Meet Japan’s Hottest New Character, Osomatsu-san

One of the many things Japan is known for is its love of characters, whether it be its own creation such as Hello Kitty, Totoro, or Pikachu, or those of another country such as Winnie the Pooh or Moomin (a popular character from Finland, which you have never heard of back in the states). Characters are seen everywhere, from snacks to sports drinks, kitchen goods, anime and games. There are even characters created purely to sell products. Japanese youth love characters, and it’s perfectly normal to have at least one character pinned to your pencil case or backpack, even if you’re an adult. I’d like to say I’m pretty savvy when it comes to popular characters in Japan.

My Review of the Edo-Tokyo Museum – and it’s Definitely Worth Seeing

So I did something the other day that I don’t normally do. I went to Tokyo. To visit a museum.

And I actually liked it!

Museums aren’t really my thing. But when my Ibaraki friend said he was coming into town to visit and he had some museums on his list, I thought museums…isn’t that…well…boring?

Then I recalled seeing some friends’ pictures of the Edo-Tokyo museum, which was on his list. And it actually looked pretty cool, like a real life replica of Edo period Japan. And guess what? It was definitely worth the trip! I’ve never enjoyed a museum so much as I did the Edo-Tokyo museum. Just what makes it so great? It brings history to life. Usually museums are very static representations of historic items, paintings, sculptures, etc. The Edo-Tokyo museum does have these things. But they don’t stop there – they push the boundaries. Then – BAM. You’ve got history right in front of your eyes!

Things You’re Forced to Learn for the First Time When Living in Japan

With seven years of Japanese study under my belt and a homestay experience, I thought I was more than prepared for living in Japan when I came here two years ago. I quickly discovered that was not the case, not only in certain aspects of language that you miss out on simply from learning from textbooks. No, there were simple everyday things that I discovered were very different from my home of USA that I was quickly forced to learn in order to survive in a new country. Nothing you read online can prepare you for what the reality is when it comes to every day, run-of-the-mill things. As an American some of these things are more difficult for me than for people from other countries, but here is my list of things I had to learn in order to survive.

1. All the difference sizes of printing paper – it’s not just 8 ½ by 11!

This is the equivalent of A4 in Japan. There’s also A5, B4, and B5, all different sizes ranging from lesson than 8 ½ by 11 to double that in one page. Working at a Japanese school teaching English, I frequently have to make copies for class, which involves selecting the size of paper to print it out on. Printing was another thing I had to figure out, which, depending on the machine, requires you to make a model of the page you want to mass produce, wait for the test print, then inputting how many copies you want before getting anywhere. If there was only one size paper in Japan you wouldn’t have to worry about finding the right size and loading it up every time you want to copy. But these sizes – A4 and 5, B 4 and 5 – are going to become a part of your everyday life whether you like it or not. I still haven’t memorized what everything is aside from A4.

2. What constitutes as burnable and unburnable garbage – and you will never truly get the hang of this; always to be flustered by sorting your garbage at McDonalds.

Hanami Time! Saturday in the Park with Pups, and New Disney Store Releases

At hanami in Tokyo.

Last weekend was the start of hanami, cherry blossom viewing! I met my friend Sarah (www.twitter.com/S_NelkinEN) in Tokyo – and her adorable pups! – to marvel at the beautiful light-pink blossoms now blooming throughout Japan. This is my third hanami in Japan, but last year I was visiting my family back in the states and arrived at the tail end of the brief season. So this year I was more than ready! Usually there are only two weekend chances to enjoy hanami eating and drinking underneath the blossoms with your friends and family, given sakura’s extremely short lifespan. Unless you travel from southern to northern Japan following the blooming. And I’m so sure there are totally people who do that.

Beautiful light-pink blossoms mean spring is here!

After a long winter and a cold start to spring, sakura are a sure sign that warmth and sunshine is on the way! Unfortunately this wasn’t the case last weekend, as a stubborn cloudy, rainy spell hit the Tokyo and Yokohama areas. Still, crummy weather or not, sakura attract a crowd! Popular sites in Tokyo for hanami are Yoyogi and Ueno park, but I tried for something off the beaten path near my friend’s house. This was a nice little park with plenty of sakura and not too crowded, although she said it got more crowded than last year due to a TV special that attracted more people this year. I was more than happy in a smaller, less crowded setting, and enjoyed snacking on tomato-garlic takoyaki while playing with my friend’s cute dogs.

Me, my friend Sarah, and her dogs Aurica and Philo enjoying hanami.

Another spot near the park.

Stage performance in the park.

Other gorgeous flowers in the park.

Also, a big announcement for me – I’ve become a freelance writer! My first article is up on www.izanau.com, so please check it out and look for more of my writing on the way!

