Japanese lifestyle ~9~ heating system 2

  I introduce the Japanese system again.
In Japan, the floor heating may be one of the heating system that people
use for heating.
  But I don't have it in my house.
  On this column, I would like to introduce the''Kotatsu'' ''Hibach''and ''Irori''.
Kotatsu is quite popular tool to heat our leg.
  Look!! This is the Kotatsu.(This is not my room.Photo is from Wikipedia)

The underside is like this.

In winter, Japanese people like to eat ''mikan(Japanese orange)'' when we warm

our leg. Mikan is like this. It is sweet. I like mikan.

 

 People used to use charcoal as a heat source for many years ago.Nowadays, all of the
heat source must be electricity.
 Here is Hibachi.

 This is traditional heating system. People put on charcoal inside.
I don't often see this Hibachi. But I think people still use this type of heating system.
For a long time ago, this is used among Samurai,a nobleman and noblewoman.
And it is said a lot of people start to use this in the Edo period.

 This picture shows how to use the Hibachi. Please take note. Usually, woman do not
tie their hair like this now in Japan!! ^ ^ ;  This is so old stylish hair. Only when woman
wear kimono at special day, woman tie their hair like this.

 This is ''Irori''.

 I don't see at all in the district where I live now. But I think people who live in Tohoku area
(the area where there was huge earthquake 3.11 in 2011)still use this type of heating system.
And people who live in the other area may use Irori.
This is traditional style. I have seen this only on the photo.  I want to take a look Irori.

Thanks for reading!

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Japanese lifestyle ~8~ heating system

  My pen friends told to me that it is snowing in Europe.
It is unbelievable for me. In this morning, the temperature is 17.3 degree
here in Japan. In my hometown, we don't have snowing so much in a year.
Maybe once or twice a year. But the area such as Niigata(north side of Japan)
and Hokkaido is famous for the great amount of snowing.
  It is not unusual in those district for more than 3 meter of snow to
accumulate on the ground. So people who live in those district have to
clean the snow frequently. Those task must be so hard.

  I would like to introduce how Japanese people heat the room
in our daily life.
 I think the heating like below is the most popular in Japan.The maker of my
heating is MITSUBISHI. This is electrical heating.

And, I sometimes use this type of heating.

It gets heat more quickly than the heating above.
And, people also use this kind of heating below.

This type of heating needs the oil.
  Tomorrow, I will introduce the other heating system.

Thanks for reading!

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Don't do this in Japan ~ 3 ~ Cut in the line

  I give you advice in case you travel in Japan.
Mostly, Japanese people do not say directly about what they think in mind.
In our culture, Japanese avoid saying what they think in mind.
So, you must be hard to know what Japanese people really intend.

 While you stay in Japan, you would visit Tokyo or Osaka. And you would
use the train many times there.
 Have you seen a lot of people making the line at platform?
In Japan, the train stop exactly at the place where people make the line.
(A lot of foreign people get surprised to see that)
When people are waiting for the train, people care the turn of the people
in their mind.
I think Tokyo is so crowded, so you need to be nervous about that.
You don't have to be nervous in the country side.

  When I travel in Europe, I was surprised because someone cut in the line more
frequently than Japan.
  So I realized that Japanese people would keep the strict rule about making the line
more than other culture's people.
 So, I think you should care not to do so, when you visit to Japan.

You should take care about this especially when you get in the train and
when  you get in the elevator.
And...when you get in the ramen shop!!! (In Japan, you have to
make a line  if you want to try the popular ramen.)

Thanks for reading. Please give me any advices.

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Japanese habit/custom ~3~ when you can't sleep at night

When you can't sleep at night, how do you cope with the situation?
I introduce the Japanese style on this column.

  In Japan, people say, ''Imagine a stock farm where there are many sheep,
and count the number of sheeps''

 So, you start, 
Hitsuji ga ippiki   One sheep...
Hitsuji ga nihiki   Two sheep...
Hitsuji ga sanbiki Three sheep...
(Hitsuji = sheep)

 This task is quite boring, so you will fall asleep shortly.
People told me when I was kid. Every Japanese people must know this
way. But I don't know how many people practice this way.

Are there any way like this in your culture?

