You get the weirdest commercials on Japanese TV. Sometimes they get Hollywood celebrities to endorse their products (e.g. Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz for Softbank telecom). Suntory Boss, a kan kohi (canned coffee) company got Tommy Lee Jones.
Check out this ad. Really weird.
I wonder how much Suntory pays him just to stand around. Apparently this is just one of a series of ads. Tommy Lee Jones is actually an alien (all thanks to MIB) researching life in Japan. Besides an onsen (hot bath) employee, he was also an electronics salesman, a flyer distributor and a male club host among other things. Search "Suntory Boss Tommy Lee Jones" on YouTube if you wanna see more.
Space create
There is a chain of internet cafes that is becoming very popular in Tokyo. 'Space Create' is a really cool place where for a few hundred yen an hour, you can rent a cubicle space or a private family room and do whatever you want in there. Among the facilities are:
1) Fast-speed Internet connection
2) PS3 or Xbox consoles and a wide selection of games
3) Hundreds of the latest magazines and manga
4) Karaoke rooms
5) Ping pong, billards and darts
6) Free flow of drinks
7) Shower facilities
Furthermore, for 2000 Yen (SGD$26) you can stay in your cubicle for 6 hours. This beats staying overnight in an overpriced hotel in Shinjuku or Ginza. It is an ideal place to spend the night if you miss the last train home.
Apparently many people have the same idea. A recent newspaper article estimates that there are 50,000 such Internet cafe "refugees" around. They are often low-wage office employees or the unemployed who come from various parts of the country to work and cannot afford the high rent of homes.
Vending machines II
I've mentioned in previous posts how vending machines seem to dominate the Japanese suburban landscape. Winter is coming soon and they've modified the vending machines to accommodate hot drinks as well. Quite cool, nothings beats having a hot can of cocoa in your hands on a cold winter's day...
How to eat sushi
A friend passed me this video. How much of it is actually true, you'd have to decide for yourself.
Vending machines
The other amazing thing about Japan is that you will find drink vending machines in the most remotest places of the country. You would find at least one in many road junctions. The light that it throws onto the street at night is nice to see though.
You do ask yourself sometimes though: "How do they power up these things when the nearest energy source seems so far away?" Imagine travelling across row after row of padi fields in the countryside to find a vending machine in the middle of one.
In vending machine country, it's easier to buy a can of coke than to dispose of it. Rubbish bins are rare in Tokyo, and you are encouraged to take your thrash back for recycling. Take 1 minute to buy a drink, take 20 minutes to throw it away...
Waterboys
Some of you may remember the movie "Waterboys" (2001) about a bunch of high school guys forming a synchronized swimming team. This is a video taken on 9 Sept 2007 at the Kawagoe boy's high school festival featuring the real waterboys on which the movie was based on. Kawagoe city is in Saitama prefecture, about an hour away from Tokyo. Enjoy!
Japan has gone fruity!
In Singapore we can buy fruits at a nominal price. In Japan the price of fruits is unbelieveably astronomical. In supermarkets, a packet of 4 mandarin oranges cost 600 Yen ($8) while rock melons costs around 2000 Yen ($26) a piece. 
Fruits hold some kind of status symbol, and are considered good gifts for people or companies. I was in Shinjuku Isetan recently and I chanced upon watermelons at various shapes and sizes. I've seen those on TV but never in real life. What is more surprising is the cost of honeydew melons there. One box of 2 prized honeydews will set you back 31,500 Yen ($4,200). I once heard that a company bought one for a few million yen only to display it in their showcase. FYI once the T-shaped stem of the honeydew melon is bent or broken, they lose all of their value.
What I should have said
What I should have said, “O-yasumi-nasai” which means “Have a good night”
What I said, “Yasumi-nasai” which meant “Go and sleep!!!” (like a mother scolding her child)
All I did was omit an “O” and I sound like a “NM” (naggy mom).
Somebody once asked what I do on romantic dates.
What I should have said: “sho-ku-ji-shimasu” which means “to have a meal”
What I said: “sho-ji-shimasu” which meant “to do household chores”
Well I do like to ‘sweep’ my girl from under her feet.
