Of a Lack of Dryers

So I was thinking the other day about my first impressions when I came to Japan. Sometimes I forget what things used to be like, where everything new and exciting. It was really more of an adventure at first. Now, I've gotten used to my life here. And I still try new things, but it's more of the way that you try to do things in a city that you've lived in for a while. Anyway, back to the point, I was hanging up my laundry to dry yesterday when a memory came back to me.

I remember when I first came to Japan, I wasn't able to tell wealthy neighborhoods from poorer neighborhoods. Common signs in the States of wealth really don't apply here. For example, dryers are not common in Japan. I've seen them at coin laundries, but never in a home. Most people just hang their clothes to dry up on a pole outside, even in winter.

In the US, if you look up and see row and upon row of apartment buildings and houses with clothes hanging outside, you would normally assume that the area is not wealthy. But it's normal for here. Japanese homes just don't have the space for a dryer. There's also the belief that dryers shrink your clothes. Since the Japanese tend to buy very fitting clothes, they do not want to shrink them.

So the question is how do you tell so-called "wealthy" neighborhoods from their more humble counterparts? The answer to this is the types of stores, building materials, and city layout. Stores do not have to be super "chic" per say, but they do have to sell quality goods. Western stores like Zara, Banana Republic, Chanel tend to be in better areas. This is due to the fact that they have to make a profit due to the high import duties on their products, so they tend to go places like Ginza and Roppongi. However, if you go to Kyoto, the Gion district is one of the most expensive in Japan. The district is old and does not host any "fashionable" stores. Rather, it sells some of the highest quality teas in the country. It prides itself on its traditional roots, and people will pay for the experience.

The second method is by looking at the building materials. Most buildings are now built with flexible steel and other earthquake-proof materials. However, there are still a few traditional wooden houses. These traditional areas are highly prized because they have survived the bombings and previous fires. The techniques to make them have also be lost in the generations. If we look at more modern architecture, buildings with large windows and an open layout are more prized. Rent is expensive here, so if you find large buildings, you know that you're in a nice neighborhood. Family homes that have a car are also a sign of a very well-to-do neighborhood.

Finally, the last thing to consider is the city layout itself. Greenery is a very good sign of the economic health of the neighborhood. Along the train tracks in Kyoto, the neighbors work together to maintain the flowers for their block. Arashiyama is the former entertainment region for the old nobility. It has a large lake and it is surrounded by mountains. In Tokyo, areas like Sangenjaya and Daikanyama are considered upper-class. These areas have widespread green spaces and are well-kept. They are also located in the center of the city near train stations.

All in all, there are many signs of wealth in Japan. You only have to get used to looking to notice them. Although there are far more that I haven't named, it is because in some ways it's difficult to put a finger on it. Over time, you just learn. The important thing to realize is that wealth is not an indication of whether the neighborhood is safe or not. Since you don't find gated communities or the like here, people can walk anywhere. As long as you act normally, the majority of Japan is safe.

Talking about Expenses

I've gotten asked a lot in the past month "Isn't living in Japan expensive?" And I really think this comes with a grain of salt. Is it expensive in a major city? Yes. It's the largest metropolis in the world with 37 million people. That means that you're going to pay for housing. If you were to put a hundred dollar bill on the ground, the land here in Tokyo would cost more than the value of that bill. You also pay for the convenience of things. Taxes are high, around 20 percent of your income. However, this covers your health care, garbage disposal, etc. If these weren't high, the city wouldn't work, and that's a fact that you have to live with.

Fruit is absurdly expensive here. The cheapest I've ever seen a watermelon here was 980 yen, around 10 dollars. Japan just can't produce the variety or the quantity necessary to feed all of the people here. Since it's imported, it's like Hawaii. It's expensive.

So what isn't expensive? Obviously I wouldn't write this post just to say exactly what everyone knows already. In some ways, Japan is easier to live in than the States. You can go to a restaurant for lunch and eat as cheap as 400 yen. I'm not going to it's the best-tasting food in the world, but it is better than McDonald's. You'll be able to get a main dish, some miso soup and rice all for the price of a Big Mac here at the fast food joints. You can easily spend 2000 yen, or 20 bucks at lunch though if you're not careful. All in all, restaurants are cheaper.

What about basic needs? In some ways, these are also cheaper than the States. You can buy towels, laundry and cleaning supplies at hyaku-en or dollar stores. You can get a pillow for 1000 yen and umbrellas for a few hundred yen. You can buy refill packages of your normal soap and shampoo for a few dollars less than the normal containers.

So, what are you paying for? You'll pay for electronics like rice cookers, refrigerators and washing machines. You pay for housing and other conveniences. So, is living in Japan expensive? If you buy major things like this? Yes. If you're renting an apartment or building a house? Absolutely. But in your day to day life, you can eat well and take care of your needs cheaper than the States.

I recommend buying clothing in the States since it's marked up double or triple the cost overseas. But it you're buying normal goods, buy them here. It will be cheaper in the long run.

Meishi Culture

I also started my first day of work at the Company. I got my business cards (meishi) so I've become an effective member of society now (shakai-jin). Business cards are extremely important at any company, but particularly here in Japan. The business card is seen as an extension of yourself. Therefore, there are a few things to consider so as not to offend the card-holder. These can all be classified under business card exchange (meishi koukan).

The card will be turned to face the recipient so that it is aligned correctly to make it easily readable. You will never give/receive a meishi with your name upside-down from the recipient's point-of-view. In the case that both people are exchanging meishi at the same time, give your card with your left and accept the card with your right. The person going first depends on status. There is no guarantee that the senior individual will provide you with his card. You always want to confirm the name of the individual at the time since the kanji can be difficult.

The card should never be bent, folded, or dirtied in any way. This includes the common practice of flipping your card over and writing your contact information on it. This is a way of slighting the individual. If you soil the card, you are disrespecting the person himself. Writing on your own card shows that you do not respect yourself.

On the same note, do not put any meishi in a pocket without a business card holder (meishi-ire). This is also disrespectful since it could lead to the card's edges getting frayed. If you do not happen to have a meishi-ire, then wait until the person is well out of sight until you put it into a folder to protect it. Creating a little collection of meishi shows your business connections, so it needs to be kept clean for future reference.

