Learn Some Japanese Culture

So I have been slacking recently on the blog front, however the good news is that the last month has been documented pretty well in pictures at least. I have been pretty busy lately with midterms, judo practice, and halloween celebrations. In order to better make sense of Japanese culture I have been doing a lot of reading concurrent with my experience. For anyone vaguely interested in Japan, I recommend reading any of these books:

• Gotta Have Wa
• Confucious Lives Next Door
• Looking for the Lost
• Culture Shock
• The Road to Sata

On another note, here is the link for the most recent episode of South Park, which provides an interesting depiction, to say the least, of the recent whaling problems in the Japanese fishing industry.

http://allsp.com/l.php?id=e192

The following is a top Ten List of Things You Should Do in Japan according to Askmen.com:

10. Try Speaking Japanese

9. Go to a Sumo Tournament

8. Belt out some Karoake Tunes

7. Ride the Bullet Train (shinkansen)

6. Eat Conveyor-Belt Sushi

5. Lose Yourself in Akihabara (electronics district)

4. Play Pachinko

3. Spend a night in a Love Hotel

2. Go to an Onsen

1. Climb Mt. Fuji

So far I have only accomplished 40% (#10,7,6,2), however I very well maybe peer pressured into going to Karoake tonight and I am tentatively planning a trip to Tokyo for my birthday (where Akihibara is located). As I am coming to the realization that my days in Japan-land are numbered, I will probably start traveling more in the coming weeks.

Devin's Osusume (Places one should visit in Japan)

Even though I have only been on this island for a month I have already amassed a fair bit of travel under my belt. The following pictures were taken at some of my favorite touristy type places in Japan. So if you are brainstorming for travel destinations in Nihon, you might want to check some of these places out..

The Kamo River area is one of the most popular nightlife spots in Kyoto. On one side you have Pontocho Street, which is bar after bar after over looking the river and on the other side is the infamous Gion which is famous for nightlife in its own right..

Another obvious but necessary tourist destination is the infamous Kinkakuji, aka the Golden Pavilion. Beautiful yes, a little wasteful.. maybe.

If you can successfully make it past the thresholds of hungry deer in Nara, you might find yourself at one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, which also happens to be home to one of the biggest Bhuddas..

Koshien Stadium, Japan's most historic ballpark and home to the Hanshin Tigers, is a great place to watch baseball, down a few asahis, and let loose for a while.

Although a sobering experience, I highly recommend visiting Hiroshima to see the Peace Memorial Museum and the A-bomb Dome.

"Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."
-George Santayana

This link connects to the album I made of my first week traveling around Japan.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=3&aid=2019929&id=1573860135#/album.php?aid=2019929&id=1573860135&page=3

Nonverbal Communication in Japan

In the Western World, we rely heavily on the actual words said in a conversation to decipher the meaning. This is due largely to a direct style of communication. In Japan, however it is important to preserve wa (group harmony) and ensure that everyone saves face. The meaning of the word yes can range from yes, no, to absolutely not. Meanings are often implied rather than directly stated. In order for a foreigner (like me) to communicate effectively here, it becomes important to be very observant of body language and cultural norms.

Some forms of non-verbal communication are exceedingly obvious. As I have stated previously, when a foreigner makes a cultural foux paus, the nihonjin in charge will likely respond with their arms raised in a big X. Other non-verbal signals are not always easy to spot. In my experience so far, people in the U.S. seem much more willing to express their discomfort openly than people in Japan. Whereas a customer service rep at a 7-11 in the U.S. might be openly grumpy to customers, a similar employee here will always put on a smile and force out an "irrasshaimase". The separation of honne and tatemae helps to explain this phenomenon. In Japan, due to social obligations and a group mentality, it is common for Japanese people to suppress their true feelings (honne) and instead act according to social expectations.The following video, although intended to be humorous, gives an interesting look into other nonverbal communication that is present in Japan. AKA, How to Speak Fluent Japanese without Saying a Verd..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_RM8To5mjU&feature=channel

Camping at Lake Biwa

This past weekend I traveled with international students (2 Columbians, 2 Germans, an Australian, a Swedish-Brit, a Ukranian, and 3 other Americans) to Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. This was about as intercultural as it gets. The campsite we stayed at was one of the most aesthetically pleasing places I have ever been too. It felt almost as if we were on the set of Lost. For 3 nights we camped out, bbq`d, swam, explored, danced, and even tried to start conversations with the local Nihonjin.

There were some pretty big differences I noticed between us and our campsite neighbors. Other than a random guy that windsurfed past us on the first day, we were the only foreigners in site. Most campers stayed for only one night, whereas we decided to make the most out of Silver Week and rough it in the wild (no showers, etc) for 3 days. Despite this, we still had the shoddiest tents on the beach. This was evident when one of them snapped halfway through the trip and we had to duct tape it back to stay under cover.

