Mottekaero jDonuts

What Do Japanese People Want to Know?

2009-11-27T10:00:00.000+09:00

If I were to guess what most Japanese people want to know, it would be what a foreign person thinks about Japan.

It seems to be a recurring theme from many Japanese people I talk with.

What do you / foreign people think about Japanese food?
What do you / foreign people think about Japanese culture?
What do you / foreign people think about Japanese technology?
What do you / foreign people think about life in Japan?

Heck, that's why I have so many students reading this blog. They never leave a written comment, but they often ask me about things when I meet them face to face.

So... What do I think about all things Japanese?

GREAT!

I love Japanese trains, technology, food, culture, life. I enjoy living in such a safe, clean, friendly country with fantastic customer service, hospitals, internet access and dental care.

If people talk about most other countries, they often compare the good with the bad. I like the relaxed lifestyle in Australia but customer service there is horrible. I can't say anything bad about Japan, and that's not just because my wife is Japanese.

But it's an interesting question, why do Japanese people care so much about what other people think about them and Japan? I've never met an Australian, American, Englishman, Canadian or New Zealander who gave a stuff about what people from other countries thought about their home country.

So why do Japanese people care so much? It's a question I can't answer, can you?

Wearing Face Masks

2009-11-25T10:00:00.000+09:00

I now wear a face mask every day.

Why do I wear a face mask? To reduce my chances of contracting some disease from the people around me.

Personally I do not worry about Swine Flu, apart from being a bit overweight, I have no serious health problems that would cause complications if I was to contract H1N1.

So why do I wear one? For my children.

Quite simply I spend more time out of the house each day at work and on the train than my family does. I have a greater chance to come into contact with an infected person than any of them. Along with washing my hands frequently and gargling with mouth wash on a regular basis, wearing a face mask adds another layer of protection.

While it's been proven that the effect of face masks is marginal at best, I'd rather have one on than not. Besides, it's traditional in Japan to wear a face mask during the cold and flu season.

Everyone is doing it and it keeps my face warm. Why not?

What do you think? Have you started being more conscious about health issues lately?

Do you think Japan is cool?

2009-11-18T10:00:00.000+09:00

What do you think is cool about Japan?

At first I thought the technology was cool. All the gadgets on sale were 2 to 3 years ahead of what was available in Australia, if they were ever available in Australia at all. Even now there are still many "Japan Only" models of electronics, but the time has shrunk to only 6 months.

In the case of electronics produced by Apple, all at the same time. In the case of Blackberry or Google Android phones, Japan is behind America & Australia by about 6-9 months!

When I first came here, I was really into Anime. I was always borrowing DVD's from my friends and trying to listen to and understand as many phrases from the Anime as I could. Now I couldn't tell you the last time I sat down to watch any Anime on TV or even something on DVD.

My understanding of "Otaku" has changed. Before I didn't feel anything special about the word, it was just a way to label someone who was really into Anime. Now that I live here and see true Otaku, my opinions have changed. While some are nice and interesting to talk with, the vast majority of true Otaku are a bunch of nerds who sit in their rooms all day either surfing the net, playing online games or watching Anime.

These are people who have more in common with mushrooms than the human race. They are truly sad & pathetic people, not what I imagined at all.

We all have a dream about places we would like to go to or have only visited. Living there is always a different experience.

How about you? Did you have any impressions about Japan that were different after you came here? Would you like to ask me a question about any impressions you have?

Old & New in Japan

2009-11-17T10:00:00.000+09:00

Last week I was wandering around Tokyo on my way to classes when something caught my interest. It reminded me of the picture I took in Kawagoe, contrasting old Japan with new Japan.

Here we have another cluster of vending machines out the front of some very old homes. The street is quite busy as it links two stations, so there is a lot of foot traffic going each way.

It isn't surprising that someone is trying to take advantage of these potential customers, it is interesting to compare the age of the vending machines to the homes behind them.

On the left we have an old home that is being used as a real estate office and a new building going up next door.

You don't get newer that that!

Here's a very old house with two much newer homes nearby.

In Australia I'd expect homes to be made of brick and last for well over one hundred years. They are renovated and cared for as the house is just as much an investment as the land is.

In Japan houses are temporary, with the dozen or so minor earthquakes rattling the country each year a brick house wouldn't last so long. Homes are built to a very high standard and then, almost, never touched again. Lasting long enough to be useful until they are torn down and replaced with something much more modern.