Of Health Care

I know this is a fairly contested issue in the States right now, but despite this, it really does need to be addressed. This is due primarily to funding issues, but at times unfounded accusations of "socialism" or other such nonsense. So, you know what? I'm going to come right out and say it. Japan has a universal health care system, and I love it. It's phenomenal, and despite all of the resistance that it may receive abroad, I'm completely behind the idea.

In the health care system, the government pays 70% of the fee while the individual pays 30%. Hospitals are run by doctors, not by companies for profit. Clinics are also owned and run by doctors. For those who live in Japan, enrollment is mandatory. If you are foreign though, you sometimes fall into a grey area. It's still strongly recommended that you join the health care system though.

There are two types of health care here in Japan.

1. Employees' Health Insurance (健康保険) - This is run by companies or associations, and it provides health insurance to employees. Care for employees' families is also provided through this.
2. National Health Insurance (国民健康保険) - This is normally for students or for those who are self-employed.

Individuals can go to any hospital or clinic. It's best to go with a referral though. Cost is extremely low, which is why individuals will often go to the hospital, even for minor problems. In some ways, this is beneficial. You don't have the problem of people staying sick for weeks because they can't afford to go to the doctor. They just go to the doctor and get medicine and get better. They can then go to work, and stop being a burden on their fellow coworkers who would have to cover them. On the other hand, this is a negative thing. People go to the hospital for literally anything, and for this reason, people with serious problems often have to wait.

Understand though that people can get private insurance for certain cases, and some things are not covered, like dental work. For this reason, things like braces are extremely expensive (as they are in the States as well), which is often why the Japanese will have less than stellar dental hygiene.

So, what does this mean for Japan? People do not stay sick very long, and although it may be more expensive at the onset, it is significantly less expensive as the society grows older. By protecting people when they're young, they will live longer and therefore healthier. People with serious issues will also go to the doctor, and those who just wonder if something should be checked out or not will also go to the doctor before it becomes serious. There's something to be said for this. When I went to the doctor here, it cost be 800 yen total, medicine included. That's roughly $9.50 US with the current exchange rate. I'd spend $50 just to go to meet with a doctor in the US, and my medicine would cost far more. From my humble opinion, its clear why Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world. Although its not just due to health care, and its surely due to diet as well, there is no doubt that health care cannot harm a person.

Can it be implemented elsewhere? That's what it all comes to, isn't it? And I'd say yes, it's possible, but there would have to be some changes. Certain things are efficient. Others aren't. I'm not saying to adopt the entire system, but I do think this is a good option, and if the US could adopt it, I'd back it 100%.

Of Blood Types

There's a fairly strong belief in Japan associated with blood type, or ketsuekigata (血液型) in Japanese. Like people's astrological signs, Japanese tend to identify themselves by their blood type. This is the same as you saying, "I'm a Virgo." Instead, this time, it's "I'm blood type A." Although you may scoff at the astrological signs analogy, perhaps it would be better to bring up the idea that birth order determines personality, which is a fairly common belief in the States. As far as I can find, positive and negative don't factor in to one's blood type personality.

This began around the 1900's while trying to classify ethnic traits. Perhaps the most influential of the writings on the effects of one's blood type can be seen in Takeji Furukawa's study titled "The Study of Temperament Through Blood Type." Despite the fact that Furukawa lacked a significant amount of credentials and the study was limited to about 20 people, the idea took hold. When Japan occupied Taiwan, a search was began for why the Taiwanese resisted so much to Japanese takeover. When it was found that they had type O, interbreeding was suggested in order to dilute the genes that had apparently made them so resistant. In the 1970's, several books were released, this time by Masahiko Nomi, who was a lawyer at the time. Nomi's works also lacked scientific evidence, but the idea remains popular today.

In the modern world, these are everywhere in Japan. Facebook and Twitter allow Japanese users to put up their blood types on their profiles. Matchmaking agencies will ask that their customers reveal their blood type in order to ensure a successful match. References to it are frequently seen in magazines, and Japanese Wikipedia actually lists celebrities' blood type in their info. Friends will often ask you what your blood type is, and not knowing it blood type can lead to mixed degrees of shock.

So what makes these blood types so important? It's believed that they determine one's personality as well as one's compatibility with another individual. People will not date certain blood types because of their "negative" traits.

But surely this is just popular culture right? It's just a bunch of teenage girls with nothing better to do than look in their Cosmo magazine and try to figure out if they match up with their potential crush. Sadly, that's not the case. This is believed by everyone from youths to adults, from the common man to the most educated. In fact, the other day the head of the reconstruction effort up in Touhoku had to resign after only a week in office because he said something extremely insensitive to the victims of the disaster. By stating basically that "the country will not help you until you find decent plans to help yourself," calls for resignation rose. He blamed this on his B blood type, and although no one accepts that from a politician - because it really is a sorry excuse - people will blame their faults on their blood types normally. So, let's look at them shall we? These are divided into their positive and negative traits for each type. Whether one is A+ or A- does not matter to this chart.

A: Positive: Creative, sensible, reliable, patient, responsible, neat, takes care of others before oneself
     Negative: Overly detailed, overly earnest, stubborn, tense
B: Positive: Wild, active, creative, passionate, strong, does things that they set their mind to
     Negative: Selfish, irresponsible, unforgiving, unpredictable
AB: Positive: Cool, controlled, rational, sociable, adaptable
        Negative: Critical, indecisive, forgetful, irresponsible, has a "split personality"
O: Positive: Agreeable, sociable, optimistic
     Negative: Vain, rude, jealous, arrogant

Just for your information, type B tends to be the most common here, while back in the States, it's type O.

Of a Scare

I had a close call with death yesterday. I was walking home to my dorm when I decided to take a shortcut. This was nothing new. I always take the shortcut, it's about 10 minutes shorter, and it was really hot outside, so 10 minutes shorter is a pretty big deal.

