• Daily Life - Japanese Kangaroos - Roo-ing the Day - Unknown Nichigo

    A Bit of a Roo-ed Shock

    Kangaroos have always taken center stage in this blog (which I started almost 13 years ago to try to tap into the then recent introduction of Australian English into TOEIC testing), so it was a bit rare yesterday when I had the chance to write about roos but didn’t (albeit giving prominence to quokkas, another member of the marsupial family). Yesterday, the Kangaeroos had a wonderful time at the Saitama Children’s Zoo, which has an Australian animal area., and attracted us because Mrs. Kangaeroo wanted to see its quokkas. I know a lot of people aren’t too keen on zoos,…

  • Japanese Kangaroos - Unknown Nichigo

    Chocka Quokka

    Quokka took center stage today as the Kangaeroos hopped over to Saitama Children’s Zoo to see the little marsupials. The zoo’s Quokka Island is chokka quokka, including a joey born in late January. Quokkas have become something of an Internet meme after a photo showing one of the little fellers with a huge grin went viral a few years back. The only place to see a quokka in Japan is at the Saitama Children’s Zoo. Mrs. Kangaeroo has a stuffed toy quokka and yearned for years to see one, so dragged me out of bed and off to deepest, darkest…

  • Japanese Kangaroos

    F.R.O. 2022

    As 2022 draws to a close, Kangaeroo will be glad to see the back of it. There was plenty to be grateful for: a happy marriage, closer relationships with children, excellent friends, a life filled with love, family reunions, delightful garden, a full year of employment, generally good health. For all of these, I am deeply thankful. There was much about the year that was extremely satisfying, and I am filled with thanks for that, too. But overall, 2022 was a year of loss. It is been, and remains, an excruciatingly painful time, despite all of the above. One loss…

  • Japanese Kangaroos

    Nurturing the Soul

    British Poet Laureate Alfred Austin once wrote, “To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.” Kangaeroo is getting to find that out. Gardening never really meant much to Kangaeroo, other than getting dragged out of bed as a youth on Saturday mornings to mow the bloody lawn with an antiquated, run-down Victa lawnmower. Never the most energetic or enthusiastic of people at the best of times, the onerous task colored Kangaeroo’s views on gardening for decades, despite all family members showing a penchant and delight for gardening. Having spent the vast majority of those aforementioned decades…

  • Japanese Kangaroos - Unknown Nichigo

    A Slice of Oz Enchantment

    Somewhere in the backblocks of Tokyo’s Tama district, there’s a little Aussie enchantment at work. It could be coming from this jen, who stands about 1 meter high. She’s nestled in among the bark and grevillias. Her joey is enjoying the ride. And they’re lit up at night. 東京多摩地区裏のある所に、オーストラリアの小さなな魔法場所がある。 由来が約1メートルもある身長のこの雌カンガルーにあるかな? バークとロベスタの中に寄り添っている。 子カンガルーも楽しく同乗している。 そして、夜になるとライトアップされます。 Kangaroo Corner Koala Colony

  • Japanese Kangaroos - Strine

    Kangaeroo.com Kit Dares to Dazzle!

    The third, and latest, version of Kangaeroo.com cycling kit has come off the production line and is ready to dazzle. This year, for the first time ever, Kangaeroo.com cycling kit includes a vest and bib shorts. The kit is a full supplement of spring-summer gear in a predominantly Aussie-wattle hue with gum-leaf green lettering. The brighter gear reflects a shift to a new environment. Kangaeroo.com cycling kit comprises a jersey, bib shorts and vest. The jersey features the Kangaeroo.com thinking kangaroo logo on the front, rear and both sleeves. The website title and URL also appear on the front, rear…

  • Japanese Kangaroos - Unknown Nichigo

    Plastic Roos and Fuji Views

    The Izu Peninsula about 100 km southwest of Tokyo is a sheer delight in many ways, not the least of which is that there’re plenty of kangaroos there at the moment! Not that they’re real roos jumping around here and there on the peninsula. Some of the zoos and animal parks in the area, which is blessed with glorious coastlines and numerous mountains, do have their marsupials. But the kangaroos that stand out most to the ordinary visitor are the life-sized PVC statues plugging Izu Shaboten Zoo (notable for its various different types of cacti). The zoo is located at…

  • Japanese Kangaroos - Roo-ing the Day - Strine Biz - Strine Tucker

    Beauty, Athleticism Driving Boom in Sales of Kangaroo Meat in Japanese Convenience Stores

    Kangaroo meat is selling like hotcakes in Japanese convenience stores. Sales of protein-related products are skyrocketing against a backdrop of growing fascination for weight training. All protein-related products grew 40% year on year at Natural Lawson convenience stores from fiscal 2018 to fiscal 2019. And September 2019 sales increased 70% YoY, with kangaroo meat being a prime driver at the chain’s 143 stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Tokyo-based Vasel Inc. sells kangaroo meat under the RooMeat and Paroo brands throughout Japan, including the roo jerky selling strongly at convenience stores. “Kangaroo meat is the pinnacle of red meats. Its…

  • Japanese Kangaroos - Unknown Nichigo - ストラインと日本語

    Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds A Slice of Oz in Sleepy Saitama

    Campbelltown, which is situated about 50 kilometers from Sydney’s central business district, were almost made for each other, even if only serving as satellite cities for their respective countries’ largest cities. Koshigaya and Campbelltown are Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds in Koshigaya could arguably be one of the Kanto Plains areas best-kept secrets. Though only a small-scale park, the attraction is overall an excellent one as it gives a reasonably close view of some delightfully colorful (mostly) Australian birds in a fairly authentic aviary, the largest of its type in Japan. Surrounding the aviary are plenty of Campbelltown Forest of…