Discover Japan!Discover Japan!This blog is all about Japan. I give you new descoveries of Japan. Articles
Proverb Dictionary -Go and Rome-
2007-01-22 04:54:01 "When in Rome , do as the Romans do? I think most people have heard this old saying. Of course, the meaning is that it is the way people follow a land customs and culture there.This proverb is said in Japanese as well. ?Go ni ittewa Go ni shitagae(??????????)? Go(?) means hometown. If I translate this directly, I would say ?when in hometown, follow the town?When you in a different country like Japan which has unique culture and customs, you may have trouble to adjust it. However, it is the best way to follow the way of the land to melt into the place. More About: Over , Dictionary , Rove , Rover
Proverb Dictionary -Go and Rome-
2007-01-22 04:54:01 "When in Rome , do as the Romans do? I think most people have heard this old saying. Of course, the meaning is that it is the way people follow a land customs and culture there.This proverb is said in Japanese as well. ?Go ni ittewa Go ni shitagae(??????????)? Go(?) means hometown. If I translate this directly, I would say ?when in hometown, follow the town?When you in a different country like Japan which has unique culture and customs, you may have trouble to adjust it. However, it is the best way to follow the way of the land to melt into the place. More About: Over , Dictionary , Rove , Rover
Proverb Dictionary -Go and Rome-
2007-01-22 04:54:01 "When in Rome , do as the Romans do? I think most people have heard this old saying. Of course, the meaning is that it is the way people follow a land customs and culture there.This proverb is said in Japanese as well. ?Go ni ittewa Go ni shitagae(??????????)? Go(?) means hometown. If I translate this directly, I would say ?when in hometown, follow the town?When you in a different country like Japan which has unique culture and customs, you may have trouble to adjust it. However, it is the best way to follow the way of the land to melt into the place. More About: Over , Dictionary , Rove , Rover
Needless to say, Sushi is most well-know Japanese dish in th
2007-01-15 16:50:03 Needless to say, Sushi is most well-know Japan ese dish in the world. I often see world people enjoy Sushi on TV. I just wondered how people in the world order or say Sushi name. Do they say it in their language or Japanese ? For people who want to know the name of sushi, I introduce them so that you can order Sushi in Japanese next time!Sushi served in the world must vary very much, so I tell you the name of standard Japanese sushi so far.Salmon..........................Sâmon ??????Scallop...........................H otate?????Squid ............................Ika????Octopu s........................Tako????Pink prawn..................Amaebi?????Steamed prawn...........Mushiebi(????)Sea urchin eggs............Uni????Salmon roe...................Ikura?????Sweetend Omelet.......Tamago?????Tuna............. .................Maguro(???)?Lean Meat of a tuna.............Akami?????Medium-fatty tuna..............Chûtoro??????The fatty flesh of a tuna......Ôtoro?????I am curious to know whether ba... More About: Pane , Know
The Last Day of Year
2006-12-31 22:40:06 New Year ?s Eve is called Ohmisoka(???) in Japanese. As you can know from its Kanji, Misoka(??/???) stands for the last day of month, and Oh(?) means big. Therefore, Ohmisoka is the last day of year.Especially Ohmisoka night is called Joya(??). There used to be a custom that people stay up late to welcome God, and this day was the only day children allowed to stay up late. There was a superstition that if you go to bed early at Joya, you will have white hair and the number of winkles on your face will increase.On Ohmisoka, people eat Toshikoshi Soba(?????) which is normal Soba but people have to eat before New Year comes. If you cannot eat Soba all, there is said you won?t have luck of money next year.The reasons why people eat Soba come from its shape and name. Soba is a kind of Japanese noodle, and it is thin and long. One reason is praying for ?people can live long and thin just like Soba?. Also, ?gather the happiness at nearby? comes from the name, Soba which has the same pronunc... More About: Last , The Last
Japanese Slang ,Maji
2006-12-26 16:34:01 Girls are talking about a Hollywood star?A: ?Johnny Depp tte maji kakkoii!(Johnny Depp is so cool!)?B: ?Soukana? (Do you think so?)?A: ?Kare no tamenara maji shindemoii!(I can die for him!)?B: ?Majide?? (Are you sure??)?Today?s expression, ?Maji? is used to emphasize the meaning. ?Maji? has meaning of ?really? in English. It sometimes used as ?Maji? or ?Majide?, but there is almost no difference. (You can change the above conversations from Maji into Majide or Majide into Maji.)This slang is very similar to other emphasis expression ?Chou? which I wrote before. Maji needs adjective after it (Maji + Adjectives). For example, ?Maji atsui. (very hot)?, ?Majide nemui (really sleepy)? or ?Maji kawaii (so cute)?. The difference between ?Maji? and ?Chou? is that you can use only ?Maji? independently when you want to ensure something, just like ?really?? However, you cannot use ?Chou? independently, and ?Chou? always needs adjectives.Can you make examples using ?Maji? about the above photo? More About: Japan , Japanese , Pane , Slang
Japanese Slang ?Yabai?