Japanese habit/custom ~2~ kita makura

Kita = the north
Makura = a pillow

  On this column, I introduce the sleeping style of Japanese people.
In our culture, it is said that  when you go to sleep, you should not
lay with your head toward the north.
  It is called ''kita makura''.
In Japanese culture, it is inauspicious.
  I follow this habit. So, when I sleep, I lay with head toward the east.
And when I go to travel, I sometimes mind the direction of bed.
(But mostly the place where I am staying is unfamiliar for me so I don't know
which is the north ^ ^ ;)

 But why is that?

 I heard from my parents that the Buddha laid with his head toward the north
when he died. This habit has been allowed only when people die.
 If you travel to Japan, the bed of your hotel may not be laid with your head
toward the north.

Thank you for reading.
I would like to introduce about Japanese religion little by little.

Japanese food ~9~ cha~hi~

I got interesting drink! This drink is called ''cha~hi~~''
This drink is new to Japanese people as well.
The company in Kyoto created this drink some years ago.

And this beverage is made by mixing ''green tea'' and ''coffee''!
In Japanese, we say,
green tea = cha
coffee = koo hii  ← pronunciation of Japanese
So, this drink is named by mixing ''cha'' and ''koo hii''

The color looks like coffee. But the liquid looks like tea.

The taste is like... it is not like coffee, it is not like green tea...

It is hard to express.

I don't know if it is good taste.

The only thing I can say is that this drink is mysterious....

Thank you for reading!

Japanese habit/custom ~1~ A bow while they talk on the phone

  I would like to introduce a funny habit of Japanese people.
If you come to Japan, you may have the chance to see Japanese people
make a bow while they are talking on the phone.
 Japanese people make a bow when they meet someone.
We do that for greeting. We do that when we appreciate to someone.
And we also do that when we apologize to someone.
 Maybe there are a lot of meaning when we make a bow.

   Japanese people sometimes make a bow while we talk on the phone.
Maybe you see this in the house. And older people sometimes do this.
Japanese business man or woman may be trained to do so.
(But in my case, I have never been asked to do so in my company)
 But why do we make a bow when we talk on the phone?
While we talk by phone, we can't see the other talker. So, it seems nonsense.

 Japanese people may think it shows the politeness to the other person.
That behavior is not visible for the other person. But he or she may believe
the other talker would understand his or her politeness.
Japanese people may believe the talker's mind would affect to the voice unconsiously.
So we treat politely even if the other talker don't see you.

 That is my understanding.

  If you talk about this habit to Japanese people, they may feel it is funny.
Because Japanese people also think it is strange.
When I saw it in my childhood, I used to see it so strange.

Thank you for reading!

Japanese food ~ 8 ~ sushi

  I ate a sushi the day before yesterday.
I will write something about sushi.
We sometimes say ''osushi'' instead of sushi. In Japanese, if you say ''o'' before the word,
it sometimes  become  more polite.
ocha= tea
obenkyou = study
ojikan = time
okaikei = cash
okane = money
....etc. There are many cases. But it is not always. So, maybe you have to remember each
case if you are studying Japan.
  I think woman often say ''o'' to speak politely.

  I bought a sushi pack at supermarket.

There are some kinds of ''Neta''.
Neta means ''material on rice''.
I had tuna, shrimp, salmon, squid
In Japan sushi pack at supermarket is 700~1000 yen.(6.75~9.64 Euro, 8.76 ~12.52 US dollar,
274.92~ 392.74 RUB)
But you want to eat good sushi, you have to go to sushi restaurant.
It costs more than 1500 yen~(14.46 Euro, 18.78 US dollar, 589.14 RUB)

How often do we eat sushi?
In my case, it is about twice a month. I don't know how often Japanese people go to eat
sushi in average.
I like sushi so much.
My favorite are salmon, shrimp, and tuna.
If you go to sushi bar in Japan, you can eat many variation of salmon.
For example, aburi salmon, salmon with onion, salmon with mayonnaise.
I have eaten sushi in Germany when I went to a trip.(but it was made by Chinese ^^;)
In Japan, there are more kinds of sushi. I want you to try them
I want to introduce Japanese sushi some day on this blog.
Do you know kaiten zushi?
kaiten = round
zushi = sushi
The history of kaiten zushi goes back to 1958 (from Wikipedia). At the sushi bar,
there is a huge belt conveyor. And sushi on a conveyor move around the restaurant.
You can take any plates. Each plate costs about 100 yen ~ 300 yen. It depends on the
sushi bar. I learned that there is kaiten zushi in London, USA and in Australia.
When I go to the kaiten zushi next time, I would like to introduce more.
 

