Japanese Free Papers in SE Asia

I am a media person.  I grew up watching TV, reading magazines and listening to radios that led me to pursue some works in the media industry. I then got very passionate to advertising, marketing and to the platform that doesn't limit information only in tri-media, the world wide web.

But being exposed to publishing in the Philippines for quite a long time, I can say that 'free papers' are becoming a  trend now and unlike the former notion that since they're-free-they-don't-have-good-info, I noticed that they are now becoming 'glossier' and thicker. 

But as I started working for the Philippine Primer, I got more and more exposed to a several Japanese free papers in the Southeast Asia and I started to wonder if this trend is from Japan just like the famous Hot Pepper. What do you think?

When I had a short chat with Philippine Primer's President, Hiromichi Fujita, I realized that Japanese people are having a hard time doing business abroad because of the language and since there are many of them who are interested in investment and business in developing countries like the Philippines, the more they need information in their language that can truly assist them to maximize opportunities in business and life. 

Surely, blogs are helping (like the blog of my wonderful CEO, Motokatsu Sunagawa and the one from guy with the small eyes, Takuya Oka) but I think free papers are still the best for the Japanese to maximize their stay in the country or for the local entrepreneurs and brand to take advantage of these high-end market. I looked for some of the helpful Japanese free papers in Southeast Asia:

LAOS

They have Taste of Laos for Laos!

VIETNAM

Photo is from http://aab.co.jp

According to AAB Inc., Vietnam Sketch is the first Japanese information magazine in Vietnam that is issued monthly. The main targets of the magazine are travelers from Japan and Japanese people residing in Vietnam. It covers highlights of Vietnamese trend, cultural information and living information. The magazine is distributed to 500 and more places for free in addition to distribution to travelers via travel agencies. Their websire has obtained the wide range of readership in both Japan and Vietnam.

Heritage Japan is a media that appeal to tourists and business people who travel to Vietnam. The magazine is distributed to 1,400 Japanese companies in Vietnam and it is considered a reliable medium among local Japanese publications. 

Wise Weekly free paper is also now being distributed in Ho Chi Minh. IT was first distributed in Bangkok.

Photo from http://fujisan.co.jp

CAMBODIA




Krorma Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine in Cambodia for the Japanese residents and tourists.

SINGAPORE

There are many Japanesse in the lion city but I'm more familiar with JPlus, the Total Lifestyle Japanese Magazine published by Comm Pte Ltd. According to its CEO, "Connecting People, Communicating with the World" Through our media, COMM strives to foster the relationship between Singapore and Asia through creating "Communication Platform". We, as a leading Japanese media in Singapore and Asia, believe in bringing people together, introducing good quality businesses for the people, and creating a lifestyle that enables people to have better, and more enriching life."

But aside from Jplus, Singapore also has Mangosteen Club, a monthly Japanese magazine.

INDONESIA

Indonesia is also one of the favorite SE countries of the Japanese. In Bali, Japanese travelers and investors are flying back and forth. I was awed when I had a vacation there and noticed that most of the locals even speak Nihonggo making a vacation so much easier for the Japanese. And of course, Api Magazine always make their lives easy-riffic!

THAILAND

According to Fujita san, maybe the SE Asian country with the biggest number of Japanese is Thailand with an estimated count of 40,000. No wonder they have around 14 Japanese free papers there! And here to name a few:

Wise Weekly is a very popular weekly free paper that captures the biggest percentage of Japanese in Thailand. The information that they give is concentrated in Restaurants, Beauty, Schools, and several other industries that help businesses. They also circulate in Vietnam now in Ho Chi Minh city.



WOM is one of my favorites for its petite size and beautiful layout.





DACO is also distributed in Thailand every month.

PHILIPPINES

Philippine Primer is monthly lifestyle Japanese magazine in the Philippines that connects local entrepreneurs to the Japanese market. Launched in 2008, it works closely with the Philippine Department of Tourism in publishing various information about F&B establishment, beauty and learning info, the updates on art, sport, business, history and culture. The magazine and website are published ad moderated by Primer Media, Inc. and aims to assist the Japanese expats, residents and tourists in the country.

