valuable.

News7 also had the daily sumo tournament coverage which I really missed when they dropped the Mon-Fri shows, but I just noticed Newsline has it!!!! OK, now I'm really happy with this development!

So thanks again, Mike! But I have a question for you: How long ago do you think NHK World was added to channel 26-2?

BTW, I think KBS was originally on 26-2, but now it's on 26-3.

Well, NHK World doesn't have any dramas, but there is one music program called "J-Melo", so maybe they'll show Kohaku live!

[dochira]

MikeNolan wrote:

There's a new Japanese NHK channel on 26.2 but its not really good http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/schedule/index.html

Figured it would take an update to KTSF for me to return. I don't think I can get 26.2 from my location. Heck I can't get 26 normally. I think I need to try out some super amplified antenna.