Went back to the UK for the first time in 2 years a couple of weeks ago, and the snack “wasabi peas” was everywhere. It’s no means that common in Japan – how did it become so popular back home??
Where did wasabi peas come from?
February 23, 2013 at 6:49 am (Japan and the UK, Japanese food and drink)
Why do the Japanese want to see eight countries in six days?
September 2, 2010 at 8:05 am (Japan and Europe, Japanese holidays, Japanese tourism)
It’s certainly not just the Japanese, with Brazilians and Koreans being just two nationalities who do exactly the same thing. Here are my possible explanations for the nationality I know best, anyway:
- They do tourism in Japan exactly the same way, e.g. every famous thing in Kyoto in half a day, probably mainly for the same reasons
- Although the speed wasn’t possible, traditional pilgrimages like the 88 shrines in Shikoku had a very similar list ticking approach. Series of landscape Ukiyo-e also seem to take a similar sightseeing by numbers approach
- Japanese holidays are short (two weeks a year, of which they usually only take one to save inconveniencing their colleagues) and they expect to make the most of them
- Things were even more extreme until the 70s, when currency restrictions basically restricted foreign travel to business trips
- They plan absolutely everything before they go, and it’s difficult to plan “Wander around and sit in a café” for Day Four
- The knowledge of each place is limited
- Japanese and world geography is taught this way, with each place being represented by one thing, one dish etc
- If they don’t see the famous stuff, people back home will want to know why. In the same way, if you go to see anything different, there’s the chance that your colleagues will label you as an eccentric individualist. In other words, it makes conversing when you get back a whole lot easier
- Ditto with photos- if you can just show yourself in front of the Eiffel Tower, you can quickly get the conversation out of the way
Like I said, other nationalities do exactly the same thing despite having totally different cultures, so it could just be as simple as never knowing if/ when you’ll have the chance to go again. After all, I’ve never known a “five Asian countries in seven days” tour, though it would certainly be possible
Why do Japanese teachers not have the discipline problems of teachers in Britain or America?
August 26, 2008 at 12:24 am (Japan and the UK, Japan and the USA, Japan FAQs and SAQs, Japanese children, Japanese education)
At the worst high schools, some of the classes can actually look and sound more out of control, for some of the same reasons that most of them don’t:
-Lower standards set for general levels of noise, everyone finishing at the same time, listening to every word the teacher says etc means less reasons for teachers and students to clash
- Clear (some would say repetitive) classroom routines
- Alternating quite free and easy periods and very controlled ones
- Stronger peer pressure- usually to behave, but in the worst classes the opposite
- Going at the speed of the slowest students
- Putting one to one time sorting out problems with students ahead of retaining the attention of the rest of the class
- Fewer social problems such as broken families, chronic unemployment etc. outside class
- Consistent teaching methods and discipline methods from class to class and school to school
- Being allowed to totally let off steam when they are free, including almost complete freedom to fight!
- Patience from the teachers, mainly due to an understanding that discipline comes from socialization rather than from classroom techniques
Why do the Japanese still bow?
August 11, 2008 at 11:44 pm (Japan and the UK, Japan FAQs and SAQs, Japanese bowing, Japanese etiquette and manners)
Bowing seems to be a universal human gesture, as by making yourself lower than the person you are bowing to and making yourself vulnerable to attack by lowering your head and not looking at them you show respect in an unmistakable way. Similar gestures exist in other animals. However, in most European societies bowing has almost died out, remaining only for kings and queens and possibly from servants to masters, and I think these vestiges give a clue to why it still exists in Japan more generally.
Politeness in Japan is fundamentally different from politeness in modern Britain, to take an example of another country that is famous for its manners. For example, in a shop in the UK the shopkeeper and customer will say please and thank you an approximately equal number of times, and the body language and tone of voice will also convey the illusion that both sides are equal. In Japan, the customer is king, and the king will often show that with a lack of the bowing, polite language, avoiding eye contact etc that the server will use, and in a convenience store will often not say a word during the whole interaction. The language and body language of interactions with bosses, sempai etc. often work the same way. Therefore, politeness in Japan is still a way of showing distinctions in status between people, whereas most politeness in the UK is now to pretend that those differences don’t exist.
More on bowing (not including my theory!) on the Wikipedia page here, including the interesting theory that the “scraping” in “bowing and scraping” comes from the foot moving backwards in a Elizabethan bow.
Why is Bulgarian yoghurt so famous in Japan?
May 25, 2008 at 12:21 pm (Japan and Bulgaria, Japan Times, Japanese food and drink, Japanese newspapers, Sumo)
One of my students was guessing that Meiji Foods or another Japanese manufacturer picked the name for one of their yoghurts from a random encyclopedia entry and everyone else just copied it. I’m sure real Bulgarian yoghurt is great, it being in the right part of the world, but in the UK the yoghurt from neighbouring Greece and Turkey are much more famous.
This is a question I’ve long wondered about, but has come up again after the inevitable “now yoghurt isn’t the most famous thing from Bulgaria” comment in today’s Japan Times after the victory of Kotooshu in the sumo
What is it with Japanese guys and their obsession with panchira (a glimpse of a girl’s white panties)?
May 15, 2008 at 1:56 pm (Japan FAQs and SAQs, Japanese men, Japanese salarymen, Japan and the UK, Japanese sex, Panchira, Hentai, Soapland)
“…it is an art form. Similiar to bullfighting in Spain.” Read the rest of this entry »
Why are the Japanese still obsessed with Beaujolais Nouveau?
May 11, 2008 at 12:54 pm (Japan and Europe, Japan and France, Japan FAQs and SAQs, Japanese alcoholic drinks, Japanese food and drink, Japanese wine)
There is a tradition of seasonal drinks and marketing. The light taste also suits the palate of Japanese who are not used to red wine and the Japanese habit of/ recent trend for cooling red wine. Because of these elements and a continuing belief that good quality wine must be French, the producers turn their full marketing power on the Japanese market and reinforce the trend.
How have small shops managed to survive in Japan?
February 23, 2008 at 8:27 am (Japan and France, Japan and Italy, Japan and the UK, Japan FAQs and SAQs, Japanese politics, Japanese shops, LDP)
Just like in Italy, small business owners are, due to their number, organisation and support of the ruling party for most of the last 50 years, a politically influential group that is well protected by its politician friends. If I’m right about this one, the same must be true in France- any France experts want to support me or put me right? Not sure if the profusion of small shops in Japan that give the place atmosphere and a personal touch but keep prices high is an argument for or against free markets- maybe an argument for a happy medium between Italy and the UK?? Actually, who could argue against anywhere that was a happy medium between Italy and the UK in almost anything??
Why is tachiyomi (reading standing up in a bookshop or convenience store) such a big thing in Japan?
February 21, 2008 at 12:34 am (Japan and France, Japan FAQs and SAQs, Japanese comics (manga), Japanese freetime and hobbies, Japanese literature, Konbini (Japanese convenience stores))
According to the this week’s From Our Own Correspondent (BBC Radio) it’s also big in France, where the other similarity is the popularity of comics-something you can easily finish in one visit. Once people get into the habit of doing it with comics, I guess it just spreads. Why the shops allow it, however, is still a mystery…