That, I think, is why there are so many neighbourhoods with homes of oddly contrasted ages. Of course you also get planned estates where all the homes are roughly the same age, but they aren't very interesting to me and I haven't stopped to take any pictures.

How about you? Have you noticed a contrast between old and new buildings in Japan?

Cloudy Weather

2009-11-16T10:00:00.000+09:00

The past few days have been cloudy and rainy and I haven't been able to go out. Things are cold, miserable and depressing.

My eldest son was staying with his grandparents, so that's been good. I couldn't imagine having him trapped in this apartment for two days with the terrible weather.

And that's the main reason why we are living in Japan. Family.

Sure Japan is a great place and I thoroughly enjoy living here, life in Australia wasn't so bad and I'm sure we could do well there. But to have the love and support of my wife's extended family is fantastic!

They have been so helpful, it's amazing.

I need to do more to show how I appreciate them.

Thanks for the Coffee

2009-11-12T10:00:00.000+09:00

There's a university professor out there who I'd just like to shout out a big Thank You to. Every time I come to his university to bash some English into the brains of the students there, he loads me up with biscuits & coffee.

Often, when we have time, we sit down and have a nice chat about life and it's always interesting to realise that no how matter how mature I think I am now I still have a long way to go until I could be considered wise.

So thanks for being so generous with the coffee, snacks and wisdom. It's greatly appreciated.

Caught: Tatsuya Ichihashi

2009-11-11T10:00:00.000+09:00

Tatsuya Ichihashi, the alleged murderer of Lindsay Hawker has been captured in Osaka.

After two and a half years on the run this maggot has finally been captured. It turns out that he'd been able to get plastic surgery performed and had been working for a construction company to pay for it.

I have a couple of questions.

Shouldn't this lead to penalties for companies that pay day labourers cash in hand? If a murderer can evade police this way for over two years, shouldn't there be some crack down on these companies?

Shouldn't there be more stringent regulations on identification for plastic / cosmetic surgery? Things only surfaced recently AFTER a plastic surgeon thought that it might be him AFTER the surgery had been completed. Simply running names against a police database after checking valid ID would be enough to have prevented things from going this far.

This whole event doesn't change my opinion that Japan is a safe country, but it does reinforce my opinion that the police are hopeless and many people are afraid to say anything in case they upset someone.

Still, I can't wait until this guy hangs. I wish I could be there with a bag of popcorn to watch the event. Why don't we have public executions any more? Sigh...

Hiking

2009-11-09T10:00:00.000+09:00

On Friday I drove with my son to a local mountain, just to get some exercise (because I need it) and to get out and enjoy some fresh air. I wish I brought my camera long with me.

The shrine at the food of the mountain. Just leave 1￥ and a prayer to whatever local gods might be listening. It's always nice to observe local customs, even if you don't believe.

A discarded bicycle. Was someone planning to ride to the top but gave up at the base?

I cannot imagine the story behind this.

Here's the well worn path up to the summit. Quite pleasant, even with the slightly colder weather. I was constantly checking to make sure my son wasn't too hot or cold.

A signpost pointing us in the right direction.

Closer to the top, we can see a little more sunshine through the trees.

Yay, made it. It is not very big, only 271 meters but it was a nice walk for myself and my 3 year old son. We enjoyed ourselves and ate some onigiri at the summit.

After we arrived home I showed my wife the pictures I took and had a 3 hour nap with my eldest son. We truly needed it!

I've got to lose some weight

2009-11-06T10:00:00.001+09:00

While I don't quite look like this guy, I'm no Greek Adonis either.

I could easily stand to lose 10kg.

Why am I like this? Honestly, I love my DrPepper, McDonalds and Gusto drink bar. Too much fat, oil & sugar!

The biggest culprit is McDonalds. I often go to McDonalds before I go to my university classes as it is the only place I can be sure to get a seat, be able to understand the menu and get to my classes on time.

This should no longer be an excuse for me.

From now on I will try to improve my Kanji reading ability and I will take additional interest in preparing sandwiches for myself when I do not have access to a microwave. I think I should also buy a set of scales, just to track my actual results.

Maybe a little exercise wouldn't hurt, just a little.

What do you think? Any advice?

MaboTofu Katsudon

2009-11-05T10:00:00.000+09:00

And... I haven't written anything about Katsuya for a while, so here's something new.

MaboTofu KatsuDon, Chilli Tofu on top of fried pork on top of rice.

Usually the chilli is pretty week in Mabo Tofu, this stuff was the real deal. It was pretty spicy and I thoroughly endured & enjoyed it.