One thing I noticed about Japanese culture thus far is that they take everything seriously. They even relax seriously. Their tents looked like they could have had a basement dug underneath with possibly a kitchen. Their also seemed more organized in planning their meals. Although our bbq ended up being delicious, our inability to read japanese food labels left us with cow intestines and 64 hotdogs on a stick. All in all, it was an amazing trip and I am looking forward to experiencing whatelse Japan has to offer outside the city of Hirakata..

Osaka Clubbin

Weekends in Japan have been pretty eventful so far. This past saturday, on the suggestion of one of our local nihonjin students, we assembled a small gaijin army (group of 20 white people) and headed to Pure Night Club in Osaka. Clubbing in Osaka was an interesting experience. Being that it is in Japan and it was a saturday night, the club was extremely crowded. After paying the cover charge which was pretty steep, you then are given a cup for nomihodai (all you can drink). The main staples on the drink menu were similar to the U.S; gin and tonic, tequila 'sunrice', and rum and coke, however they also had other miscellaneuous options.

The atmosphere of the club itself was pretty cool as it had caves built into the side of the wall that you could sit down in, billiards, and even a vip room hidden behind a fake bookcase. The music there varied greatly, ranging from snoop-a-loop to offspring. Since most of the music was in English, the majority of clubgoers had no idea what they were singing along too. The funniest example of this was when everyone started jammin out to Ludacris', "Move Bitch Get Out The Way." All in all it was a great night. I even practiced my level 1 japanese a little bit on the dance floor. Spitting out phrases like atsui desu ne (its hot isnt it), genki desu ka (hows it going), and beeru wa oishii desu yo (this beer is delicious). Which was fun until the japanese girls started speaking back and I had to resort to nodding and saying honto (really?) to keep the conversation flowing.

We got there around 11am and ended up dancing until 5am when the club finally closed. After finally emerging from the club at daybreak I attempted to make my way home. The initial trip to osaka involved 2 train transfers and mile long walk, so consequently the return trip home had some bumps. After finally making it to the right train station, I was delighted to see a sign on the platform that listed makino (my end destination). Apparently in Japan though, they have several different kinds of trains; including express and limited express which stop at different places. I did not know this.. So I was very surprised when my train whizzed past my station at 80 mph (or however many kilometers). A learning experience to say the least.

My next post will detail my 4 day camping trip to the biggest lake in Japan. Apparently they have a beach there imported from Australia and lots of spots to bbq. Should be fun..

Going International

One of the interesting things about going to school at Kansai Gaidai is that in addition to learning Japanese, you end up picking up slang, sayings, and colloquialisms (?) from all the other international kids you live with. So I thought I`d make a list of some English slang that Brits are saying across the pond these days..

1. Nackert- apparently this means really tired, as in.. that bloke looks nackert.
2. WC- a bathroom
3. Slash- a piss, as in.. I am going to take a slash in the wc.
4. Butchers- to have a look around, as in.. going to have a butchers. This one is the most ridiculous because it comes from cockney, a part of England where they talk in rhymes (apples and pears, go upstairs, etc). So `butchers` hook means to have a look, but they don`t say hook. Crazy.
5. Cheers- thanks, as in.. cheers mate. Used when someone does you a favor, I might take this one back to the states.
6. Peckish- hungry, as in.. I am feeling a bit peckish so I`d fancy a meal.
7. Pissed- really drunk, as in this sake has me pretty pissed mate. Unlike its American counterpart, in Britain this saying has a happier connotation.
8. Taking a mick- Making fun of someone.
9. Bollacks- means something is rubbish, not true, etc.
10. Snogging- Kissing, this one I actually only know from Harry Potter, but it must be true.

Korean Phase of the day:

Kajsha! (or something similar)- means.. lets go!


Japanese Phrase of the Day:

Mokarimakka?- Translates to.. Are you making money? This is a popular way of saying what`s up in Osaka ben dialect (where I am).


This completes your cultural education for the day.

First Impressions

I have been in Japan for two weeks so far and it has been a pretty ridiculous experience. The first week I explored Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima with my otousan to okaason (Nancy and Donald). This past week I moved into my seminar house and met other students from all over the world (meaning America). I am writing this post pretty late at night and I am pretty sure my brain is still on american time as well, so in order to avoid excessive typos I am just going to provide lists of my observations and experiences in Japan thus far. Let me know if there are any other aspects of Japanese culture that you want to hear more about..


Top 5 Japanese Foods:

1. Okonomiyaki- Japanese lasagna

I have tried this in both Hiroshima and Hirakata and this is definitely my favourite dish. It consists of eggs, noodles, and assorted meats fried on a stove and covered in spices and japanese mayo. Like any other dish here, there were also about 4 or 5 other ingredients I couldn't identify. Oishee desu..

2. Takoyaki- Octopus balls

Or to prevent confusion, balls of octopus meat. This is usually sold at a street side stand and its pretty cheap. For 300 yen (3 bucks) you can get around 8 of them. They are essentially doughy with a cream cheese filling and of course the octopus meat. Labeled differently, this could catch on in the states.

