When you decided to live in a foreign land for good, you understood that you had to learn its language and culture. You knew that homesickness would surely linger in your lonesome moments．You had feared of what will be your life in that land. You were worried to be alone and forsaken by your only companion upon whom you depend so much. You had no idea how the people would treat you. You were not confident that you could adjust to the new atmosphere. However, you managed to pretend to become strong and held on to your decision.

When you first stepped on Japan’s ground, you felt a mix of excitement and fear. Excitement for doing new things and fear of being treated as an alien. At first, you were introduced to many acquaintances, brought to many beautiful places and exposed to ... Read More

When I was in my country I used to watch Korean dramas that were broadcast on television. I became so absorbed with them that even though the drama was broadcast late at night I still watched it regularly. However, my husband is even more absorbed than me with Korean drama. At that time that he had no job yet, he used to watch Korean drama almost everyday and even now in his free time he watches Korean drama. He rents DVDs from Tsutaya Discas, a DVD rental shop. Because there are no English subtitles or caption in the DVD, I can’t watch them.

There was a time that I became angry with my husband because of Korean drama. I was talking to him about something but he did not say any word. I realized he was watching the drama, “All In” starr... Read More

I have learned some things about Japanese culture that really surprised me because they are completely different from my culture.

Food

Unlike in my country, slurping while eating is considered good table manners in Japan. In fact, it signifies that you have a strong personality. But if you don’t do the slurping they will consider you weak and shy. The slurping is also their way of telling that the food is delicious.

Bathing

There are many ‘onsen’ or hot springs around Japan. Japanese like to soak in a hot spring all naked, without any piece of clothing. They put a small towel on top of their head which can be used to cover their genitals when getting out of the water. Commonly, public hot springs ar... Read More

The progress of one’s country depends on its culture. In my 7 months of stay in Japan, I have already witnessed some very impressive things about Japanese culture:

Business:

In business, when Japanese meet for the first time in business meeting, they usually give each other a ‘meishi’ or business card. The card tells your name, your job title, the organization you work for, your address and telephone, etc. By looking at the card, they will know who must use more polite words. Do not put it in your bag or keep it as soon as you received it, and if there is table you have to put it on the table in front of you.

After work, they usually say “Otsukaresamadeshita”, and bow to each other many times. While I was at... Read More

If you’re answer to this question is yes, you’d probably be interested to this article. I am one of those young women who love to hang out every weekend especially Friday and Saturday nights. One of the most popular places to go for nights out is Roppongi. This place is considered the foreigner capital of Japan. You can find all races, ages (except children), genders and classes. Some people call it the “the meat center” and some just love to look around and experience the uniqueness of each individual. Some call it the “The sin city” but duhhh, it just depends on the person if he/she wants to sin. Roppongi glamours the most in the evening.

What can you find there?

a.) Dance Bars of different kinds; hip-hop, r n b, reggae, trance, house, Latin. Usually ea... Read More

Today we went to a K-mart type place that I don’t remember the name of. Then after we went to the beer distributor to buy some girly drinks for Marina and a case of beer for the family. It’s strange to walk into a beer distributor knowing that you can legally buy alcohol where you are. For some reason it didn’t feel as weird when I was in Europe buying alcohol for my friends at convenience stores, but it’s probably because we were drunk the whole time.

Anyway, after the liquor store we jumped in the car and took Marina to a legal building (more or less the Saitama township building) to get her living situation registered. You have to have yourself registered as far as where you live and stuff in order to go to an accredited college here in Japan. So, she had to get her... Read More

Ever since I met my husband, it had been my desire to wear a kimono. I wanted to know the feeling of wearing a kimono.

Fortunately, last New Year my mother-in-law gave me a kimono. After we ate ‘osechi ryori’ or 'festive food' (which is served every New Year in Japan) she helped me put the kimono on. It was not easy to put on because it has many layers and accessories. It's a full-length garment, T-shaped, straight-lined robes that fall to the ankle, with collars and full-length sleeves.

According to what I learned about kimono, on special occasions unmarried women wear kimonos with extremely long sleeves that extend almost to the floor. The robe is wrapped around the body, always with the left side over the right. It is only wrapped with ... Read More

7/8/06
The day after our arrival and the first day we could really get out and see things in Japan was my birthday, July eighth. In the morning I woke up, walked downstairs and there was a sign that said "happy birthday" on it on the way down the stairs. That was so nice! I got a few gifts from the family (John Lennon words book in Japanese, a Japanese Olympic Basketball Team warmup, and some candy) and we had some cake too.

