Japanese Culture

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Vexx

My wife prefers unfiltered sake... I'm more indiscriminate, any sake has some value in some situation

As in, Muroka (無濾過) or Nigorizake (濁り酒)?]

My preference is for those with a negative Nihonshu-do (日本酒度).

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I don't know that I'll ever "like" natto... I've just gotten to the point I won't refuse it for politeness sake. Any time I encounter a different kind, I'm willing to give it a try (but I'm like that about any food on the planet pretty much).

If you put natto on top of rice with other stuff, you get to the point you barely notice it. I actually like a kind of spicy fermented bean curd as a rice topping - for a long time my wife's family (japanese-texans) thought it was natto til I updated them. I'm guessing it was the only fermented soy-thing Grandpa could get back in the 50s in Texas so he just told them it was natto.

Originally Posted by ZephyrLeanne

All the above are fine for me EXCEPT natto. Sorry, inner Kansai-jin at work.

I love natto, particularly from Yamaguni (unlike my fellow Kansai-jins). You should reall try some お糸 for your sake

京都 萬歲!

[ChainLegacy]

I've only had sake once and it was Brazilian. Not sure how different that is from Japanese, but it was pretty nice.

[NaweG]

I think this is on-topic, but let me know if I'm mistaken...

Has anyone on here considered running a tour group for a trip to Japan? I've been giving some thought to making more of an effort to get over there to see some of these things, try some of the foods, etc. But I'd ideally like it to also tie into more of an "exploration" if you will of expand how the anime I view and manga I read fit into the culture. IOW, I'm not so much into seeing the sites as perhaps trying out some of the foods and experiences I've seen and read so much about. For example, I probably would want to hit a maid cafe, but is there one where I wouldn't feel too out of place as a Westerner (and an older one at that). I guess I'm looking to visit the Tropes in a sense more than just hitting the big cities.

[mindovermatter]

going on expensive tours never really appealed to me personally...I'd rather just do the research on where I'm visiting myself and save money..
but I can see how having a person experienced with teh language, culture, and out of the way attractions could really enhance the experience of visiting

[Vexx]

I usually argue against "tours" and advocate personal research and a bit of "globe trekker" spirit. Tours tend to be out-of-context "take some pictures and on to the next view" :P You miss seeing the country you supposedly came to visit.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I usually argue against "tours" and advocate personal research and a bit of "globe trekker" spirit. Tours tend to be out-of-context "take some pictures and on to the next view" :P You miss seeing the country you supposedly came to visit.

If you're there for the first time, it's OK, but subsequently, it's a waste of time.

Treat guided tours as a degustation meal.

[NaweG]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I usually argue against "tours" and advocate personal research and a bit of "globe trekker" spirit. Tours tend to be out-of-context "take some pictures and on to the next view" :P You miss seeing the country you supposedly came to visit.

I understand the concern, but with two handicapped kids, I'm going to be lucky to swing the time off and the plane ticket.

However, perhaps y'all can recommend what YOU would suggest someone with a week there should do/see. I presume Akihabara - but which stores or cafes there? And so on...

[Master_Yoma]

I what to know some thing what is with indoor shoes in schools I keep seeing them in anime and reading it in manga and lite novels it make know since to me

[yezhanquan]

Ok, trying not to get it wrong....

The concept of indoor shoes seem to stem from the norm that people should never allow their feet to touch the floor directly, even in their own home. That's what the indoor shoes are for. Obviously, outside shoes should not be worn into houses as the surfaces outside the home is dirtier. I guess that extends to schools as well.

[thevil1]

I'm curious how accurate this information is on this matter of "Half" kids.

[Vexx]

This is this guy's particular experience and anecdotal ... but the fact is that Japan *is* a very insular society. A society where "barnyard hen-pecking" can be lethal to those tagged as 'different'. Society there hasn't yet but will have to catch up with the reality of 'hafu' because they simply aren't making enough of themselves.

This guy ought to get in touch with the owner of j-list.com and other parents of 'hafu' in Japan to develop a sort of support group and possibly get 'hafu' together to share experiences and trade tips on living. My two sons are 'hafu' but since we're in the USA its been much less of an issue. They have said its really easy for them to spot other 'hafu' though and there is often an unspoken exchange of 'hiya, yeah I get it' glances.

[NoemiChan]

Do Japanese people really love CURRY, I mean, they have many forms of it especially like those CURRY BREAD.......?

I love curry too, its Indian curry with beef or chicken...I love KARI noodles, well I don't know if its similar to CURRY, its the Malaysian curry noodles , very spicy.....

What type of curry do they really like???

[Qikz]

Originally Posted by thevil1

I'm curious how accurate this information is on this matter of "Half" kids.

