Back home, you find people complaining that someone is always trying to get into the "10 items or less" express checkout with more items than the maximum. In Japan, no one complains about this because there aren't any express checkout lanes at any of the places I have ever shopped at. Quite often, I'll be approaching the check-out clerk with one item in hand when someone a half step in front of
vendredi 31 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #272 - no express checkout
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Back home, you find people complaining that someone is always trying to get into the "10 items or less" express checkout with more items than the maximum. In Japan, no one complains about this because there aren't any express checkout lanes at any of the places I have ever shopped at. Quite often, I'll be approaching the check-out clerk with one item in hand when someone a half step in front of
jeudi 30 décembre 2010
Will Miss #271 - Kokeshi
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
There's something creepily appealing about kokeshi dolls. They seem to represent a part of the culture that preceded the obsession with "cute". They are expressionless and limbless. They actually are quite minimalist in their sparse paint jobs. The basic design seems almost tribal. Though they are quite simplistic in shape, and almost utilitarian in appearance, the designs are thoroughly human
mercredi 29 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #271 - Japanese toothpaste
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Yes, I know Gum is an imported brand, but it's the only picture of toothpaste for the Japanese market that I have.
During my earliest days in Japan, someone I worked with "warned" me not to use Japanese toothpaste because it supposedly had sugar in it or was an ineffective dentrifice. I'm not sure if that is or was true, but I do know that Japanese toothpaste leaves something to be desired. For
During my earliest days in Japan, someone I worked with "warned" me not to use Japanese toothpaste because it supposedly had sugar in it or was an ineffective dentrifice. I'm not sure if that is or was true, but I do know that Japanese toothpaste leaves something to be desired. For
mardi 28 décembre 2010
Will Miss #270 - trains crossing closeby
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
I rarely rode public transport back home because I grew up in a rural area. My main experience with it was riding the Cal Train to San Mateo once a week and riding the Boston subway on a few occasions. The Cal Train were lonely and infrequent, so the experience of trains whizzing by within what feels like inches of one another at high speed carries a particular sense of excitement.
There's
lundi 27 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #270 - eyes open, ears closed
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
"Speak, Hear, and See No Evil" statues at a local stone-working shop. The Japanese believe they invented this concept, incidentally.
My brother-in-law likes to tell a classic anecdote from his early days in Japan which beautifully illustrates the mental wall that goes up between a Japanese person and a foreigner the minute the former lays eyes on the latter. He speaks Japanese well, particularly
My brother-in-law likes to tell a classic anecdote from his early days in Japan which beautifully illustrates the mental wall that goes up between a Japanese person and a foreigner the minute the former lays eyes on the latter. He speaks Japanese well, particularly
Posted in attitudes, Japanese language, Japanese people, language, public life, won't miss
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vendredi 24 décembre 2010
Will Miss #269 - western models
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Mannequins that are clearly Western in appearance modeling Japanese yukata.
When I first arrived in Japan (about 20 years ago), there was something which I found peculiar, and that was the vastly disproportionate number of Western-looking models. In fact, the majority of ads (at least 80%) on trains showed people who look like they were from Europe (loads of blondes!). These days, it's not quite
When I first arrived in Japan (about 20 years ago), there was something which I found peculiar, and that was the vastly disproportionate number of Western-looking models. In fact, the majority of ads (at least 80%) on trains showed people who look like they were from Europe (loads of blondes!). These days, it's not quite
jeudi 23 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #269 - nomikai
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
"Nomikai" means "drinking party" in Japanese. If you work, you will often be invited to such parties, and declining those invitations can have negative consequences on your relationship with your coworkers as well as your future promotion potential. The thinking behind nomikai is that Japanese people have to keep their true feelings under such tight wraps that they can only let some of them out
mercredi 22 décembre 2010
Sorry for a few glitches
Posted on 23:52 by Unknown
Just a quick apology for a few scheduling glitches which saw an old post re-issued into the RSS feed and a future one posted prematurely (and subsequently removed). Sometimes I mess up, and sometimes Blogger messes up. This time, it was me. I apologize for the confusion!
I wish I could say that it won't happen again, but there's every chance that it will given my imperfect ability to get dates
I wish I could say that it won't happen again, but there's every chance that it will given my imperfect ability to get dates
Will Miss #268 - "alien" seafood
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
This is perhaps not the noblest or most mature thing to enjoy in Japan, but a lot of the food looks to me like alien offspring. A lot of review blogs about Japanese food are driven by the "it's so creepy and weird" vibe that one gets off of the food here. If you live outside of Japan, you mainly get it from the flavors of snack foods, like wasabi KitKats or yogurt Pepsi. When you live here,
mardi 21 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #268 - region code issues
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
From left top: Cinderella, Pinocchio, Gulliver's TravelsFrom left bottom: The Three Caballeros, Dumbo, Fantasia
One of the cool things about Japan is that their copyright laws aren't determined by the ability of big corporations to bribe lawmakers into infinitely extending them through backdoor means. That means that you can get professionally released DVDs of movies that might normally cost
One of the cool things about Japan is that their copyright laws aren't determined by the ability of big corporations to bribe lawmakers into infinitely extending them through backdoor means. That means that you can get professionally released DVDs of movies that might normally cost
lundi 20 décembre 2010
Will Miss #267 - Audrey Hepburn fixation
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Okay, she's not Audrey Hepburn, but don't the hat and hair remind you of her style? And she is one cute little girl.