2006-12-26 16:34:01 Yabai?s original meaning is ?inconvenient? and ?dangerous?. It of course still has original meaning and has new meaning at the same time as slang.Some people living in Japan may have chance to listen to Japanese people saying Yabai. This is mainly used in among close friends and very informal situations. Especially, young people say Yabai when they are impressed and surprised at something. This is used independently.For example, when you eat delicious cake, you can say ?Kore Yabai!? which means ?this is delicious!? When you see a really handsome guy on the street, you can say ?Kare, Majide Yabai!? which means ?He is so cool.? (See the meaning of Majide)People also say ?Yabê? instead of ?Yabai?. ?Yabê? is a kind of a derivative of Yabai. Both men and women can use this, but not suitable for women to use because it sounds a bit coarse in my opinion. More About: Pane , Slang
?Christmas Eve?
2006-12-23 04:31:01 Christmas is now that such a big event through the year in Japan. People celebrated and enjoy it by exchanging presents, having party and eating cake with family and couple.Here is a beautiful and great Japanese hit song for you, ?Christmas Eve ? by Tatsuro Yamashita. This song was first released in 1983, and its highest rank was 44. Since this song was used in a commercial of JR Tohkai, its popularity has been up, and the song won the first place 6 years after its release. Now, ?Christmas Eve? has been in top 100 for 20 years running and became a represent Christmas song in Japan.?Christmas Eve? is broadcast everywhere in Japan in this season, and Japanese people feel the coming of Christmas. More About: Christmas , Christ , Chris
How Can You See Moon?
2006-12-16 04:26:04 It is very honor that two towns near my hometown are once elected in top 3 of all Japan starry sky ranking. My hometown, of course is great spot to look at stars and do celestial observation. The sky here is much more clear and healthy than big cities.By the way, how can you see moon? In Japan, people see the moon shape as rabbit making rice cake. This is old way, but when people make rice cake, they use Usu and Kine. Usu is a wooden bowl and Kine is like a big wooden hammer to mix rice up. This thing appears in Japanese old story, ?Taketori Story?I heard moon shape is different from countries. How can you see moon? More About: Moon
Akinomiya Hot Spring Town
2006-12-07 16:21:03 The place is celebrated for the oldest hot springs in Akita, called Akinomiy Onsen-kyo(??????) close to my hometown. Whole town is very still, calm and good place to relax. 12 hotels wait for people from all over Japan.I went Akinomiya and bathe in one Onsen there called Tarobei(????). The Onsen was small but has very relaxing water. The water was a little hot for me. It was like 42? or more, but there is no wonder because the temperature of source is over 70?.Luckily, there were no people when I bathe in, so I could stretch my body and didn?t need to be embarrassed at all. Most Onsen has effects for body, and the Onsen has effects of rheumatism, wounds, menopausal disorder and 6 more disease symptoms. I bathe there for 30 minutes, and it kept me sweat a lot after I got out of it.The fee of Onsen is just 300 yen, but there is coolest and cheapest hot spring in Akitanomiya. That is Kawara-no-Yukko(??????) under a retro suspension bridge just next to a river! The fee is completely fre... More About: Kino , Spring , Ring , Town
Onomatopoeia ?Sounds of Water-
2006-12-02 16:16:09 After long find autumn days, it started to rain in Japan. This rain can be snow in 2 or 3 weeks in north Japan. Relating to depressing rain days, I will write onomatopoeia about water today. Here is another onomatopoeia post about animal.1, Sound of Rain...Light rain?Para-para (????)...Heavy rain?Zâ zâ (????)Ex) Ame ga Zâ zâ Furu (????????)2, Sound of Dripping...Pota-pota(????)Ex) Mizu ga Pota-pota Ochiru (?????????)3, Sound of Splash...Zabun! (???), Bashan! (????)4, Sound of Sloshing?Chapu-chapu(??????)5, Sound of Gurgling?Goku-goku(????), Gubi-gubi(????)Ex) Mizu o Gubi-gubi Nomu (????????)Oh, rain is getting hard now, and it turned to hail! People in Hokkaidoh seem to be involved in a tornado. I hope this rain won?t effect people?s life. More About: Sounds , Water , Topo
