Themes for my city

All right, let's brainstorm these.

You said there's a video? Is there any way you can sneak us some screen captures so we can see exactly what the context is? Failing that, if you could at least try and describe it in some way, that would be great. It's important that what you decide on matches up well with what's on-screen.

"Power spot" obviously makes no sense to native speakers, so I tend to replace it with whatever seems appropriate at the time. If they want to tie everything together by tagging on "spot" at the end that could be a little problematic, but "power spot" is easily replaceable by something like "Spiritual Rejuvenation" or something like that.

I was also sent
Art Spot　～アートに出会い、アートにふれあう～

Power Spot　～心と体にパワーが満ちる～

Winter Activity Spot　～雪国の大都市さっぽろの冬を楽しむ～

Night view Spot　～灯りが織りなすアートな夜景～

Flower Spot　～四季を奏でるさっぽろの色彩～

Jozankei Spot　～温泉＋アクティブに楽しむ～

although the subtitles may change

At the moment I have come up with

Art Zones, Rejuvenating Spaces, Colours of the City, Nightscape Spaces, Winter Activity Zones, Multi-purpose Jozankei(??? how do I get this idea across better?)

trying to tie it all together with the idea of "zones" or "spaces" but it doesnt quite work with some like the flower spot? I like perennial (if it's to be meant seasonal). Maybe perennial colours of the city..
Also, is artistic pleasures not too cheesy? Or should I just make it cheesy?

Artistic Pleasures is just the right amount of cheese.

(Adjective) Nightscapes is definitely the way to go for that one, I think. It sounds like it's trying to imply a softer kind of scenery, so this may call for a word that suggests a more low-key beauty.

I honestly feel like an over-arching theme may not even be necessary for this, since it's just a single video. I would focus more on making each one memorable, and if you can figure out a clever way to tie them together, bonus!

if it's something you plan to put down on paper or on the web later though then yes

a theme would help

Also, I mean, Dazzling is good (we were just brainstorming anyway), but ～灯りが織りなすアートな夜景～ ("artistic nightscapes woven together by (soft) lights" makes me think it might be going for something more subtle? The kanji they used was 灯り and not 明かり, after all. I feel like they're talking about a softer kind of light - like from a lamp or a torch.

v pretty

comforting? glowing? welcoming?

I like Comforting Nightscapes but.. it feels a bit broad.
Glowing Nightscapes sounds okay.

yeah i didn't understand that Jozankei was an area at first so i think that's important to make clear

as for the NIPPONGO of the nightscapes, yeah i didn't read that

idk about "comforting nightscapes" though. if we're thinking something softer then how about "candescent" or is that too difficult? like, is this aimed at ZA GAIKOKU? or native english speakers in particular?

"romantic candlelit nightscapes with a bottle of red"

after agonizing for a while I finally thought to ask this question (should have asked from the beginning, I am such an idiot)
so apparently, they are doing it two ways.

1. A Japanese audience - so stuff like Power Spot will stay because Japanese understand that (see attached pic). The subtitle will be in Japanese.
2. HENCE, I suggested that I then be in charge of the English version. So I will translate the subtitles as well. So now I have freedom to create my own subtitles too, based on the video!
3. I am wondering if it's worth it to get into an argument for the English wording in the Japanese version. E.G. "Art Spot". I am saying it should be "Art Spots" because we're talking more than one place here, but they're saying, Japanese feel weird seeing something with an "s" - 一方で I feel weird seeing something in romaji without the "s". For the Japanese people, stuff like "night view spot" will also change into something like "night view scene" (how else would you say 夜景スポット in English?!)

RE: Jozankei

I love the Soak Up idea. And my colleague suddenly said, he actually doesn't really want the word Jozankei in it anymore because it disrupts the energy of the entire thing? Because the other ones are all generic titles, and to have one suddenly with Jozankei or a specific place name in it is too... odd he says. Ideas? I'm thinking of things like, "Suburb fun" or something (reference: Jozankei is the onsen town in Sapporo)

That's all cool. Be sure to ask questions and get involved as deep as you can as early as possible from now on. Being in charge of the subtitles that will be displayed alongside the punchy titles for each one makes naming them easier, as you can offer context using the subtitles, which should make your job a lot of easier.

RE: "Japanese feel weird seeing something an 's'":

too bad

tell 'em to change it, cuz it's weird as hell

Also, your coworker is smart for wanting to remove Jozankei entirely. Make it fun - just be sure that you mention how it's an opportunity for GAIKOKJIN to experience real Japanese ONSEN

If they're asking for your opinions on 夜景スポット, just tell them to make it, like, "Nighttime Views" or something. There are plenty of options.

edit: "Nighttime Scenery" or something like that

okay so let me understand this

> make japanese version of video
> put it in english
> put it in incorrect english so it's easier to understand

??

why not put it in...for example, i'm just throwing this out here, but

why not put it in japanese?

because English is cool obviously.
and English = more ARTISTIC