Fun Facts Archive 1

New Years is called "Oshogatsu" in Japan, and it's the biggest holiday of the year. I think it's much more like our Thanksgiving than anything else. They don't really stay up and celebrate the stroke of midnight, but turning of the year is very important to Japanese society.

Typically, families get together for a HUGE meal on New Years day. Like our Thanksgiving in America, New Years is a time for family and food. It's also a time to be grateful for everything that happened over the last year, as well as a time to look forward to the new year. Besides the food and the family, the other big part of New Years is going to the local Shinto shrine to pay respects and get a blessing. People wait in line for hours! And it doesn't matter if you're Shinto or not... it's just something that everybody does.

People in Japan also send out a lot of cards for new years. It's mainly just to thank, congratulate, and say hello to people you know. Acknowledging relationships is very important! Japanese people are really into giving gifts too, and it's not odd for people to end up with a calendar for every wall.

BTW, the Cammy picture from the front page of CammyFan.com (this week only) shows Cammy sitting on a traditional New Years decoration. I don't know what it's called, but it's a pile of "mochi" (steamed rice pounded into a goo) and 3 stalks of cut bamboo. You see those everywhere. You'll also see people with arrows that they get from Shinto shrines, but I have no idea what those are for. Here's a Cammy picture of that...

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There's an animal in the mountains of Japan called a "tanuki", and it's pretty strange. I've never seen a real one, but I've seen lots of statues and cartoons with tanuki. My dictionary describes it as a "raccoon dog", but it's seems almost exactly like a regular raccoon.
Anyhow, if you've seen enough anime, you might have seen a tanuki. I know Kaoru from Ruroni Kenshin is often described as a "tanuki girl". Tanuki are said be be pretty tricky/sneaky/cunning. In Japan if you're pretending to sleep, they'll say you're "tanuki sleeping"... in English we'd say "playing 'possum". And in Japanese myth, tanuki are able to turn into human form. I don't know what they do in human form, but I'm sure they cause some kinda trouble.
Well, that's all I know about the mysterious tanuki. Watch out if you go to Japan or watch anime, and I'm sure you'll see some references to this strange creature. To see some pictures of real tanuki, click here.
PS - Ibuki from SF3 has a pet tanuki.
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Yes, Christmas is really big in Japan! No, there aren't many Japanese Christians, but they've adopted the holiday nonetheless. Most people don't give our presents or anything like that, and everybody still goes to work on Christmas Day. But everywhere you look, you'll see Japan decorated for Christmas! I even remember walking around town and hearing Christmas music playing over the PA speaker on the streets.

It's pretty simple... Japanese people just love the look and feel of Christmas. You'll see Santas in ads and on street corners, stockings, trees, mistletoe, cards, and all most all the normal X-Mas stuff we've got around here. It's all meaningless, but quite fun. If nothing else, it made me feel at home the 2 years I was in Japan for Christmas.

BTW, friend told me that X-Mas eve is a big night for dates. I went out on X-Mas eve (to NeoGeo World!) and it sure seemed like that was true.

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In the October 14, 2002 fun fact, I wrote about all the crazy TV shows in Japan. I don't know how I could have forgotten this one...

The idea was really simple: take a Japanese family and send them to live with a family of natives in the Amazon. I'm not talking about normal Brazilian people... I'm talking about the 'headhunters' who live out in the middle of the Amazon Jungle! Of course it was a very strange experience for the Japanese family, but it was interesting to see how they reacted to that strange lifestyle. Sorry, I don't remember too many specifics details... just that it was strange, interesting, and funny.

But that wasn't all! A few months later, they sent the 'headhunter' family (sorry, don't have a better name for 'em) to live with their new friends in Japan! That was even more strange. It was hilarious seeing these more or less naked savages get clothes, fly on a plane, watch TV, eat Japanese food, etc. I can't imagine the culture shock they must have experienced! It must have been SO strange that they were barely able to comprehend what they were seeing!

Nevertheless, despite all the differences, it was obvious that the two families became very close. Everybody learned a lot, and I think they all had fun too. It was a crazy idea for a show, but I had a ton of fun watching.

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In one public bath that I used to go to in Kumamoto, there was a television in the sauna. Once when I was in there, the sumo tournament was on TV, and there were some guys next to me wondering about the current standings. I overheard and filled them in, and they just looked at me like "What the f***?!" I guess it was strange enough to sit next to a big foreigner in the sauna, but to actually have one talk to you and fill you in on the current sumo standings was just too freaky! People in Japan were always kinda surprised when they learned that I had an interest in sumo because it's such a Japanese thing, and I guess most foreigners can't take fighting fat guys in thongs seriously.

I'll talk more about sumo some other time, but if you get the chance, you should check it out. ESPN sometimes broadcasts recent sumo matches, and it's really an interesting sport. My favorite is Musashimaru, but last I heard he was doing really bad, so he might have to retire soon...