The selection of accessories at Katsuya. I love their Goma Dressing for the cabbage, I hate how they still use wooden chopsticks. I forgot my My Hashi when I went here on Monday.

Ahh, mugi tea, barley tea. This tea that Katsuya serves is actually really good, I always make sure I have 3-4 cups while I am there.

Have you ever been to Katsuya? Or do you have any Katsu experiences you'd like to share?

Who do I blog for?

2009-11-03T10:00:00.000+09:00

Do I blog about Japan for myself? Not really, I mostly blog for 3 groups of people.

1. People who have visited or want to visit Japan.
2. My Japanese students who are interested in my opinions about Japan.
3. Other Japan bloggers.

Group one, the fans of Japan.
These people love Japan but aren't able to live here. For some crazy reason, they want to be me, living in Japan and experiencing what I experience on a daily basis. What is boring, usual and normal for me in Japan appears to hold some kind of fascination for them.

A fascination I am happy to feed.

Group two, my students.
I've developed a bit of a following amongst the students at my school and my university classes. It always makes me happy when I walk into a classroom and a student asks me about something I've written about on my blog in the past few weeks.

Usually it's questions about why I feel that way about Japan or why I find something interesting.

After all, my ideas and opinions are..... foreign.... to them.

Group three, other Japan bloggers.
I guess it's a pretty odd community of expats who are living in Japan for our own personal reasons and there seems to be a pretty large community of people who write about life in Japan.

I must admit that I am more of a blog writer than a blog reader and I apologise to everyone who hasn't recieved enough comment love from me.

How about you? Seriously, why do you read this blog?

Hiday Ramen

2009-11-02T10:00:00.000+09:00

It's been a while since I last wrote about Hiday Ramen, so here's something for you Ramen Lovers out there.

Here's my lunch from Sunday, Large size Miso Ramen with small Fried Rice & Fried Dumplings.
Omori Miso Ramen, han Cha-Han & Gyoza. ￥810

Lovely noodles, notice how I am using plastic chopsticks not wooden? I love places that use these.

And the soup....
Pretty good, not the best I've had but not the worst either.

And the Gyoza...
These aren't anything special, but they taste ok and fill you up.

And the condiments....
Notice the drawer for the chopsticks. This design saves space compared to the standing cup that used to hold the wooden chopsticks, also you can bet that the company is saving money on storage of wooden chopsticks, disposal of wooden chopsticks and the purchasing of wooden chopsticks.

And the "Service Coupon" for a free boiled egg or upgrade to a large size the next time I stop by.

I like how I have two months to use this coupon, so it will always have a home in my wallet.

How about you? Does this make you hungry? miss Japan? jealous? Tell me!

Cigarette Smoke

2009-10-30T10:00:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I went back to Gusto for lunch with my son. He wanted another toy from the Gatcha-Gatcha, I wanted another King Burger.

Yum!

When we got home at 12:40 there was time to wash our hands, brush our teeth, give the baby a kiss (from both of us) and go have an afternoon nap. And it was in bed when I noticed the stench of cigarette smoke on both of us.

Yuck!

That seems to be life in Japan, even though you sit in the non-smoking section you can't avoid getting the stuff on you (and in your lungs). Every time I go to a family restaurant or internet cafe, I always sit in the non-smoking section and come out stinking of the stuff.

Have you noticed this?

Winter Is Coming

2009-10-29T10:00:00.000+09:00

I know it is only October, but I can feel the change all around me.

Now I can't leave the apartment without a jacket, and I know the need to add mittens & a scarf is not far behind.

Things get COLD here in Japan.

I really hope that there is a lot of snow this winter, last year was very disappointing and I wasn't able to go outside and have much fun in the snow with my eldest son. Fingers crossed that winter 09/10 is better.

Gusto King Burger

2009-10-27T10:00:00.000+09:00

In other Japanese Burger related news, Gusto Japan has released a new item on their menu, something I've never seen before.

The Gusto King Burger.

For ￥599 + tax you get a really nice burger with chips. There's a nice amount of salad, no tomato (yay) and it is bigger than a quarter pounder.

It actually tastes fresh.

For someone who has been eating McDonalds for a very long time in Japan, with their bland burgers, this made a really nice change.

I've made a plans with my son to go back again this Friday for another one.

How about you? Do you have any Japanese burger recommendations?

Windows 7 Whopper

2009-10-26T10:00:00.000+09:00

This is no joke! To "celebrate" the release of Windows 7 in Japan, Burger King Japan has released the "Windows 7 Whopper". 7 layers of beef for ￥777 for the first 30 customers per day, after that you have to pay ￥1450 for the burger.