Back to business, right after enjoying hanami I decided to pay a visit to the Disney store in Ikebukuro (I had an intense craving for Blue Seal purple sweet potato ice cream), and they have tons of cute new products! I’m considering featuring new Disney products every month, but this may cut into my spending money quite a bit, as who can resist all the cute things there? First up, these adorable French pastry goods.

Can you say adorable?

My favorite are the croissant goods. Chip and Dale are extremely popular here, and they look so cute sharing a big buttered croissant!

This one has to be my favorite, though. It’s really a pencil pouch, but it looks good enough to eat! Warning: purchasing any of these products may cause intense cravings for French pastries.

On the other hand, Easter products are in full swing, featuring Pooh and his friends! The cutest ones are all the little critters sitting in a colorful Easter egg.

Plus there’s a whole new line of Winnie the Pooh tsum tsums! Just when you thought you had painstakingly collected them all. They are all dressed up in fuzzy yellow chick utfits similar to the bumble bee versions from last year. And for some reason on the big Winnie the Poohs there’s a bunny attached to the front like a little kangaroo pouch? This makes no sense.

I also have to recommend this adorable line of sleeping characters that has been around for a while and looks like they're here to stay! They are so soft you’ll swear they’re stuffed with tofu and marshmallows.

Continuing in the spring vein, there are new jewelry stands for sale. You may have seen original jewelry and ring stands in the dresses and heels of your favorite Disney princesses. (I have to say I’m partial to Anna’s, because it’s a perfect match. Some of them have had creative liberties taken). They run about 25 dollars each.

But now you have two new jewelry stand options in these super cute dresses!

They’re both very pretty, and unique from the standard Disney princess dresses. If you’re a real Disney fanatic (and have lots of money) you can even buy this dress that matches the first one!

And Disney doesn’t only have its animated movie products. Check out these super cool Avengers tsum tsums! (Why is there no Loki?! Clearly the production team messed up on this one).

You can also find some Star Wars goods still around! I really like this BB8 cup.

That’s all for this month! Look forward to more awesome Disney store products!

Unexpected Everyday Things That Are Done Surprisingly Different in Japan

So you’re into Japan – you love anime, manga, samurai culture, sushi, geisha, robots, cat girls – what’s not to like? You know all the weird and quirky things about Japan and love it all the more because of them. Vending machines selling everything from underwear to cigarettes, $300 dollar melons, toilets that wash your butt for you, hotels offering compact, “capsule”-sized space to themed “love” hotels. But how about these everyday, mundane things? You may be surprised to find how things are done differently here in Japan.

1. When parking, always back into spaces.

The RIGHT way to park.

Luckily I haven’t had to drive in Japan yet. If I did, I would definitely NOT be backing into my parking space. Too nerve wracking! I recall being astonished during my first trip to Japan when my host father expertly backed into their parking space from all the way down a long narrow road. Yet this is the way it’s done here. Usually cars have a little screen displaying what’s behind you, which helps. But parking spaces are really compact here! I would be the lone person who didn’t back into the space, sticking out from the rest. But that means I can find my car faster.

Do not be THAT gaijin.

2. No debit cards – almost always pay with cash.

Plastic? Please.

Your new go-to payment method.

Nope, debit cards are not a thing here. My post office bank account comes equipped with a “cash card”, which is just a card used to withdraw cash from the ATM. There are credit cards, but cash is the most standard way to go, although you have to remember the annoying little detail that:

3. ATMs close at 5pm.

This poor sap got stuck having to resort to conbini ATM. Ah, the life of a salaryman...

If, like most everyone, you don’t get off work until 5, you can withdraw cash at a conbini but will be charged an extra fee, naturally. Apparently the reason the ATMs close so early is because banks and the post office close at this time and it’s too risky not to have a staff member around a working ATM. Understandable, but more of an inconvenience. How does anyone withdraw cash?! They must withdraw a huge wad of money they’ll need from the week over the weekend, or else if they’re married send their wife to do it for them. If not…you’re stuck paying the withdrawal fee at conbini.

4.  It’s extremely difficult to get hired for a real job after 25 – but before then you can get hired without any experience and regardless of major. Thus, GPA doesn’t matter much to students in college. On a related note, high school isn’t free, as it’s not part of the 9 years of required schooling in Japan.

5. When taking your temperature, stick the thermometer under the armpit and not under the tongue.

You don't want to know where these have been...

This is a very important difference to know should you require any medical attention here. The first time I had to do this I was completely flustered – under the armpit? Ew, gross! I suppose under the tongue isn’t much more sanitary, but for Americans surely we think armpits are far more disgusting than tongues. Another difference I learned while at the doctor’s in Japan:

6.  Instead of the standard A-Z, in Japan an eye check chart is made up of Cs and you’re supposed to say which way it’s facing – up, down, right, left.

Japanese eye chart. What do you C?