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When I worked in Tokyo, my building was right across the street from the Imperial Palace. Sometimes if it was a really nice day, I'd be able to talk a co-worker or two into going over to the palace grounds to eat lunch. One day I asked "Hey, what's the Emperor's name?" My co-worker looked kinda confused and said "Uh... I don't know... we just call him "The Emperor." I thought that was REALLY strange! So I started asking around, and discovered that nobody knew who it was. Everybody knows the princess because she's 30 something, and she kept having miscarriages, but who the Emperor is seems to be a mystery.

I really don't know much about Japanese government, and I don't think most Japanese people do either. They don't seem to care. I know a lot about the history of Japanese government, but almost nothing about the present. The only thing I've been told is that there are many political parties, but that one pretty much has total control. I know the Prime Minister for the last 2+ years has been Mr. Koizumi (and his daughter has a big mouth). Oh, and I also know that Japan has an Emperor... but nobody knows his name!

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Almost all my friends have tattoos. It seems like everybody in the US wants to get a tattoo nowadays... it doesn't matter what it is, as long as they get one (follow the leader and jump on the bandwagon!). However, if you ever go to Japan, you might have some trouble with that. You see, in Japan tattoos extremely frowned upon. I've even heard of people with tattoos being refused service in public baths and gyms. Or if you manage to get in, and people there notice, I think you're gonna get the stink-eye from a few people. (BTW, the 'stink-eye' is a dirty look)

In Japan, only the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) and other societal misfits have tattoos. I'm not too sure about the history, but I think in the old days outlaws from the lower classes used to get elaborate tattoos on their bodies because they weren't allowed to wear nice kimonos with fancy designs. It's a way of rebelling against society, and in Japan where conforming and being a part of society is so important, that's gonna get you in trouble.

Anyhow, if you're tattooed and you go to Japan, you might wanna not wanna show it off if you can help it. I suspect times are changing, but it still might take a while. Right or wrong, the Japanese people are quite prejudiced against tattoos, and if you're a guest in their country, you gotta be careful and respectful of their ways.

PS - I've been asked many times if I have any Cammy tattoos. No, I don't. I couldn't ever let myself get started, or I'd totally cover myself with all my favorite characters, artists, etc. I do happen to have a pretty big scar on my left cheek, but it was sewn up so well (with 28 stitches) that it's kinda hard to see. So, I've been considering going to a plastic surgeon and getting a nice big scar on my left cheek in honor of Cammy. (no, I'm just kidding! ^_~)

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When I worked in Tokyo, one of my regular customers who had a factory by Mt. Fuji always invited me to visit. And afterwards, he said he'd take me to the Geisha. I finally went, and after tour & dinner, we actually went to the Geisha! I had kinda assumed he was joking because I didn't really know that that kinda thing still existed nowadays.

I really wish I would have know something about Geishas because I wasn't really able to appreciate the experience. It was pretty shocking to me, and it was a bit bizarre too. Geishas are very pretty, but to be honest it's kinda freaky too... especially when you're face-to-face with one of those girls. You know it's all so formal, and with 40 pounds of kimono, that fancy hair, and all that white make-up, you don't really know who's under there.

My girl was very nice, and she made me feel comfortable. Luckily, she didn't seem at all freaked out by her giant American guest. Basically the evening just consisted of us talking, dancing, drinking & eating. Oh, and of course karaoke! My girl did some traditional dances, and another girl played some songs on a koto. Like I said, I really wish I would have known more about Geishas so I could have appreciated what I was experiencing.

When it was time to leave, my customer from the factory tried to convince me to stay with 'my' Geisha for the night! Just when I started to get comfortable, he totally freaked me out!! I made up all kinds of excuses saying that I really had to get back home and be at work the next morning. He countered that I could take her home with me, and he'd take care of all the expenses. Again, I had to decline. He kept trying, by I kept saying "No".

He seemed 100% serious. I had no reason to believe that it was a joke. But, I really didn't believe that it was possible either. Nevertheless, that's nothing I could ever do... no matter how 'kind' the offer or pretty the girl. No, I'm not gay! It's just a moral thing. ^_^ Anyhow, on the way home with one of my co-workers, we talked about it. He was Japanese and just out of college too, and he seemed as shocked as me.

In the meantime, I've taken it upon myself to learn a bit about Geishas, and what he offered is supposedly not allowed. Customers are never allowed to ask a Geisha for that, but the Geishas are able to make that decision on their own. Maybe she went to my customer and offered to spend the night we me? It would do my ego a lotta good if that were true, but I really doubt that. Or maybe what's said the Geishas do, and what they really do is different. Whatever... I'm still not sure what happened. But I do know that it was one of the strangest experiences I've ever had!

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Guns are almost unheard of in Japan. I haven't even seen policemen with guns. And Japan doesn't really have an army either. As far as I know, only some hunters are allowed to have guns. Being an island makes it very hard to get guns (or drugs) into the country. And it also helps that Japan is a very moral country too!

