Fun Facts Archive 2

Last week I mentioned the a-bombs that America dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I've been to Nagasaki, and here's what I saw...

It's just a normal city! There are people, trees, birds, and all that kinda stuff. Besides the memorials, there's no way that you can tell a nuclear bomb was dropped there almost 60 years ago. Sure the devastation was horrible at the moment of impact and for years afterwards, but things recovered. It's not dangerous to live there, there are no 'danger zones', and there are no mutants! It really is just like any other city in Japan now... it's hard to believe that in one split second in 1945, the city was wiped off the face of the earth. And I've heard the same about Hiroshima.

If you ever do get to go, definitely check out the museum and memorial park... it's an experience that you'll never forget. But before you do all that, I'd recommend a book called Black Rain. And since we're on the subject, check back next week to hear why I think dropping the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was (unfortunately) the right thing to do...

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Actually, this isn't 'fun' at all! I'm kinda curious if any of you know about Japan during World War 2? Sure you know they bombed Pearl Harbor, and that America ended the war by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but how much do you know beyond that?

When I was in school we learned ALL about what the Nazis did, but we never learned much about the Japanese, and I bet the same goes for you too. But to be honest, the Japanese were arguably as evil and brutal as the Nazis. Do you know about the Rape of Nanking? Over a 1-2 day span, the Japanese slaughtered up to about 300,000 people, and they guess that tens of thousands of women were raped to death (thus the name). That was the most notorious event, but there were many other instances of brutality by the Japanese Empire. It was an ugly time in history, but it was only one generation ago. I think it's so interesting because the Japanese culture nowadays doesn't seem to have an evil bone in it. It's amazing to see how much has changed in such a short time (same goes for Germany).

Why do I think we didn't learn about all this in school? Political correctness (aka liberalism). Nowadays it's somehow wrong to criticize a so-called 'minority' race, but since the Nazis were white, it's okay to bash them (and the definitely deserve it!). And since the Nazis were dumb enough to film it all, so it's easy to see exactly what they did! A lot of people refer to the Japanese side of WW2 as the "Forgotten Holocaust". If you're interested in history and Japan, it's definitely something you should check out. It's not only fascinating to see what happened and how things have changed, but how other people around the world have treated it compared to the Nazis.

BTW - the Japanese killed as many people in Nanking as the Americans killed with the A-bombs.

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One of the things I love most about Japan is seeing all the fashion. Whenever I go to Japan, I just wanna sit there and take pictures of all the different people I see on the streets. Japanese people really have turned clothing and hair into an art, and I think it's SO cool. Japanese girls wear so many different things... glasses, skirts, boots, platform shoes, fishnet stockings, hats, gloves, scarves, ribbons, and so many other simple little things that do so much to make their fashion more interesting. And they do so much more with hair styles too.

But one of the things that makes it so interesting is that they tend to put it all together in really strange and awkward ways. So that's why I call Japanese fashion "cute chaos". For instance, it's always been popular for girls to wear skirts over pants. And they love mismatching colors and patterns. It sounds ridiculous, but there's just something about Japanese people that makes it look okay.

For a small sample of the Japanese fashion that I'm talking about, check out a book called "Fruits". It's a little bit on the extreme side, but it gives you a good idea of what I'm talking about. And there's one more good place to see some crazy Japanese fashion... go to the Misc... Page click on "News Archive" and the scroll down and click on "A report on Japanese Gongal fashion..." to see a whole gallery of pictures.

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Tokyo has a great system of subways and trains, so no matter where you are, there's a station right around the corner. And it's very rare that you have to wait long for the next train. In fact, on the Yamanote line, the main line that loops around Tokyo, trains come every 3 minutes!

But as great as the system is, it's pretty chaotic too. You see, it's actually a number of different systems that just looks like it's one great big system. Japan Rail and Metro are the 2 main companies, but there are a buncha other small lines and companies that share the tracks and the stations. You often have to buy multiple tickets to get from A to C. For instance, you might take a train from Station A to Station B, get a new ticket, and then go to a different part of Station B, where you'll take another train to Station C. Where, when, and how to do all that confuses even people who have lived in Tokyo their whole lives! So on the lookout if you go to Tokyo, and don't hesitate to ask for help. And always go early so you will have plenty of time to find your way around. Once you know your way around, it's not so bad, but every once in a while you'll go somewhere you haven't been before, than that's when you get yourself confused.

