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I have written before about how bad Japanese television is. However there is one corner of salvation. My favourite channel in Japanese television is NHK-E. This is like the BBC2 late at night with Open University slots with balding barcode haired men explaining complicated physics in front of precisely annotated diagrams of triangles but the great thing about it is that this is all day - and even better - in Japanese. It brings on a whole edge of surreality to have something I wouldn`t be able to understand normally explained to me in a language I can`t understand.

I could watch this channel all day. In the early morning and late at night there are English, French, German, Korean and Chinese educational language programs depending on the day. Then there are crazy childrens programs including one starring ex-yokuzuna Konishiki (above) dressed up as what can only be explained as a large orange. These are useful for learning hiragana and kanji and for observing how Japanese children are taught and entertained. (And amusing my small pathetic mind)

There are two mindblowing sections on these programs. One is a piece where a ball is set in motion (similar to a domino) falling and knocking down pieces of wood and bouncing off springs on a well prepared path with such jaw dropping precision to finally finish by displaying a flag for the program. The other is a bizarre (and hugely enjoyable to watch) round game where people line up behind one another. The first man does an action to make one turn, then for the second turn the man behind him repeats the first action and the front man does the second action. This continues and for a couple of minutes with new and perfectly choreographed actions. For example the second man will pretend to inflate a foot pump and the first man will stretch out his arms as if he is being inflated. These are really fun to watch. If anyone knows where either of these can be found on the internet, please let me know and I`ll put them up.

Also on this channel I have learned how to coach elementary school dodgeball, watched high school baseball tournaments and learned intricate kanji taught by muppets. Therefore NHK-E, I salute you .