Who knew? I guess C is the easiest for Japanese to identify of the Roman alphabet, and easier than using hiragana or kanji. Is this trickier or easier than using A-Z? Hmm...

7. Good luck finding a garbage can!

If you live in Japan, you're familiar with this stressful scenario.

If you accumulate any trash while out and about, you pretty much have to carry it around all day until you get home, the station being the only place you’re guaranteed to find a garbage can. This is apparently due to the fact that there was a terrorist scare some years ago when someone put a bomb in a trash can. Thus, eliminating all garbage cans will eliminate terrorism, right? If only. Next time you find yourself annoyed at not being able to find a garbage can, thank the terrorists.

8. Shop keepers always put a smaller sticker to seal the bag. 

Exhibit A.

I suppose this is to prevent things from falling out of the bag, but really I just find it plain annoying! I hardly ever shop at only one store, and end up with more bags and wanting to consolidate them into one, when - Drat, that stupid sticker is in the way! Or you just want to drop one or two small items in, say a water bottle and sunglasses for easy access. There’s that sticker getting in the way again! This is one practice I could live without. Similarly, at the supermarket there are always rolls of tape to seal your bags upon checking out. Now I have to ferry my food back home on my bike, so I do take advantage of the tape in this situation, cause it would really suck if I hit a bump and my eggs go flying out, right? But I just wonder…

Who started this annoying trend?!

9.  Close the toilet seat after use, and the bathroom door as well.

Small details you wouldn’t necessary think about, but it’s definitely done differently around here! As I live alone, I never close the toilet seat, or the bathroom door. Yet every time I go into the stall, the previous person put the seat down. As for the bathroom door, that makes it extremely difficult to know if it’s closed because someone is in there, or not?! The suspense.

10. People actually bother cleaning outside – and by outside I mean washing public stairs, or sweeping the dirt.

Cinderella would have her work cut out for her in Japan, where they clean the outside as well as the inside.

Yes, literally sweeping dirt. I see it all the time during cleaning time at school, people outside sweeping the playground/field – I have yet to see a playground made of grass. I can’t quite grasp the point of this. And who would ever think of washing outside stairs?! Only the Japanese.

11. During teeth cleanings the actual dentist does the real work and the assistant just hands him stuff. In America it's the reverse - the only time you interface with the real dentist is at the end when he pops his head in to check the assistant's work. I was pretty surprised the first time I got my teeth cleaned here.

12. Japan has a surprisingly high number of left handed people compared to America. 

This could be related to everything being left oriented here such as driving on the left side, standing on the left side of the escalator, etc. In America you find maybe 1 lefty in a class, but here in Japan there are several left-handed kids in a single class.

Did you expect these? I bet not! Now you know – Japan is even more of a mystery than you thought!

I Just Can’t Stomach it! Weird Things the Japanese Eat

“Have you ever eaten frog?”

Recently I was asked this by the vice principal of my elementary school.

“Frog?” I said. “No way!” He smiled. “It’s delicious!”

Well, I didn’t quite agree with him there. Actually, it was surprising that he said frog, and not some sort of strange tentacled fish you’re more likely to encounter in an island country such as Japan. Seriously, they don’t even have turkey in japan – where did he get frog?

Anyway, this got us started on a conversation about weird foods people eat around the world, starting with Japanese foods I find appalling (of course I didn't quite put it that way). Yes, some countries consume dogs, ravens, guinea pigs, crocodile, kangaroo (which I hesitantly tried once – and it was surprisingly okay. Just like beef.), insects, innards, unborn bird embryos, even reproductive parts! I’ve watched my fair share of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. And yes, I do distinctly remember him eating a live, beating frog heart on the Japan episode and drinking fresh snake blood. But while each country has its own peculiar cuisines, some of it is quite commonplace for locals. Excluding the mystery meat that is hot dogs, I’d say Americans are pretty unadventurous when it comes to choosing what meat to have for dinner. Coming to live in Japan two years ago, I thought I loved Japanese food – that is until I encountered real, off-the-menu fare. Now I've known for a long time about natto and made a point to avoid it at all costs, but there are some things I had no idea were standard food in Japan. Eating school lunch forces you to get brave in trying new foods as the portion sizes are so small, but there are still some things I just can’t stomach. Here’s my top 10 list of weird things Japanese people eat.

Hai-sai! Things I Learned During My First Trip to Okinawa

The beautiful blue waters of Okinawa.

I’ve done a lot of traveling around Japan during the last two years, from bustling Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba (for Disneyland), Shizuoka to climb Mt. Fuji, Sendai, the home to my favorite figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, the popular hot spring area of Hakone and Atami, and even far-off Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe, but one place I’ve always wanted to visit is Okinawa. I’ve visited Hawaii numerous times throughout my childhood and even spent one semester studying there at the University of Manoa, so when I found out Okinawa is also a tropical string of islands I knew I wanted to go. Besides the sand and beaches, Okinawa is also home to its own unique culture and Ryukuyu-go, its indigenous language. Okinawans take pride in their unique culture and language, yet nowadays it is very much Japanese.