The Way of Saying Falling Snow
2006-12-02 16:16:09 I got a question from alex about onomatopoeia of falling snow. Here are my answers.1, Hira-hira (????)= fluttering: like a falling petalsEx) Yuki ga "Hira-hira" maiolilu. (???????????)2, Shin-shin to (?????/???)= falling thick and fast Ex) Yuki ga "Shin-shin" to furu. (??????????3, Doka-doka to (?????) = heavily: like things appears in large quantities at one time.Ex) Yiki ga ?Doka-doka to? furu. (?????????)4, Bota-bota to (?????) = dropping: similar to Doka-doka. Bota-bota is each thing is big and they drop.Ex) Yuki ga ?Bota-bota to? Ochiru. (??????????)5, Kon-kon to (?????)=repeatedly Ex) Yuki ga ?Kon-kon to? furu. (?????????)6, Sala-sala (????) = smoothly Ex) Yuki ga ?Sara-sara? furu. (?????????)I use No, 1 to 4 commonly. No, 5 and 6 are found in my dictionary I hardly use. These are more like adverbs used when people express how snow is falling. In fact, I am amazed that Japanese language has lots of way for expressing things in sounds. Moreover, most of them are repeated like ?... More About: Alli , Snow , The Way , Fall
New Japanese Monster ?Daisuke Matsuzaka-
2006-12-02 16:16:09 Japan Professional Baseball, Seibu Lions officially announced to accept a highest biding price for Daisuke Matsuzaka , 26 years old pitcher who will play baseball in Major League Baseball using posting system. The contract price as a transfer fee is 6 billion yen ($51.11 million), and the successful bidder was ?Boston Red Sox?. The price is beyond Ichiro whose contact price was 1.4 billion yen ($13.12 million) in 2000.Daisuke is a well-known pitcher since he is a high school student. He participated in Koshien which is all Japan baseball games for high schools, and he led his team to victory twice at Koshien. He attracted a great deal of attention as a ?baseball monster?In 1998, Daisuke entered Seibu Lions. His pitching is always incredible and he announced 155km/h at his first start.People in the world maybe know Daisuke as an ace of Japan at World Baseball Classics in 2006. He was the pitcher with the 3 wins which was the greatest number at the game, and he was prized MVP.In 2003, ... More About: Japan , Japanese , Pane , Monster
Tokyo Tower
2006-12-02 16:16:09 What do you imagine is represent in Japan? Mt, Fuji, Samurai, or Anime? How about Tokyo tower? Photos of Tokyo tower.Tokyo tower is must-visit place if you want to know the city, Tokyo. It is surely included to school excursions which are basically for schools far from Tokyo. People not also in Japan but also in the world visit there to see the great view from the observation platform.The height of Tokyo tower is 333 meters which is tallest radio wave tower in Japan since its establishment in 1958. You can see 360? view of Tokyo at Daitenboudai ikkai/????1? (first observation platform) whose height is 145 meters. Especially in the west side, you can see Roppongi Hills, and the Imperial Palace and the Diet Building can be seen in the north side.At the floor, you can try thrilling window called ?Look Down Window? That?s a little bit scary to step on the window, but it never breaks even if you jump on it, of course.It is also good to see the view at night. Since Tokyo tower always open... More About: Tower
Express Your Feeling
2006-12-02 16:16:09 People use something marks or signs to express their feeling when they write e-mail or chat on the internet. Especially, Kaomoji (Emoticon/ Smiley) started in the U.S the origin place of the Internet, and developed a lot in Japan. It can be differentiated to 2 styles in Japan case; net community style and 2 cha style. I will introduce you the former one this time.-Basic-Laugh.................(^^)... .......(^_^).........(*^^*)Cry........... ..........(ToT).........(T_T)..........(; _;)Confuse..............(@_@)Sleep....... ........... (-_-) zzzPeace................. (^_^)VSurprise.............(*_*)......... . (?o?).........?(?o?)?Sweat............... . (^_^;Anger................ (#???)Ouch................. (>-Move-Memo....................._?_(??)S orry/Please...........??? ???Kiss......................... (^?^)-?Chu!!Bye.......................... .(^.^)/~~~.........(;_;)/~~~Dance........ ..............?(^o?) (?o^)?-Character-Cat..................... . (=^. .^=)..........=^.^=Dog................. More About: Press , Your , Xpress , Feeling , Feel