I don't have information on free papers in MALAYSIA, BRUNEI and MYANMAR so if you know some, just please leave a comment on this post! But in addition, there's also a Japanese free paper in INDIA, Chalo. Chalo is a free monthly free paper in Japanese in New Delhi.

Photo Source: kyodonews.jp

JPy Magazine is a lifestyle magazine for Asian women in Southern California. It was established in 2006 and the first issue was launched in 2007. Their motto is "Happiness is Infectious" in which it acts as an innovative portal connecting global women working towards achieving their goals and dreams in LA with real success stories of actual people. In addition, the quarterly issue of JPy offers the latest tips and information for enriching the lifestyle of LA's women.



Pocket Page Weekly is the famous Japanese free paper in HONG KONG.

And I've found out that there's a Japanese Media Network and the association of Southeast Asian Japanese free paper, Asia Furipe Editors, that help each country's free paper to share and recommend information about their respective countries. 

There are also magazines like Domo, J-Style, Move, Concierge, G'day Japan, KauKau, You Maga, etc which I find interesting as well. 

I wonder if there are some Filipino free papers abroad since there are so many Overseas Filipino Workers.

As I trace and research on the famous titles of free papers in the Philippines, I adulate how most of them are owned and managed by Hinge Inquirer, the magazine arm of Inquirer Group of Companies. Free papers based on interests, location and lifestyle..name it, Hinge Inquirer has it!

Note: All photos were taken from the internet.

Monchhichi is off to Great Places!

It's funny that whenever I check the stats of my blog, one of the mostly visited post is Monchhichi's New Home. I expect that my serious posts will score the highest but I can imagine how many more people were charmed by this cute fella worldwide! Since most of my friends miss her in my bag and my stories on how Taku compares me with Monchhichi, here's some of her photos while she wanders with us.

This was taken at Bonifacio High Street in BGC when we were goofing around before my bag with most of our valuable things were stolen. Here's the story and video about that learning experience.

Monchhichi wandered a lot in 2011: Singapore, Boracay, Palawan, Bali, Japan and LA. I am very petite but sometimes I wish I am just as her size so it's easy for me to fit in the luggage or better for Taku to be same with her size so I can put him in my pocket so it's always a sun-shiny day! haha.

I don't intend to collect all Monchhichi items that I see in stores (as if there are many in Manila!) since I try to live with less and basic things to save more and maximize the use of everything but I opt to keep those which are really cute, small and useful.

But I am keeping my Monchhichi from Kyoto!

Not just because it's so cute but also because it was given to me by a good friend, Eri, who always bring me Monchhichi omiyage whenever she goes back from Osaka (most of the time the yummy Monchhichi candies!) but my heart skipped when she surprised me with this one:

"There are three monchhichis in the photo!" -Taku

And as we keep the kid in us, reach for our dreams and meet wonderful people along the way, let's remember what Dr. Seuss have said (I'd like to remind my sister Charmaine about this wonderful passages cause I believe she'll go more places!):

Congratulations! Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And you are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Oh! The places you'll go!

You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

So...

be your name Bauxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

You're off to Great Places!

Today is your day! 

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

*this is an excerpt from the book Oh! the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss

I got souvenirs!

I don't usually buy so many souvenirs when I travel because I'm more focused in the whole experience and cultural immersion. But when I've seen my souvenirs from Bali and Jakarta which I think were the only things I bought in all my travels, I kinda regret not buying souvenirs from other trips and I think I should buy some important little stuffs from now on just like these two things: 

A charming hair tie from Bali. It's all over which costs 4000- 8000 Rupiah if I remember it right.

Here's the very soft and comfortable scarf from Jakarta where I discovered that 'mahal' (expensive) and "mura" (cheap) in Tagalog have the same meaning in Bahasa. I was shopping for scarf since it's very useful for traveling and I tried to for a discount by saying 'mahal' and was so surprised that they understood me! 

Here's a very memorable gift from Indonesian bloggers, Dafhy and Azaxs, from their wonderful hometown. Please visit www.kotareyog.com to know more about their rich culture and tradition. 

Note: From the Kotareyog's Official twitter account, I learned that the mask's name is "bujang ganong!" Can't wait to know more about this! 