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Have you ever heard of the movie Battle Royale? It's becoming a HUGE cult hit, so you might have. But if you haven't lemme fill you it. It's a movie about the future where Japanese kids don't respect the adults. To solve this, the Battle Royale was created, and each year one junior high class is chosen to participate. The kids are kidnapped, taken to a remote island, each is given one weapon, and then they're set loose. After 3 days, there can only be one survivor, or everybody will be killed! It's absolutely crazy watching these 12-14 year old kids kill each other. You'll never see a movie like that in the USA! Anyhow, it's strange and a bit gory, but interesting. See if you can find a copy (lots of bootlegs are floating around). If you can't get the movie, the first book of the translated comic series was released about 2 weeks ago, and there's also a rare English translation of the Battle Royale novels.

Also, if you've seen Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, you'll recognize that 'Vic Romano' (the show host who sits on the right side) is the main guy behind the Battle Royale in the movie. I don't know his name, but I seem to see him all over the place.

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Hey, it's about time... somebody has finally brought one of those insane Japanese game shows to the USA! About a month ago TNN (which just changed its name to Spike TV?) started airing a new show on the weekends called "Most Extreme Elimination Challenge". It's actually an old show from Japan called "Takeshi no Jou" (Takeshi's Castle), where people try to survive crazy obstacle courses. It's Japanese humor at its best and strangest! Again, it's one of those things that's really beyond words to describe properly, so I HIGHLY recommend you check it out for yourself.

BTW, the show is all dubbed over in English, and it's actually done pretty well! I know we're all pretty weary of dubs after all the bad anime we've seen, but this isn't so bad... in fact it's actually pretty funny, and it makes a very strange show just a little bit stranger (and more fun!). For more info, check out www.thenewtnn.com.

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I was talking to my friend Jason (from www.artplaymix.com) last night, and we started discussing the fact that what's sexy in Japan is different than what's sexy in the USA & Europe. Basically, sexy in Japan is much closer to cute than to slutty. Let's take two very famous characters and compare them... outside of Japan, nobody compares to Lara Croft (don't ask me why), and in Japan one of the most popular is Lilith. Lara is a sassy lady who looks like she's had pretty much everything 'enhanced', and Lilith is an innocent-looking (but not really!) 12 year old girl. Both are considered sexy, but in very different ways. Simply put, the Japanese culture has a kind of lolita fetish. Lilith is a blatant example, but there are many others that I'm sure you've seen. To us it seems very strange (at least it should), but over there it's normal. And from what I've seen, it's for the most part very innocent, and it's something that's common to both guys and girls (Lilith is one of the most popular characters among girls in Japan). There are lots of things in Japan that would be very wrong over here, but when you put it all in context with Japanese culture, it somehow becomes not so strange. Anyhow, that's just something to keep in mind. You've probably noticed already, but if you haven't, then it'll be something that you can look for and think about yourself.

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A lot of foreign online fans of game, manga, and anime like to give them selves names like "Stefan-chan". "-chan" is kind of a unisex way of saying "mr/mrs/miss" to something that is small, cute, and/or lovable. For instance, you might call your grandmother "grandma-chan". Or your pet cat could be "Felicia-chan". A cute little kid could be "Anita-chan". It's also something you'd use only with somebody you know very well personally, like a family member or a goof friend. One thing you don't do, is call yourself "-chan". That like saying "My name is 'Mr. Stefan'". It's awkward and inappropriate because it's a title that somebody else gives you... not that you give yourself. So I can't call myself "Stefan-chan", but if you think I'm especially small/cute/lovable (and I am everything but small), you can call me that. To call yourself "-chan" would come of as kinda conceited to a Japanese person. Just a warning... I wouldn't want any of you to accidentally get the wrong idea and embarrass yourselves.