Luck and Unlucky Number
2006-12-02 16:16:09 There are numbers in every country, and some of numbers have special meaning. Here, Japan also has special numbers which stand for good luck and bad luck.Luck y Numb er?8 (Hachi) and 7(Nana)?8? is written as ??? in Kanji. ? is considered ?????(Suehirogari)? from its shape which widens toward the end. Suehirogari is to become more and more prosperous as time goes.Lucky ?7? comes from Western culture, and Japanese also likes to choose 7 in any occasion.Unlucky Number ?4(yon/shi), 9 (kyu, ku)?4? is pronounced ?yon? or ?shi? which is used differently depending on things. Especially, the sound ?Shi? has the same pronunciation with ??? which means die, so people are in the habit of not using ?4? in hospitals and congratulations occasions.?9? is pronounced ?kyu? or ?ku? which is used differently depending on things. The sound ?ku? has the same pronunciation with ??? which means pain or suffering. So, ?49(yonjûkyu/shijûku)? is a super unlucky number because it means ?die with pain?.
Hi Cheese!
2006-12-02 16:16:09 What do you say when you take a photo? Do you say nothing? In Japan, most people say above title, ?Hi cheese!? The aim of saying this is to make people look smile with ?e? mouth form. I am not sure the exact reason why Japanese people use ?cheese?, but several sites say it is because The Day of Photo and The Day of Cheese are the same day, June 1st in Japan. Consequently, people started to say ?cheese? when they take a photo.Moreover, there is also a popular saying. When you release the shutter, you say ?Ichi tasu Ichi wa??, and people who are taken photo answer ?Ni?. ?Ichi tasu Ichi wa (?+???)? means ?One plus One is what??, and ?Ni (?)? means ?Two?. This one includes the same effect with ?Hi Cheese!?In Canada, people said (or I said) ?1, 2, 3? when they take photos. Besides, I remember my Korean friends in Canada used ?Kimchi (Korean pickles)? instead of ?1, 2, 3?. What do you say when you take a photo in your country?
Halloween and Obon
2006-12-02 16:16:09 Complying with onigiri?s request, I will write about Hall oween situation in Japan. Halloween is getting one of popular event in Japan, but not as much as like Christmas. Most people who have a Halloween party tend to enjoy disguise which is like Kosupure, and it is not common yet to do ?trick or treat? visiting houses.There is a similar ceremony with Halloween in Japan called ?Obon (??)?. Obon is the Festival of the Dead which mainly indicates for 3 to 5 days since August 15th,. It up to firms but, most of them generally takes the term off as a summer vacation.During Obon, people go back to their home town. As its ceremony, people call deceased to their home and hold a memorial service by reciting a sutra. Besides, family pays a visit to ancestor?s grave. People clean the grave and place offerings. It depends on family but my family offerings ancestor?s favorite food like sweets and Sake. After the ceremony, Bon-Odori, Bon dance is held at a temple. The dance is a slow dance and peo... More About: Lowe , Ween
Learning Samurai Words
2006-12-02 16:16:09 As you know, Samurai(?) is old Japanese warrior with Katana(?), Japanese sword. Some people in other countries seem to believe there are still Samurai in Japan though they don?t exist anymore.When Samurai existed in Japan, they had their own words which still alive in current Japanese. I picked up an example of Samurai word here.?Katajikenai (??)? means ?Thank you?. This is very dignified word. In formal occasion, not women but men rarely use this word to show big gratitude to someone. In informal case, this word is used among friends, sometimes for joking. My Ireland friend uses more ?Katajikenai? than ?Arigatou? to make Japanese people laugh.If you have any chance to meet Japanese people, try ?Katajikenai? to them, and they will give you a smile! More About: Word , Words , Earn , Learning , Learn
Image Song Boom in Japan
