The Japan Guy - Part 30

Japanese Mountains (Part 1): Mount Tsukuba

October 1, 2010

Japanese Mountains (Part 1): Mount Tsukuba

This weekend I’m thinking about taking a short bus ride to Mount Tsukuba. This is a short journal entry that I wrote about visiting Mt. Tsukuba back in June of 2008: It’s not very common, at all, that I get to visit the mountains, especially being from Atlanta, Georgia. But I recently had a chance to visit Mount Tsukuba with some of my friends. Instead of doing the easy, standard, cable car ride to the top, we decided to hike up the mountain. Honestly, I’m so glad we did… TSUKUBA-SAN (Mount Tsukuba). TSUKUBA, JAPAN. 2,877 Feet (877 Meters) I was a little apprehensive about climbing any sized mountain, because the only experience I ever...

Japanese Food: What Is Natto?

September 30, 2010

Japanese Food: What Is Natto?

Quite frankly, Japan has some of the strangest foods I’ve ever eaten in my life. I never thought I’d be snacking on raw fish on regular basis, or eating fish eyeballs (no…I’m not kidding this time…I’ll have to post the video someday soon), or craving eel. Despite how strange some of the foods can be, Japan also has some delectable dishes as well: ramen, udon, soba, unadon, shabu shabu, yaki niku, yakitori, takoyaki…get the idea? In my opinion, the good Japanese foods far outnumber the bad ones. However, there are some special cases, some foods that lurk in that gray area, foods that straddle that all too fine line between pleasant and putrid. One...

Living In Japan: Recycling is an Everyday Thing

September 29, 2010

Living In Japan: Recycling is an Everyday Thing

Seeing and experiencing the richness of another culture is one of many benefits of living in Japan. I am so amazed sometimes at how different the daily routine is between the American and Japanese cultures . Of course I am fascinated by the smaller living spaces, the safety, and the food, just to name a few things. But, oddly enough, one thing that I find quite thought-provoking is that recycling is a completely normal routine. I wonder how on Earth this country is able to get the vast majority of it’s people to recycle. I think this mentality exists for a few reasons. Number one, Japan is a small country with lots of people....

Awkward Japanese English

September 28, 2010

Awkward Japanese English

I went to the movies last weekend to see the latest Resident Evil Movie or ビオハザビオハザドード 4 (Biohazard 4). I sitting there, eating my cinnamon Churrito, and I nearly spit out my food in amusement. There was a list of warnings translated into English on the silver screen. “Outside Food is Prohibited.” Okay, that makes sense. “No kicking the backs of the chairs.” Check. Those were pretty clear. However, the third warning, I swear, said…and I quote “No Molester Violence.” Molester Violence?!? I get the idea, but it’s just such a funny way to say it. I had a good laugh. If you go around Japan, you’ll find all kinds of awkward English all...

Celebrate the Differences: What’s a Japanese Movie Theater Like?

September 27, 2010

Living in Japan can really be a lot of fun. I know it’s been great for me so far. When I lived in the United States, one of my favorite things to do was to go to the movies. I didn’t care if nobody wanted to go, (yes, I am one of the odd people who would go to movies by themselves). I just liked the movie experience…period. So I was so curious to find out what going to movies was like in Japan. I think the first movie I saw in Japan was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, back in 2008. I am a pretty big fan of Indiana...

Earthquake Safety: 10 Things to do During an Earthquake

September 26, 2010

As you probably know, earthquakes are quite common in Japan, maybe more so than any country in the world. If you’ve ever experienced an earthquake, it can be a bit unsettling (especially for foreigners). But when the bigger ones happen, the same idea runs through everyone’s mind…that panic, that fear, that “What Should I Do?” moment. Earthquakes are different than other natural disasters because they are difficult to detect in advance and they have the potential to do significant damage in a short time. Because earthquakes happen so quickly, knowing exactly what to do, and taking action as fast as humanly possible can mean the difference between life and death. As with any natural...

The Japanese Yen

September 25, 2010

The Japanese Yen

You made it to Japan and you’ve successfully managed to exchange money…what you are now holding are Japanese Yen. Japanese yen are the national currency of Japan. If you’re staying in Japan for a while get used to seeing these bills and coins because they will become a part of your daily life. CURRENCY DENOMINATIONS As with any currency, the Japanese Yen is divided into several different values, which makes the monetary system easy and convenient to use. These denominations can and have changed over time. We will focus on the values that you will see most often. The Coins Let’s look at the coins first: there is a 1-yen coin, a 5-yen coin,...

How to Use a Japanese Rice Cooker

September 24, 2010

(updating…) In most Asian countries, rice is a staple, and arguably the most important food in Japan. Many foods in Japan use rice in some way, shape, or form: sushi, onigiri (rice balls), and donburi, just to name a few. A great thing about rice in Japan is that it’s a plentiful food source that is quite inexpensive. If you’re just moving to Japan and your funds are limited, having good rice can save you money. But you’re not a cook, you say? Trust me, neither am I. Rice cookers can take all of the guesswork out of making rice. Many restaurants use rice cookers because they’re fast, efficient, and consistent. It’s a little...