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Since I'm going back to Japan in a few days, I had to get out my "hanko". A hanko is a stamp that Japanese people use instead of signatures. In fact, when I lived in Japan, I couldn't even open a bank account until I got my own hanko! But since I've got a foreign name that can't be written in kanji (the Chinese characters), I had to have my custom-carved. There it is on the left...

Anyhow, all Japanese people have these. It's not at all practical, and it's extremely easy to forge, but it's an old tradition that they're not willing to give up. Plus, Japanese people just love using ink stamps! Now that you know about them, you'll probably see them all over the place. And if you wanna see some more, check out http://www.hanko-bo.com/. It's all Japanese, but if you click around on the links, you'll find many pictures of the stamps and sample signatures. BTW, the cheapest one on that site is about $30, some are a few hundred dollars, but average price is about $50-75. Expensive!

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As you know, the Japanese are some of the most creative people on earth. They just LOVE goofy gimmicks. Remember the "Bowlingal" I talked about on March 24? Well, there's another one that's quite famous... the square watermelon!

Japanese people love melons. I've even seen 'perfect' melons in stores selling for over $200! But, they've got plenty of cheap melons too. And as of about 2 years ago, they've got square melons. They say it's a convenient shape, but I think they just like the fact that it's silly. For some more details, including pictures, check out http://www.geocities.com/alaskan_artemis/scrap/melon.html

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Actually, any time is a good time to go to Japan! But right now is an especially good time to go to Japan because everything is so cheap! One major factor is the fact that most of the major US airlines are bankrupt. A second factor is the war. And a third factor is this new SARS disease in Asia. I just got a round-trip ticket to Japan for under $800! That's about 30-40% off. ^_^ And if you worked really hard at it, I'm sure you could go for less than that. Also, Japan is in a bad state of deflation, so prices are way down. Hotels in the city are going for about $75! Japan is also beautiful in the spring (it's cherry blossom season). So if you get the chance, buy yourself a ticket and head on over to Japan. I am. I hope to see you there (Tokyo Apr 27 - May 8).

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Cammy' the best!

If you ever care to check Guile's profile (remember, he's the brush-headed guy from SF2), you'll see he lists "nato" under dislikes. No, he doesn't mean the North Atlantic Treaty Organization... he means the fermented beans that Japanese people like to eat on rice.

Japanese people love nato, but I have yet to meet a foreigner who can stomach it. I don't know what kind of beans they are and I don't know how they are fermented, but the end result is awful. Not only does it make the beans stink exactly like feet, it coats them in a really gooey snot-like substance that gets all over the place when you try to bring it up to your mouth. Yuck! Anyhow, I don't want to scare you, so please don't hesitate to try it if you ever go to Japan... who knows, you might like the taste of snotty-feet-beans.

PS - I have a special hatred of nato because I lived with a Japanese guy who stunk up the apartment with that stuff at least once a week. >_<

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Japanese people are famous for being so extremely hard-working and serious, but as much as that's true, they're also equally as goofy. I'm sure you've seen a few examples of that. One thing Japanese people absolutely love, are inventions. They create the most insane things in Japan, and people love it. Common sense would tell you that developing and marketing some of the crap they do is suicide for a company, but not in Japan! I recently ran across a famous Japanese creation that will be making its way to the USA very soon. Here's a article all about it... (you won't believe it!)

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After arriving in Japan for the first time, it won't take you long to notice that there are beverage vending machines everywhere! And I mean EVERYWHERE! Even rural neighborhoods will have vending machines out on the street. That in and of itself is pretty amazing, but vending machines in Japan offer so much more than the ones you've seen.

Vending machines in the USA and elsewhere usually only offer a choice of maybe about 5 sodas. But in Japan, you can get coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, and a lot more. They can easily have a choice of about 20 different drinks in one machine! And not only that, machines can also serve things like coffee and tea hot in the can! It's absolutely awesome.

So when you're in Japan, your favorite drink is always around the next corner. However, they usually cost 120 yen, which is over $1.00. And they're usually 8-10 ounces instead of 12 like the USA. In all my time in Japan, I wonder how many hundreds of dollars I've spent on vending machine drinks? Maybe even $1000! But I guarantee you that as soon as I go back to Japan (in April!), I'll buy a Gogo no Koucha Milk Tea from the first vending machine I see.