2006-12-02 16:16:09 From old times, any groups like to have their image songs in Japan . The groups can be school, prefecture, club and even company. I can sing 6 image songs for elementary school, junior high school (2 songs), high school, junior collage and town. While students belong to school, they sing school songs frequently as they have ceremonies and something important meetings.People in Japan value image songs a lot. Singing the same song with everybody has effect to make people feel united and stimulate them to work on their aims. Whenever people make groups, they make their image songs which are becoming small boom now. I see many subscriptions for new image songs, and the prize money is always high like hundreds of thousands of dollars.My father who is an amateur composer has composed several image songs for nursery school, elementary school, city, town, village, magician, road race, Japan Agricultural Cooperatives, commercial, and radio station. Some of them were ordered and others were el... More About: Song , Image , Boom
Tazawako -Deepest Love-
2006-12-02 16:16:09 Last weekend, I went to Taza wako, Akita with my girl friends. Tazawako is a blue sky lake which is a typical crater lake and runs as deed as 423 meters, which is the deepest lake in Japan. Thinking about Tokyo tower, it has 333 meters heights, so Tazawako can hide it easily. Tazawako shows different faces seasonally which is absolutely beautiful. Here is a picture of the lake with my friends. It is pity that I couldn?t take nice photos of lake because of cloudy. You can see great photos of Tazawako from here.There is a lovely ancient tradition about Tazawako. A young man, Hachiroutaro who was the guardian spirit of Hachirogata which was the biggest lake in Akita (now it is not a lake but reclaimed land) fell in love with the guardian spirit of Tazawako, named Tatsuko. It is said that feeling of Hachiroutaro and Tatusko deepened Tazawako and the lake is never frozen.In the first place, before Tatsuko became the guardian spirit of Tazawako, she was a beautiful woman lived with her mot... More About: Love , Deep , Pest
National Holidays in Japan
2006-12-02 16:16:09 Today, October 9th is a national holiday in Japan . Associated with the "holiday", I introduce all national holidays in Japan.1.1st, Ganjitus (??) / New Year?s Day.Families and relatives gather and spend the day together wishing for good health and future by visiting or praying again Shrine.The second Monday of January is Seijin no hi (????) / Coming- of-age Day.The day is a celebration day for people who become 20 years old.2.11th, Kenkoku Kinenbi (?????) / Nation al Foundation Day.This day is Japanese foundation day.3.20th, Shunbun no hi (????) / Vernal Equinox Day.This day is the day for dead ancestors thinking of them and serve them rice cake and flowers.4.29th, Midori no hi (???) / Green Day.This day is the birthday of Emperor, Showa passed away in 1989. People appreciate for the nature and its blessing.5.3rd, Kenpou Kinenbi (?????) / Constitution Memorial Day.This day is celebration day for operation of Japanese constitution.5.4th, Kokumin no Kyujitsu (?????) / National People?s... More About: Holidays , Holiday
Secret of Girls
2006-12-02 16:16:09 Hinamatsuri is the Girl ?s Festival on March 3rd. It is a day for wishing girls good health and happiness in the future. Special dolls are displayed on stairs. The top man and woman are the Emperor and Empress. The second row has three ladies in waiting, San-nin-Kanjo and the third row, five court musicians, Gonin-Bayashi. This entire collection represents the Emperor?s wedding of Japan from more than 1000 years ago.The above introduction is well-know fact for everyone. What I will tell you about Hinamatsuri today might be surprising even for Japanese.I of course have a set of Hina dolls since I was a girl. My Hina dolls who are Emperor, Empress and three ladies are already set in a showcase. Since the number of my dolls a few, I used to enjoy staring every Hina doll and find differences.One day, I noticed (it was quite later after I have Hina) only the center lady of San-nin-Kanjo doesn?t have eyebrows, the other ladies have natural eyebrows though. What happened to her? Does she h... More About: Girls , Secret
Bangaku ?Subtle and Profound Dancing-