The first time I came to Japan in 1988, I didn't know much about the culture or people. Frankly, I came to Japan the first time to visit my future (American) husband who just so happened to be working here. I had much more interest in him than Japanese people or culture. While I
The first time I came to Japan in 1988, I didn't know much about the culture or people. Frankly, I came to Japan the first time to visit my future (American) husband who just so happened to be working here. I had much more interest in him than Japanese people or culture. While I
Posted in actress, Audrey Hepburn, entertainment, fanaticism, Japanese culture, pop culture, will miss
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vendredi 17 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #267 - "clean your plate" manners
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
One of my students did a home stay in a mid-western state and made a simple Japanese-style meal for her host family. She said that she thought they didn't like it and felt bad because they didn't eat everything that she served them. Another one of my students visited a former boss and he served her a huge quantity of rather oily eel which was far more food than she could comfortably eat, but she
jeudi 16 décembre 2010
Will Miss #266 - growing up more slowly
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Japanese people grow up more slowly than Americans. It's hard to explain this without it coming out wrong and possibly sounding insulting (to either side), but I always have the sense that there are a lot of 12-year-olds going on 20 in the U.S. There's a rush to be "mature" and prove you're "worldly" and capable of independence as early as possible, and young people have a particular attitude
Posted in attitudes, child-like, Japanese culture, Japanese people, maturity, psychology, will miss
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mercredi 15 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #266 - no pets
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
My husband and I both love cats. In fact, we agreed that once we settled down, we could get a cat... then we moved to Japan. There are two issues for us when it comes to owning a pet in Japan. The first issue is that most apartments in Tokyo don't allow pets beyond fish, turtles, or beetles, including mine. In many cases, getting a place that allows pets means paying appreciably more for rent (
mardi 14 décembre 2010
Will Miss #265 - (generally) liking Americans
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
One thing I learned pretty quickly during my first job in Japan, among which I had a plethora of coworkers from other English speaking countries, was that many people dislike Americans. They haven't been to America, nor are they particularly well-educated about it, but they don't like us. They think we are our politics, our politicians, our business practices, our fast food, our laws, and our
lundi 13 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #265 - heated toilet seats in summer
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Japanese toilet seats are a level of luxury that my stubborn heart cannot permit my obstinate behind to have. I can't see what is so tragic about wiping your own behind and sitting on a plain old toilet seat, so I've not invested in any of those fancy seats that do all the work for you. I do encounter them in public places quite often though. In fact, they are becoming more and more common in
vendredi 10 décembre 2010
Will Miss #264 - fiber rich jellies/gelatin
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
A foil packet of lychee konnyaku zero-calorie jelly drink meant to fill the space when you're dieting.
Part of Japanese cuisine is something called "konnyaku" (konjac). It's derived from a corm (similar to a potato, but not quite the same beast). You can often see konnyaku as a block of gray gelatin that has little black speckles on it. They float around in oden and are used in soups and stews.
Part of Japanese cuisine is something called "konnyaku" (konjac). It's derived from a corm (similar to a potato, but not quite the same beast). You can often see konnyaku as a block of gray gelatin that has little black speckles on it. They float around in oden and are used in soups and stews.
jeudi 9 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #264 - talking about golf
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
That stereotype about Japanese men loving golf? There's a fair basis in reality for that. I have a student, a very nice elderly gentleman, who would talk about golf until the cows came home if he could manage to scrape up enough topics. In fact, all I have to do to engage him more actively in what is normally boring English grammar pattern practice (his level is low and he needs this), is to ask
mercredi 8 décembre 2010
Will Miss #263 - the shopping bag deal
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Japanese people have a curious relationship with shopping bags. I'm talking about the fancy paper kind with fabric or string handles, not the cheap plastic ones in which you carry groceries. In fact, one of the things you'll notice when you first arrive in Japan is that the majority of people appear to have shopping bags with them at all times. While it may seem that this is due to their heavy
mardi 7 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #263 - blaming foreigners for drug sales
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
If you read a story about a Japanese person who is caught with drugs and arrested, there is a high probability that it will be mentioned that the detainee will be asked where the drugs were obtained and the answer will be, "I got them from a foreigner". The fact that this information is included for routine drug busts (like someone caught with marijuana or stimulants) for small amounts of drugs
lundi 6 décembre 2010
Will Miss #262 - low interest on loans
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Hello Kitty wants to loan you money for your needs at low rates.
The flip-side to the previous post is that Japanese people get to borrow money at a rate which tends to be substantially lower than those in the West. If you buy a house or car, you get very attractive interest rates. This is especially appealing when you consider that it often takes 30 years to buy expensive property in Japan. It's
The flip-side to the previous post is that Japanese people get to borrow money at a rate which tends to be substantially lower than those in the West. If you buy a house or car, you get very attractive interest rates. This is especially appealing when you consider that it often takes 30 years to buy expensive property in Japan. It's
vendredi 3 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #262 - low interest on savings
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
This sign does not talk about savings interest rates. Such signs do not exist because such information is too embarrassing to be promoted. Please enjoy this picture of the pretty model next to information on credit card loans at Mizuho bank instead. It's the best I could do as a tangentially related picture.
The Japanese are a country of savers, and that means that banks offer them little
The Japanese are a country of savers, and that means that banks offer them little
jeudi 2 décembre 2010
Will Miss #261 - not sweating the small stuff
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
When I talk about character traits, I'm talking about tendencies, not each individual person. There are cultural concepts that underlie the tendencies of people in their particular culture and each person acts a little differently. Mainly, I'm talking about behavioral probabilities. When it comes to getting upset about small things, the Japanese are much more likely than not to just let it go.
mercredi 1 décembre 2010
Won't Miss #261 - train access blockers
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Perhaps this is normal behavior all over the world, but I never experienced this until I came to Tokyo. Very often when I'm waiting in line for the train to arrive, and there is one person at the head of the line in front of me, that person will not get on the train even when there is a break in the traffic flow of people disembarking. Any reasonable person would get on the train when the door
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