PS - I dug through my hundreds of pictures from Japan, but I couldn't find the one I took of a vending machine! >_<
Someday I'll find it or take another, and then I'll post it with this fun fact. Sorry.

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Some of you may think the panty vending machine I talked about last week is the coolest vending machine, but there was one that I think is even cooler. In the hotel I stayed at in Shibuya (Tokyo), there was a machine which had all kinds of instant foods in styrofoam bowls. What was neat about these meals is that they cooked themselves!

My favorite was the curry rice (I LOVE Japanese curry rice!). The curry & rice was in the bowl on top, and in a chamber just underneath that was some kinda contraption where you pulled a string, and that started cooking the food. I guess there was some water & chemicals that mixed when you pulled the string, and the heat from that reaction cooked the food after a few minutes. Besides being a really fascinating gimmick, the food was very good!

Come back next week for another story about Japanese vending machines...

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I've had a couple of people mention that they've heard that there are vending machines in Japan where perverts can buy used panties. It may sound like a strange urban myth, but it's true!

I've only seen it once, and that was at a very normal arcade. The panties were inside little plastic balls/eggs in one of those crane game machines. I don't actually know if they were used or not (didn't notice any skidmarks) but they were panties. However, I don't doubt at all that there are machines where you can get 'em used. Can you imagine HOW pitiful you have to be to go buy yourself some of those! I don't even wanna know what you do with a pair of used panties you buy from a vending machine! I think the only 'good' use would be to go home and strangle yourself with 'em...

Anyhow, you really can get just about anything from a vending machine in Japan. Of course there's nothing stranger than used panties, but there are a lotta other interesting things, and I'll tell you all about some of the others in next week's Japanese fun fact...

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I just heard something on the news this weekend that I hate hearing... another American went to Japan and made an absolute fool out of himself. In fact, he killed himself. Some pro snowboarder was trying to slide down the railing at his hotel and fell 50 feet to his death. Idiot. Good riddance...

For the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano Japan, National Hockey League players were allowed to play for the first time. I was living in Japan and I love hockey, so I was telling everybody about it. The American team sucked, and if that wasn't embarrassing enough, they tore up their hotel and made a total mess. I was so embarrassed.

Back in the 1980's one of the guys from Motley Crue (Nikki or Tommy) got drunk on the bullet train out of Tokyo and decided to throw a bottle of Jack Daniel's across the train and through a window. Of course the Japanese people freaked out, and it was a big incident. Stuff like that doesn't happen in Japan (unless it's a foreigner).

I never watched the show, but I once saw a commercial for Tom Greene in Japan. He's actually Little American (a.k.a. Canadian), but it's all the same. Anyhow, he took his so-called comedy routine to Japan and made a fool of himself. From what I saw on the commercial, it was as embarrassing as anything I've ever seen.

Anyhow, I don't know why, but something about Japan's orderly and respectful culture causes some Americans to go crazy. If you're a person that might be affected, please don't go to Japan! Luckily, the Japanese don't seem to hate foreigners, but if we keep acting like that, it's only a matter of time.

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A lotta people know this and that about Japan, but they don't really have a good idea of how big it is, or where it lies on the world map compared to other countries. So I'm gonna help you you out (if you're one of them).

One of the biggest misconceptions about Japan is that it's really small. It's really not that small. It's almost the size of the west coast of the USA (California & Oregon). The problem is that they have about 150 million people (half of the US population) and they're all crammed into the few flat areas. You see, something like 80% of Japan is mountain, so there's not much you can do with it. Click here and you'll see a physical map of Japan showing you how mountainous it really is... the green parts are 'flat' and everything else is mountain. Combine all that, and you've got a really cramped country.