I stepped onto the little path, which is really just a covered drain in the road, and began to cross over to the other side. To give you a sense of perspective, this drain is only about a foot wide. Everyone uses it here as a foot path, though I've seen the brave bike over it before. The left side is up against a fence and someone's house, where both have a significant green area. The right side drops off a few meters to a communal farm. People can grow vegetables, fruits, and flowers there. It only takes a couple minutes to cross over normally.

I got to the middle, and out of nowhere come three suzumebachi. I abruptly froze, thinking what on earth should I do? If I turned around, they'd chase me. They are predators after all, and secondly, they swarm, like bees. So, running would have caused those three to chase me, as well as possibly calling out the rest of the nest. If I stepped back, I might stumble on the path, and also, the stones move, which would have caused a decent amount of sound. These things are known for attacking bikers and such for being noisy, so that really wasn't an option either. I decided to stay still and make like a tree.

The hornets hovered there for a while, me looking at them, them looking at me. I felt like they needed some sort of your-imminent-death-is-approaching song. I could hear the sound of their wings as they fluttered in the air, and the stingers were obvious. I thought, "What do I do if I get stung?" It only takes twice and you're dead. It was only a few seconds I'm sure, but eventually the three suzumebachi decided I wasn't a threat and flew away. I waited a few more seconds just to make sure, and then I cautiously made my way to the other side. When I got back to the dorm, I realized just how dangerous of a situation I was in. Even now, I have no idea why there were three of them together. One alone is enough to kill almost anything. Either the things have moved on to killing bears, or they were returning to the nest. Either way, I'm glad I made it though, and I'll be on the lookout for more.

Of Mukade

Well, Japan has officially entered its ridiculously hot and humid summer season. This means that all of the super-sized bugs have come out in force. The suzumebachi are flying around, the giant cockroaches and ants are coming out, but without a doubt, the mukade (ムカデ) are crawling out of the woods.

I don't really know how to describe mukade except for the fact that they're centipedes about 5 cm long, and they're just plain terrifying. Getting bit by one is not something to be taken lightly. In fact, you should probably go to the hospital. As long as you're a healthy human being, you'll be fine, but if you're a child or an elderly individual, they're far more dangerous. Mukade tend to come out at night, so you'll normally be bitten while you're sleeping. This is exactly why they're so dangerous. Depending on where the bite is - for example, if it's close to your heart or your neck - the consequences are much more severe. Otherwise, apparently you suffer extreme pain.

The other International House deals with mukade often. In fact, they've developed a Mukade Killing Competition Chart, where they rack up the number that each of them has killed as a kind of morbid game. I believe one guy killed about 15 of them in a couple weeks. Regardless, pamphlets and other announcements of how to deal with the dreaded mukade have started circling around.

My personal favorite is how you're supposed to apply first aid for these things. The English goes something like this, "If bitten, immediately remove the centipede and crush the head. Then, while running cold water over the wound, squeeze out the venom. If the wound is painful, go see a doctor."

However, the best part of this is how you're supposed to eradicate these things. No matter who you talk to, the preferred method is always something short of the absurd. The Mukade Killing Club recommends chopping the centipede into pieces as if you're playing a role in some sort of Poe horror story. The standard method seems to be pouring boiling water on them or wrapping them in newspaper and lighting them on fire. Ridiculous? Absolutely. Yet, even this still doesn't seem to kill the bug from your nightmares.

No joke. Taku, one of the buddies over at the other International House, doused a mukade the other day in a pot of boiling water. It stayed dead for about a couple hours. But then it got back up and continued to wreak havoc around the dorm. This begs the question, if you can't kill it with a pot of boiling water, what on earth are you supposed to do?

I personally think that we should pit the mukade against the suzumebachi. Maybe one of them will wipe the other out. I haven't figured out yet what purpose these things serve in the food chain. Supposedly some sort of hardcore indestructible bird eats them, but surely it might enjoy eating something that doesn't threaten kill it more. Either way, the mukade curse continues.

Of Fathers

You know, I realized something today. Regardless of background, fathers are the same the world round.

I went to the grocery store like normal, and there was a young couple and their son in the store. The son was having a blast pushing the cart, mom was in front telling him to hurry up, and dad was in the back helping to distract the son.

In classic dad-style, every piece of suggestive selling was picked up.

Dad: "These dumplings look good. Do we want them?"
Mom: "We don't need them. Put them back."
Dad: "Please? They look really delicious."
Mom: "Ok fine, but nothing else."
Dad: "Of course." And then he proceeds to look like a kid in his candy shop with his new purchase as he shows the son what delicious dumplings they'll get to eat.

Five minutes later, and it's more of the same.

Dad: "What about these batteries? Don't we need batteries?"
Mom: "No, we don't need batteries."
Dad: "But I think we need batteries. I have this electronic thing that needs batteries."
Mom: "We have batteries in the house."
Dad: "But they were the wrong kind..."
Mom: "We have the right kind. You just didn't see them."
Dad: "We have X type?"
Mom: "Yes."
Dad: "Ok...."

What is it about suggestive selling that fathers seem so susceptible to?

Of A Cooking Life Lesson

Yesterday, I decided I'd make something delicious. It was going to be a pork dish with some ginger and other ingredients, but mainly ginger. And let me just say, that it looked fantastic online. With that said, the same was not true of my cooking. You know, normally, I make things up, sometimes use recipes, and I almost always end up with something delicious, or at least edible. Last night's dinner was edible, and that's about where it stopped.

Someone had spilled something in the fridge unfortunately, coating most things in some sort of stick junk. I cleaned it up, but certain ingredients could not be salvaged. That's where dinner started.

From there, I looked at the remaining ingredients, and said, I can make this work. And it's true, I could, if I had one ingredient more. Unfortunately for me, I had no idea what that ingredient was. I stared at it, searched for it in dictionaries, Googled it, but to no avail. The ingredient simply would not turn up, and so, in classic Michelle style, I decided it must not be important. Any ingredient that doesn't turn up easily can't possible be useful. I figured it was one of those optional things. Unlike baking, cooking has optional ingredients. This is the point at which I should've figured my logic was less than logical. And here was the beginning of the end.