What they do have in Japan are replica guns, and these they're almost indistinguishable from the real thing! I've got a pistol (it cost about $20), and it's absolutely amazing. They're made mostly out of plastic, but unless you hold it, you probably couldn't tell. And they even shoot little plastic balls. The guns are spring loaded, and the shoot hard enough to go through cardboard. When I worked at an orphanage in Kumamoto, a lot of the kids ran around playing with those guns... and nobody got hurt, and I'm sure nobody will grow up to kill anybody with a gun either!

Cosplayers often use those guns. When they're dressed up at the shows, it's not so strange, but when you see 'em on the train on the way to the show wearing normal clothes and holding a big machine gun, it's REALLY strange! Actually, it was just strange to me... nobody else seemed to care. I've seen that happen a lot of times on the way to shows, and I suppose that Japanese people just know that it can't be real, so they don't even think twice about it. However, here in the US where guns are legal, I bet I could take my bright orange Namco Guncom (with the 6 ft cord hanging off the end) to the mall and totally clear the place out.

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Americans have a stereotype of British people having really messed up teeth. (are Cammy's teeth crooked and dirty too?) Although it's politically incorrect now, there used to be a stereotype of Japanese people being buck-toothed. Well, this is the truth about Japanese people's teeth.
Around here, I know there are some people who grow a 3rd set of canines (the two sharp teeth in your top row). When they come in, they don't push the 2nd set out, they just kinda try to squeeze in somewhere. It doesn't work, and if you don't get 'em pulled, you'll end up with a buncha crooked teeth. Well, that's what happens to a lot of Japanese people. And they let it happen. Or, maybe it's that they don't pull wisdom teeth (the very last set of molars). If there's no enough room for the wisdom teeth, that might push everything up in front out of place. And again, they seem to let it just happen.
It's funny to see models in Japan smiling with crooked teeth! Over there, nobody seems to think there's anything wrong with that. It kinda makes them look a bit goofy. But to be honest, I think it's kinda cute to see a really pretty girl with such an obvious (but usually minor) flaw. As long as they're clean and not dangerous, I've got no problem with it. Just check out this girl cosplaying as Xiaoyu from Tekken 4. Even with the teeth, you've gotta admit that she's extremely cute!
Anyhow, I haven't seen any buck-toothed Japanese people, but I have seen an amazing amount of Japanese people with crooked teeth. It may seem strange to us, but like so many other things, that's just how things are in Japan.
January 13, 2003 - Updated this rant with a picture of the teeth I'm talking about.
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No, I'm not kidding. I wish I were. I've seen Japanese cosplayers dressing up as Nazis before. And it wasn't just one stupid person doing it once... there were a lot of people doing it at different shows! It seemed to be kinda popular when I was living in Tokyo a few years ago.
I'm 100% sure that the Japanese people don't have anything against Jews. There are no Jews in Japan, and I don't think they really know anything about them or much of what happened to them. The Japanese just don't know any better. As stupid as it was, I believe that it was all an innocent mistake. They only know that the Nazis were incredibly evil people with a unique style. To them, it's like cosplaying Vega (aka M. Bison) or any other villain.
I'm American, but the rest of my family is German. My dad, my grandparents, and many other relatives lived in Nazi Germany. Luckily they all managed to survive. I've studied all the history, visited Dachau, and even met some survivors, so I know how horrible the Nazis were. I could easily have gotten angry with the Nazi cosplayers, but when I thought about where they were coming from, I decided to let it go. I didn't even go over and politely tell them how wrong extremely wrong it was. Ignorance really is bliss, and they were having fun cosplaying. They put a lot of work, time, and money into their cosplay, so I didn't wanna be the one totally ruin it all for them by giving 'em a huge guilt trip. As offensive as it was, they weren't hurting anybody and I knew they never would, so I just tried to laughed it off.

January 13, 2003 - Updated this rant with 2 pictures of Nazi cosplays I found online. May, 2003 - I went to Japan and saw Nazi cosplayers on a few different occasions.

Japan is famous for a lotta things, including some of the strangest and stupidest television shows in the world. When you're over there, just turn on the TV any night of the week, and you're guaranteed to find something bizarre. And it seems like you never see the same show twice.

One show I remember as being especially silly was called "Japanese Kids vs. Foreign Adults". Basically, it was a debate show where little Japanese kids who lacked in knowledge and logic argued with foreign adults whose Japanese skills were lacking. It was ridiculous! It really wasn't as fun in reality as it sounded in threory.

When my mom came to visit, I told her to turn on the TV some night to check out what kinda strange stuff they had in Japan. The next morning she told me that she watched some kinda game show where people had to ride the train and eat until they threw up. At every stop they had to get off and spin around in circles or something like that. Then it was back on the train for more food. The last person left wins. What did they win? Probably nothing... Japanese TV shows are famous for not giving out prizes. People just play for the 'fun' of it.

I'm telling you, Japan never ceases to amaze me by how strange its people are...
But you gotta love 'em for it! ^_^

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In Japanese class, they never explained how to go to the public bath in Japan. So when I went, I had NO idea what to do! It was pretty embarrassing having to look around to see what everybody else was doing. I don't want you to have to go through that, so I'll explain it for you!