Japan is made up of thousands of islands which stretch from the very cold Hokkaido (like Canada & Russia) down to the tropical Okinawa. However there are really only 4 main islands of Japan. Hokkaido is the furthest north, and it's not very populated. The people of Japan have only been living there for about 200 years. Honshu is the main island, and that's where about 80% of the population lives. On Honshu you'll find most of the major cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya and Hiroshima. To the south of Honshu is the island of Shikoku, but there's really not much there. And finally, Kyushu is the southernmost of the 4 main islands. It's kinda rural, but it has a couple of major cities like Kumamoto, Hakata/Fukuoka, Kagoshima, & Nagasaki.

Anyhow, to get a good idea of where Japan lies on the map compared to the rest of the world, it's easiest if you take a look for yourself. Here's a map of Asia from Maps.com. If you click on the picture of Japan (it's over on the right side), you can get to a better map of Japan. And that's it for the geography lesson!

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The Japanese have taken lots and lots of things from Western culture, but they almost always feel the need to add their own twist to it and make it 'Japanese'. And that's what they did to Valentine's Day. In Japan, Valentine's Day is supposedly the one day a year when a girl can ask out a boy. So in Japan, all Valentine's Day gifts are from girls to guys. If you try to give something to a girl, it's really awkward (trust me!).

To make up for this, in the Japanese created a new day in March called White Day. That's the 'other' Valentine's Day when the guys do all kinds of romantic stuff for the girls. However, White Day isn't nearly as celebrated as Valentine's Day.

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Japanese pillows are some of the most uncomfortable things you'll ever try to sleep on! Traditionally they're bean bags filled with buckwheat husks, but some of the newer ones are filled with little chunks of plastic that look like sliced pieces of drinking straws. Japanese pillows are small, hard, and they make a lotta noise.

If you sleep with the back of your head on the pillow, you might not have a problem, but I sleep on my side. When I'd wake up in the morning, it felt like somebody punched me in the ear! And as I tried to fall asleep, I could hear the little pieces inside crunching whenever I'd breathe. Now when I go to Japan, if I can't bring or buy a real pillow, I usually end up using a rolled up towel.

When I worked at an orphanage in Japan, I noticed that a lot of the kids had deformed heads! I'm convinced that those damn buckwheat do that to them. Adults don't have deformed heads, and I guess that's because their bones are stronger. However, a lot of Japanese adults have deformed ears that stick out (Ami from Puffy has one of those ears ^_^), and I blame that on the pillows too! I know how sore my ears got sleeping on those damn things... just imagine what a lifetime of doing that will do to you.

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Last week I talked all about the old-fashioned toilets that you can still find in Japan. That's kinda strange because Japan is known for being so high-tech. Well don't worry, they definitely live up to their reputation... there are super high-tech toilets in Japan too!
Just click on that picture to the right, and you'll see what I mean! That's a $350 toilet like you've never seen before.
This isn't just a freak gimmick toilet... you will definitely see these if you go to Japan. Key features include a seat warmer, and believe it or not... washing and drying capabilities! I AM NOT KIDDING! That little tube with the ball shows the 'cleaning' power of the toilet. That's supposed to be a good thing, but I'm not so sure! With the computer controls to the right, you can do pretty much anything (and then some). A few of the higher end models even come with phones. And a lot of times the lid of the toilet tank doubles as a sink, so when the tank is re-filling, you can wash your hands.
It took me almost 1 1/2 years to finally try one of these things out. I was scared because I wasn't confident about the controls. And then there was also the risk of laughing hysterically! It didn't work for me... the water just shot up my back and made a mess. (I can't believe I'm telling you about this!) I shoulda followed my gut instinct and left the damn thing alone. Anyhow, I think this is one of those things that I can't really explain to you, so you'll probably have to go to Japan and 'experience' it for yourself. Good luck! ^_^
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One of the reasons I love Japan so much is that every little aspect of it seems to provide something interesting... even toilets! In fact, toilets in Japan are so interesting, this is just the first of a 2 part series on toilets! ^_^

In many public places like subways, parks, campgrounds, etc., you'll discover something very strange if you try to go to the bathroom. A lot of public places still have old fashioned Japanese toilets, which are little more than holes in the ground. You don't get to sit down and relax. You just gotta squat above a rectangular-shaped hole and do your business. There's actually a small ceramic bowl, but its top is at ground level, so it's really just a hole. There's no water in the hole either. When you're all done, there's a faucet at one end that you turn to flush away the mess you just made.