So I made my dish, added the ginger, added the few vegetables I had left over, and made my sauce to cover my pork in. I taste the sauce, and I realize, why, that's a tad salty (keep in mind it's mostly soy based with a little rice vinegar. So I add some stuff, and hope for the best, tasting it all the while. I finally finish my dish, and taste it, and it's....edible.

Three guesses as to what I left out. I went back to Google, still no dice. Asked SoJeong, she guessed it was some sort of stock, but she wasn't sure. Asked Tai today, and yes, it was chicken stock. I left out chicken stock. Do you know how important of an ingredient that is? I bet my dish would have been awesome if I'd had it.

In other news, I made some genuine American hamburgers with a touch of basil, rosemary, onion, and garam marsala with a side of the famous rosemary potatoes for dinner tonight. I even had some fresh pineapple. It was much better.

Source:
にんにく豚飯 (クックパッド)

Of License Plates

Since I've arrived in Japan, I've been continually perplexed by one thing: Japanese vehicle license plates.  In relation to everything else, I'm sure this is a minor problem, but it really has kept me in a continuous state of bemusement, and so today, I've decided to fix it. I've asked friends, read articles, and after much research, I can finally say that I understand the basics.

Like all things related to the bureaucracy, it's unnecessarily complex. Here's what I've found:

1. License plates (or ナンバープレート), are issued by the national government except in certain circumstances. These primarily include when the vehicle is considered a small motor vehicle: for example, motorcycles. In this case, the license plate will be issued by the local municipal government.
2. Although plastic plates are being introduced, most plates are still made out of aluminum. The size of your plate and numbers will depend on the size of your vehicle.
3. The color of your license plate and numbers depends on how many cc's your car is.
• General vehicles (though at times 360 cc vehicles are included) receive license plates with a white background and green letters if they are for home/personal use. They receive a green background with white letters if they are for business use.
• Other light vehicles (below 660 cc) receive license plates with a yellow background and black letters if they are for home use, and a black background with yellow letters if they are for business use.
• Two-wheeled vehicles (bicycles, motorcycles, etc.) that exceed 250 cc are issued license plates with a white background, green letters, and a green border if they are for home use. The opposite is used for business use.
• Two-wheeled vehicles below 250 cc are issued license plates with a white background and green letters for home use, and the opposite if they are for business use.
• Otherwise, plates for official business (ambulance, etc.) are issued plates with white background and red letters. Though there might be a case where they have a red background and black letters (as in police officers).
4. The number that goes above the other numbers depend on further cc values within those previously mentioned. The hiragana depends on how many people can sit in your car.
5. The amount of • (ten) or dots that you receive along with the main numbers depend on when and where the plate is issued.
6. Your city name will be displayed in kanji except for special circumstances. These include foreign dignitaries' and military vehicles, along with those that seek to go abroad with their license.

For pictures and further description, please refer to the Wiki page below.

Source:
日本のナンバープレート (Wiki)

Of why restaurants must hate foreigners

So we've decided something among our not-so-frequent trips to restaurants in the area and around the rest of Japan. Restaurants must hate foreigners. I'm not saying this in a mean sort of way but in a completely understandable sort of way.

It begins with just walking in.
Shopkeeper: "Irasshaimase! (Welcome to our store!)"
And then they see you and pause. "Oh crap," they must be thinking. "Will they speak Japanese? What will we do if they don't speak Japanese?"
So they ask you a little slowly, "Nanmeisama desu ka? (How many people?)"
"Futari desu. (Two.)"
The relief on their faces! They've navigated the first hurdle and they now lead you to your table...
But when they get there, they stop. Oh no. What will happen now? They're stuck at a quandary. To offer the English menu or to just give a Japanese menu. They decide it's better to offer the English menu. You turn it down, saying that Japanese is just fine, and if anything, their face becomes a mixture of relief and confusion. Who is this strange foreigner who prefers a Japanese menu when they no doubt speak English? (It is believed by most Japanese that if you are foreign you must speak English by the way...)

As soon as the menu is set in front of you, your waiter whips out his trusty pad and waits for your order. In some sort of odd skill that I haven't seem to find out how they do it yet, inevitably, every Japanese person can order within the span of about three seconds. But you know, those pesky foreigners, we like to spend a good five minutes to look at the menu, and discuss with our companions what we should order. Meanwhile, your waiter looks like he's about to pee himself as he shifts from foot to foot in anticipation.

Finally, you order your meal, and while you're waiting, another foreigner walks in and gives you what we have affectionately come to call the "gaijin nod." The gaijin nod is a mysterious thing. It's your acknowledgement of the other person who is not Japanese in a sort of "hey, we'll band here together brother" but you also realize that you are in no way related and do not have permission to talk to that person. Inevitably though, they'll strike up some conversation with you about where you've been, and if you have any suggestions on the rest of the city. This act of striking up a conversation with a stranger who is not at your table further confuses the staff.

Your meal arrives and the real fun begins. If this restaurant never or rarely sees foreigners, they cannot help but stare in an odd sort of fascination. "Will they know how to eat it?" and "Will they be able to use chopsticks?" seem to be the most prevalent questions here. The answer to both question is normally yes of course, and if not, you'll try your best in order to avoid embarrassment.

In another amazing feat of skill, the Japanese can manage to eat their food quickly. Though this is probably due to relatively a lack of talking and just focusing on food. But you know, we like to linger on our food outside of Japan. So we take half an hour to eat what most Japanese would be done with in 10 or 15 minutes. We also like to drink more than one cup of tea while we're eating. Asking for that extra cup is sometimes painful and exceptionally difficult to receive, but we do it with such frequency that the serving staff doesn't seem to know what to do. Add on the extra half hour that we spend talking to each other when our meal is finished, and it's no wonder restaurants begin to feel ambivalent to foreigners...

Michelle

外人 vs. 外国人

外人 (gaijin) vs. 外国人 (gaikokujin). What's the big difference?

Since it came up again the other day, I thought it'd be useful to truly explain the difference to anyone who is not familiar with the terms. Kanji tends to be pretty literal, so sometimes you might miss the little implications of a word. Both gaijin and gaikokujin mean "foreigner," but the meaning depends on where one is in Japan, who they're talking to, and what age the person is in relation to oneself. Let's take a quick look just for a linguistic point-of-view.