There is part of me that says, "Go to Ikebukuro, go to Ikebukuro now and get one of these monsters.".

There is another part of me that says, "Erm, you didn't enjoy the Mega Mac so much. What makes you think this will be any good?".

But I have something that ends the argument with myself and brings some sense. From the 2009 Men's Health "17 Things That Waste Your Time". "1 Eating challenges. Sitting down to a 48-ounce steak is a suicide pact, not a double-dog dare. You really don't want to find out which of your buddies still somewhat remember the Heimlich."

Sure it'd be an experience to say "I bought one and I ate the whole thing." but is that an experience I could truly be proud of? Or "I felt the urge to get one, but I thought about it and resisted the temptation."

With only a couple more days left on the promotion, it's not a difficult question to answer.

How about you? Do you want one of these idols of gluttony? Or can you resist?

Dental Report

2009-10-23T10:00:00.000+09:00

As I said the other day, I went to the dentist yesterday.

I go to a local clinic, it's only a 10 minute walk from my apartment. One of the main reasons why I love it is that the dentist is always on time. I've been there twice now and I've always been IN the chair at the time of the appointment.

None of this waiting around for 10-15 minutes while they get ready. I love it.

So the dentist inspects my teeth and tells me that they are great and proceeds to clean & polish them. He tells me exactly what he is going to do, before he does it, in English! And he gives me a chance to rinse and spit between upper and lower teeth.

There was a black spot on the inside of my lower right 1st molar and he asked me if he could fill it, he said it will only take five minutes. And he was right!

In & out in under half an hour, on time for only ￥2490. I'd expect to pay $120 for an inspection & clean in Australia, more for a minor filling.

In other dental related news, (my life is so exciting huh?) I recently ran out of my usual AquaFresh at work and was forced to buy Clear & Clean to brush my teeth after lunch one day. Oh lord, is this stuff terrible or what!

It's got these chunky bits in it that hurt my lips when I am brushing my teeth. What are these and why do they put them in? Thankfully I won't have to use it any more as I brought a spare pack from home.

For any Australians reading this blog, AquaFresh is EXACTLY the same product as Mcleans back home. I grew up with this brand of toothpaste and being able to have exactly the same type in Japan makes my life more comfortable.

How about you? Have you tried Clean & Clear? Have you been to a Japanese dentist? I'd love to know your thoughts.

2Chan Videos

2009-10-21T10:00:00.000+09:00

Here are a couple of videos I promised to show a friend.

This one is about cities in Tokyo

This one is about prefectures in Japan

It's all about plays on words and mis-pronunciation.

Old but very funny. "Gun-Tama" is my favourite.

Flossing

2009-10-20T10:00:00.000+09:00

I have a dentist appointment on Thursday and it's got me thinking about my teeth again.

People who know me know that I will brush my teeth 3-4 times a day, I'm serious about using mouth wash and a tongue scraper. Nothing beats a tongue scraper for fresh breath.

But I have to admit that I am pretty slack with my flossing, maybe once or twice a week at best. One thing I find very interesting about Japanese people is that they almost never floss.

It's a question that comes up very often in my lessons, "how often do you go to the dentist?" "how often do you brush your teeth?" "how often do you floss your teeth?" and I'm surprised by the answers. I've only heard once or twice that a Japanese person regularly flosses, it seems to be something that crazy foreigners do.

I think flossing is very important. How about you?

New Glasses

2009-10-19T10:00:00.000+09:00

And.... here are the replacement glasses.

Very cute, lots for me to break.

Totoro VS Anpanman

2009-10-12T10:00:00.000+09:00

As a kid who loved to read comic books, I always enjoyed reading about battles between my favourite superheros.

Spiderman VS Superman.

Judge Dredd VS Johnny Alpha

etc

But recently in our kitchen we had another battle. Totoro VS Anpanman.

Totoro won.

While I was washing up my Totoro glass, it slipped out of my soapy hands and fell onto my son's Anpanman glass.

Sorry Son, I'll buy you a new one.

Have you ever destroyed anything special while washing up?

A question about non-Japanese in Japan

2009-10-07T10:00:00.000+09:00

I received an e-mail from a new reader asking about Japan, so I thought I'd answer it here to benefit everyone.

i read your blog about living in Japan, it must be awesome out there i want to go to japan myself one day. how does it compare to the western world? i could see on our blog that there is less crime (via the perfecty untouched drunken people). i'm curios, is there many white people out there? in the uk/us it's mostly mixed race but i've never seen pictures from japan with black or white people in it. and what's the pay like same more or less? i want to do forensics when i finish school but i was wonderig how the pay for that job varies round the world.