When you're going to a public bath, you're gonna need a little towel to take into the bath with you, and a larger towel to dry off with. You should also have a clean set of clothes to put on afterwards. And you're gonna need soap, shampoo, and all that other stuff. Some places have those things for you, but it's best to be prepared.

Before you even get near the bath, you're gonna have to take off your shoes and put on a pair of slippers. If your feet are as big as mine, you'll just have to walk around in your socks. Anyhow once inside the bath, there's a locker room where you're gonna store your clothes. Then you go into the bath room, but before you get into the water, you gotta clean yourself!

You'll see some little stalls with a mirror, a faucet, a showerhead on a hose, and small bucket or two. You sit on one bucket, and then wash wash yourself. Traditionally, people used a bucket to pour water on themselves, but it's easier to use the showerhead/hose thing instead. You should definitely use soap and shampoo, but some people even shave, brush their teeth, etc. After you're all clean, THEN you can get into the bath!

There are lots of different baths to choose from... hot water, super hot water, jacuzzi, cold water, etc. If you're lucky, there might even be a natural hot spring to bathe in. Anyhow, pick whatever you're comfortable with and sit back & enjoy! After a while, get up and try something else. There are usually saunas as well. Put the fact that you're hanging out with a buncha naked people and relax!

BTW, if you stay with somebody in Japan, you're probably gonna take a bath after dinner. Somebody fills up the tub with water, and when it's your turn, do just like you did at the public bath... clean yourself BEFORE you get into the water. Then relax. You take a bath by yourself (unless there are kids), but everybody in the house uses the same water. Yeah, it's a little strange using the same water as everybody else in the house, but you're all clean, and that's how they do things over there. Again, if you can put the wierdness out of your mind you're gonna discover that it's very enjoyable!

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Going to the public bath is a big tradition in Japan. However, to most foreigners, taking a bath in public is a very strange thing. I really grew to love the public baths in Japan, but they told me that I was different because not many Americans feel comfortable with it.

I'm sure you're not excited about the idea of taking a bath with a buncha other naked dudes (or gals if you're a girl), but it's really not as strange as your wild imagination would have you believe. Well, since I'm foreign and the top of most Japanese guys' heads only come up to my shoulder, I did get a lot of stares, but it's not like they're gay... I guess they were just seeing if everything on me was big. No matter how awkward it might be for me, I knew that it was all totally innocent. Don't worry, nobody's gonna touch you or anything like that!

So whenever you go to Japan, don't be shy. It's really not a big deal. If you stay away from public baths, you're really gonna miss out on a very relaxing and refreshing experience. You might not go on your own, but if you go out on a day trip or out to dinner with somebody, chances are that you're gonna stop off at the public bath. Have fun!

PS - I kinda learned how to go to the public bath the hard way because nobody ever told me what to do! So I had to discretely look around and figure out what I was supposed to do. Next week I'll try to save you from that by telling you what to do when you go to the public bath in Japan.

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If you're ever gonna go to Japan and do anything alone, you better have a very good sense of direction, or be able to ask directions from people in Japanese. You see, in Japan the streets don't have names!! Actually, the major streets and highways have names, but everything in-between (I'd guess 90% or more) don't.

Isn't that crazy?! The thing everybody wants to know is "How do you get anywhere if the street don't have names?!" For the most part, it's all about landmarks. For instance, if you were going to Manadarake (a GREAT toy, comic, game, and misc. store) in Shibuya, here's what you need to know. First of all, Shibuya is a district in Tokyo, and it's on the Marunouchi subway line. Then you'd go to the "Hachiko exit" of Shibuya station. Usually you go to the North/East/South/West exit of a station, but the Hachiko exit in Shibuya is special because there's a statue of a dog that used to come to that exit every day to meet his master. Anyhow, that's the Northwest exit into the "Times Square" of Tokyo. After that, you'd just use landmarks in the area. The streets aren't straight, so you've gotta keep your eyes wide open! Eventually, you'll see a little doorway that leads to a staircase that goes about 3 floors underground... and there is one of the biggest and best stores in the world!

Addresses in Japan go more or less by areas. My address in Tokyo was Chiba prefecture, Matsudo City, Mabashi town, something about the warehouse district, my apartment building, room 602E. That's the 'postal' address, and there's no street name involved (even though it was surrounded by 4 streets!). But to normal people, I lived in room 602E on the 6th floor of the big building on the east side of the park just outside of the west entrace to Mabashi Station.

If you feel intimidated, you should!! There are no straight streets, and landmarks aren't always obvious because stores are stacked way high, so there are millions of signs. And like the case of Manadarake, there might only be one little door leading you a few floors underground. You think a map will help? Maybe a little bit, but no 2D map can ever begin to explain the chaos. Luckily, I know Japanese, and I have a very good sense of direction, so I never got in much trouble. But if all else fails, take the address of the place you're staying at on a piece of paper, a wad of money, and then if you're totally lost, you can give that address (and your wad of money) to a taxi cab driver... he'll get you back!