A gaijin is literally a "foreign person." Some Japanese will find it not to be offensive, and they'll use the word frequently. It's shorter, easier to say, and you do hear it quite a bit in daily conversation. However, I feel that the majority of people would still label this a discriminatory term. Oddly enough, there seems to be this weird trend among foreigners to use this term to refer to themselves. If they make a mistake, they'll say something along the lines. "Oh, it's ok because I'm a gaijin." There's even a phrase that has popped up called the "Gaijin Smash." Used by foreigners, it refers to doing something that one knows is frowned upon or illegal and getting away with it due to the fact that one is foreign. For this reason, the Japanese are somewhat at a loss. Even though many of them feel that it's discriminatory, they can't seem to get rid of the term because the people who should feel discriminated against keep using it to refer to themselves.

On the other side of the argument is gaikokujin, which means "a person from a foreign country." Across all boards, this word is considered more polite, but it's also considered more formal.

So, there's a problem. Which to use? The one which is considered a form of 差別 (sabetsu), discrimination by many? Or the word which many will agree is more polite, but sounds a little formal between friends? It's up for debate, but this writer's opinion is for using 外国人, gaikokujin.

Valentine's Day and White Day

I really apologize for the delay in blog updates lately. I've been swamped with exams, papers, and tests, so I haven't had the time. But I'll make it up to you in the coming months. The first semester is officially over, and I only have one more report to write. I'm doing it on Japan's problem of 高齢的 or an aging society. There's a ceremony tonight which I'll be going to to show everyone off and then we're all going to a 飲み会 (nomikai), which is really just a really big drinking party.

Since it's been so long, this post will be a light-hearted and yet cultural one. Congratulations.

It's nearing that time of year as we all know. The time when hearts pop up everywhere, things mysteriously become pink, and the stores start selling chocolate like it's going out of style. Yes, it's almost time to think about Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is pretty much the same world round. Hang out with your special someone, give them a gift or two, and spend your time in blissful love. So I'm sure, you're asking, "Michelle, why are you writing this post?" And you know what? Hold your horses. I'm getting there.

Valentine's Day in Japan is special too, which is why this post exists. Contrary to the States, in Japan women give men chocolate and gifts. Imported around the late 1950's, there are three main types of chocolate giving.

1. 本命チョコ (honmei-choko) - Literally "true feeling" or "genuine sentiment" chocolate, this is the chocolate you give to your loved one. This chocolate can be bought, but it's tradition to make your own. Normally this is elementary, middle, and high school children, but university students also participate. This chocolate can be anything from your standard type chocolate to things which are chocolatey like cookies, cakes, muffins, pastries, etc. Heart shapes are suggested though.
2. 義理チョコ (giri-choko) - Called "obligation/duty" chocolate, this is the chocolate that you give to your boss, male friends, or anyone that you feel doesn't have a girlfriend and therefore deserves to get chocolate out of pity. Your goal is not to let any man feel left out. This does not need to be anything extravagant but it is required to fill the obligation.
3. 友チョコ (tomo-choko) - This is what we call "friend" chocolate. Basically, girls are sad that they don't get any chocolate on Valentine's, so they send chocolate to each other. 

If one feels particularly close to a person, then a gift of some kind normally accompanies the chocolate. This is particularly true of 本命チョコ (honmei-choko).

Of course, except for 友チョコ (tomo-choko), women seem to be left out of this mix. But fear not, for a month later, the men return the favor. This happens on ホワイトデー (White Day), which was said to be brought to Japan by a marshmallow company, therefore giving the day it's name. Set a month after Valentine's Day, on March 14, men send women that they're interested in or by obligation a gift. However, they are not required to return a gift to all the women that sent them chocolate. If it's chocolate or sweets, the color white is preferred, though other gifts are acceptable. These gifts are either equal in value or priced slightly higher it seems.

Michelle

Of Job Hunting

Well it's a new week and a new blog post. I apologize for the delay. Things have been a little busy around here. Tests all the time, some nonsense with my home university, and other such things. But this blog is not about that, so onto a little news and then a light-hearted topic (cause it's been way too long since we've had one of those).

News:
1. North Korea is still being crazy. Nothing's solved yet. The US and South Korea are still holding drills. China is still "managing" the situation, and Japan is monitoring it.
2. Tokyo's been having earthquakes, but not Kansai. So it's a little sad. No worries though, seems like everything's fine.

And now for the main topic of this blog: Job Hunting.　I admit, it's still not the most light-hearted topic, but it is interesting, and it is phenomenally important, especially for those of you considering working in Japan.

For those of you familiar with Japanese, the word for job hunting is 就職活動 (shuushoku katsudou), or 就活 (shuukatsu) for short. I've been talking to a lot of the Japanese students here, and this job-hunting process seems to be pretty involved, even when it is compared to other countries. For example, the Japanese job-hunting process begins around November of your junior year. At this time, you gather information and decide on the companies that you are interested in, and then you give your resume to them. Typically, the apply to 50-60 companies. You then attend numerous company presentations and job fairs to show that you are interested. During these times, you must be infinitely punctual and wear nice clothing (suits, ties, etc.) So far, nothing is really different.

But here's where things change. You will be asked by the company to attend a series of interviews. You start out talking to the lowest people in the company and advance your way to the highest tiers of the organization. You will have anywhere from 5-10 interviews per company, which means you can easily attend 100 interviews during your job hunting process. As you advance through the system of interviews, eventually you will attend something called a "pressure interview." Basically, this is you and a selection of the highest individuals in the company; they will question the choices you've made in your life and how you plan to continue. From what I understand, this is the most intense part of the process, since you are essentially being interviewed by the CEO of the company for an hour. If you manage to pass this, congratulations.

Interestingly enough, just for kicks and giggles I've included a stereotypical question. Let's say you have the following situation. You are driving a car when you see your best friend, a beautiful woman, and an elderly person who needs to go the hospital at a bus stop. What do you do? Only 2 people can be in the car at the same time.