And just yesterday, Taku got back from Japan and he brought me some rice balls which I was so amazed when he showed me how to eat it. haha. So watch it, then, we could all eat rice ball in Japan! :)

Emergency Shoes & DigiCam!

Okay, I had so much fun at Canon Night as Canon Philippines celebrated 15 wonderful and successful years in the Philippines! I had so much fun having good food, being in the beautiful Sofitel Plaza, meeting people and talking about business, wine and Filipino culture which was a very good therapy for me since I was feeling so weird lately and have delayed reaction with Dad's passing. Well, according to the psychologist, I'm still normal. haha. And it was very nostalgic to see an AA Battery-powered digital camera! It brought back my college memories! :)

Funny, another thing, since I couldn't stop talking about my 'emergency shoes' and I couldn't take a good photo of it with its add-on emergency bag, i just vlogged it. Mhe, your the person in my mind. haha. Here's Katie's Facebook Account and for each pair, it's only for 599Php! I just couldn't stop talking about it and my buddy who listens to me all the time is in a business trip! hay naku. :( 

(What's naughty in tagalog? I think I said 'Im a naughty girl' haha. My dad's gonna be mad if he'll hear that! haha)

More than a heartbreak

When my sister and I arrived to see dad's dead body, we rushed to kiss his hands and I sneaked in and put my hand near his armpit like I usually do before we sleep. His hands were already cold but where I placed my hand near his armpit was so warm and I kept my hand in it for a few minutes before it gets cold. After a few hours, a middle-aged guy cried out loud over my dad's body. I was thinking that he was my brother that dad has been joking around since when I was a kid but it turned out that it was one of his close friends' son, he's close to my dad and grieving (turned out it was really just a joke. haha).

I heard several stories about my dad that I didn't even know he was doing that made me more proud that he is my father. 

People praying for his soul come in and out of the chapel every night and we want to thank them for praying for our daddy as he take his everlasting journey. It was really amazing when I realized how many people was on our side without us even asking them. And when you look at them, they weep and they, too, have lost a friend and a father. 

Dad's friends sent support, flowers, mass cards and messages that are strengthening and helping us to make it through the day without daddy by our side. Even Sen. Manny Villar, my dad's previous employer (long time ago) sent flowers and even my Japanese bosses who did't even know where I live. 

People from different places went to see him day and night. And at night time, we have to borrow 30 more chairs in 5 days. It was amazing.

There are many of our relatives who didn't leave us every night talking about how he stands up for truth  and his generosity. Daddy's brothers together with Mommy's brothers have guarded us and Dad's sisters together with Mom's sisters consoled and gave us hugs that we needed from time to time. Just like what other people say, when someone dies, it becomes a reunion which is a sad truth especially when I catch myself saying, 'kung buhay lang si daddy, matutuwa yun sa...'. But yea, there are unlimited food because people bring food to share to others as they come. We are very thankful. 

On the day of his internment, people who would like to see him for the last time almost filled the church.

I think the moment that will always hurt me was seeing mom in that very moment saying goodbye:

It ripped our hearts to let him go but we know he has to and like what my cousin Zarah told me when she dreamed about him, he's happy.

We know he never and he will never leave us, we will stick together no matter what because that's what he taught us (aside from laughing out loud of course! haha).

We would like to thank our cousins, relatives and friends who sympathize with us in this very heartbreaking moment in our family. We will never forget you and may God bless you more!

PS: Here's our Thank You Card for you! We had a hard time looking for good photos of daddy cause you know, he's not into picture. If you have some photos with him, please send it to my email: aimeecyra@gmail.com or tag me in facebook/cyracaparros. Thanks!

My dad is a happy guy.

I know I've talked about the background of my dad's personality and lifestyle in my blog post about how tweeting helped my dad but I know I owe this story to my dad's friends who are worried about us and about dad. You might not have been able to join him in his last days but I know dad knows how much you value your friendships and how much he cherished you and wished the best for you.


He was always tough. Growing up, I always talk about how scared I am about things especially when I see dad and mom sick or hurt but whenever I say 'I am scared,' dad says 'it is nothing.' He always have a loud voice and a very strict image but the first and last time that I saw him cry was when someone told him that his daughters won't be able to graduate because of getting pregnant. I didn't think about that, but what matters the most to him is relationship.