Anyhow, don't be too scared, but definitely be prepared!! On countless occasions I've gone out looking for one thing and accidentally discovered something better. Japan is great like that! ^_^

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Easily my favorite memory of all my time in Japan is my first trip to the Tokyo Game Show! First of all, it was just overwhelming to walk in and see how HUGE the first showroom was... and that was just one of three! But the real excitement came when I saw a girl dressed like Cammy walk by... and then another, and another, another! I ended up seeing 14 girls cosplaying as Cammy, I met and took pictures of about 11, and I even got my picture taken with 3 of them at one time! ^_^

Anyhow, the Tokyo Game Show is coming up soon, but I'm not exactly sure when. It's usually sometime from mid-September to early October. Just 2 years ago, there used to be Autumn and Spring Tokyo Game Shows, but now there's just one in the fall. The E3 show in the USA was just after the Spring show, so companies started focusing on that instead, and in the end there wasn't much left for the Spring TGS. But what's better about the Tokyo Game Show is that everybody's welcome! I heard the attendance for the show I first went to was about 200,000. The E3 show is just for people in the industry.

At the TGS, you can't walk 20 feet without somebody trying to give you something... a demo disc, a toy, or some other kinda present. When I was there, Sega gave out big bags to everybody getting off the train, and by the time the day was over, everybody was going home with a bag full of goodies! So not only do you spend a whole day in video game wonderland, you get to go home and sort through all the stuff you picked up.

Well, there's actually a lot more to tell about the TGS, but I'll save those stories for another day.

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One of the things that TOTALLY baffles Japanese people about English is the difference between the letters "R" and "L". I'm sure you've heard it before. One thing that's really funny is to see a Japanese person try to read a single word with both and L and an R. I've tried to explain the difference in pronunciation, but they just don't get it.

In Japan they like to have store names, slogans, and other things like that in English. I guess they think it's cool. But a lotta times you'll find mistakes. For instance, near where I lived in Kumamoto, there was a Hair Saron (Hair Salon). And there were also two Riquor Stores (Liquor Stores). I guess one guy made a mistake on his sign, and the other guy copied it. Oh, and if you ever check out some Japanese fan sites, you'll probably run into a section called "Garraly" (Gallery).

English slogans can also be really funny when they're written by Japanese people. For instance, I got a 'dancing' Budweiser can, and on the box it says "Making dried hearts moisten". ^_^ There were lots more, but unfortunately, I didn't write them down. I should have kept a journal of all the funny stuff I saw!

BTW - I never ever make and silly mistakes when I'm speaking or writing Japanese! Well, there is actually one I have trouble with... for some reason I get the words for "cute" (kawai) and "scary" (kowai) mixed up. It's pretty embarrassing to tell a girl she looks scary when you meant to say she looks cute! D'oh! >_<

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One thing I noticed while I was living in Japan was that a lot of cats had tails that were just crooked little nubs! That's not normal for any kind of cat I've ever heard of. It looks like the tail was broken and then cut off. Anyhow, I asked a friend about it, and she said she'd never seen any cats like that. But they were all over the place! So I asked another friend, and he said the same thing. Everybody I asked denied ever seeing one of those cats. To this day, I still don't have an answer. However, I don't really care too much anymore why so many cats have goofy tails like that... what I wanna know now is why I'm supposedly the only person who's ever noticed!

When I was working at an orphanage in Kumamoto (on the island of Kyushu), one of the puppies somehow got his tail stuck in the spokes of some kid's bicycle. Within a few moments, his tail was reduced to a little crooked nub just like all those cats. I know how that one happened, but that doesn't explain why so many cats have crooked nub tails... surely there aren't that many freak accidents. I think those Japanese people are hiding something from me... but what on earth could it be?!

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I'm guessing that a lot of you out there are studying Japanese, or want to start. It's a very difficult language because it's nothing like English. English is related to Latin, German, French, Spanish, etc., so when you learn those foreign languages, you've got a bit of an advantage. But Japanese and English have almost nothing in common, so you have to learn to think almost from scratch, and that can be confusing.

I learned the hard way (through lots of mistakes, frustration, and embarrassment), so maybe I can give you some advice that'll save you from some of that nastiness. First of all, YOU HAVE TO GO TO JAPAN! No matter how much you study, you'll never get a good understanding until you go over there and experience the language and culture in it's pure form.

Kanji (those complicated Chinese characters) scare most people, but with that stuff, at least you know what you're dealing with. The thing that really confused me was translation because it seemed like the same word could mean so many different things. I'd look up words in the dictionary, and think that that word made no sense in the sentence. In English, we have many different words that describe the same basic idea... big, huge, massive, gigantic, colossal, etc. They all mean "big", but in slightly different ways. In Japanese, there might be only one word that can mean all those things and sometimes more. One example, is "Yoroshiku". Depending on the context, it can mean "please", "thank you", "nice to meet you", etc. Another example is "-sama". In Tenchi Muyo, Ayeka calls Tenchi "Tenchi-sama". It's translated as "Lord Tenchi", and it can mean that, but "-sama" doesn't really mean "Lord". "-sama" is just a very polite way of saying "Mr. or Mrs.". So if you're talking to a king, it might mean "Lord", but if you're talking to your boss, it would mean "Sir". A third example is the word "ganbare". That has a basic meaning of "try your/my best", "don't give up", etc. but it's used in so many different situations that it can be confusing.

