I’m from Hawaii where we have no trains, so mastering the sprawl and complexity of the Tokyo train system was not unlike deciphering the DaVinci Code. Such basic concepts as local and express trains, inbound and outbound platforms, ticket purchasing or multi-line transferring were as foreign to me as kanji.
But as my basic understanding solidified, another layer of ‘logistical logic’ appeared. What is the latest time I can leave my apartment to make the fastest train to get to work on time? Which door of which car will place me directly in front of the escalator? How early (or slow) a train do I need to board to get a seat? I’m sure you too have accumulated a lexicon of similar stratagem.
Mastering these, a whole new vista dawned: The Etiquette of Passen... Read More
Summer's on its way and you're in Japan! How do you spend your summer with the kids? As an idea and a warning to you Moms and Dads I suggest "kingyo sukui".
All Japanese kids raised in the cities know what "Kingyo sukui" is and our kids learned what it was all about last summer.
Kids go scooping at summer festivals for 300 yen per try from "Demise" goldfish merchant who set up shop under a tent with a huge tub full of goldfish. Off season you can do kingyo sukui at the local fish shops or Seibutuens (bio-parks).
Our kids did their first kingyo sukui from at a summer festival. The kids were given scoops made of rice flower that melt if submerged in water for too long and try to lift squirming fish out of the tub of water... Read More
Maybe you have seen lots of stores selling dried seafood in Ueno market near the Ueno Zoo. I forgot the exact name but the location is really accessible for people shopping for cheaper, discounted goods. I noticed these stores selling frozen big crabs, dried fishes and other sea foods, dried fruits too. The stores are located in one place besides each other and sell more or less similar goods. The competition is so tight that they need someone to advertise by shouting to catch potential customers’ and by-passers' attention.
I was shocked to see Japanese businessmen advertising their products in big voices and convincing people to buy their product like calling for fireman. It was crowded and noisy around the place and people are mixed-up. They do this to... Read More
Ever since I was a kid I had a hard time learning how to practice new tasks, skills, whatever, in front of others. Not so much a fear of performing, if I was prepared in advance, no problem. But if I had to actually make mistakes or learn through repeated processes, well, I wasn’t really into that. So learning how to participate in and actually perform a tea ceremony in a traditional tea school in Kamakura, it was basically my idea of hell wrapped in a beautiful silk kimono. Now I don’t want to seem ungrateful, this was a fantastic opportunity that quite a few people went to a lot of trouble to set up. So I most definitely wasn’t going to waste it. Maybe the best thing that came from it is a cringingly funny account of a naive gaijin’s introduction to a revered Japanes... Read More
Japan has a wonderful cultural twist on how to celebrate Valentine’s Day. February 14th is not for women. It’s for MEN! On Valentine’s Day, women will give men chocolate. Isn’t that fantastic!? As an English teacher, many students and co-workers gave me chocolates, flowers and little cakes on Valentine’s Day. TV dramas about high school often have a Valentine’s Day episode, such as boys competing to see who will get the most chocolates.
Don’t worry girls; you’ll get some chocolate too! On March 14th, Japan celebrates “White Day. White Day is for men to return gifts to the women who had given them chocolates a month earlier. This is why it is very important to remember who gave you chocolates on Valentine’s Day. I’ve read on some ... Read More
March 3 (3/3) is “hina matsuri” which means ‘doll festival’ is more commonly known simply as ‘girls festival’. The month or so leading up to March 3, families decorate their homes with a collection of beautiful dolls. A complete set would have seven levels or steps. Having a complete set is both expensive and rare. The topmost level holds the emperor and empress. Some people only display these two figures. I’ve seen some emperor and empress sets for 2,000 yen and other for 200,000 yen! The second step has three court ladies holding sake. The third step has five musicians holding instruments, except for the singer who holds a fan. The fourth step usually has the two court ministers as well as some furniture. The fifth step has three servants an... Read More
One of the things I absolutely love about Japan is the variety of music on offer. Tokyo, known as DJ capital of the world, is home to every genre of sound that one could ever imagine. Before I moved to Japan, I spent my University days working part-time at an independent record store, blowing all my spare cash on music, always believing that there are some things that are always justified when spending money, those being music, books, travel, family and of course beer.
Since moving to Japan, I have been to many live shows all over the country, but especially in Tokyo, seeing gigs from everything to Ben Harper, Spinna B-Ill and Snoop Dogg, to the solid Gunma Jet band Nikajagga, yes, meat and potatoes. But there's one gig that I will keep going back to, month after month. R... Read More
In the country where I originally came from we have some car garage sales where old stuffs (usually antique collections, old artifacts) are sold. I was shocked that they also have it here in Japan and they call it a Flea Market. Basically, a flea market is a way of selling your useful and presentable old and new stuff at your house that you don’t use anymore. Japanese people sell them in flea markets where other people may find it useful.
