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Paula Gerhold

Paula Kaye Gerhold was born in Anaheim, California and subsequently moved a few hours north to the city of Bakersfield at a young age. Despite that handicap, she's worked all her life to get out of that town and into bigger cities with broader selections of entertainments and fields of study. She graduated, with honors, from San Francisco State University in 2010 with a major in the Japanese Language and a minor in Pacific Asian Studies. After studying abroad for one year at Waseda University, she decided to move to Japan in order to work and play the days away. From the age of nine and continuing into the present, Paula has been self-studying Japanese by going to karaoke, reading comics, and watching Japanese stage plays.

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Posted by Paula Gerhold (Page 2)

Hey, listen! Propose to your game-enthusiast partner with Legend of Zelda wedding rings!

Isn’t it every gamer’s dream to find a prospective spouse who will sit down with them for hours as you both fight your way through perilous dungeons and difficult puzzles? We all long for that special someone who will be there at your side through the toughest battles and yet still lets you win every once in a while (‘Cause that means she’s a keeper, let me tell you). For those of you lucky enough to have found your campaign companion in the long escort mission of life, this newly announced line of promise rings might be right up your alley (Just be sure to talk to all the characters to complete the side quests)!

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Make snails more palatable with a new Hong Kong brand of escargot ice cream!

In the Kwun Tong district of Hong Kong stands a special ice cream factory. Though the summer treat may not be one of the first things that crosses your mind when you think of that busy region of China, the internet has latched on to this particular manufacturer like cats on cheeseburgers!

Why, you ask? For their truly original flavors of ice cream, most particularly the newest addition: snail ice cream!

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Ever wanted to look like a Titan or a guard of Wall Maria? Well now’s your chance with these new Attack on Titan tights!

Japanese company, Movic, is adding another in their line of nerd-fashion print stockings! This time it’s in honor of the smash hit anime and manga series, Shingeki no Kyojin: Attack on Titan. Starting this October, these one-size-fits-all patterned leggings will be available on their online store. You can choose between the sexy strappy garb of a scouting soldier, or the muscly sinew of a giant destroyer of humanity! They’re the perfect socks to fill a Christmas stocking!

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Think you have a creepy boss? Lotteria has you beat with Manager Sadako!

At the entrance to Sunshine Street, overlooking one of the busiest intersections in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro shopping district, sits an innocent-looking LOTTERIA restaurant. The burger chain boasts most of your standard fast food fare: cheeseburgers, fries, desserts, and soft drinks. However, they recently hired a blood-curdling new worker at their store.

In preparation for Sadako 3D2, the sequel to last year’s horror hit based off of the cult-classic movie, Ringu (known as The Ring in the West), Sadako emerged from the TV and earned a place as honorary manager of the burger joint!

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“That’s one large cafe latte to go. Would you like a boyfriend with that?” A Japanese coffee shop’s dating recipe

In Western countries, they say that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Oddly enough, Japan uses the similar phrase: “Otoko gokoro wo tsukamu ni wa ibukuro kara,” or “you can snatch a man’s heart if you start with his stomach.” A local Twitter user managed to find a store in the Okubo area of Tokyo that might have taken this phrase a step too far, however.

Included on the store’s outside sign board, where normally you’d find today’s specials, was the coffee shop’s secret recipe for catching a man:

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Why do Japanese people obey traffic laws? Chinese students give their opinion

On August 11, Record China published an article based on essays written by Chinese students after their first visit to Japan. The piece, titled “How Japanese People Interpret Laws,” mainly focused on the students’ impressions of Japanese roadway rules and regulations and how strictly they are followed.”

Those readers who have had the chance to experience Japanese motorways might not have found the streets very safe at all. Narrow roads often mean narrow escapes from clogged intersections as pedestrians weave in-between eco-delivery bicyclists and taxi cabs. But compared to the hustle and bustle of mainland China, where the rules of the road mean every man for himself, Japan may very well seem an extremely tame, if not complacent, environment.

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Helpful heatwave technology! New popsicle-shaped heatstroke detector!