Well, my whole point is that you need to be careful not to look for exact meanings of words in Japanese without understanding the context. In English, words almost always have an exact definition, but in Japanese, words usually convey a basic idea, so it's very hard to give an exact definition. Japanese can be a very vague language, so your mind has to not only work to translate what's being said, but you also have to read between the lines and fill in some blanks! Keep that in mind... if somebody had told me that, I'd I think it would helped me a lot. Learning Japanese a LOTTA work, but definitely worth it, so ganbare! ^_^

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Isn't it funny how most guys who have hair don't care much about it (especially compared to women), but once they start going bald, they go crazy and act like it's the end of the world. I think that's true pretty much across cultures. But I kinda thought that Japanese guys wouldn't be as affected for 2 reasons: One is that they all more or less have the same straight black hair. The second reason is that Samurai warriors shaved the tops of their heads to look like a bald guy, so that look has a history of being respected in Japan. But no, neither one of those is the case. If anything, Japanese men seem even more devastated when they go bald!

Since I'm tall, I kinda can't help but look down on Japanese people's heads, and I noticed that A LOT of them go though ridiculous troubles to try and comb their hair over bald spots. Two examples of guys I always rode with on the subway into work come to mind. One guy grew his hair real long on the sides and they created a fancy weave on the top of his head. It was obvious that he'd spent so much time on it that I almost couldn't help but respect him. The second guy was downright pitiful... he had a typical comb-over that didn't come close to covering up his bald scalp. So what he did was color his head with black mascara or something like that in a sad attempt to fool people. Those are 2 of the more outstanding examples, but overall, the incidences of comb-overs in Japan seem to be much higher than anywhere else I've been. But why exactly that is, I don't know...

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I'm 6 feet 7 inches tall (almost 2 meters) and my friends always laugh at the thought of me living in Japan because even in the US I'm almost always the tallest person around. They always ask what it was like over there with "all those little people".

A lotta people want to know "Did everybody stare at you?". Yes and no. In Tokyo, people went out of their way not to look at me. People in Tokyo REALLY try to mind their own business. But they went so far out of their way not to notice that it was really awkward. However, outside of Tokyo, I usually did get a lot of stares. And in the city of Kumamoto (it's kinda remote for Japan), I really got a lot of stares. When I'd walk down the street, people would just stop and look. And every time the school bus went by, kids waved. There were even a few instances when schoolgirls tried to sneak up behind me and jump to see if they could get as tall as me. ^_^

One thing Japanese people said about me being tall was that all the girls must love me. In Japan, I guess there's a belief that girls like tall guys. Unfortunately, I didn't have that experience! >_< I think I was so tall that they were scared of me. The average girl there is about 5 feet 2 inches tall (about 156 cm), so that puts their face right at about my stomach. I guess it is kinda hard to talk to somebody's stomach, huh? Or even worse, when they looked up at me, they had to look my up my nostrils, and I'm sure that didn't make a good impression!

Anyhow, believe it or not, in my 3 times living & working in Japan, I have seen about 2 guys taller than me, and a few guys around my height. I even saw one girl who was about 6'3" (about 185 cm), but that was by far the tallest girl (without platform shoes) that I saw. Nowadays, people in Japan are getting taller. Kids drink more milk and eat more meat, and that's helping them grow. Older people who grew up on rice, fish, & vegetables live a long time, but they're teeny tiny.

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Japan is the world's leader when it comes to making cars, but in Japan, it's almost impossible to have a car. Even if you pay all the high tolls and fight through all the traffic, you still have to find a place to park! Sometimes it's almost impossible, but when you do find a spot, you're more than happy to pay whatever they're charging you. The funniest thing about driving in Japan is how they make parking space...

One strange thing you'll see is a building not much wider than a 2-car garage, but about 10 stories tall. Inside is a giant vertical conveyer belt with shelf-like parking spots. You just drive you car onto that thing, get out, and then the machine takes it up and out of the way. So the garage takes up about 3 parking spots on the ground, but you can park probably about 30 cars. Goofy, huh? But very clever! When you want your car back, you just press a button and 'scroll' through the cars until yours comes by. Then you hop in and go back out to fight the traffic...

Another weird parking contraption I saw in Japan was at my apartment. There was a little garage on the side of the building into which you'd put your car. Then you'd get out, press a button, and watch your car move down into the floor. I can't imagine where the heck it went! From the inside of the apartment, there was no way to get into the 'hidden garage'. I wish I coulda sat in somebody's car and gone down to see where they all went. Anyhow, when you wanted your car back you'd punch in your code, listen to a buncha machinery make noise somewhere below you, then then your car would pop up through the floor a few moments later. Only in Japan!

