Handwritten note from a Japanese granddad turns out to be heartwarming…and strangely heartbreaking at the same time.
Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
notes
I think we could all benefit from having a note like this dropped on us by a stranger.
When it comes to cash, we all no doubt have our favourites. I, for one, have a huge soft spot for those nice, big 500 yen coins since every time I hold one I feel like I’m either shopping in a medieval market town or about to plonk it down on a bar counter to cover the cost of my beer, bath and bed for the night. Those flimsy little one yen coins, however, have a habit of seeking me out, and I always find myself trying to palm them off on convenience store clerks, devastated when I’m a single coin short of the nine yen they’re asking for.
In a recent poll, 477 My Navi Woman readers were asked which of Japan’s coins and notes boasts the “coolest” design. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the number-one spot went to the 10,000 yen note – the largest denomination available and worth roughly US$100 – but there were some surprises in the list too. Join us after the jump for a closer look at some of Japan’s cash.
While we do effectively live “in the future,” some days it can feel like we’re no more advanced now than we were 60 years ago. We still have to go to the store to buy food instead of having it materialize in little cubbyholes at the command of “Tea. Earl Grey.” Your car can’t fly, and, despite advances, we’re still not able to surf the Net with our brains. Heck, even just sitting in class or in a meeting, you still have to take notes by hand—and if you miss something important, well, that’s that. Try to write faster next time.
But one company is aiming to bring us into the future and revolutionize note-taking at the same time!
Music undeniably plays a huge part in our lives. We’re constantly surrounded by it, and I’m sure there are many of you who would say you simply couldn’t live without music. But when you think about it, isn’t it fascinating that all the music you’re so used to hearing comes down to some circles and dots and squiggles drawn on rows of five parallel lines? For those of us not musically inclined, these notes and symbols may seem like a baffling code, but now, there’s an amazing device that instantly transforms these notes into actual music!