2006-12-02 16:16:09 There was Koyo Matsuri (autumn leaves festival) at Hottai waterfall. It was fortunate with the weather, and people enjoyed warm colors of mountains.At the festival, I watched Bang aku(??) for the first time. Bangaku is a sort of Kagura; song and dancing at shrines celebrating Shinto gods, which is performed in autumn in both Akita and Yamagata prefecture. It leaves the old way of Noh.Especially, Bangaku in my hometown is called ?Honkai Bangaku? including 13 groups. This has being inherited since Edo period. Bangaku is performed at Obon (the Festival of the Dead), Shrine festival, autumn festival etc to pray for good health and the well-being of one?s family. Here is one of famous Honakai Bangaku performed by a 9 years old boy.This is other performance of Bangaku with 2 men. More About: Dancing , Prof , Profound
Milk Tooth Custom
2006-12-02 16:16:09 On the other day, I pulled my 3rd wisdom teeth at a hospital. Wisdom teeth is ?Oyashirazu (????)? in Japanese. The operation was successful with a great dentist, but it was no less than fear, especially when he tried hard to pull my Oyashirazu strongly, I was just frozen. I was asked by a dental hygienist if I want the teeth. However, I refused immediately so that I don?t recall the thrilling moment.By the way, I remember I used to throw my milk teeth, Nyu-shi(??) in Japanese when it came off. If milk teeth above come off, children throw the teeth from 2nd floor. If the teeth below come off, they throw it toward a roof. These are a sort of charm for little kids to pray for having good permanent teeth, Eikyu-shi(???) in Japanese.I have heard coin things in the U.S when milk teeth come off. Do you have special custom in your country? More About: Milk , Custom
Buddha Dwells in the Waterfall
2006-08-28 04:18:01 Hottai waterfall is one of the best sight spots to visit in my hometown. Its dynamic fall attracts people from all over Japan, and it arouses a feeling of coolness as well. In summer, people can swim at Hottai waterfall, but the water is so cold because the water is melted water from a mountain. This majestic waterfall is constructed from first waterfall, second waterfall and third waterfall More About: Buddha , Water , Waterfall , Fall , Wells
Sherbet for Old Lady with Spatula?
2006-08-25 04:15:02 The yummy-looking sherbet on the picture is called ?Babahera (????)?. It costs about 150 yen (US$ 1 and some cents). There are always 2 flavors in Babahera; strawberry and banana. The taste has moderate sweetness, and is loved by people from children to old people. The reason of the name, Babarahera comes from people who sell Babahera. Babahera sellers are normally old women who are in their 60s to 70s. Those called ?Baba? in Japanese slang which is neither formal nor polite word. ?Baba? serves Babahera using spatula which is called ?hera? in Japanese. Therefore, this sherbet is called ?Babahera?.Babahera is really special street sherbet because it exists only in Akita. Since Babahera is such a familiar sherbet since my childhood, I had thought it was very Japanese thing. However, I had noticed it is only in Akita, when I was in Yokohama, and told about Babahera by Yokohama people. Babahera is usually sold at a festival or on a national street which has frequent traffic in Akita; ho... More About: With , Lady , Tula , Herb
Large Steam Valley
2006-08-23 04:12:03 As I already attached photos on flickr, I visited an exciting valley, Oyasukyou in Akita. Although I live in 2-hour away from the place, I visited there only once when I was a little girl with my family. I went there again in July to ensure what it?s like. It rained when I visited there, but it was still fun to see dynamic steams. Oyasukyou was encroached by a river, and became a valley which More About: Team , Valley , Steam , Large
Japanese Culture ?Slurp-
More articles from this author:2006-08-23 04:12:03 Do you slurp when you eat noodles? Is slurp allowed in your country? I would answer these questions I slurp noodles and it is allowed in Japan . Most Japanese slurp noodles in Japan. It doesn?t matter to slurp noodles if you are woman or man. Eating noodles with sounds is considered to make noodles good. Conversely, if you don?t make noise when you eat noodles, some Japanese may think the way you More About: Culture , Cult , Pane 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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