Let's think about this for a minute. You could take the elderly person to the hospital yourself and leave the other two at the bus stop. This is a fair answer. However, the answer that companies often look for is the following: You give your car to your best friend. He then takes the person to the hospital for you. You wait at the bus stop with the young woman, and then you get your car back from your friend later. Why? This shows that you are thinking of the group, and that you can cooperate with others. By willing to lend your car to your best friend, it shows that you trust him, and that you can form that kind of relationship, a valuable asset in any company. You also get the person to the hospital in time, definitely a bonus.

So, let's say you've decided on the company, and then for the next several months (particularly January-March) you attend job interviews. Different companies conduct their interviews during different times. For example, large corporations may conduct them earlier, foreign companies conduct a little later, and other small companies may be later than that. It all depends on what field you want to go into. On April 1, or around there, companies release their choices. If you receive offers, you then choose your company. If not, you continue job hunting.

Assuming you were given offers, and after you have made your choice, you will attend numerous company bonding experiences with the intention of making you a loyal company employee. Your boss will take you out drinking for example, he will inquire about your family, and you will grow closer. In exchange, you work hard for the company. Although companies are moving away from this idea, the idea of human relationships within the company is still very strong. By destroying any of those relationships, or by failing to form them at all, you will jeapordize not only your position in the company but also the company's standing in the economy.

When you first join a company, you will often be moved to a distant branch office for a year or two to gain experience. After the company has decided that you are of some use, they will move you back to a more prominent branch.

If you have any other questions or comments, feel free to post below.

Michelle

Of Movie Theaters

So, before we get to the main event of this post, I decided to give you a little news real quick. Actually, I don't have news of China this time. Although there's still tension between Japan and China, there's nothing really new there, so we'll leave that for now. Instead, I'm sure by now that you all have probably heard of the recent attack by North Korea against Korea. When I say Korea by the way, please keep in mind that I mean what is termed South Korea by other nations. So, North Korea seems to have fired about a hundred rounds at Korea, apparently over some border dispute or other such nonsense. No worries though. Right now, the US is sending over troops to do some drills to try to discourage North Korea from doing anything else. According to people here, this isn't that unusual. North Korea tends to attack Korea from time to time, but it's normally solved pretty quickly. Personally, I'm not sure if this is due to the fact that North Korea is changing leadership (and therefore that was mean that this would be validating the new leader's power), or if this is some sort of resource battle or what. We'll see what happens. As long as North Korea is on its own, things should be resolved pretty quickly, since North Korea doesn't really have the money to sustain a long war or anything. If North Korea gets aid though, I'd be more worried. That's just the update for the day. If anything else comes of it, I'll definitely post about it.

Now, onto our main and more light-hearted event - Japanese movie theaters. Kind of a strange post, I admit, but definitely worth it. So here's the thing. You go into the movie theater and you decide to run into the restroom real quick. It's full of those delightful Toto toilets. And since the weather's getting cold, all those seat heaters are on, so now cold seats in that restroom now! Fantastic! You finish your business, head on to your way to go grab yourself a little Yogi-snack. (P.S. You may not believe it, but I wrote that sentence speaking like Yogi Bear to myself. Read it again. In the Yogi voice. It will make you laugh. Sorry, back to the point).

You move on your way to grab some food. They have the normal movie theater food: hot dogs, nachos, that sort of thing. They also have some delicious churros. I know they're delicious because my friend let me try hers, and hers was amazing. After all of this, you go into the movie theater. This is where the real fun begins. They show the previews as normal, and then you know those little "Don't do this in the movie theater" advertisements that they show to make sure that everyone is respectful? Yeah, those are a lot more fun here. "Please make sure your phone is on silent." Ok, no problems there. "Please do not talk in the theater." Yup, no problems there either. "Please do not kick the seat in front of you?" Ok, that's a nice addition. And then, "Please do not film and distribute the movie." Wait...what? I mean, I know people do that, but it's the first time I've seen it. Interesting.

Well, the movie begins. It's Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows: Part I by the way. Tickets here are exceptionally expensive. Around 1500 yen ($15 US) a ticket. On ladies' night, Wednesday night, it's cheaper for women, but it's still expensive for men. Sorry, guys. You don't get a special movie night. Here's the interesting thing about the movie. We went to an English showing with Japanese subtitles. There were Japanese showings too, but since we went to one of the first ones, it was only in English. But when Harry starts speaking the snake language, I think it's called Parseltongue, am I right? Anyway, when he starts speaking that, you have to read those subtitles. Because there are no English subtitles. So you gotta' read the Japanese ones. Do you know how weird that is? To be listening, and not understanding. And then you have to read your foreign language to understand the "foreign" language? Bizarre.

So the movie finally ends. Good movie by the way. I recommend it. The movie finally ends and the credits begin. Well, we had heard rumors that here in Japan the Japanese tend to wait until the end of the credits to leave, but you hear a lot of rumors about Japan that aren't true. So, the movie ends, and we look around, and no ones moving. Not a single person. The credits go on for five minutes; one person leaves. My friend next to me is dying. She really wants to get out of the theater, but no ones moving. Another five minutes. Two more people leave. This goes on for 15 minutes. And during that time, maybe 10 people in the entire 200 person theater or so left. So if you hear that rumor, I'm telling you its true. Until those lights come on, don't even try to leave the theater. Sit quietly and enjoy the credits. It's kind of nice though in a way. You sit there and think about it and you come to appreciate the movie a little bit more. But if you're an impatient person, I don't recommend going to the movies.

Take care all! And I'll write again.

Michelle

Ritsumeikan Gakuensai

The 立命館学園祭 (Ritsumeikan Gakuensai) occurred over the weekend. This is a really big school festival, and when I say really big, I mean huge. Basically, every organization sets up a stall and does something for the festival. Here we have the SKP buddies (Study in Kyoto Program) trying to sell their delicious corn soup. Business was a little slow at the time, so we have Juri posing with a Free Hug sign if you buy the soup. Keep in mind it's really cheap, like 150-200 yen. The idea was for all of their foreign friends to hold these signs because "Ooh la la. Free hugs from foreigners." Amazingly, it was a superb market strategy and the soup sold quickly.