A Japanese friend told me that he is dating one of our friends.
What I should have said: “Mi-e-nai” which implies, “Oh, I couldn’t tell that you two are a couple”
What I said: “Mi-nai” which implied, “Oh, you two don’t look at all like a couple”
Naturally, he became rather cross.
What I said, “Yasumi-nasai” which meant “Go and sleep!!!” (like a mother scolding her child)
All I did was omit an “O” and I sound like a “NM” (naggy mom).
Somebody once asked what I do on romantic dates.
What I should have said: “sho-ku-ji-shimasu” which means “to have a meal”
What I said: “sho-ji-shimasu” which meant “to do household chores”
Well I do like to ‘sweep’ my girl from under her feet.
A Japanese friend told me that he is dating one of our friends.
What I should have said: “Mi-e-nai” which implies, “Oh, I couldn’t tell that you two are a couple”
What I said: “Mi-nai” which implied, “Oh, you two don’t look at all like a couple”
Naturally, he became rather cross.
On the train...
I love riding on Japanese public transportation. Sitting on the train is like looking into the window of Japanese society. Here you see fashion trends, hear about the latest conversation topics, and observe behavioural patterns.Once on my train, there were a group of mothers with their rather unruly 5-year old kids. The mothers were busy chatting while their children were clamouring over each other and standing on the seats. Suddenly a man standing next to them, in a fierce tone reprimanded one of the kids, “Oi, suware!” which means “Oi, sit down lah”. He startled the children, their mothers and the whole carriage. For a minute, there was only silence. The mothers stood confounded. At first I thought this guy was one of the fathers, but he left the train after a few stops, while the group stayed on.
I drew some conclusions from this incident:
1) Mothers may tend to be over-indulgent with their children. Japanese women simply dote on their kids. The children on the train were mostly left to their own devices.
2) Women may not usually defend themselves. Do the same thing in America or even in Singapore, and you’ll most definitely get a “what gives you the right to yell at my children??” and then be smashed over the head with a handbag.
3) Men may yield unquestionable power in society. This unimpressive guy doesn’t look over 30, wore a baggy polo-T and slippers, and was probably irritated because he couldn’t read his manga comic properly. He didn't have to shout at the kids though… He probably needed an ego boost.
Those were some of my thoughts after having witnessed what happened on the train that day. Of course these may just be the typical stereotypes being dumped on Japanese society, but it was interesting to see it unfold sometimes.
Onomatopoeia
If you think a dog goes "woof woof" or "bow wow", you're wrong. Dogs in Japan go "wan wan". Apparently even animals have their own language differences in other countries. Onomatopoetic words are those that imitate natural sounds, or are references to actions. In the japanese language, they are often in pairs of the same sound. Examples are "bera-bera" (talk non-stop) and "peko-peko" (very hungry). There are hundreds of them around, and it is used a lot on the streets and even on TV commercials, but you'll almost never read about them in Japanese textbooks. Another example:
"Pika Pika": flickering light or flash
"Chu": the sound a mouse makes. think "squeak"
Put them together and you get "Pika Chu"!
Law & Order
It never fails to amaze me how the country is so properly ordered in every way. The train commuters are one fine example: People would queue patiently in perfectly straight lines at designated zones and mentally divide train seats into equal portions and sit in one. The seats of each carriage are long flat cushions but somehow the Japanese know how to pick their spot. Furthermore, commuters would stand to the left side of the escalator and clear the right side for hurried businessmen. Japan is only one of the few places in the world where you would rush for dear life out of the train only to stand and wait on one side of the escalator.
Japanese Misnomers III
This is a small and unclear picture, but I hope you can read it. The Japanese word for study (Benkyou) is actually Mian2 Chiang3 in Chinese, which means something forced, coerced or unwillingly done. That isn't too far from the truth actually...