There's a lot of ideas here, compressed into one paragraph. I will try to break it down.

1. Japan IS awesome. The trains are clean, safe and run on-time. I love it!
Family restaurants are cheap, technology is always cutting edge and there is nothing good on TV ever.

2. You won't see pictures of Japan with Black, White, Hispanic or Indian people because there almost aren't any. Something like 98% of the population is ethnic Japanese and it's very easy to go a month or more and not see any other foreign people outside Tokyo.

The opposite word of multi-culture is monoculture. Japan is an example of ONE race, ONE society dominating EVERYTHING. Many people say that the Japanese need to change the way they do things, I say no. It's their country, let them do what they like.

3. Pay? What's the price of an apple in China versus the price of a pear in Canada? That's an impossible question to ask. Many people come here and teach English, however from your e-mail it's clear that your grasp of grammar and spelling needs to improve before you could try that.

Just being honest.

There are other careers, but all of them require a native / business level ability to speak Japanese. And the labour market has been pretty bad for about the last two years.

I hope that helps.

How about you? Do you have any advice about Japan to give our forensics hopeful?

At the Barbers

2009-10-05T22:22:00.003+09:00

This afternoon I was feeling rather ashamed of myself. I was getting a haircut at the barbers, the guy cutting my hair was really nice and always does a good job. He's the one that takes the time to explain to other barbers how I get my hair cut.

Yet I couldn't tell him about the birth of my second son....

I've been living in Japan for over Three years and still I have barely taken the time to improve my language ability. I thought about this on my way home and I'd like to share my thoughts.

1. My job requires me to think exclusively in English. I need to be listening to what my students say for the purposes of responding correctly to them, interpreting what they really mean and looking for areas where they need to improve. It's much more difficult than simply having a chat in a pub with a friend.

2. My home is an English environment. I only speak to my eldest son in English, even if he talks to me in Japanese. Often I will ask him to repeat himself in English. My wife speaks English very well and there is little need to speak Japanese at home. I speak at my 2nd son, but a 3 week old baby understands nothing.

3. As a prisoner to my job, working Saturday to Wednesday and to my family allows me no time at all to get out and find friends around me. How easy will it be to find people interested in blogging, online games and children in Saitama? I live an isolated life that doesn't encourage me to speak Japanese.

I've had spurts of energy to study Japanese before, I've been gung-ho in the past. But now I simply feel guilty. In my weekly life there simply is no need for me to speak Japanese and I have no strong desire to learn to do so. Sigh.

What do you think?

McDonalds Chicken Tatsuta

2009-10-02T15:17:00.003+09:00

Today it was cold and wet, so I couldn't take my eldest son out to a park to let him get some exercise, so I decided to take him for a train trip instead.

Nothing exciting, he just doesn't get to ride on the train unless I take him. So I took him to the town I work in and we looked around a few stores including the Disney shop, then we went to McDonalds.

Currently they are advertising the Nippon All Stars, a series of burgers that are unique to Japan and Japanese taste. This fortnight it is the Chicken Tatsuta, so I thought I'd give it a try as it was on the lunch time special for ￥590 (the same as the Big Mac meal).

Doesn't the picture above look appetising? Freshly baked crusty bun, slow cooked patty with a generous serve of fresh grated cabbage and mayo (?). It looks very different to what I found on my tray.

The bun resebles the picture above and the cabbage resembles that of the picture above, but I couldn't have imagined a buger that looked more different to the advertising picture. It tasted ok, I won't be having another one.

My son isn't a big fan of McDonalds, he hardly touched his cheeseburger so I offered to buy him some onigiri instead. I asked him "what kind of onigiri do you want?" and he replied "no wasabi.".

A week ago I had bought him some tuna-mayo onigiri and he discovered that it had wasabi in it. He said that it was spicy and offered for me to eat it. I was shocked as I had never had onigiri with wasabi in it before and I would never have bought it if I had guessed it had wasabi.

So I thought his answer today was very cute.

How about you? Have you ever had food that wasn't quite like the image? Have you had a surprise in something you ate because you didn't read the label properly?

New Baby

2009-09-17T13:51:00.001+09:00

Hey everyone. I'd just like to let you know that our second son was born today at 13:51. He was 3.4KG and 52CM.

Both mum and bub will be back home on the 21st, so I have to look after the place until then.