Your trash maybe precious to others: this is the basic logic of Flea Market. They call it flea because you can place your goods in a stand or in mat direct to the ground anywhere in the vicinity of an allowed flea market place. There are many flea market stands in Tokyo, Chiba, Yokohama and Osaka. One of my favorite is in Yokohama wh... Read More
I must agree with a fellow contributor that Japan has some of the most technologically advanced toilets in the world. Nevertheless, Japan has a two-tiered system. The more common type is the luxurious toilet-bidets with music (to mask unpleasant sounds), heated seats, temperature settings for the water, automatic flushing, etc... These toilets are common in most hotels, department stores, and private homes.
The other type of toilet is the dreaded squat toilet. This style is still very common in public washrooms (such as parks, temples, and train stations). All the ferries I took used them, many bars use them, and even my English conversation school had one! Suffice it to say, I was disappointed to learn that I had a squat toilet in my apartment.
Something that took a long time to get used to in Japan was the complex garbage and recycling system. Everywhere in Japan was different, but where I lived, I had 7 different days: burnable, glass AND metal, plastic, paper, landfill, mercury, and bulk garbage.
If you put plastic bottles in your burnable garbage (which has to be in a clear or semi-clear bag) the garbage collector will put a sticker on it. Now, the next problem, is getting someone to translate the sticker… so I have to bring my smelly garbage to work, and have a Japanese co-worker tell me, “oh you need to take this bottle out, and put it in with plastics”. It was so annoying. Once you get really good at separating your garbage, don’t think it won’t happen. It even happens to my Japanese... Read More
Some disappointing things to keep in mind before you plan your trip to Japan or commit yourself to living here.
1. Everyone knows English- A Tokyo English magazine called Metropolis estimated that about 30% of Japanese speak English. I’d say that is a very high estimate. A fair amount of younger people know enough English to tell you where the museum is, but the people you really need help from, the restaurant waiters and hotel clerks won’t understand anything you’re saying to them.
2. Weird vending machines- Sorry to report I haven't really seen any. If they do exist in Japan, they just aren’t frequent. The weirdest vending machine I've seen recently was an iPod vending machine in the San Francisco airport on my way over. They do, however, have cigarette... Read More
There was plenty o’ kicking on the screen. But for those of us in the audience, there would be no such tomfoolery.
My first ever movie theatre experience in Japan was well…orderly. Apparently, booking your tickets on-line the previous day is the proper way to begin the experience. Even 24 hours ahead, we had a difficult time finding good seats for two for the following Sunday afternoon. (All seating is assigned. And F.Y.I., finding any decent Saturday night seating at this point in time is borderline insanity.) At the 10minutes-from-Shinjuku theatre we decided on, it was necessary to then claim and purchase the tickets on-site at exactly one hour before the show. The theatre is on the 9th floor of a department store; I wonder if this is a way to boost sal... Read More
Everyone likes a bargain and saving money so this is where 100 Yen stores can help you out setting up your new home in Japan. There are many 100-yen chain stores in Japan and one of my favorites is named DAISO that has stores all over Japan. 100-yen stores offer a whole range of goods with most items costing 100-yen hence the name although you will pay an extra 5% tax on top. Stores offer everything from snack foods, cooking utensils, crockery, underwear, ties, sauces, tupperware, drinks, condiments and a million other daily use household items.
Setting up your home from scratch can be very easy and quite inexpensive if you shop at a 100-yen store compared to a regular supermarket and many supermarkets even have a 100-yen section offering the same goods sold in the supermark... Read More
We are located in Tonami City in Toyama Prefecture so are countryside and as such have allot of opportunities people in the city don’t. I am told after a phone call we are going to my wife’s Grandmothers home located in Dotsubono, which is about twenty minutes drive away. We are there in no time and get told by her some of the family are at the mountain they own about ten minutes drive away, getting Takenoko. Takenoko are bamboo shoots used in cooking so it sound productive and I feel like making something Chinese for dinner tonight.
Arriving at what they call their farm, it to me is a few rice paddies set in a valley of two steep mountains. My wife’s Uncle is waving us over to his shed and I am given some ill-fitting rubber boots and shovel, he explains we are after b... Read More
My wife and I have decided to visit Tokyo as we have just landed in Osaka, on the way back from Australia. After weighing up costs, time spent and other factors she recommends the best way to get to Osaka fast is Shinkansen. There is no argument from me as I have been waiting to try out one of the Bullet Trains and today is the day it happens.
Unfortunately in our area being Tonami City in Toyama Prefecture, most trains are very slow and there is no Shinkansen service available so I will take this opportunity to see what it is like to travel close to 300kph. The cost of the tickets seem cost effective considering we will go from Osaka to Tokyo in around three hours via the Shinkansen and I am excited to say the least.
Here it comes and in the flesh, the Shink... Read More