That was really interesting to here his and his daughters experience. Thanks for showing!

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by genjichan

Do Japanese people really love CURRY, I mean, they have many forms of it especially like those CURRY BREAD.......?

I love curry too, its Indian curry with beef or chicken...I love KARI noodles, well I don't know if its similar to CURRY, its the Malaysian curry noodles , very spicy.....

What type of curry do they really like???

The favorites seem to be sweet curries and not too spicy. The import store here (Uwajimaya) carries 3 or 4 varieties.

[LeoXiao]

GROWING UP HALF

Interesting video but the guy was a little redundant at times. The most important thing to grasp here, IMO, is that his daughter is Japanese (and can only be Japanese since she doesn't really have a foreign nationality to fall back on) but isn't regarded by her peers as such. Hopefully as she grows up the problems will lessen.

I'm also of mixed ethnicity, but my case is notably different in that I lived in America and the foreign parent was not my dad, but my mom. I think that alone makes a huge difference, since as a half-Chinese, even when I did stick out I wasn't afraid of it and have always been happy to be able to speak a different language and grow up with some personal knowledge of my mom's homeland. I may be drastically different from many of the people I went to school with in a cultural sense (and in fact, isolated from ethnic Chinese as well since I'm an American in their eyes), but at least all of this comes from my mom, and mothers are generally the ones who have the most say in how their child turns out.

Based on my own experience, I guess that, to this man's daughter, her American-ness did not take such a flattering position in her psyche, because in addition to the social differences in the US and Japan, it was her father who, simply by his nature, made her half-white and not because she was raised to be white. There's no evidence in the film to support it, but I'd bet that her mother did most of the raising, so she became consciously Japanese. In my case, it was different, and I think this shows the affect of the mother/father roles in a child's development, which I find noteworthy when considering this kind of situation.

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by genjichan

Do Japanese people really love CURRY, I mean, they have many forms of it especially like those CURRY BREAD.......?

I love curry too, its Indian curry with beef or chicken...I love KARI noodles, well I don't know if its similar to CURRY, its the Malaysian curry noodles , very spicy.....

What type of curry do they really like???

Japanese curry is not really similar to Indian curry. It tends to be more sweeter and thicker.


On all the Hafu discussion: I've hfaced plenty of problems because of being half-Korean. It's one reason that led to an incident resulting in my leaving Todai and going to Korea.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by NaweG

I understand the concern, but with two handicapped kids, I'm going to be lucky to swing the time off and the plane ticket.

However, perhaps y'all can recommend what YOU would suggest someone with a week there should do/see. I presume Akihabara - but which stores or cafes there? And so on...

With two handicapped kids:

1. Akiba is OUT. It's the most handicapped unfriendly place in Tokyo. If you really must however, limit your time there.

2. If you intend to be in Tokyo for a week, get a hotel close to a train station, and this.

2. Spend a day in Yokohama. Especially Chinatown.

3. Tsukiji.

4. Tokyo Tower.

5. Kamakura day-tripping. If only to get a view of Mt Fuji.

6. Kinugawa hot spring.

Oh, and get a JR EAST pass before you go.

Originally Posted by genjichan

Do Japanese people really love CURRY, I mean, they have many forms of it especially like those CURRY BREAD.......?

I love curry too, its Indian curry with beef or chicken...I love KARI noodles, well I don't know if its similar to CURRY, its the Malaysian curry noodles , very spicy.....

What type of curry do they really like???

Duuuuuude. Malaysian curry and Japanese curry are miles apart. An average Malaysian curry would be about the "VERY HOT" category of Japanese curry. And Japanese curry has starch. Makes it sticky (it was WW1 navy food for the Japanese)

[Autumn Demon]

Originally Posted by LeoXiao

The most important thing to grasp here, IMO, is that his daughter is Japanese (and can only be Japanese since she doesn't really have a foreign nationality to fall back on) but isn't regarded by her peers as such.

I don't know what you mean by foreign nationality, but if her biological father is American then she would be an American citizen, too. I know Japan doesn't allow dual citizenship, but children don't have to give up their other citizenships until 20 or something, I think.

I didn't watch the video, but here's another story of a "hafu". It's from sankakucomplex so you can't be sure if it's entirely true.

http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2010/1...ed-for-mother/

[LeoXiao]

Originally Posted by Autumn Demon

I don't know what you mean by foreign nationality, but if her biological father is American then she would be an American citizen, too. I know Japan doesn't allow dual citizenship, but children don't have to give up their other citizenships until 20 or something, I think.

I meant Japanese in terms of self-identity. My comment has nothing to do with legal status.