Organizations like the wrestling club and the judo club were also present. Remember the previous post? Yeah, they got their rink set up and wrestled for days. The judo club did demos and taught some.

I enjoyed the a capella circle though. They were really good!

And to top it off, we had some serious dancing going on a gigantic stage. I was only here for like 2 minutes though because I was getting hungry.

Here are some pictures of the stands and an advertising duo in Stitch and Tigger costumes.

Other cool things included crafts like making your own pottery, caricatures, and live spray paint art.

In other news, the leaves are beginning to change color. If the weather stays nice, I'll load some pictures of that up soon.

Also, unfortunately, not all news can be good news. Due to the recent attempted terrorist attacks on the US, Japan is having to take some fairly strict measures. Getting in and out of Japan is getting to be a little more difficult. The screening process is taking more time than usual, even for native Japanese and permanent residents. Packages cannot be shipped to the US if they weigh more than 1 pound now as well. This is surely a temporary measure, but no one is sure how long it will last. So I apologize to anyone who wanted something. I currently can't ship anything to anyone in the States.

Michelle

Kansai-ben

I apologize for the delay. I've been busy with other things, which has kind of prevented me from updating this, but I'll make it up to you. I promise.

Today's topic is the Kansai dialect, 関西弁(Kansai-ben). Kansai is the Western region of Japan. It's composed of places like 大阪 (Osaka) and 京都 (Kyoto). Kansai-ben is thought to sound funny, more open, and perhaps a little rude to non-speakers of the dialect. In contrast, we also have 関東弁 (Kanto-ben). Kanto is the Eastern region of Japan. Mainly, we think of this as standard Japanese. It's spoken in 東京 (Tokyo), on the news stations, and taught around the world. Tokyo-ben (the dialect specific to Tokyo) is thought to sound too polite, monotone, and robotic to non-speakers. These are just two of the main dialects though.  So, now that we've got the history pinned down, we could move on to the fun stuff. I'd promised little language tips every now and then. Please keep in mind that I am not an expert on the Kansai dialect. I am definitely still learning it, but these are just a few observations.

Kansai-ben differs from Tokyo-ben in its choice of words. For example, we have the word アカン (akan) in Kansai-ben. This means approximately "no good" or "hopeless" or just plain "wrong." The Tokyo-ben equivalent is だめ (dame). We also see the word アホ (aho) pretty commonly in Kansai-ben. It's meaning is "idiot" or "fool." In Tokyo-ben, you would say バカ (baka). Some others that are different include ほんま（に） (honma(ni)) in Kansai-ben and ほんとう（に） (hontou(ni)) in standard Japanese for "really." めちゃ (mecha) versus とても／チョウ　(totemo/chou) for "very," and おおきに (ookini) instead of ありがとう (arigatou) for "thank you."

Occasionally, some words are also shortened. For example, 面白い（おもしろい） (interesting) becomes おもろい in Kansai-ben. 違う（ちがう）(chigau) becomes ちゃう (chau) for the word "wrong."

Conjugations are also a little different. 食べない（たべない）, "I did not eat," becomes たべへん (tabehen). だ (da), the shortened form of です (desu) meaning "to be" becomes や (ya).

Kyoto, like all cities, also has its own particular form of the dialect. In Kyoto, people tend to add -haru to their verbs to make them a little more polite. For example, 行きます（いきます) (ikimasu), "I'll go" becomes 行かはる　（いかはる）(ikaharu).

Of course, please keep in mind this is all just an overview of the Kansai dialect. This by no means includes everything. People have written books on the topic, and this is only a measly little post, but hopefully it was of some interest to you. In order to fully learn the Kansai dialect though, you have to just listen to the people around you and repeat what they're saying. After all, since each city is different, if you're not careful, you still won't sound like a local.

Michelle

Of Bank Transfers and Konbini Clerks

So, today I have some wonderful stories for you all. Today, we are not going to talk about tests or homework or any depressing news about tensions between China and Japan. Nope, none of that. Today, we're talking about awesome storytime. It's been a a while since we've had storytime, so now's the time.

One. Bank transfer. That's right. I see your face; you're like, "Oh no, Michelle. Please let's not talk about that. That's horrible and boring." But you're wrong. It's exciting. So I tried to transfer money today, but it ends up you can't do online transfers to other international accounts. International companies don't like that very much. And it's pretty much impossible either way since they don't have ABA numbers. So here's how it went. I called up Bank X today in the States, on my Japanese phone. Which honestly, normally it'd be free since it's a toll-free number, but I called after 9:00 my time, which is when Softbank starts charging me for phone calls, so we'll see how that goes, but that's beside the point. I called up Bank X. Nice support person, Josh, answered the phone.

"Hello, this is Josh. How can I help you?"

"Hey Josh, this is Michelle. I'm wanting to transfer to a foreign account, but they don't seem to have an ABA number. Can you lend me a hand?"

Well, Josh of course wanted my last name, because it's blasphemous for him to call me by my first name, but I'm a funny sort of gal, and I like being on a first-name basis. So, I told him how to pronounce my last name, and then promptly told him that I'm young and prefer him to call me by my given name. Luckily, Josh is a young sort of guy too. So we of course struck up a wonderful conversation.

Josh needed to research a bit to figure out how to solve my problem. While he did that, we made small talk. He apparently had used one of those McDonald's cups and sliced his finger open on the lid. It was unfortunate, and he had to get 9 stitches. So, not only did I get my question eventually answered, but I had a great talk with Josh from Bank X, which I would just like to say is the best bank ever. By the way, for those of you wanting the answer, apparently doing a cash advance from your checking account (NOT credit) is free of charges from Bank X, so I can get funds cheaply. Score.

Two. I went to the konbini the other day, which I'm thinking I might have to start making a label for konbini soon, cause I seem to have written about them a lot. Anyway, I walked into the konbini yesterday and tried to ask about paying my health insurance but I couldn't remember the word for health insurance bill, so instead I made up some nonsense. Of course, the lady I was with had no idea what I was saying, but luckily, there was a guy there who after giving me about 20 example words, finally figured out what I meant. And he was so happy. Today, I went back, and he instantly recognized me. So I bought some dinner and mentioned I wanted to pay my health insurance, using the correct word this time, and he was so excited. So yes, I'm starting to make friends with the konbini people. Friends of course need names though, so I've named him too. His name is Kurosawa 黒澤, written with the kanji for black and swamp. So hereafter, if you hear me refer to Kurosawa, please keep in mind it's the konbini person.