Japanese food ~7~ B-1 Grand Prix

  B-1 Grand Prix was held at Kita Kyusyu city(The north area of Kyusyu) on 21th.
B-1 Grand Prix is big food festival which is held every year.
And a lot of group from each region in Japan join it.
  The biggest event is the competition of each region's dish.
In this year, the Hachinohe Senbei Jiru won the first prize.
Hachinohe is the city of Aomori which is located in the north of Japan.
Senbei is Senbei. I introduced on this blog before.
Japan. http://kamesamajapankamesama.blogspot.jp/2012/10/japanese-food-1-sweets-senbei.html
Jiru means ''soup''.

                                                            (from  Wikipedia)

The chiken,burdock, a long green onion and Senbei( special kind of Senbei  It is not broken
into pieces in the boiled soup)

  This event started to develop the each region's industry 7 years ago.
News paper reports 63 group entried in this year and 610000 people(the sponsor's release)
came to the event.
  You can guess how much Japanese people are curious about gourmet.
The audiences vote to the favorite group after they eat. The way to voting is to put ''Waribashi''
in the box named each group. And they  compete which box is the heaviest.
 Oh, do you know Waribashi?
Waribashi is like this.

Wari means split
bashi means chopsticks.

  It is said the winner's region of  this competition    acieve huge economic growth
because a lot of Japanese people try the winner's cooking.
 For example, the winner's region  in 2008 earned 3000000000 yen just for 3 months!
(30,000,000 Euro 37,509,000 US dollar)
You know, Japanese people are very curious of delicious food.
I think winner's dish is not so expensive. Maybe it is 500~700 yen in average.
Because, B-1 Grand Prix is the shoten word of ''B-class gourmet''.

 I am working at Japanese restaurant. I will talk with my friend how about we challenge this
competition in the future.

Thanks for reading!

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Japanese traditional culture ~4~ Yoshizu

  It is getting colder in Japan. In this morning, it is 22 degree.In summer, here was very very hot. Usually it was more than 35 degree.
I am living in the hottest place in Japan. Here is like desert in summer.
Especially, I can not sleep because it is too hot.
And also, the moisture is very high. So, I sometimes think desart must be more
confortable than here.

 Tokyo is not like here. But it is sure that the temperture sometimes become
more than 35 degree. So, if you want to travel in Japan, I recommend to avoid the
hottest season.

 By the way, I am going to put away the  reed screen above.
We call this stuff ''Yoshizu''. Yoshizu is made by a reed.
 I think this is very nice tool in summer. This yoshizu block the light and inside of the
room become cooler.
 This seems old stylish tool, but Japanese people still use this yoshizu.


Do you have this kind of tool in your culture?

Thanks for reading!

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Japanese food ~6~ Raamen book

  I have two kinds of raamen book. This books introduce good raamen shop in the Gunma(群馬) prefecture.
  This book introduce 184 kinds of raamen shop.

  When you read this book, you must notice there are so many raamen shop in Gunma. Gunma is local area, which is located in 150 km from Tokyo. Here is country side and even Japanese people
would not point the location directly. (But there are 2 million population in Gunma)
 This book introduce a lot of raamen according to the taste such as  ''shou yu= soy sauce'' ''shio =
salt'' ''tonkotsu = bone of pork'' and ''miso = miso is miso. Miso is made from soy beans. You
may have heard miso soup''.
 And also, this book introduce the good shop of gyoza. Some Japanese people like to eat raamen
with gyoza.
 Do you know tsukemen? Maybe no.
Tsukemen became so popular in Japan now.
Tsuke = put on
men = noodle
Tsukemen is the type of noodle you put on the soup each time.(when I eat tsukemen in the
future, I will attach the photo.)
  Raamen enthusiast like to check these kind of book and go around the raamen shop in holiday.

You can check the location of each raamen shop.

  This book has the coupons of each shop. You can have special service with this coupon such as
you can oder gyoza or drink for free.