PS - sI never saw a "No Parking" sign in Japan. People just seem to know and follow the rules, so there's no problem.

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Japan is famous to a lotta people because of all the great anime they've made over the years. They have created A LOT of awesome stuff, but if you're thinking that it's cheap to buy, and all over TV, then you couldn't be more wrong.

First of all, all the great shows we know and love like Tenchi Muyo, Kuroni Kenshi, etc. aren't on TV. I think at one time they maybe did run on TV, but I've never ever seen anything that cool on TV in the 3 times (1996 through 2000) I've lived there. It's usually a lotta cheap and simple crap for kids. I was really disappointed.
BTW - I think there might be a cable network in Japan that plays these animes, but nobody in Japan has cable (nobody I ever met did).

And do you know what else? It's not in the movie theaters either! I know Fatal Fury the Movie played in theatres, and so did the SF Movie, but other than that, I don't know of much else. I did see X 1999 together with Slayers, but that's all I really had the chance of seeing. I think whenever that stuff does play in theaters, it's just in some special places, and for a very short time.

So, how do people in Japan get to see all that cool anime? I guess they gotta buy it. And it's NOT cheap! The standard price for a video in Japan is 5800 yen, which is about US $50. That's for a whole movie, or just a single half hour episode of something like Battle Athletes! Laser Discs are a little cheaper, and so are DVD's. I just bought the Samurai Spirits 2 DVDs, and they were 3800 yen (about US $30) for each 30 min episode. So next time you buy 3 episodes of Battle Athletes on one DVD for US $15, remember that fans who bought that on VHS in Japan paid literally 10 times as much!!! Even 3 eps of Ruroni Kenshi on DVD at US $30 is still a bargain.

Anyhow, I hope I didn't burst any bubbles, but that's how it is over there in Japan...

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Hey, right now on MTV is airing an Ozzy Osbourne concert form Japan, and you gotta see the crowd. People there aren't crazy or anything like that... they just get into it. They all chant, cheer, and clap together. It's really like nothing else. EVERYBODY there gets into it. People don't act they are too cool to get into it, and people there aren't so vain that they try to stand out in the crowd. I've heard from many bands (and athletes) that crowds in Japan are especially fun to perform for, and it really seems like it. And do you know what, it's also more fun to be in a crowd like that.
BTW, I don't think many people in Japan know Ozzy, but that doesn't slow them down. I think most just know he's some kinda rock 'n roll legend in the West. And even if they are fans, most don't speak English, but they can still sing along.

One cool experience I had in Japan was one baseball game I went to (tickets are VERY hard to get in Tokyo). I got to see the Sparrows (or is it the Swallows?) play against the Yomiuri Giants. Tokyo vs. Tokyo! It was SOOOO fun! The left side of the stadium was for the Sparrows, and the right side was for the Giants (and I was behind home plate ^_^). Everybody was chanting, singing, playing instruments, waving flags, and just getting really into it. I live in St. Louis, and most people say that's the best baseball town in the USA, but all we do here (and in the USA) is calmly sit, eat, drink, talk, and watch. But not Japan, they really get involved.

Anyhow, another thing you gotta do when you go to Japan is go to a game, a concert, or something like that. I guarantee that it'll be a fun experience. Even if you don't care about the music or the game, everybody around you will be so enthusiastic that it'll rub off on you, and you'll have a lotta fun too!

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Hey, I've got one more strange food story to tell. And, it also has to do with that 'strange' girl I told you about last week. That girl is a more or less typical Japanese girl... very sweet, very feminine, very classy, etc. Anyhow, we went out to dinner once, and she ordered some fish. They were kinda thin, and about as long as your hand. And the head, fins, tail, etc. were all still attached. Before I knew what was going on, she picked one up and bit off its head! She just sat there crunching on her meal while I probably looked on in total shock (I hope it wasn't too obvious). She asked me if I'd like to try one, and I said "HELL no!!!". Just kidding... I said "No, thank you." Then she told me that her grandma used to always tell her that eating fish like that was a good source of calcium. Okay... but I'll go have a glass of milk instead.

That was one of the most surreal experiences I've ever had. It was so funny seeing a feminine girl like that bite off and eat the head of a fish like there was nothing at all wrong. You expect some bushman in the jungle, or a barbarian to eat food like that... not a cute girl from Tokyo! In Japan, nothing is wrong with that, but where most of us come from, that's about as strange as you can get.

BTW, I have eaten fish like that, and it doesn't really taste all that bad (no worse than fish usually tastes), but I think crunching on all those little bones is really uncomfortable.

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I think one the the things Japan is most notorious for among people I've talked to, is their strange food. Most people think raw fish is weird, but that's nothing...

The strangest thing I ever ate was called "Shirauo" (I think that was the name...). Some friends and I were out to eat when somebody ordered something 'special'. The waitress brought out big bowl full of water and a bunch of clear little fish. And she brought a little spoon-like net too. Then she gave each of us a little bowl filled with some soy sauce and a raw egg. And guess what we did...