Japanese Misnomers II
This is a Japanese movie titled "The Letter" (Tegami). I don't really know the Chinese reading to this, but I've been told that it means something you use during those constipated moments in the mornings (single or double ply?). So here's presenting Japan's No.1 top love story of the year: "toilet paper!"
Japanese Misnomers I
I'm trying to collate a number of amusing Japanese words that sound simply weird in Chinese. These are common everyday Japanese words that raised my eyebrows at first glance. Hope you find them as amusing as I do...
First up is something I see often on buses and subways. The emergency exit (hijouguchi) is what we call Fei1 Chang2 (tones are numbered) in Chinese. This means 'often'. Does this mean we have to use always this door to exit on our bus rides?
Japan's next Ronaldinho
This is Nike's latest ad in Japan. I laughed heaps! See if you can catch any of the Japanese words in there...
80s Sitcom big hit in Japan
You'll never believe what they've been screening on Japanese TV these days. Every Tuesday evening (i think) they show the 1980s Sitcom "Full House". Do you remember that? It's a sitcom starring Bob Saget (ex-America's funniest home videos host) and the Olsen twins (you'll remember the aneroxic twins). Funny huh? Apparently it is a hit with the Japanese and you can still find the DVDs for sale in shops!
"Ne...! Ne...!"
There is nothing but Japanese programs on Japanese TV. You’d think they would at least have one or two English channels. Well, at least I’ll get to practice my listening comprehension skills in the evenings. Actually they do have the occasional Hollywood movie on dual sound, but it took me 2 weeks to figure out the toggle button on the remote (since everything’s in Japanese…)
Anyway, one thing I noticed about a handful of female presenters in variety shows is that they often punctuate their sentences with ‘Ne’ much like we do with ‘lah’s’ or ‘lor’s’. A phrase like “Kirei desu ne!” basically means “Very nice hor?” Put three such easily excitable presenters together and you’d get a symphonic barrage of ‘Ne’s in various tones and pitches.
The seemingly lack of vocabulary in variety shows is quite hilarious actually… will try to get a clip of it when I encounter it again.
Anyway, one thing I noticed about a handful of female presenters in variety shows is that they often punctuate their sentences with ‘Ne’ much like we do with ‘lah’s’ or ‘lor’s’. A phrase like “Kirei desu ne!” basically means “Very nice hor?” Put three such easily excitable presenters together and you’d get a symphonic barrage of ‘Ne’s in various tones and pitches.
The seemingly lack of vocabulary in variety shows is quite hilarious actually… will try to get a clip of it when I encounter it again.
Japanese on everything
The fact that Japan is so self-sufficient (e.g. it makes its own cars, electronics, household items etc) means that almost everything in it is in the Japanese language. That’s perfectly fine for a Japanese person of course, but it means hours of head scratching for a linguistically challenged person like me. In my first week in Japan, it took me like forever to do simple everyday activities in the house because all its consoles or instructions are in Japanese: Operate rice cooker, heat food in microwave, cook on stove, figure out buttons on the automated toilets so I don’t fry myself, sort out items for recycling (this is a blog post for another day), and make sense of municipal notices. Do remember that I’m still at home, it’s another world out there…
Looking on the bright side, those challenges would also mean countless blunders for me to post on the blog, heh.
Automated Toilets
Everybody knows about Japan's automated toilets. They have heated and height adjustable seat pans, and buttons that do all kinds of stuff. (They wash your bottom and you can adjust the water temperature and power of the jet stream). It also saves plenty of water because you can simply wash your hands from the tap that fills the cistern (I think Singapore is trying to implement this system in our washrooms).
Last month, TOTO recalled one of its models because of a electrical fault which causes it to overheat. Great bowls of fire! Read all about it here.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070417a5.html
In Japan! Finally...
The title of this post says it all. I'm now in Sapporo for a while before heading back to Tokyo. I will continue my ramblings on Japan as soon as I can.
Hiatus
Friends... Things have been a bit hectic of late. I'm finally going to Japan in 2 weeks! My posts will have more 'liao' (substance) when i'm there, so please be patient with me and i should be able to be connected by late April (or earlier). In the meantime, continue to watch "Japan Hour" on TV for your Japan fix.