So then after the cake, which is pictured somewhere on my picture site, we ran out to get Marina a cell phone. The phones in Japan are all cheaper and more useful than the ones in America. They email, text, and take pictures, but the pictures are like.. better quality than my digital camera and i don't know - the phones are wa... Read More

One week after we were married in the Philippines, my Japanese husband came back to Japan, because his 2-year contract as a JICA volunteer was already finished.

I took up Basic Nihongo classes in Manila and stayed in a dormitory for 3 months. I was expecting him after 3 months but I received an e-mail from him that he couldn't make it because he did not receive the papers yet from Japanese immigration. He couldn’t come back to the Philippines until he got those papers. I was so disappointed because I really missed my husband and at that time I realized that we had been separated for four months already. So, I decided to go back to our town while I waited for him. I prayed hard that he would come soon. After one week of waiting I was so worried so our family prayed togeth... Read More

When nature calls, if you have to go, you have to go. Don't forget to bow when entering the bathroom! The Japanese have an architectural detail guaranteed to train even the numbest gaijin. Failure to adhere may leave you feeling scalped like Custer at the Little Bighorn. Just joking, you don’t really have to bow when entering the bathroom, just make yourself shorter! A lean to the left or right will suffice…..

Older Japanese beam houses and their architecture are rather unforgiving for the taller framed gaijin. The beautiful, handcut, hand drawn 100 year-old cedar beams leave quite a knot on the noggin! Waking in the middle of night and running to the bathroom can end with seeing stars that don't exist in any constellation seen in the night sky.

The dul... Read More

When I first arrived in Japan, the thing that made me worried was the language. We had to travel from Narita Airport to Sagamihara which was almost 2 hours travel by train and bus. Because of the long travel, I couldn’t help but had to use toilet at the train station. I was surprised when I finished using the toilet I couldn’t flush it, because I couldn't find the lever. Since I studied some Nihongo before I came here, I tried to read the instructions and label on that modern-style toilet which were written in Kanji. But unfortunately, I couldn’t read it. I started to panic, my sweat started to run down my face until I noticed a hand picture on the button. I positioned my hand in front of the button and I was thankful it worked.

My husband’s parents welcomed me ... Read More

If you come to Japan with someone, a partner, a relative, a friend, you’re lucky. If you come to Japan alone its easy to become isolated and paranoid. If you don’t know Japanese, it’s all the worse. It’s like a classic nightmare. Suddenly you realize that you’re in a strange place. You open your mouth to speak but no one understands you. All the writing everywhere has dissolved into nonsense squiggles. Worst of all, if something bad happens to you, you don’t know how to tell anyone.

Homesickness, helplessness, and doubt can turn into depression, anxiety, and panic. Our cultures collide. Everyone around you seems to know exactly what to do and how to act. You become an outlier, a pariah, an unpredictable and uns... Read More

Living in Japan you come across strange versions of your favorite western food and a huge range of western products that have gone through localization for the Japanese market. I get a laugh every time I go to the supermarket and see some bizarre product with a corny catch phrase on the packaging.

Today I was totally bamboozled at the latest product launch on the Japanese market from a western company. Pepsi has launch a new variation of Pepsi. Thing is, it is cucumber flavored and if I was an investor I would be asking questions at the next Pepsi board meeting. I would think green tea flavor would sell better than cucumber in Japan as even though Cucumber is nice in Japanese salad, I can’t see a growing demand for this product.

On the other hand the Mega ... Read More

Despite the rigorous pace of life in which people are constantly rushing around to save precious minutes, the same people are willing to stand in a queue for doughnuts.

I've been in Japan for just over two years and like a lot of my expatriates find myself wondering why people here do the things they do. A lot of it makes sense but too much of it doesn't. It makes sense to use the trains to go to work. Why? The public transportation system in this country is incredible. The trains and buses are always on time and it's possible to reach just about any place, no matter how far flung, by using some type of public transport.

What doesn't make sense is queueing for things which you can do without, especially in a country where minutes, not hours or da... Read More

Last year was my first Christmas in Japan together with my husband. My husband told me that in Japan every Christmas they prepare cakes to celebrate the day. I saw Christmas decorations in some establishments and houses but I still missed the Christmas environment in the Philippines. I missed the Christmas carols, lantern, 'simbang gabi' which I used to attend, 'paputok', kids going from house to house to ask gifts, and of course my family in the Philippines.

The day before Christmas, we went to church to attend Mass and Filipino Christmas Party. The party was lots of fun and I ate Pinoy foods such as pansit, spaghetti, afritada, Chopsuey, Biko, Pineapple, etc. I was grateful at that day that at least I could feel Filipino Christmas spirit.

When we arriv... Read More