  In Japan, there are many kinds of TV program on  gourmet. On those kinds of program,
the casts go around the restaurant and eat the main foods of the restaurant. It may be the
same as foreign TV program.
 But, there may be  a difference between foreign TV program.
On those kinds of TV program, the cast never say badly when they eat. Even the cast
taste so bad, they would have to say ''It's very good!!!''. For Japanese people, it is natural.
If the cast say ''This is too salty or too spicy'' or complain about something, the restaurant
owner or cooker would lose his or her face.  And Japanese audience would feel pitiful for the
owner and cooker. The owner or cooker introduce their dishes for advertisement. So, the cast
can not say badly at all. I have heard the cast complain about they sometimes have to tell a lie.
 But now I sometimes see  a critic criticize the dishes in front of camera.
 I have heard foreign people are bored to see Japanese cast always say'' It's very good.' in front
of camera. And also many Japanese people get bored to see such TV program.

I want to watch the gourmet TV program of abroad.

Thanks for reading!

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Japanese expression ~ 2 ~ The expression of bark, and so on..

  In Japan, it is getting colder. In this morning, it is 18.4 degree.
I feel so cold.

  On this column, I will write about how Japanese people express the
sound of animal's ''Nakigoe''.
Nakigoe means
 Naki = bark(dog), meow(cat), croak(crow)...
 goe = voice
In Japanese, we have only one word to express dog's bark, cat's meow, crow's croak... and so on.
So it is difficult to translate.
Maybe you can guess what I want to write about.

   When I was kid, I used to think people all over the world express in the same way.
Because I used to think everybody must hear the same sound in the same way.
But it was not true. Each culture has each expression.
I remember I got so surprised to know that.

Dog  = Wan Wan !! (I have heard people say ''Bow wow'' in America.)
Cat  = Nya ~~ Nya ~~
Cow = Mo~~ Mo~~
Sheep = Me~~ Me~~~
Pig = Buuuu  Buuuu
Lion =  Gaooo
Frog = Kero Kero
Crow = Kaaaa
Mouse = Chuu Chuu
Horse = Hi Hiiin
Chicken = Kokekokko~!

  Chicken is kind of difficult. ^ ^
I think there are many expression in the world about chicken.
 
 By the way, how about an ambulance?
We say ''Pii Poo Pii Poo~~''
If I have chance, I want to know how people in the world express the Nakigoe.

Thanks for reading. Please give me any advices.
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Japanese food ~5~ Raamen

 

The day before yesterday, I went to eat Raamen. Raamen is very popular food in Japan.

If you come to Japan, I recommend you try raamen once.

Do you know raamen? Maybe yes. I checked Whikipedia and it says raamen is known in the Europe.

Originally, raamen came from China.

Raamen is consisted of noodle and soup. And there are thousands of variations. Each raamen shop has each taste. And each district has each taste. Each people has each favorite taste.

 

There is a word.

''Raamen ya meguri''

meguri means like ''a tour''

I know some people whose hobby is raamen ya meguri.

 

Raamen mania go to raamen shop even it is very very far from where they live. 

I have heard a ramen enthusiast went to Kyushu district(it is the west area of Japan) from Tokyo.

It is more than 800 km!

And they eat raamen even if they make a line for long time.

 

I ate the Tonkotsu raamen.(see the photo)

Tonkotsu means, the bone of pork. The cooker make the soup base from pork's bone. They would take a lot of hours to make it.  

And you can eat rice. It was free. And also, 17th was service day at that raamen shop. And sui gyoza was free! Sui gyoza is boiled gyoza.(the right dish on the photo)

You can add soy sauce, or onion, garlic, pepper, or sesame. But some Japanese people don't add garlic because it your mouth becomes stink.  

 The price was 800 yen.

= 7.72 Euro

= 10.09 US dollar

= 30.61 ringgit

 

 

 It is little bit oily and salty. It is difficult to explain the taste with words.

I am a little raamen mania.(But I don't go far away just to eat raamen.)

My hobby is raamen ya meguri.

 

I checked this photo and I noticed I did ''watashi bashi''.(See the last column about table manner) ^ ^;

Please give me any opinions and advice.^ ^

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Japanese traditional culture ~3 ~ What is the bad manner of chopsticks?

   I write about table manner of Japanese culture.
I am writing this column from a viewer's opinion.
  Thank you very very much  for giving advice!