How to Use a Japanese Washing Machine

September 23, 2010

Washing your clothes is a pretty important, basic skill, one that you might often take for granted. Honestly, wouldn’t it suck so bad to have to wear dirty clothes all the time? Eventually the smells from your clothing’s everyday use would get so bad that you’d offend everyone around you. You’d be ousted from social events: no friends, no family, no girlfriends, no boyfriends. You’d end up becoming a hermit living in a far-off, dark cavern somewhere. I’m pretty sure most people don’t want that. So I think having clean clothes is essential. But what if you can’t make heads or tails of the washing machine you’re trying to use? Being in Japan it’s...

Earthquakes in Japan

September 22, 2010

This morning, September 22nd, 2010, around 5:30 am I was startled out of my sleep. I wasn’t necessarily sleeping peacefully, I actually fell asleep on my living room floor by accident. I was working on some stuff and just crashed. But anyway, what startled me? Was my alarm too loud? No. Did those Ibaraki ninjas attack me for leaving the secret organization, forcing me to use my cat-like reflexes to dispose of each and every one of them? Ummm…No. Did some beautiful woman break into my room and roughly try to have her way with me? Sigh…that sounds nice…but…no. I was rumbled awake by an EARTHQUAKE!!! It was a pretty noticeable one, too. After...

Cyberdyne Is Near My House!

September 21, 2010

I’m pretty sure most of you are familiar with the Terminator films, right? Well, when I came to Japan I was shocked to find out that not only is Cyberdyne a real company, but they specialize in robotics, and they’re main office is a 3-minute train ride away. There is also a Cyberdyne showcase at the mall. It didn’t realize Judgment Day was really going to happen… Cyberdyne’s slogan is “Leading Edge of Cybernics” that’s what the website said anyway. What word does cybernics sound like? To me it sounds like Cybernetics. In the Terminator 2 film when Arnold Schwarzenegger (Cyberdyne Systems Model 101) is explaining what he is, he says “I am a...

Let’s Count to 100 in Japanese

September 20, 2010

Help! I’m a Black Man Living In Japan

September 19, 2010

I hate to be the angry, African-American male because it’s so stereotypical, so let’s not say I’m angry, let’s say that I’m frustrated. So my co-worker asked me about my weekend. I told him that I didn’t do so much, and out of common courtesy I asked him “How was your’s?” He proceeded to tell me how he hung out with one of the other non-Japanese teachers. Being that there are only three other non-Japanese teachers, I couldn’t help but feel a little left out. There was a student party early Sunday, that I couldn’t go to (because I’m saving money), and not all of the non-Japanese teachers went either. What bothered me so...

Learning Japanese: Why Learn Romaji?

September 18, 2010

Download the mp3 here First, what is Romaji? Romaji is the representation of Japanese sounds using the western, 26-letter alphabet. What’s it for? Japanese writing is made up of three different systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. If you notice, Romaji isn’t one of the three systems. The symbols commonly used in Japanese writing have little or no meaning to most people in the western world. Why? Because most people in the west grew up learning the alphabet A to Z. Romaji puts Japanese into a format that most Westerners can read and understand. For example the symbol らhas absolutely no meaning to the vast majority of people living in the United...

The Challenges of Living In Japan

September 17, 2010

Today, I had a wonderful conversation with a customer service representative from my credit card company back home today. Actually, let’s not use the word wonderful; we’ll use infuriating instead. There was a mix-up which resulted in me having an inactive credit card and the inability to make my payments (more on this later of course). Initially I was quite angry, but instead of being mad, I think having furiously-typing fingers is better… Living in Japan will frustrate you to tears if you’re not sufficiently prepared and/or patient enough to deal with certain realities. Some of you may be like I was; I came to Japan knowing absolutely no Japanese. Well that’s not entirely...

100 Useful Phrases For Your First Visit to Japan (Part 2: #21-40)

September 16, 2010

(updating…) Let’s continue with more useful phrases. In part 1 of this article we looked at some useful greetings and polite Japanese expressions as well as phrases that we can use for small talk. Today we will take a look at some general Japanese expressions and some expressions relating to time: GENERAL EXPRESSIONS Yes No American, Foreigner, Japanese Person Do you understand English I don’t understand Japanese Please wait Entrance Exit Japanese, English TIME EXPRESSIONS What time is it? Nanji desu ka? It’s …o’clock. With this phrase, it’s nice to have a grasp of Japanese numbers Days of the week Yesterday Today Tomorrow Last Week This week Next week The day after tomorrow This...

How to Use a Japanese ATM (The Basics): Part 2

September 15, 2010

(updating…) Hopefully you’ve read Part 1 of “How to Use a Japanese ATM” as it shows the essential kanji we’ll be dealing with when using the ATM. Now, I will show how to do each of the procedures step by step. First, let’s examine how to do a basic withdrawal: 1. WITHDRAWAL When withdrawing money, please mind your zeroes. I had a friend who accidentally withdrew most of the money that he had in his account, because he added an extra zero by mistake. (Please see the article if you’re a little confused about US Dollar to Yen Equivalents…don’t worry…I try to keep things simple). Next let’s do a basic deposit together: 2. DEPOSIT...

Will My Electronic Devices work in Japan?

September 14, 2010

When going to a foreign country, it’s quite common to wonder if you’ll be able to use your appliances, because there’s no way of testing it on your own, right? Well, the answer to this question does depend on which country you’re coming from. If you are from the United States, the answer to this question is…YES! I am from the U.S., and every single appliance that I brought from home (my electric shaver, cell phone, ipod, Sonicare toothbrush) was able to plug right into the wall with no fuss. However, I did have one issue with a hair trimming device. I plugged it and the device did turn on, but suddenly I heard...

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