You know the Japan that tourists and people who have never been here talk about? You know, the one which portrays Japan as a country which is full of reserved, polite, quiet, respectful people who have a lot of quaint and deeply spiritual traditions and who live in harmony with nature? I'm talking about the one in which there are rock gardens, minimalist homes of immaculate cleanliness, and a
lundi 28 février 2011
Will Miss #292 - Meiji Shrine
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
You know the Japan that tourists and people who have never been here talk about? You know, the one which portrays Japan as a country which is full of reserved, polite, quiet, respectful people who have a lot of quaint and deeply spiritual traditions and who live in harmony with nature? I'm talking about the one in which there are rock gardens, minimalist homes of immaculate cleanliness, and a
vendredi 25 février 2011
Won't Miss #292 - blocked videos
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Occasionally, one of my friends will send a link to video that they believe I'd be interested in. On more than one occasion, such videos are a dead end for me because I am told that they cannot be viewed from my particular country. For the odd video here and there, this isn't too great an issue, but a lot of entire sites or services are blocked for Japan (ABC television network on-line shows,
jeudi 24 février 2011
Will Miss #291 - massage culture
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
All humans have the same basic needs, and one of the more fascinating aspects of learning about other cultures is seeing how they adapt to meet common needs when their culture, by and large, does not practice the same type of expression that is common in one's own culture. The need to be touched is shared by all humans and many animals, but physical affection, particularly hugging and cuddling
mercredi 23 février 2011
Won't Miss #291 - empty university education
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
The Japanese are considered to be some of the most educated people in the world and are thought to study harder than anyone. The truth is quite a bit further from that. Japanese universities are widely known to be little more than playgrounds where people "rest" between the crush of studying for entrance exams in their lower education years and the oppressive days ahead as company drones. They
mardi 22 février 2011
Will Miss #290 - tattoos on Japanese
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Tattoos are nothing new in the world, nor are they new to Japan. Every exhibitionist and her brother in the west has sanskrit, Chinese characters, or "Hello Kitty" tattooed on their arms. It carries no (or very little) taboo, and rarely will get you denied access to anything. In Japan, tattoos are actually a real act of rebellion because they are associated with organized crime and people of
lundi 21 février 2011
Won't Miss #290 -ignoring the inevitable
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
When I was working in a Japanese office, my (Australian) boss and I often cautioned the president or our coworkers about certain problems that were inevitably going to come up if we pursued a certain path. We weren't being unnecessarily pessimistic. We were pointing out what would definitely happen. Our concerns were always brushed aside or shrugged off. More often than not, we were told that
vendredi 18 février 2011
Will Miss #289 - swords for sale
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
I grew up in a rural area which was hunting country and almost everyone was a bit of a gun nut. There was a hunting club, and most men in particular enjoyed collecting guns. To me, they were always inelegant, dangerous, and troubling weapons. In Japan, guns are legal, but only hunting rifles and getting them is difficult, so I have never seen a real gun for sale here. I do, however, see swords
jeudi 17 février 2011
Won't Miss #289 - "shikataganai" (the bad)
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
The flip-side to the good aspects of "shikataganai" thinking (translated into "it can't be helped") is that sometimes people give up easily in situations in which their lot in life could be improved if they made an effort, sometimes just a small one. Since people rarely fight for what is their right or what is morally right, things rarely improve or change in Japan. This underlying cultural
Posted in Japanese culture, Japanese people, psychology, shikataganai, shoganai, won't miss
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mercredi 16 février 2011
Will Miss #288 - "shikataganai" (the good)
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
When faced with hardship or a difficult situation, the Japanese have an attitude of "shikataganai" (or "shoganai") or "it can't be helped". When translated into mere words, it comes across as passive acceptance of the inevitable, but the thinking is more pervasive and applied more subtly to experiences in life. It is about acceptance, but it is also about taking things as they come with
Posted in Japanese culture, Japanese people, psychology, responsibility, shikataganai, shoganai, will miss
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mardi 15 février 2011
Won't Miss #288 - very expensive scented candles
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
I should clarify that there are actually two types of scented candles in Tokyo. There are those which are relatively cheap and smell like a cheap prostitute's boudoir and those which cost an arm and a leg. I really enjoy candles that smell like relatively natural scents like cinnamon, holly, pine trees, and vanilla, but I can't buy them in Japan because I won't pay 2000 yen (about $22) for one