Japanese and Singlish... Same same?
I'm starting to understand the Japanese language a little better now. In Japanese, the sentence structure is usually subject-object-verb although in English we have subject-verb-object. It can get quite confusing rearranging your words from English to Japanese. However if you include Singlish into the equation, i realize it isn't that difficult after all.
One example: If you want to know the time, you would say this Japanese phrase: "Ima nan ji desu ka?". This corresponds to "Now what time is it?", which makes perfect sense in Singlish isn't it? Hehe.
Cheh, so easy like that only ah? Why the Japanese cher early early don't say...?
One example: If you want to know the time, you would say this Japanese phrase: "Ima nan ji desu ka?". This corresponds to "Now what time is it?", which makes perfect sense in Singlish isn't it? Hehe.
Cheh, so easy like that only ah? Why the Japanese cher early early don't say...?
COE
Everyone in Singapore knows you'd have to attain a COE when buying a car. For Japan, you'd need a COE too before you can get in. This COE (certificate of eligibility) allows you to apply for a long term working VISA. You wonder why they have to call a VISA eligibility letter a COE; it kinda makes you feel like a Honda Jazz trying to get onto Singapore roads...
I got my COE in the mail from the agency a few weeks back. It's rather exciting to know that I'm almost all ready to go. It's a bit of a hassle however, to run by the embassy and apply for that VISA. I read that upon arrival in Japan, you would also require an immigration officer to grant you landing permission. whassup with that??
FYI you would only need a VISA if you are staying in Japan for more than 3 months. That's what I've read from the Singapore Japanese embassy website anyway. (http://www.sg.emb-japan.go.jp).
Particles
There isn't much to say about my japanese language lessons except that i've been finding the usage of particles particularly frustrating (no pun intended...). I only have a partial (ok, i'm now on a roll here...) understanding of particles which limits my participation in class. Even my partner and my party of classmates are partly dissed by it. Argh!
Seriously now... The particles are really confusing. There's わ(wa), が(ga), を(o), に(ni), へ(e), で(de), の(no), と(to), や(ya), も(mo), ね(ne), か(ka), よ(yo), and な(na), just to mention a few that i've learnt. Each of them indicates a subject or denotes a certain action, and the careless usage of them will have an entirely different meaning. There are also a set of rules governing these particles.
And it's really (x10) confusing. There could be a string of が and の in one sentence and you'd have to decipher them one by one. が is a subject indicator and could also mean 'but'. の is a possession indicator. So just imagine a sentence like Jimmy's brother's son's dog's collar, and you have about 4 の's in the sentence. と and や simply means 'and', but each particle is used differently. に could mean 'in' to 'to'. It all depends on the context of the sentence, so you'd have to read all of it before deciding what it actually means.
'cheem' hor? That's only the tip of the iceberg...
Seriously now... The particles are really confusing. There's わ(wa), が(ga), を(o), に(ni), へ(e), で(de), の(no), と(to), や(ya), も(mo), ね(ne), か(ka), よ(yo), and な(na), just to mention a few that i've learnt. Each of them indicates a subject or denotes a certain action, and the careless usage of them will have an entirely different meaning. There are also a set of rules governing these particles.
And it's really (x10) confusing. There could be a string of が and の in one sentence and you'd have to decipher them one by one. が is a subject indicator and could also mean 'but'. の is a possession indicator. So just imagine a sentence like Jimmy's brother's son's dog's collar, and you have about 4 の's in the sentence. と and や simply means 'and', but each particle is used differently. に could mean 'in' to 'to'. It all depends on the context of the sentence, so you'd have to read all of it before deciding what it actually means.
'cheem' hor? That's only the tip of the iceberg...
Ikoma Classroom
This is how a typical classroom at Ikoma looks like.
It's clean and rather cosy.
Check out Marriot Hotel in the background.
Sorry for the poor quality of the video. I'm experimenting with uploading and embedding videos from Youtube onto Blogger. Looks like this is the start for more videos to come! :)