  You may have learned how to use chopsticks(we say ''hashi'' in Japanese)
But you may have not learned the bad manner of hashi.
So, on this column, I introduce the bad manner when you use hashi.
  I translate directly.

1 Mayoi bashi 
Mayoi = be at aloss
Bashi = hashi
It means, you are at a loss which dishes you are going to eat. You should not move around
over the dishes.

2  Yose bashi
 Yose = move to
 Bashi = hashi
 You should not move the dish by hashi.

3 Watashi bashi
 Watashi = lay across
 bashi = hashi
 You should not lay the hashi across rice ball.

4 I don't know the name of this manner

 At the funeral, we give foods for the dead person. I guess some of Buddist do this like this way.

5 I don't know the naime of this manner.
 Don't give foods to the other person by hashi.

 If you do that in front of Japanese people, they would be so shocked and embarrased so much.
This manner is absolutely bad. ^ ^ ;
 Buddist do this at the funeral. The celemony is called ''syuu kotsu''
syuu = pick up     kotsu = bone
After the body was cremated, people pick up the bone like above and put on the bone box.
If you do this, it reminds you the Syuu kotsu. So this is very bad manner in Japanese culture.
Maybe you have never heard of this manner.
But this is common rule in Japan. I think almost all people know this manner.
By the way, I don't know if the Japanese Christian follow this manner.  I am not Christian.
Maybe they would respect for this Japanese manner of chopsticks.



Thanks for reading.
I want to know what kind of Japanese culture you are interested in.
If you like, please let me know.

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Japanese lifestyle ~ 7 ~ learning English

If you travel Japan, you may be disappointed to know Japanese people can't speak
English than expected.

Yes, generally speaking, Japanese people are not good at English.
Especially, speaking ablility is very low. Actually, some Japanese industries are
very famous worldwidely. But we don't have enough  English ability.
Not all business man can speak English.

  Now in Japan, children start to learn English from elementary school.
But our genelation  (I am 33 years old)  used to start to learn from junior high school.
Maybe it is so late to start learning second language.
And I think some Japanese rich people who live in urban city(Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto
and so on) make their children go to English school besides the school.
In my case, I have stayed in Canada for eight months. And also I have stayed in New Zealand
for one month.  And my favorite subject was English when I was in school, so I can speak and
write English.

  Why Japanese people can't speak English? There must be some reasons.
Japanese people are shy. Maybe you know that.
So Japanese people don't lile to make mistakes when they talk in English.
We are very afraid of making mistakes in front of unknown people.
 So, many Japanese people hesitate to practice English.
  And, we are living in island. People don't travel abroad easily like Europe.
There are not many chances to practice. I am living in country side.
It is quite rare to see foreign people.


But Asia is becoming very huge market nowadays. People must talk English on business.
Situation must be changing. A lot of people must be visiting at Asia.
And it is also true that many Japanese business person are eager to learn English.

But now, I still hear Japanese people are not good at English.
So if you can, please learn Japanese (simple words are OK) before you come to Japan.
I will tell useful(or funny ) expression on this blog. I will help you.


If you have any opinion, please let me know.^ ^
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Yoroshiku      onegai shimasu!!

Japanese traditional culture ~2~ a specialty store

  Today, I went to a store specializing in Hashi(chopsticks). The name of the shop was Hashi-kyu
I have been interested in this shop since before.

 At this shop, there are 400 kinds of hashi. The mister of this shop use the good quality of
woods. And each hashi is coated by special kind of lacquer.
  It is good not only for use of yourself, but for the gift to someone.
 And this shop supply the custom-made hashi.
  And also, you can ask the mister to carve your name on your chopsticks.
  I found the chopsticks for eating pasta. The end of chopstick was rolled. I hope to buy it and
introduce the chopsticks on this blog in the future.

 You can get your original chopsticks here.

The price is from about 1500 yen ~  (19.03 US dollar , 14.62 Euro)
The high rank chopsticks are around 10000 yen... (126.84 US dollar  97.47 Euro)

I want my original hashi...

I am using this hashi at home.(below)

Japanese lifestyle ~6~ Ohayougozaimasu

  I write about strange and misterious thing on this column.
Have you heard the word ''Ohayougozaimasu''?
  Maybe many Japanese learner would learn this word at first.
Yes, we say Ohayougozaimasu when we meet people in the morning.