lundi 14 février 2011
Will Miss #287 - good quality secondhand goods
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
When I was growing up, my mother loved to drag my sister and I to yard and garage sales as well as Goodwill so that she could pick up second-hand crap to clutter our home. One thing I remember was that most of that stuff looked pretty well-used, and sometimes a bit grubby. In Japan, my experiences with secondhand goods has been markedly different. Japanese people are renowned for two things
vendredi 11 février 2011
Won't Miss #287 - otoshi/tsukidashi
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Cultural customs and habits are a reflection of a country's culture. Even small things like the custom of tipping in the United States tell you something about the priorities and expectations of the people. In the U.S., tipping is the way of empowering the customer and giving more control over the meal's expense (often at the expense of the servers). In Japan, the custom of "otoshi" or a "forced
jeudi 10 février 2011
Will Miss #286 - well-traveled people
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
One of the things you often hear in the never ending comparisons between the U.S. and Japan is that Americans go abroad too little compared to people in Japan. This is true, but it's important to understand that the U.S. is a huge country with a diverse cultural base and Japan is a small island with a fairly homogeneous culture. Japanese people can't experience much cultural diversity at home,
mercredi 9 février 2011
Won't Miss #286 - one with the borg mentality
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
A sign encouraging everyone to carry their own bag rather than use plastic ones - note how they all follow each other, and look, and act the same.
There was a big flap several years ago about Brazilians living in a particular apartment building and their inability to get along with their Japanese neighbors. They weren't unfriendly. They didn't do anything criminal or fail to follow some rules.
There was a big flap several years ago about Brazilians living in a particular apartment building and their inability to get along with their Japanese neighbors. They weren't unfriendly. They didn't do anything criminal or fail to follow some rules.
mardi 8 février 2011
Will Miss #285 - La Puta posters
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
There is a theater in my area which shows vintage Japanese movies. For some reason, they put up a poster on a back street which is the most common path for me to follow to get to local grocery shops. It's an odd place for a poster which advertises old Japanese movies because it would seem foot traffic would hardly bring in a substantial number of patrons, but I love the fact that they are there.
lundi 7 février 2011
Won't Miss #285 - allergy issues
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
The cold and flu seasons and the allergy seasons are the times when you see the most mask wearing. This picture is from the former, but what the heck.
Before coming to Tokyo, I never had any allergies. I credit this partially to good genetics, but also to having grown up in a rural area with clean air. Living in a city with pollution tends to eventually cause some people to develop allergies. It
Before coming to Tokyo, I never had any allergies. I credit this partially to good genetics, but also to having grown up in a rural area with clean air. Living in a city with pollution tends to eventually cause some people to develop allergies. It
vendredi 4 février 2011
Will Miss #284 - women holding hands
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
One of the things which continues to catch my eye in Japan is the way in which adult women will hold each others hands in public. It gets my attention for a few reasons. First of all, physical displays of affection are relatively uncommon in public, even between children and parents, let alone other adults. Second, back home adult women do not hold each others hands because of the fear
jeudi 3 février 2011
Won't Miss #284 - spouse denigrating
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
The Japanese are generally a modest lot, sometimes, far too modest. When speaking of their spouses, they feel almost obliged to never "boast" about his or her positive attributes and to talk up negative qualities. You're far more likely to hear a woman talk about her lazy, selfish, childish husband and a man talk about his fat, incompetent, messy wife than hear even the slightest complimentary
mercredi 2 février 2011
Will Miss #283 - no big deal birthdays
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
In Japan, people don't make a big deal about birthdays, particularly when it comes to adults. Often, celebration extends only so far as taking a friend out to dinner and/or serving up a "surprise" cake. It's very rare for people to give each other actual gifts except perhaps something very modest like a bit of chocolate or a small cake from a designer shop. In America, adults often feel burdened
mardi 1 février 2011
Won't Miss #283 - dry muffins and cakes
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
If you don't bake, you may not know what components make baked goods moist. Most people assume that it is the fat that makes things like a muffin moist. Well, it is, but it's only half of the equation. The other half is sugar and that is why most muffins and many (but not all!) cakes in Japan have poor texture. The Japanese are notorious for whining that everything in America is "too sweet" for
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