It was November 2011 when my sister and I rushed to Lopez from Manila in the middle of the night because dad threw up blood. When we arrived at 12 in the morning, he was waiting for us and saying 'I am okay.' He never showed any signs of pain for us not to worry. Holidays passed, then before his birthday, he threw up blood again and rushed to Manila for better diagnosis and medication.


He still said he was okay then he had a couple of endoscopies/ gastroscopies. He was diagnosed of Liver Cirrhosis. Then with his sisters and brothers, he went to another doctor and had a very honest and straightforward diagnosis that his condition was terminal.


Our hearts sank. That was the moment that I was afraid of since I was 4 but I never seen my daddy cried in pain or regret. He talked to us, prepared us and had wonderful conversations. He didn't have list of things for us to remember because each and everyday of our lives since we were born, he was teaching us how to be independent and how to stand for what is right. Even if someone did or say bad things about him or us, he will always advise us to understand why that person has done it and then he will tell us to forgive and learn from it but mean it when that person say 'sorry' and you say 'it's okay.' We never keep bad memories of people because of daddy.


Then he decided to went back to Lopez after knowing most of the things about his sickness. He said he'll feel better at home. Then he continued living his normal way of life and decided to fix some parts of the house because it's not really in good condition. I was amazed seeing him doing the electrical and ceiling of our house. He's always superman. 


He continued to go in and out of the hospital monthly, strengthening his friendship with his kumpare, Dr. Joel Arago as he tried to treat him the best way he could. My batchmates who were his nurses developed fondness of him. And his friends in the US like my ninong Leo 'Polding' tried to look for  alternative medicines for daddy just like my Tita Billie.


This year's Holy Week, we had movie marathon together and I stalked him in his daily routine for me to be able to report it to my sister who was very busy at work and wasn't able to spend time with him. I found out that he liked lotions a lot. haha. He was biking like a kid and laughing so loud.

Last May, he wasn't admitted to the hospital so he celebrated like a seven year-old and ate ice cream. We talked on the phone and he couldn't stop talking about how happy their high school reunion was and I was thinking that seeing his old friends made him feel better. I want to thank his batchmates (Dekada 70) and wonderful friends for making my dad's last few days a very happy one. Our family will always be thankful of you.

June 11, 2012, early in the morning he went to the diagnostic center at front of our house to have his hemoglobin tested. He was happy and joking around. He let the old people have their tests first since he said he lives nearby. He was smiling to everybody while sitting outside and he was talking to everyone. He talked to Tito Didi and after a few minutes, they decided to have lunch.Then, he threw up blood and after the second one, he was rushed to the hospital by his friend, Tito Nelson and my cousin Kuya Joey with my mom. According to the nurses, he threw up almost half pail of blood. Thanks to my aunts and friends who are working in Holy Rosary Hospital who hugged my mom when she needed it the most-- Nining, K-ham Perez and Reina.


At 2:40 pm, Dad passed away. We truly appreciate that Tita Carol brought me and my sister back home to see daddy the quickest way possible. The pain will never go away, things will never be the same again. I thought it is an exaggeration before whenever I hear people say "I'll trade everything just to talk and hug my dad again," now I know it is never exaggerated but an honest longing. 


If you want to see photos and stories of Dad's wake, please check it here. And to know more about him, I'd love to tell you his stories here. 

Unlimited Philippines

It's amazing how everything that is 'unlimited' becomes a hit in the Philippines. I remember when I was in Jakarta and when I was looking at the billboard and TV ads, I noticed that everything says 'gratis' and I wonder if it's what help them sell the product to the Indonesians.

So Filipinos like unlimited and Indonesians like gratis or free? 

Here's the Globe (one of the largest telecom companies in RP) unlimited call & text ad which I saw in EDSA:

So it's not just Globe, I remember Sun Cellular was the first to become famous with Unli Call & Text for P15 when I was in college which was a benefit for me since I just want to talk and hated text that time.

Then of course one of the biggest, SMART:

Don' be surprised why the Philippines is the texting capital of the world. Haha.