3. Morning domburi- the only acceptable Japanese breakfast

Simple but it hits the spot. Eggs and pork over rice. Mix it up with your chopsticks and dig in.

4. Udon or Soba- noodles and soup

Slurping is encouraged.

5. Japanese snowcones- more of a dessert but it is dank..

Shaved ice in a cup (flavors include green tea, melon, strawberry, etc) with milk mixed in and sometimes it also comes with ice cream and occassionally sticky rice balls. So good.


Foods to Avoid:
1. Yakitori- 50/50 shot.. grilled kabobs, with proper discretion this dish is amazing, however yakitori chefs tend to include heart, liver, gizards, and unidentifiables into their assortment platters.
2. Nato- fermented soybean.. never tried it, but have been advised by many japanese not too
3. Fugu- blowfish, if prepared wrong it will kill you..

Most food I ahve tried so far has been delicious. Bento boxes, chain restaurants, candy, and beverages are usually safe bets. As an island country a lot of food here tends to be seafood based (even when it shouldn't be, potato chips). I will continue to document my culinary successes and failures.

Funniest Engrish T-shirt slogans:

1. "Kinky Slut" - This was spotted on a sweet looking little old lady in the rural vilalge of Kurama.
2. "The Georgia-Wyoming Agreement 5th Year Anniversary" - Haha, I didn't realize georgia and wyoming had so many trade connections.
3. "Nebraska Loves Me" -I have actually seen this on 3 or 4 people..
4. "One Pound Happy Suger Make You Do The Hokey Pokey" - and thats what its all about
5. "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP" .. at least they are studying the alphabet on their downtime

The English language has taken on some kind of chic appeal in Japan. Although nobody actually understands the language, people wholeheartedly embrace the idea of putting it on their t-shirts, signs, and everything else.

Top 5 best Things about Japan:
1. The Food- so so good
2. The women- must be all the rice and bike riding..
3. Public transportation- Everything is connected by a series of clean trains, buses, and if you feel like paying for it, even rickshaws.
4. The commercialism- Anything and everything you would want to buy is nearby (with the exception of decent cereal and English books/dvds). Everyone is an entrepreneur here.
5. Customer Service- If you walk into any Japanese department store you will be treated like the prince of Zamoonda. Walking down an aisle of 50 people bowing and saying greetings is always good for a quick ego boost.

Japan is also a pretty beautiful place. Aesthetics is often valued over function.

The 5 worst Things about Japan:
1. The bureaucracy- Logic is conspicuously missing from the Japanese mindset. If a rule is written down on paper it must be followed. This is extremely inconvenient when you are filling out bank applications or trying to convince the taxi driver to put 3 suitcases in the trunk.
2. Nonverbal communication- When a foreigner makes a foux paus or a Japanese person doesn't feel like helping you, he will make a big X with his arms and stay like that until you either go away or stop doing what your doing. Because many Japanese people don't speak much English, they often resort to the X which has become progressively more annoying. When a Japanese person is thinking real hard they also tend to stick their head sideways and suck in a bunch of air, this one is actually kind of funny though.
3. Verbal communication- Sadly it seems as if I know more Japanese than the typical Japanese person knows English. This creates a pretty sizeable communication barrier.
4. The lack of diversity- A white guy walking through Japan is pretty noticeable. It is kind of weird being stared at everywhere you go. I never thought I would say this, but I think even Elon is more diverse. Every action a Japanese person takes is through the context of Wa (group harmony). Unfortunately, gaijin are not generally considered part of this group and this can make life more challenging. For instance, I have to apply for an alien registration card and carry it on my person at all times to prevent being hassled by the police etc..
5. Culture shock- In so many ways. some observations:
-Everything is smaller (cars, people, food, clothes, everything..)
-People drive on the wrong side of the street
-McHotdogs
-Everyone is too damn quiet, a normal conversation on the bus would be considered loud in Japan.
-Japanese bikes resemble 12 year old American girls' bikes; they all have baskets and little bells (don't worry I have one of them now too)
-Engrish, there is English everywhere until you sit down and try to read the menu at a restaurant or want to look at a map at a train station.
-All currency 5 bucks and under is in coins, so you end up with a lot of change in your pocket
-much much much more

Favorite Japanese Words/Phrases:
1. Nani ga osusume desu ka? - What do you recommend (to eat, buy, etc)
2. Yatta! - I did it!
3. Kore wa omoshiroy desu - That was interesting..
4. Ogenki desu ka? - Wuddup?
5. Hai - It has 10 different meanings, when in doubt.. say hai
6. Nomi tonka - this means, "do you want to fight.." according to the random mixed martial arts guy I talked to
7. Muzukashi- literally means something is difficult, if you request something that is muzukashi that typically means no
8. Sugoi! - this is pretty awesome
9. Ego desu ka? - Is it in English
10. Naze desu ka? - Why? I ask this a lot.

Will post more soon.. For pictures check out my facebook. I am tired as hell right now so instead of proofreading for grammar, I am just going to ask for leniency.