Japan’s Newly Made Innovative Products
Move It! “Hakobunder,” an eco-friendly Cycle Trailer from Aichi Prefecture-based Belair Systems, features a gutterless joint (patent applied for) designed to attach to the seat post of most bicycles. The noise-free joint has been specially designed to guard against lateral tipping over. The manufacturer foresees such applications as transporting waste for discarding, working home vegetable […]
What Surprises Non-Japanese While Living in Japan? (5): Umbrella Pilfering
Umbrella Pilfering The Japanese are famous for their honesty. Over the years, foreign visitors have been amazed at how wallets have been left in very public places – restaurants and restrooms – and they have been returned with its content completely intact. There is one exception to the impressive honesty of the Japanese – how […]
What is “Ochugen”? What is“Oseibo”? What Surprises Non-Japanese While Living in Japan? (4): Culture of Giving a Gift
Culture of Giving a Gift: “Ochugen” and “Oseibo” In Japan at midsummer, gifts are exchanged between companies or individuals. These gifts are called “ochugen.” This practice traces back to the custom of sharing with relatives and neighbors one’s offerings to the souls of family ancestors during “bon” (the Buddhist souls’ day festival). Nowadays, however, it […]
What Surprises Non-Japanese While Living in Japan? (3): Slippers Culture
(3) Culture of Slippers Japanese are sometimes amused when foreigners make cultural faux pas, but when it comes to mistakes about changing shoes, some people get genuinely upset. The need to change shoes is not specifically a religious practice and performed in other countries. However in Japan, the Shinto belief of frowning upon impurities is […]
What Surprises Non-Japanese While Living in Japan? (2): diagnose personality by blood type
There is a tendency to diagnose personality by blood type in Japan. “Before coming to Japan, I had no idea what my blood type was,” says Christine, a 21-year-old Swiss woman studying at a Japanese university. “But time and time again, Japanese friends would look so disappointed when I said I didn’t know. Finally, I […]
What Surprises Non-Japanese While Living in Japan? (1)
Heated bidet toilets and convenient store rice balls top the list of Japanese things foreign residents love about this country. “The toilets freaked me out at first. But now I’ve looked into bringing those seats home with me. It’s too bad though American bathrooms don’t have electric outlets in the right places,” says Jeremy, an […]
Play or Work: New SOHO building in Tokyo Bay area
It is not a posh hotel or sample rooms of an expensive condo. It is a newly built SOHO (Small Office, Home Office) building in the bay area of Tokyo. Some people feel that play and work should never be mixed. But here, the boundaries between play and work seem non-existent. Sure enough, various parties […]
Old Game Machines Are Back in Business in Japan
These machines once stood in front of friendly candy shops, familiarly called “dagashiya” in Japanese, found near schools in every neighborhood in Japan. Thirty years later, they have been replaced entirely by smart phone games, Nintendo or PlayStation, etc. But this museum of old game machines pulls in a steady stream of locals, young and […]
The Air of Someone "KY" in Japan
By an Australian living in Tokyo The Air of Someone "KY" What does KY ケーワイ means? The Japanese have a way of using the English alphabet as abbreviations for Japanese terms. One recent term that I particularly like is “KY” which stands for “Kuki wo Yomenai” (the inability to read the air.) The “air” in […]
Different types of workers in Japan
Differences Between "Se-ishain" and "Haken-shain" By an Australian living in Tokyo My husband recently met with a former colleague and a friend from his university. The colleague was a man who was recently released by the company because he was a “haken-shain” (short-term contract worker). His friend works for the government’s public employment office. My […]