Later!

Michelle

Japanese Cell Phones

So we already covered that I got a cell phone a while ago. I think you all should remember this. Anyway, the reason for this post is because somehow we've gone this long without me giving you a description of the cell phones here. Japanese cell phones are pretty interesting actually. The smartphone is just starting to catch on in the market here, but it isn't huge yet. This is mostly due to the price of data here. Anyway, this post will contain some useful tips for those of you looking to get a phone over here and some normal shenanigans.

So, let's get some of the basics covered. You're coming to Japan, you want a phone. Good for you. You go into Softbank, au, or Docomo and buy your phone. If you're doing prepaid, it doesn't really matter where you go. If you're doing contract though, the prices do vary by company. If you want that sort of info, feel free to leave me a message or such and I'll do my best to answer those questions. For the sake of time, we'll continue. Before you choose any plan or anything else, you should understand one thing. In order to get a phone in Japan, you need your alien registration card. Without it, you can't get a phone. Promise. Secondly, you don't pay for the phone in Japan. You pay for the charger and you pay your plan. There is no paying for the phone. That means that you just choose one you like off the wall.

Also, texting is not like texting in the US or some other countries. You "text" to e-mails here. Each phone has an e-mail. You text to that. So, that means that you can e-mail without having internet on your plan. Confusing, but it's important to understand.

Now, you've gotten your phone. Cool. If you were lucky and went with a bunch of friends, or people you just claim as friends, you get some cool coupons sometimes. In my case, I got possibly the best coupon ever. My coupon offers me a choice. It states, "Please call this number and choose either 5 months free or a stuffed animal." Yes, I'm not joking. 5 months free on your contract OR a stuffed animal. Personally, I want to know who chooses that stuffed animal. What stuffed animal is equivalent to 5 months free?

Japanese phones are equipped with all sorts of cool gadgets. Read books on your phone, surf the web, etc. Put your info in your phone: e-mail (texting), address, birthday, name, and so on. All phones have a cool little infrared sensor. Turn that on and have your friend turn theirs on too, and you can exchange all of that information in seconds instead of having to type it again. How efficient!

Personally though, my favorite addition is the wealth of emoticons available. These are hysterical. There's everything from your standard happy and sad face to pictures of penguins, whales, hamburgers, sake, and octopus. My phone (a basic phone) has 15 pages of them. And I know what you're thinking, "When is someone possibly going to use all these? A penguin?!" But you know what? I use them all the time. It's really funny actually. I send my friends a text like, "Hey. Let's meet up for lunch. How about by the benches?" And I get a text back with something like "Sure *picture of scarf*." And I think to myself, "What on earth is that scarf for? I mean really. Is that scarf a sign that they think it's cold? It's like 40 degrees Celsius out here. Maybe it means that they really want to eat lunch? Maybe it means it's a bad time for them?" Honestly, I'm not sure, but after asking myself about a dozen questions, I've just given up trying to understand it. I've even adopted the practice as some sort of strange conformity thing. I'm sending pictures of octopuses (octopii?) like there's no tomorrow.

Well, it's late! Take care all! *scarf*

Michelle

Of Rice Buying

I walked into the rice aisle again today. For anyone that's been keeping in touch with me, you know that's something of an achievement. The rice aisle is intimidating. In fact, it's the most intimidating aisle for me. I can go in the other aisles and be perfectly comfortable with the fact that I can't read anything, but the rice aisle, oh no. Here comes trouble. Last time I walked into the rice aisle, I stopped, physically stopped, caught my breath, the whole shi-bang. There were bags and bags and bags of rice. And I can't read any of them. Awesome. So I took my little 外国人(gaikokujin, foreigner) self through the aisle, grabbed one at random and fled from the aisle like a gazelle fleeing from a pack of lions. When I got home, I learned I'd bought the wrong kind. How embarrassing!

But this time, this time I steeled myself and walked into the aisle for the second time. My thoughts went something like this:

"Alright Michelle, you can do it. Just walk up, read the kanji and grab one....Crap, I can't read the kanji. What on earth is this? It's rice. Well, how about that one. Nope, can't read that one either. Well, that's rice too. What about this one? No, wrong kind. I can read that one. That one's for mochi. And the fourth one says Hokkaido, but that's just a brand....Shit."

To me walking into the rice aisle is kind of like when you send a guy into the women's sanitary supplies aisle. He's like, "No talking! No talking! I don't belong in this aisle! Where are they? Where are the things she told me to buy? Are those tampons? Pads? Elderly incontinence diapers?! God! My eyes! My eyes!" And then, scarred for life and eyes bleeding, he grabs the first thing he sees and runs out of the aisle, mistakenly buying "supers" or some other such nonsense.

That, my friends, is the fear that the rice aisle evokes in every foreigner. You have all these kinds of rice in front of you, and they look exactly the same. Luckily, it seems though that this time I picked the right kind.

And now, with regard to rice and an embarrassing sort of translation. While in said rice aisle, I saw a package labeled 無洗米 (musenmai). The last two characters I definitely knew. They mean "wash" and "rice" respectively. The first one I technically know but I forgot it's meaning. I only recognized it from the word 無理 (muri), meaning "impossible." So here I am in front of this bag of rice and I've just translated it as "Impossible to Wash Rice." And I'm thinking "What the heck? Who would put that on a package? That's horrible marketing!" I can see it now, "Come one, come all, come buy the rice that you'll never be able to get clean!" Yeah...fail. For the record, that kanji alone has the meaning of "not," so the meaning is actually "Not necessary to wash rice" or "Rice that's already been washed." So yeah, cool beans. At least I remember the kanji now.

And now it's already hit midnight and I promised myself I'd be in bed by 12:30, so I've gotta' run! Night all!

Michelle