There is a long history of Chinese influence, being so close to Taiwan you can hop on a ferry there, as well as another long history of a battle of independence and rule from America and Japan. This is a long subject of debate on Okinawa, with people divided between wanting to go back to being independent or remain under Japan, and then there's the question of China's influence, but the biggest is definitely the presence of the American military, as evidenced by the sheer number of bases scattered all over the island.

All politics aside, I had a great time touring the island and visiting popular sightseeing spots such as Shurijo and Churaumi aquarium, eating local food as well as Mexican and American food, but I was surprised at how much I learned about Okinawa during my time there.

Random Weird/Awesome Things I’ve Encountered in Japan: Breast Balls, Scented Toilet Paper, Bowing Mannequins, and More

Besides samurais, ninjas, sushi, and Pikachu, Japan is widely known for its seeming penchant for all things strange, bizarre, and downright odd. At least that’s what frequently pops up in articles on the internet. All in all, Japan is a rather conservative country where you’re not going to run into any cross-dressing celebrities, robot girls, or anime cosplayers on your way to work in the morning, but it does have its fair share of oddities that you can’t help but smile at.

Without further ado, here’s some of the wackiest things I’ve come across in Japan within the last year. I’ve also included a scale of “awesome versus weird”. Do you agree?

Looking for something to do in Tokyo? Check out the excitement of Ikebukuro! J-World, Namja Town, Pokemon Center, Okinawan ice cream!

So, back in Tokyo again, huh? You’ve taken a hundred selfies with the Hachi statue in Shibuya, trekked through all the museums, rode up both Tokyo Tower and Skytree, walked through Ueno zoo, eaten your weight in crepes all the way down Takeshita dori in Harajuku, shopped till you dropped, been to the Maid Café in Akihabara, and even braved Tsukiji fish market. What’s left to do?

Well look no further! Ikebukuro has you covered!

Cultural Observations Through Japanese Textbooks Part 2: The Art of Lying, Cash, and Personal Hygiene

Time for another edition of interesting things I found while looking through Japanese English textbooks! Yet again, the presentation of English in Japan continues to amuse and offer interesting cultural insights. Starting with this beauty.

Are you ANGRY?!

Back to School! Second Semester Kicks off with Sports Day!

Back to School! Second Semester Kicks off with Sports Day!

A typical sports day event in Japan.

Here in Japan, September means returning to school after five weeks of a homework and club activity filled summer vacation. Unlike the states, this is the start of the second semester of the year. What with all the homework and club activities making the kids come to school every single day of the summer anyway, it was hardly a break was it? Still, at junior high the school starts the second semester with an opening ceremony and all periods devoted to practicing for the sports meet (called 体育祭 taiiku sai in junior high, 運動会 undoukai in elementary school) on the Saturday at the end of the week (it varies between schools, but at least within the few weeks). 

Unlike the U.S., sports day is a big event, perhaps the biggest of the year, and the reason it’s held on Saturday is so the whole family can come to cheer on their kids. Or maybe just to make everyone come to school on Saturday. Anyway, families set up chairs and tents and bring a big spread for lunch.

Summertime in Japan

Summertime is in full swing in Japan right now! For students, this means five whole weeks of summer vacation! The kids weep when finding out that summer vacation spans nearly three entire months in America, and that there is absolutely no homework! The last week of school at junior high I  watched my students' dreams of beaches and lazy hours catching up on sleep literally melt before their eyes as the English teacher announced their laundry list of homework. Poor kids; they still have to come every day for club activities, so they really never get a break. In America, images of summer include camping, root beer floats, 4th of July, state fairs, and barbecues. Here in Japan, summer conjures up thoughts of unbearable humidity, cicadas, fireworks, festivals, confessions of love, and scary yokai, or spirits, stories. How does this compare with your country?

Questionnaire Time! Decoding my School's Bulletin

So I finally got my picture in the school bulletin! At least the staff bulletin...They took the pictures at the very beginning of the year, handed out a questionnaire sheet a month or two later, and now finally it's all been assembled! As soon as I found one on my desk I began reading everyone's answers to the questionnaire. As expected, I was highly entertained. Answers range from interesting, to hilarious, to downright sad. Either way, there's always some sort of cultural observation to discern.

Here's the list of questions each teacher was asked. (The Japanese love questionnaires!)

1. What was your dream when you were a junior high student?
2. What subjects are you good at? What are you bad at?
3. What's your current obsession?
4. What are your strong and weak points?
5. When was the last time you cried?
6. If the world were to end tomorrow, what would you do today?

Keeping confidentiality in mind, I'll go over some interesting answers to each question.