Yup, we scooped up some of the fish, put 'em into our bowls... AND DRANK IT! It was really odd feeling the little fish swim around in your mouth, and then down your throat and into you stomach. It really didn't taste like anything special, but it sure was an interesting sensation.

One girl who was with us got it into her mouth but then started giggling so hard that she couldn't swallow 'em. But she couldn't spit it out either! Just try to imagine her sitting there with her cheeks all puffed out, a buncha fishing swimming around in her mouth, and her trying not to laugh too hard. She turned quite purple before she finally managed to swallow it. And then she went back for more (she was the only one)! That was one strange girl! (stay tuned for more stories about her in the future)

The other really strange thing I've eaten in Japan was called "Basashi". It's a specialty in the prefecture and city of Kumamoto (on the island of Kyushu). Well, there's no easy way to explain it, so I'll just be blunt... it's raw horse meat... horse sushi. It probably sounds awful to most of you, but to be honest, it really didn't taste all that bad.

Anyhow, if you go to Japan, don't freak out! They've got a lotta great food there, and you'll even discover that some of the stuff that looks or sounds really foul can be pretty good. Unfortunately, some of it is even more nasty than you could ever imagine! ^_^ But you'll never know until you try it out.

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Cammy's the best!

This is one of the strangest phenomenon I've ever encountered. Japan is full of mysteries, but this is maybe one of the most interesting...

When I first was in Japan, I found a KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) a few weeks after I'd been there. I was really excited to get some good old fattening American food again, so I went the at first chance I got. I ordered my food, but then noticed that I was the only guy eating there! The restaurant was full of cute young girls. I thought that was cool, but whenever I went back, I noticed that I was still the only guy there. I began to get worried that this KFC was maybe a girls-only restaurant, and that nobody there had enough courage to tell the big foreigner that he shouldn't be there.

I asked around, and the people I worked with told me that there was no such thing as a girls-only restaurant. I didn't really think so, but it was just too strange. After a while, I did finally see some guys in KFC, but for the most part, it was just a buncha cute girls eating chicken.

Anyhow, I know most people don't look for girls in fried chicken joints because girls who like fattening and greasy food usually aren't very cute. But Japan's a different place, and for some magical reason, cute young girls all gather at the local KFC! So if you're over there and wanna get a good meal and see some cute girls, check out KFC! ^_^

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Cammy's the best!

"Here a McDonald's, there a McDonald's, EVERYWHERE a McDonald's!!" If you think that America has a lot of McDonald's, then you will be amazed by Japan. Just to give you an example, when was living in Chiba, on my way home from work I'd sometimes stop in Kamiari to eat dinner and play some games at a cool arcade there. The train station only had only one line, so it was a pretty small station. Outside of the east entrance there was a McDonald's. Then outside of the west entrance, there was one McD's on one corner of the square, and another right around the corner from that! So in other words, there were 3 McDonland's within 1 block of the 1 track train station!! That kind of thing isn't too odd in Japan. On quite a few occasions I've seen McD's across the street from each other. And one time I was at one, and could see 3 or 4 more from where I stood! And do you know what? They're almost always full.

Another thing about Japanese McDonald's is that the food is actually pretty good. I don't eat McD's when I'm in the USA because it always tastes old, but in Japan it's made fresh. You usually have to wait awhile, but it's worth it. And it's really not all that expensive. It cost me only about $10 to eat there, and keep in mind that I'm real tall, so I need a bit more food than the average person. Another notable thing about Japanese McD's is that they have a smaller menu, but they also have a few of their own creations. One I remember was a burger with a fried or scrambled egg on top (it was good), but there were other Japanese creations that I can't think of right now. Anyhow, when in Japan, definitely try to visit McDonalds because it's an interesting experience. BTW, in Japan they pronounce it "Makudonarudo" ^_^

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Cammy's the best!

The last time I was in Japan, I was working for the Mitsubishi Corporation. I lived in Chiba Prefecture just north of Tokyo, and commuted 1 hour each day to work by subway/train. 1 hour is pretty much the average commute time, but I had one friend who had a 2 hour ride on the subway to and from work! She spent 4 hours each day on the train!! Anyhow, the trains in Tokyo are incredibly packed as you might have seen on TV before. It's kinda funny to see people's faces literally smushed up against the windows of the train. Luckily, I'm 6 feet 7 inches tall, so being crowed like that wasn't so bad for me. A lot of times there's not even enough room for you to hold onto anything, but that's okay because the crowd holds you up. Some people even sleep while standing. ^_^ However, when you get to a stop and a lot of people leave the car, the sudden space that opens up causes people in the crowd to fall over like dominoes. It's definitely crazy, but that's just the way it is, and people in Japan accept it. If you ever make it to Tokyo, make a point to ride the subway during rush hour!
PS - Tokyo is a city of about 12 million people, and 99.999% of the people use the subway to get to work.

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