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Popular Local Customs | Other Local Customs Tips | All Tips (483) I really don`t know where I can stick this tip, so I`ll just put it here, because thanks to JNTO you can learn so much more about Japan, so about local customs as well.
If I had to make a list of things you should do before going to Japan, writing JNTO would be the second thing, right after getting your Japan Rail Pass. This organization is awesome!!! No matter where in Japan you will go and how long you will stay, you should write them and tell them about your trip. Tell them where you`re going and what you are looking for, or if you have any questions-ask. They will send you TONS of FREE information- maps, guides, language guides, addresses....
First time I wrote JNTO, I basically told them that it was gonna be my first time in Japan and where I was planning to go, and I asked them to send me some info. I got a huge envelope with something that looked like a "first time in Japan" kit- language guides, maps of Japan, Tokyo and other places that I was going to, tourist guides of places like Nara and Nikko with tons of pictures and great tips, accomodation offers....It was all in English and all greately prepared for somebody just like me!!! Second time I wrote them I was more specific- I was on a budget and needed some more information on budget travel. Again, I got tons of information- maps of youth hostels and loads of budget tips included.
Japan National Tourist Organization is another blessing for a tourist. I loved their information and it was very useful while travelling!!! So don`t wait any longer, go to their website, find the address of an office the closest to you (go to "about JNTO") and write them!!! Leave a Comment
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Mobiles became popular in Japan well behind many, many countries; including those countries called: the Third World. A reason for this it was that the public telephone system was perhaps the best in the World. In old rimes, NO matter where, no matter when, there would be always a public telephone cabine available and -Oh surprise!- with a perfectly functioning telephone.
Sorry guys. The rest of the "story" associate to the picture on your left can not be written here...(-; Leave a Comment
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Nanpa Jikan.
Roppongi Station, waiting for the first train in the morning.
(5:08 am). We were not alone. So many people there. The two gentlemen depicted here are engage in nanpa, one of the edge technologies created in Japan.
Stonefree translates for Christian.Lafont. The phrases can not be reproduced here, but if you are interested in details, Iwill do my best. Drop me two lines with your credit card number. Leave a Comment Phone: The girls did not tell.Website: hehehehehehehe!!!!! Other Contact: hahahahahahah!!!!
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Ikebana is the art of arranging flowers. It is a very popular pastime in Japan, and there are millions of students of this art, or arts actually, since there are several traditions and schools within ikebana.
Then there is the question of which type of vase or "plate" is used, and there is also different styles, like flowers upright, slanting or tilting for example.
In the style that I studied there is an emphasis on three components (flowers), that are put at a special height and angle in comparison to each other. The shin is the highest, followed by soe and tai is the shortest flower.
In ikebana placed in more flat containers ("plates"), you use a heavy metal spiked "mat" to spear the flowers on. This enables them to stand upright. This device is called "kenzan" and can definitely come in handy if you want to try your arranging skills even without any ikebana training. Leave a Comment
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The Japanese use the western year-counting parallell to their own which is based on the year when the current emperor was inaugurated. The year 2004 is year 16 of the Heisei era in Japan. The era before Heisei was Showa.
As for months it is the same as in the western world, although in Japan the months have names purely based on their order, thus January is ”ichi-gatsu” (month one), february ”ni-gatsu” (month two) etc. Leave a Comment
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What's tatami? Tatami is "a mat at" the floor. You see? Japanese is not a difficult language. You re-write the Japanese words, written in roman letters, up-side down, or inside out, or even reverse the order ,do some convolution, apply some fast transformation and surely you will reach to the real meaning. A typical and easy case is tatami. Now let's try with the word: enpitsu.
Tatami is the main reason for you taking your shoes off when entering a Japanese house. You don't want to destroy the soft mat with your hard shoes, or make it dirty with your dirty shoes. Don't worry... you will be able to seat on the tatami. Nobody is able to take his/her dirty a.s off!!! At least, clean it on regular basis!!! Leave a Comment
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The Tea Ceremony is a phenomenon most foreign people have heard of. It is a custom alive and well in today´s Japan, even if many Japanese themselves feel very uncertain about how to go about it.
I was a part of the Tea Club at my japanese high school for one year, but that is not nearly enough to learn chado, the way of tea. Rather this is seen as a lifelong learning process, and you will never be fully learned.
The tea ceremony is about preparing a strong powdered green tea in a very strict and predetermined fashion within the environment of a traditional Japanese style room. It is about creating a harmonious atmosphere and stillness, and also about enjoying tea and sweets of course. For unused people it may mostly be about aching legs from having to sit in seiza (knees bent, legs under you) for some 45 minutes.
The person making the tea will have a pot of boiling water, a scoop for the water, a jar of tea, a tea spoon made of bamboo, a whisk for mixing tea powder and water, tea bowls, a container for throwing away water, and more utensils. He or she will prepare the tea for the guest(s) from scratch, starting by cleaning and heating the serving bowl.
There will also be Japanese style sweets - "o-kashi", hard of soft ones that the gueasts eat before taking their tea. Each guest should come equipped with little folded papers on which to put their kashis when eating them.
The tea is different from the green tea you would usually brew at home. It is, as I said before, in powder form and very strong and bitter, hence the eating of a sweet before drinking it.
If you want to buy the tea ceremony style tea, ask for "matcha" at your tea-shop. Leave a Comment
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Believe me- you won`t leave that country without a picture like this or close.
Unlike the crazy "warm & wash your butt" toilets the Japanese usually have at homes, most public places have the Japanese style toilets. They are a big challenge for the beginners!!!
Good news for those of you who will never get a hold of it- big & international places, like Narita Airport or Tokyo Station give you a choice of a Western or Japanese style toilet.
God knows why most of the Japanese go for the second choice!?!? Leave a Comment
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In Japan there is no tipping culture. Actually it can even be offensive. Even though in some establishments recently there has been a move towards tipping, you will be better of just not tipping at all in Japan. In restaurants for example, the check is often given at the table, then you move over to the cashier to pay, and you will get the exact amount of change back. Leave a Comment
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Every kid knows that the Japanese eat with chopsticks, but not everyone knows how the hell they do it... ;)
It turnes out that it`s not that hard at all and if you get it, you will be quite an attraction!!! My friends and I noticed that the Japanese love to comment on the foreigner`s ability to use hashi. One of the things you will hear while dining will be "ooooooo, you can use hashi!!!!!". I don`t know if they think you have to be born Japanese to get it, but it`s very very kawai (cute). Sometimes I felt like a tourist attraction, sometimes like a monkey being watched while using a tool for the first time, but I loved it!!! :)
Note, if you can`t get using hashi, that`s ok. When you go to a restaurant, the waitress/waiter will probably ask you if you can use chopsticks. If not, they will bring you a spoon or fork. Also, don`t get frustrated!!! It takes a while. The first night in Japan, I dropped EVERYTHING, literally EVERYTHING I picked up from my plate. I refused to accept the fork until I got so hungry I was ready to eat with my hands and had to accept my failure in the me against the hashi battle. But the next day I went to eat breakfast and, determinated to get it, I dropped only HALF of the stuff... And at dinner... lol...See??? You can get it too. Leave a Comment
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on September 6, 2004
on May 7, 2004
on October 25, 2004