It’s no secret that from the beginning of June, heatstroke can be a real danger in Japan. But what better way to stave off the sweltering summer temperatures than taking a bite out of a sweet, frozen popsicle? The most popular Japanese ice cream treat, Gari-Gari Kun, has a new promotional campaign to keep people safe during the height of summer–a special accessory that will warn you about potential heatstrokes. Best part is, it’s shaped just like this well-known ice-cream that everybody loves!

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Kiss and Tell: Japanese lipstick company conducts survey on first kisses!

Every culture in the world has different standards and social norms surrounding blossoming romance. But first kiss stories are a worldwide constant… or are they?

A Japanese cosmetic company, T-Garden, recently came out with a line of new lip gloss called ChuChuMagic, taken from the Japanese sound effect of kissing (“Chu!”). To further their new ad campaign, the online makeup store, Luvlit, started a ChuChuMagic survey on the online market research site, “Girl’s Monitor,” that asked Japanese men and women about their various kissing experiences. After questioning 1,000 users who registered for the survey, Luvlit reported their findings.

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Japanese brassiere brand comes out with a new line of vending machine lingerie!

Many of us have heard legends about Japanese vending machines. It’s said that you can get practically anything, not just pop and candy bars, from some of these mechanical beauties. Sadly, much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, most vending machines in Japan only serve your typical fare of soda, water bottles, tea, and corn soup. I was personally quite disheartened on my first trip overseas when I was unable to find a single novelty vending machine during my entire visit. However, this upcoming fall season, a popular bra company in Japan is inviting women to buy their brand new bra directly from a vending machine. 

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This year’s finalists for the Kanto region Miss Cutest High School Girl contest were decided on August 3. Never heard of the contest before?

Miss-Con, the Japanese nickname for the contest, was started in order to figure out who was the cutest high school first year in the Kanto region. Because if there’s one thing Japan can agree on, it’s that there’s nothing cuter than a high school girl. In the past, the contest was a part of a different event “Love Sunshine” or LoveSun, meant for followers of the gyaru fashion, a form of extreme fashion in Japan, often involving heavily dyed hair, tanned skin, lots of make up, and daring clothing choices. Now in its third year, Miss-Con has two separate categories for their contestants: cutest gyaru and cutest “natural” high school girl (i.e. without the crazy hair and signature outfits).

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Five things not to do on a romantic getaway in Japan

Who doesn’t want to take a vacation alone with their special someone? Couples’ vacations are quite popular in Japan with both the young and old. In a country that boasts a wealth of hot springs, rustic townships, and even big tourist-centered cities, there is no end to exotic places to visit. Shared vacations can be a great way to learn more about the local areas and spend some time with your Japanese boyfriend or girlfriend.

But what happens after the first couple days of excitement wear off? What do you do when he starts snoring too loudly or she takes too much time picking out an outfit to wear for the evening?

Here are some helpful hints for couples looking to take a trip with their Japanese partner.

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Ever heard a phrase on TV or in a comic that shocked you right to the core? Maybe a particular line that struck a cord with you and forever afterward you found yourself repeating it? If you’re an avid anime fan, then you might have an answer to that question.

Recently, a survey was conducted among Japanese fans online regarding whether manga character lines left lasting impressions on their viewers. Out of over 700 inquiries, about 31 percent answered that yes, they’d been moved by particular phrases from manga. Here are some of the most heart-wrenching, go-getter phrases picked by fans.

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Yahoo! Japan’s mobile site has been attacked by titans!

That’s right, Kodansha’s super popular manga series Shingeki no Kyojin: Attack on Titan has teamed up with Yahoo! Japan to bring Japanese smart phone users a terrifying titan-themed search engine!

Imagine the world overrun with enormous humanoid monsters whose sole purpose seems to be extinguishing the human race. What can anyone do to stop the carnage? The answer to that question is what the remaining humans on the planet have to find out in Hajime Isayama’s manga-turned-anime series, Shingeki no Kyojin: Attack on Titan.

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