I've never used one of these toilets. Luckily, I've never HAD to. To be frank, I'm just too freaked out 'em. I was always afraid that I'd lose my balance or something like that. And I guess there's always a chance that I'd start laughing and cause a strange scene. So I always avoided those strange things (better safe than sorry). But in case you're ever in Japan and find nature calling, I just wanted to let you know so that it would be a total surprise.

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First of all, the October 21 & 28 fun facts have been updated with pictures. (snaggle teeth & Nazi cosplay) Scroll down to the bottom of the page to check that out.
Nazis in Japan?! No, not really. But when I updated the fun fact about Nazi Cosplay, that made me remember something else that I thought was really strange about Japan...
If you ever look at a Japanese map, you'll probably see little swastikas all over the place! That was the symbol of the Nazis, and something that nobody in their right mind uses in North America or Europe. If you don't know what it looks like, check out the flag in this picture. But on closer inspection, you'll notice that the swastikas on Japanese maps are actually backwards. They've got nothing at all to do with Nazis... they actually mark the locations of Buddhist temples. It's all very innocent, but when you see that for the first time and don't realize what it is, it's pretty shocking.	Map example... lots of temples, NOT Nazis!
Although Buddhism is a 'rival' religion, I'm 100% sure they don't have anything against the Jews!!! I don't know too much about the history or meaning, but I do know that the swastika is originally an old Buddhist symbol from India that the Nazis stole and perverted.
I wonder how many Jewish tourists have been to Japan and noticed the swastikas? "Hey, lets go visit the Senyuji Temple! It should be right over here on the map... wait a minute! What are those swastikas doing there?! Uh... maybe we better not go over that way. Lets go see something else!" ^_^ NOTE: No knee-jerk reactions, please! I know I'm laughing about something that's very serious, but it's amusing. If you're offended, I'm sorry, but you need to lighten up.
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Since it's Cammy's birthday today, I gotta write a fun fact about Cammy and Japan. Well, as you know, she's incredibly popular over there. And I'm sure you've read somewhere on the site that I saw 14 girls dressed as Cammy at the Tokyo Game Show a few years ago. Seeing so many fellow fans (REALLY cute fans) really made that one of the most memorable experiences in my life.

I think it's interesting that girls in Japan dress like Cammy, because girls in Japan are much more reserved than girls anywhere else I've been to in the world. Very rarely do you see them dressed in skimpy, revealing, or tight clothes. Heck, they've even been known to wear underwear under their swimsuits! And in public, they act quite shy. But when they cosplay as Cammy, they're totally okay with wearing a revealing skin-tight suit. And on top of that, it's not only okay to stare, but you're invited to take pictures of them! They'll walk around like that, and act like nothing at all is strange.

Why do Japanese girls have such a split personality? Well, it's kind of a Japanese cultural phenomenon. In Japan, you're always very conscious of your role and situation. When you're cosplaying, you're taking on a totally different role. Since that's how Cammy is, and you're cosplaying, it's totally okay to dress up in a skin-tight suit and make a spectacle of yourself. The situation allows it, so there's no need to be shy. It's amazing how Japanese people turn emotions on and off. I can't do that, and I think it's a bit strange, but it's also one of the things that makes Japanese people so extremely fascinating to me.

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Here's a list of all the weekly Japanese Fun Facts. Just click on the one you wanna read more about, and it'll take to down to it...
Girls, Cammy, & cosplay Buddhist Nazis?! Japanese toilets: part 1 Japanese toilets: part 2 Japanese pillows Valentines Day, Japanese style Geography lesson Jackass foreigners in Japan Panty vending machines? The coolest vending machine Vending machines EVERYWHERE! Crazy Japanese inventions	Everybody's least favorite Japanese food Now's a great time to go to Japan! Square watermelons Japanese signatures How not to use the the "-chan" suffix What's sexy in Japan Most Extreme Elimination Challenge Battle Royale The Tokyo subway system Japanese fashion... "Cute Chaos" WW2 Japan Nagasaki and the atomic bomb