Inoue Mao (井上真央) born January 9, 1987 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. In 1999 she was regarded as a U-15 idol. You may remember her portraying Makino Tsukushi in the live-action drama Hana Yori Dango, based on the anime and manga of the same name.

She started her acting career at the age of 5. Her current hobbies includes basketball, badminton, Japanese dance, music, oil painting.

More photos of her after the gap.
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Tags: actress, Hana Yori Dango, idol, Inoue Mao, J Dorama, J-idol, Japan, Japanese, kawaii, Mao Inoue

The dance routine is good, and the clip would be much better if they are actually dancing properly. But the reason I posted this clip is that even with the on-going gags behind the dance routines, I find it funny. It’s not really the dance that is featured on this clip, but by how they have fun doing it. Besides, it’s freezing cold out there in the snow and ice in Gunma Prefecture.

Have fun watching, and don’t mind the dance.

The Haruhi Suzumiya Dance from the anime The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. The music is very addictive, and so is the dance.

Tags: cosplay, dance, Haruhi dance, Japan, Japanese, Suzumiya Haruhi, Suzumiya Haruhi dance, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi

White Day (ホワイトデー, howaito dē?, a Japanese pseudo-anglicism; Korean: 화이트데이 Hwaiteudei; Chinese: 白色情人節) is a holiday created in Japan (1980) in response to the holiday exactly one month ago, which is Valentines Day. It is celebrated on March 14. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan observe this holiday.

In Japan, Valentine’s Day is observed by members of the female gender who present chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to a member of the male gender, as an expression of love. On White Day, men who received a honmei-choco chocolate on Valentine’s Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts, usually more expensive. Sometimes the term sanbai kaeshi (三倍返し, sanbai kaeshi? literally, “thrice the return”) is used to describe the generally recited rule that the return gift should be two- to three-times the cost of the Valentine’s gift.

There are many theories about the origins of White Day. According to one, the holiday began in 1965 when a marshmallow maker started marketing to men on the grounds that they should pay back the women who gave them chocolate and other gifts with marshmallows. [wiki]

I notice this tradition in some anime/j-dorama videos I watch. I wonder why most of the males try hard not to get a gift from a girl. Then I realized that, it is because, if they receive (specially if they are popular) too many gifts from the opposite gender, they will end up repaying all of them on White Day.

Tags: holiday, Japan, Japanese, occasion, White Day

One of the J-dorama’s I’ve finished watching last year was Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (Hana Kimi). I was smitten by the pure kawaiiness of the lead female. She now, tops the kawaii spot on my list. A round face with a short bob cut hair, defines cute.

Maki Horikita (堀北真希, Horikita Maki) born on October 6, 1988, in Kiyose, Tokyo. She started as a U-15 idol by starring in a number of J-Doramas. She’s an accomplished TV and movie actress, a radio show host, a photobook model, and appeared on numerous magazines. Now she’s already a U-20 idol.

A breakthrough in her acting career was when she starred in the Japanese drama series Nobuta. O Produce (2005) bagging the Best Supporting Actress. And when she portrayed as Mizuki Ashiya in the J-dorama, Hanazakari no Kimitachi E (2007), which won her Best Actress.

More photos and a video after the gap.
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Tags: actress, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, Homaki, Horikita Maki, Horikitty, idol, Japan, Japanese, kawaii, Maki Horikita, Maki-maki, Makinpo, model