  ''Aisatsu(=greeting)'' is very important when you make good relationship
with someone. A freshman (a new employee) must be educated to do
''Aisatsu'' appropriately when they start to work at company.
I used to learn some kinds of important Aisatsu(=greeting) at job training.
Fresh man doesn't always have the habit of greeting.
Japanese greetings are such as...

1 Ohayougozaimasu =Good morning.
2 Otsukaresamadeshita
3 Arigatougozaimasu
4 Kashikomarimashita
 = when you are ask to do something, you say this phrase(consent to do something).
 This expression is polite.
5 Syousyou Omatikudasai  = Please wait for a minute.(As you may know, Japanese people
have strict rule on time)
6 Shitsureishimasu   =  it means like''Excuse me''
7  Itsumo Osewa ni natteorimasu (it is hard to explain!! It means like ''thank you for
taking care of me'')


By the way, I have strange and misterious story.
I am working at Japanese restaurant. I started to work there two months ago.
I am working from 10:00 to 14:30. and  17:30 to 21:00 in the evening.
 When I started to work, I learned that people who work in the field of restaurant business say ''Ohayougozaimasu'' whenever they start to work. So, I have to say Ohayougozaimasu
when I start to work from 17:30. Supposedly, in Japan,the workes at restaurant say ''Ohayougozaimasu'' even in the evening when they start to work.
When I noticed that, I asked the co-worker ''why is that''.
She just answered, ''this is our habit''.

I think most of Japanese people, who are working at the other industry, don't know about this.


Facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/#!/SeeMyJapan   ←Yoroshikuonegaishimasu!!

Japanese traditional culture ~ 1 ~ chou chin

Chou chin is the object like ball.

 

When you travel in Japan, You would see the light fixture like above. This light fixture is called ''chou chin =ちょうちん　提灯''

This light fixture illuminate the surrounding softly. Usually, the coller of chou chin is red.
For Japanese people, many people would remind the bar ( pub ), seeing this chouchin because
nowadays, we see this chouchin in front of the bar.
  The history of chochin goes back to before Edo period(1603~1868).
Peple used to carry with this chouchin when they walk around at night. So, this chou chin was
like a flashlight at that time. People used to set candle inside the chou chin. But nowadays, Japanese people would not always do so (just use electric light) because it causes a fire.
 Before the Edo period, only high class people can use this chouchin. After the Edo period,
this become popular among normal people. But we usually don't carry with this chou chin
in daily life.

Japanese lifestyle ~5~ school club

I wrote this topic from a viewer's suggestion.
In Japan, the school club are common.
I knew that this system is not always common in the other country.
So I introduce on this blog.

Students usually belong to a school club.
(In Japan students go to elementary school from 6 to 12 years old
 students go to the junior high school from 13 to 15 years old
 students go to the high school from 16 to 18 years old)
  In my case, when I was in elementary school, I had to belong to one school
club. I was in softball club. I used to play the softball club about one hour on
every Tuesday. When I was in the elementary school, the club activity was one of the classes.
 When I was in junior high school, I used to be in baseball club.
And when I was in high school, I used to be in baseball club.
I had to go to the club after the school almost everyday. I used to practice the baseball
until around 7:00 P.M. almost everyday. And when I was in high school, I used to practice
until 9:00 P.M.

The club activity is divided into two type, sports and culture.
About sports, there are clubs such as, baseball, basketball, volleyball,track and field,
judo, kendo, swimming, and so on
Culture clubs are like art(drawing, music),and learning traditional Japanese culture
(such as Sa dou or Ka dou)
Sa dou is the study of a tea-ceremony.
Ka dou is the study of flower arrangement.

In the conversation between Japanese people,
it is common to talk about what kind of clubs they belonged to when we were child.
The kind of the club depends on each school. So, I hear unusual club. It is good topic
when you talk with Japanese people.

Yesterday, I heard the convesation between the co-workers of the restaurant where
I am working now. She was hight school student. She decided to belong to the
''Sa Ka'' dou club. (maybe the students of the club learn the both of Sa dou and Ka dou)
She said she decided just because she can eat sweets not because she is eager to learn
traditional culture. ^ ^ ; (in Japan, usually bringing sweets to school is not allowed.
Eating sweets is a special privilege of Sa dou club students )

I opened facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/SeeMyJapan

Japanese Kikubari ~ 3 ~ When you take off shoes

  As I wrote before, Kikubari in Japanese means ''taking care of the other person''

As you may know, in Japan, people take off their shoes when you get in the house.