Well, since rice is the staple food for Filipinos, why not have the 'Unlimited Rice?' Mang Inasal is a very successful example of this then other small food chains or even the small-time food vendors follow:

But it isn't just Mang Inasal in the big scene, also the famous Japanese fast-food chain, Tokyo Tokyo which has a famous promotion of 'Eat all you Kan-in' (Kanin is rice in tagalog).

Well, if you'll think about it, the unlimited fad is indispensable for the 'necessities' (mobile charges & rice are important for Filipinos) but how about the leisure or luxury?

I went to Perfect Swing Driving Range for a meeting and I noticed their ad that says 'Only 240 on a Two-hour Golf Driving Range Session with UNLIMITED BALLS! 

Then I passed by an aesthetic clinic with an ad of UNLIMITED WARTS REMOVAL.

I feel suffocated of unlimited. haha. Then, why not have UNLIMITED PIZZA WITH UNLIMITED ICED TEA too? Amazing, yea? Papa John's does it. haha.

I think we're just thinking of unlimited ideas. Hopefully not ideas on how to make another ad or promo with 'unlimited.' :)

Oopss! As of June 26, 2012, there's an addition to the long list of 'UNLIMITED!'

NOTE: All photos are from the internet.

Stage Girlfriend

I remember how I felt like a Stage Girlfriend a few weeks ago when Taku together with his team won 3rd place and the 'Best Windows Phone Startup' in Startup Manila. Haha. I am the number one fan of Taku and I'd offer my short legs for his autograph! Haha. I just wanna say random things. But kidding aside, I was surprised when I accidentally watched his pitch (with an opening line of 'you might get killed tonight') in the live streaming of Startup Manila, he was fantastic though his hand gestures are like hands of the lucky cat figurines in cabs. Haha. 

I was in Waide's party when he told me the good new that his idea was chosen among 200 participants (Well I don't care if he exaggerated the figure. haha) and that was the first time that I've felt and seen him so happy and nervous. He worked so hard to get things right.

But I think why I'm a huge fan of Taku is because of the things in the photo below:

First, he's too simple that he uses Watson's mini plastic as his wallet.

Second, he loves to perform without his face and even if his face is seen, he hides his eyes.

Third, he has the skill of leaving his pants or shorts like the shape of his butt wherever he stayed and decided to change. 

Amazing, right? I like seeing his shorts all over the house with the shape of a butt. They make my day. (I hope he'll not be able to read this. haha)

NYE 2012: Away from home

Growing up in a very family-oriented society like the Philippines, I make sure every year that I'll be joining my family in the new year's eve and that no member will be missing simply because there's a belief that it will mirror the whole year and I definitely don't want to be away from them the whole year! Haha. Aside from that, we have our annual family reunion-bingo and we always look forward to it but this year, I spent the year-end-new-year away from home for the first time. It was not as miserable as I imagined to be, maybe because it was just a trip and when I went back home, I still felt the holiday feeling. 

It was totally a different new year's eve, a totally different feeling. I spent the remaining days of 2011 with Taku and his friends and welcomed 2012 with good food, beautiful sea and music, fireworks, wine and amazing friendships! 

I thought I was over the happy thoughts already but when I've seen the photos in my files again, I couldn't stop thanking God for the guy who always try to make everything better than the last time. (For the record, it was better cause I didn't spend the holidays in the hospital which I used to do for the past 3 years!)

Oops! The beautiful restaurant is Breeze at Samaya Villa in Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia. I think it's nice to stay in their villas next time. Haha. Hmm..

Actually, after the countdown, dancing, and fireworks, we continued the celebration as if we're in 'Hangover' (it's nice to hangout with guys with all these crazy stuffs) and went to the nearest 711 where we met an Australian (is she?) girl who was so cool, lovely and wasted, she's down here: 

then we rode the motorcycles which are like a taxi (yes, since it was so traffic and we want to experience those motorbikes which Indonesia has a lot!!!, we opted to ride with them instead of a cab):

...rode going to the villa! Then the party continued in the 2-bedroom beautiful villa with awesome bath tubs in a huge I'd-love-to-have-it toilet, a nice swimming pool, and a cool interior design (It was in Vinly Villas)...

and on the first day of the year, everyone loves hangover!!!

(From the Philippines, I comfortably flew to Singapore via Cebu Pacific Air and flew to Bali via Air Asia)