A time-lapse video of Shukkeien Garden, in the centre of Hiroshima.
This word is a shortened form of 土壇場キャンセル（どたんばきゃんせる）. It means ‘cancelling (or going back on a commitment or promise) at the last minute’.
土壇場 itself means ‘at the last monent’ or ‘at the eleventh hour’.
In ‘game centres’ (amusement arcades) in Japan, there is often a game called ‘Taiko no Tatsujin’. This game features a full-size taiko (a Japanese drum), and the object is to play the drum in time to the beats of a song displayed on a screen. It’s a little like karaoke, I suppose, in that it’s best done after a quantity of drink (and preferably in a city far away from home, in which you have no acquaintances).
Anyway, a version of ‘Taiko no Tatsujin’ has just been released for the iPhone. The ‘Tatsujin’ drumming experience- but without the embarrassment of having a gaggle of fellow players watching your performance (and in my case, no doubt, giggling uncontrollably)!
This could just be the perfect version of the game. It’s wonderful, in just the right sort of tacky-cute way. There are catchy tunes (I’ve been humming ‘Natsu-matsuri’, one of them, all day), a dancing taiko (which- or should that be ‘who’?- blows chewing-gum-like bubbles every now and again), and more ways of drumming than should be feasible just using two fingers. It is even possible to post results on Twitter! Personally, I’d have to say that I’m no better than I was at the game centre version, but I don’t care. I am hooked, well and truly.
If I had to make any criticism, it would be that I should have liked a warning not to use real drumsticks on the screen of the iPhone… but you can’t have everything. This game is nigh on perfect- unlike my performance on even the ‘easy level’.
‘Taiko no Tatsujin’, priced at 600 yen, is available from the Japan iTunes Store.
Today is February 2, 2010.
So what?- you might ask. Well, 2010 is, in the Japanese ‘nengo’ system, Heisei 22, which means that today is 22.2.2.
To commemorate this, Saijo Station (amongst others) has been selling special platform tickets today. No doubt there will be more such tickets on sale in just under three weeks, on February 22- 22.2.22.
If you need to write formal or semi-formal letters and emails in Japanese, then this page is a useful resource. It’s all in Japanese, but, if you’re writing letters in Japanese, that shouldn’t be a problem.