The Ask Josiah About Japan Thread

Post by **Josiah** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 6:54 am

So, if you've got any questions about Japanese language, culture, life in Japan, or really anything Japan related that you think I might be able to answer just post it here and I'll give it my best shot. No guarentees I'll actually be able to give you an answer or that my answer will be entirely correct but I'll do my best.

So yeah, ask away. Also I'll probably be reviving the Japanese Word of the Week thread soon.

Post by **Shadowman** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 6:58 am

Is it true they ask people if they eaten rice today as a form of greeting?

Post by **Josiah** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 7:16 am

Where did you hear that? I mean, some people might do it for all I know but none of the greetings that I know of (from both my text books and experience here) involve rice.

Post by **Stevenson** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 6:29 am

Er, what was that picture you wanted Silver to see?

Oh, also, just what do the vending machines sell there?

Post by **Josiah** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:16 am

It's the picture of... *smacks self* Oops, looks like I forgot to post it. Here it is.

As for vending machines, so far I've seen: lots and lots of soft drinks (that includes water and juice too), lots of cigerettes, coffee, tea, beer, ice cream bars, soup and noodles, and rice. Wouldn't be surprised if there's some more uncommon ones that I haven't spotted yet. There's also all the little toy and figurine vending machines although those are more of a gumball machine than a vending machine so maybe they don't count...

Post by **Doodleshark** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 3:51 pm

Vending machines selling beer and cigarettes?

Good thing those aren't in North America...

Post by **Silver** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 5:41 pm

Doodleshark wrote:Vending machines selling beer and cigarettes? Good thing those aren't in North America...

Well, I'm not sure if Japan's the same way, but I know in Spain you can drink when you're like ten. Aaand hardly anyone ever drinks, much less gets drunk, because there's none of that '21! It's a BIG DEAL because now you get BEER!' business like in the U.S. ...Yes, I know you're Canadian.

But anyway... FULLMETAL KITTY?! Next to One Piece episode 323, that's pretty much the most pwnfully funny in a creepy way thing I've ever seen. ...*Runs off to post on the RIsembool Rangers forum*

Oh! Japan question. Being the geek I am, I'm sure I'll think of more later, but... are there anime conventions in Japan? It's obviously more widespread there than it is here...

Post by **Celebifly** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 6:00 pm

-is canadian- Did you know it use to be 21 in Canada and 19 in USA? They switched it only couple decades ago

Have you seen any square watermeleon yet?

Post by **Josiah** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:50 pm

Silver wrote: Well, I'm not sure if Japan's the same way, but I know in Spain you can drink when you're like ten. Aaand hardly anyone ever drinks, much less gets drunk, because there's none of that '21! It's a BIG DEAL because now you get BEER!' business like in the U.S.

The legal drinking age in Japan is 20. According to Wikipedia, a lot of the vending machines have an ID card scanner in them although I haven't given them a very close look (since I don't drink) so I can't confirm or deny that. Actually, I think that the government is supposed to be getting rid of the beer machines eventually, they're just in no hurry to do so.
The legal smoking age is also 20 but I think less of those machines have the ID scanner. Plus, smoking is extremely big in Japan (just from walking around, I'd have to say that a much larger percentage of the population in Japan smokes than the US).

Silver wrote:Oh! Japan question. Being the geek I am, I'm sure I'll think of more later, but... are there anime conventions in Japan? It's obviously more widespread there than it is here...

There are anime conventions, game conventions, manga conventions, and even dojinshi (fan comic) conventions. Unfortunately, right now I can't really give you any details about them but I know that they exist. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go to one or two while I'm here and I can talk more about them then.

Celebifly wrote:Have you seen any square watermeleon yet?

Actually no. I have seen some watermelons but they're normal shaped and a bit smaller than a lot of the watermelons you can get in the US. Also, in general, fruit in Japan (especially melons) is a lot more expensive than in the US.

Post by **Shadowman** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 11:09 pm

Where's the creamy filling?

Post by **Josiah** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 11:29 pm

Shadowman wrote:Where's the creamy filling?

Inside cream bread (or kuriimpan if you want to pronounce it Japanese style) which can be purchased in most bakeries.

Post by **Giga-Gar** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 7:13 am

whats the climate like? I mean, I know it's cooler there then it is in arazona (espeacily right now), but whats it like compared to the rest of the U.S.?

Post by **Josiah** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:34 am

Well, Japan actually has a fairly diverse climate depending on what part of the country you're in. There's mountains, cool northern areas, and semi tropical islands down south. Where I am (and in nearby places such as Tokyo and Yokohama) it's a lot like the east coast in the US. It's pretty humid so the summer is hot and muggy. Right now its kinda cool (thanks to the recent rain). Rainy season is supposed to be mostly in the mid summer - early fall around here so it'll probably clear up before too long. I've heard that there's very little snow in this part of Japan (although there's a lot up north and in the mountains) but I'll have to wait and see.

To summerize, it depends where you are in Japan but Tokyo and the surrounding areas are fairly close to east coast US states like PA.

Website · Post by **Shans** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:09 am

what do japanese people eat for breakfast? (always wondered... doubt its cereal)

Post by **Josiah** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:23 am

Well, American style breakfasts have gained popularity here so some people do eat some combination of cereal, bread, eggs, etc. However, a traditional Japanese breakfast typically includes things like: rice, fish, various seaweed dishes, and possibly nato (that one is a bit less common since plenty of people don't like nato).