In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I got lost during my first trip to Japan and, what I didn't realize at the time was that there was every chance some kind Japanese person would help me. There were many occasions when my husband would pause to look at a map to figure out where we should turn in a new area that we were exploring. We were not lost at those times. He just wanted to get his
jeudi 31 janvier 2013
Will Miss #508 - volunteers when you look lost
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I got lost during my first trip to Japan and, what I didn't realize at the time was that there was every chance some kind Japanese person would help me. There were many occasions when my husband would pause to look at a map to figure out where we should turn in a new area that we were exploring. We were not lost at those times. He just wanted to get his
mercredi 30 janvier 2013
Random Memories #24
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
Right-click (PC) or control-click (Mac) and load this in a new window to see the full-size map.
One thing that you find many foreign folks (and some Japanese) find confusing is navigating the streets in Tokyo. I've heard that the addressing system was designed according to when the buildings were built rather than based on any sort of sequential numbering. I'm not sure that that is true. It
mardi 29 janvier 2013
Won't Miss #11 - city living, the reality (reflection)
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
I grew up in a tiny rural town. The benefits of this were that it was not noisy, driving was a breeze as there was nothing resembling traffic, and there was little risk of any sort of crime even if you were out in the middle of the night. That being said, it wasn't all trees, deer, and bucolic splendor. There were few to no job opportunities and nothing to see or do. Alcoholism was rampant
jeudi 24 janvier 2013
Will Miss #9 - escalator etiquette (reflection)
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
In a crowded city in which many tall buildings are the norm, behavior on escalators is a huge issue. If people block you when you want to walk upstairs, or worse, do the old dead stop at the top or bottom, it can be beyond frustrating. When I was in Tokyo, the way in which people lined up on the left and left the right side of an escalator clear was something I really appreciated.
What I
mercredi 23 janvier 2013
Random Memories #23
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
All images from MOS Burger's web site.
Those who have lived in Japan likely already know MOS Burger very well. Those who do not may see it as just another fast food franchise, except this one was born in and mainly operates, in Japan. While MOS Burger looks and feels like any other fast food place, the experience there is actually quite different.
When my husband and I first moved to
mardi 22 janvier 2013
Won't Miss #508 - culturally adjusted = no complaints
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
Click to see a larger version that is more legible.
People think that adjusting to life in Japan is about no longer getting irritated at various cultural differences. Foreigners who are relatively new to Japan in particular have this perspective. The basic idea appears to be that you are adjusted when you no longer get annoyed by anything which is a unique experience in Japan. However, there
jeudi 17 janvier 2013
Will Miss #507 - people try (hard) to understand
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
I had a conversation recently with a friend about communication among native speakers of the same language. In particular, she and her family were having some issues trying to understand why a new person of their acquaintance seemed not to be true to her word. It is possible that this person is not actually meaning what she says, but it's also possible that she doesn't mean what they think
mercredi 16 janvier 2013
Random Memories #22
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
Back in the day, used record shops used to dot the earth. Well, they used to be scattered all over Tokyo. Record collectors could roam far and wide looking for that rare bit of vinyl or a bargain on more commonly available releases. They could do that, or they could simply buy the annual record map book that told you where to find all of the best places.
Image from Amazon Japan's page.
mardi 15 janvier 2013
Won't Miss #10 - contempt for English teachers (reflection)
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
If I don't teach people in Japan English, how will they know signs like this are actually funny?
Every time a foreign person asked me about my job in Japan*, I always emphasized the aspects that did not pertain to teaching English. This was actually easy for me to do since two big components of my work for the better part of my time there were writing textbooks and doing all of the desktop
jeudi 10 janvier 2013
Will Miss #8 - convenient public transportation (reflection)
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
The biggest shock to my system upon returning to America has been the frustration of driving. I never especially enjoyed it, at least not in California, and now I find it really troubling. It could be that 23 years off the road have made me skittish, or that people really have gotten stupider and more reckless on the road. I suspect it is the latter because of higher levels of distraction due
mercredi 9 janvier 2013
Random Memories #21
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
Click to load a larger, more readable image.
Memory is a funny thing, stranger than most of us realize. Unless you've been writing things down or recording them, there's a good chance that what you think was so was not really the case. This is not a new thought, but I do believe most people re-write history more often than they realize. Often, they do so to their advantage, but it's not
mardi 8 janvier 2013
Won't Miss #507 - setsuden
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
Yes, it's a special setsuden cloth. Note the fish whose tail isn't plugged in and his light is off. He's doing his duty!
When I left Tokyo in March of last year, I believed that setsuden, or (strong) energy conservation efforts would end by the summer of 2012. This movement, which came on the heels of the controversy over the use of nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster,
jeudi 3 janvier 2013
Will Miss #506 - bento
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
What is it that young children love more than their Christmas gifts? They love the boxes that they came in. In fact, even as adults, people often enjoy the boxes that they receive things in to a curious amount. Why otherwise would web sites set up lavish photo spreads devoted to "unboxing" new adult toys (I mean things like iPads and laptops, not the other sort you dirty-minded people)?
mercredi 2 janvier 2013
Random Thoughts: Different "agencies"
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
I'm going to pause in my weekly trip down memory lane to talk about something rather serious. It's the type of thing I try very hard not to remark on in public because I think that too many people jump on a current events bandwagon and start tossing out opinions as if they were proclamations from God. Any dissenting voices are then struck down with verbal fury as the demigod of each
mardi 1 janvier 2013
Won't Miss #8 - vending machine blight (reflection)
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
As I remarked in the original post, vending machines are everywhere in Tokyo. I had also been told that, even in the countryside, banks of machines sometimes stood in the middle of nowhere. More than one Japanese person told me that they saw them as an incredible waste of energy. I wonder if, in the face of strict energy conservation after the Fukushima meltdown in the wake of the March 11,
Happy New Year 2013
Posted on 00:00 by Unknown
If only snakes were really made of gold!
Happy New Year to all of my readers! Thank you for continuing to follow my blog(s), and for taking part in comments now that they have been enabled. It is a common custom at the start of the new year to reflect back upon the old one, and I must say that the past year has been a very rough one for me indeed.
Before I left Japan, I spent a great deal of
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