And you have to take off shoes when you go to restaurant.

  When you take off the shoes, we Japanese turn around  our shoes.

The reason is because it is easier when you put on the shoes.

  We do this not only for myself but also for the other person.

This behavior is very polite in Japanes culture.

For example, you invite the guest at your home, you would do for the guest.

But the visitor was very polite, he or she would do that by him or her self.

I think many Japanese restaurants do this service .

Japanese expression ~1~ Kisetsu kan

Thank you for checking my blog. ^ ^  The viewers have been increasing these days.

Each language reflects each own culture.

So, I would like to introduce Japanese expression on this column.

That is... Kisetsu kan 

Kisetsu = season    kan = sense

Japan is known for the clear individuality of four season.

I found a Japanese good expression that shows the Japanese culture.

Japanese people sometimes say ''Kisetsu kan ga aru.'' 'Kisetsu kan ga nai''

If I translate directly, it means '''you have the good sense of feeling season'

''you have the bad sense of feeling season''  

(''aru = there is'' ''nai = there is not'')

For example, you use this expression when you eat the foods of best season at restaurant.

In Japanese culture, people praise someone who have the Kisetsu kan.

So, Japanese people say ''Asoko no mise no ryouri ha kisetsukan ga atte ii.''  between

Japanese in the daily conversation.(translation : That restaurant serves you a good season dishes.)

 

Japanese lifesyle ~4~ The system of Japanese toilet

 

I introduce Japanese toilet system on this column. In Japan, we often see a tap on the toilet tank.

When you flush the toilet, the water in the tank needs to be fulled every time.

The water is poured into the tank, after you flush the toilet.

 

The good thing is that  you can wash your hand by the water.

The advantage  of This system is...

You can save water!!

 

I wrote this column because I heard this Japanese system was original.

Is that true? 

 

Japanese lifestyle ~ 3 ~ futon tataki

 

  Japanese people sleep on futon.
When we clean the futon, we dry under the sun. Some ticks die by drying under the sun.
And we usually use the futon tataki.
(see above)


  Japanese people have belived  we can dust the ticks by beating the futon.
But I found a information on internet. That is, ''beating by futon tataki  was useless to dust the ticks''.
Beating by futon tataki may just damage your futon.
The cottons in the futon may be damaged.

I did not know that... ^ ^ ;

I found photos.There are many design of futon tataki.

In tokyo, people have not used futon tataki these days.

Don't do this in Japan ~2~ hot spring

I give you advice in case you travel in Japan.
Mostly, Japanese people do not say directly about what they think in mind.
In our culture, Japanese avoid saying what they think in mind.
So, you must be hard to know what Japanese people really intend.

  In Japan, there is a hotspring the monkey like to get in. Here is called
''JIGOKUDANI YAEN-KOEN''. A lot of turist from abroad visit at this hot spring.

  You may get in the hot spring, when you come to Japan.
What I want to write on this topic in this time is ''wash your body before you get
in the hot spring.''
  Basically, Japanese people keep everything clean.
Usually, there is some small buckets around the hot spring. Those stuff are for
washing your body.

  I hear there are some hot springs where they don't allow foreigners to use
the hot spring. The reason is the other Japanese usuers complain about foreign people.

  In Japan, there was a news. a foreign people sued the hot spring owner for
the discrimination.(The the plaintiff lost the case.)

But I think there are not many hot springs which do not allow foreigners to use.
As long as you keep the Japanese rule, you don't have to worry about it.

Japanese anime ~ 2 ~ Zaku tofu

  Today, I went to a public hall to listen to the lecture. Five presidents of company gave a lecture.

You may have heard Japanese traditional food, ''tofu''.

Usually, tofu looks like below.

  The president of the company who gave us the lecture produced the Zaku tofu

these days. Now, a lot of GUNDAM fans are buying the ''Zaku tofu'' in Japan.

Zaku tofu  is a boom in Japan now.

Can you tell  the green stuff (see above ) tofu?

I think only Japanese people in the world can invent this kind of stuff.