Ester's journey of fun!: a slightly boring January

Wednesday, 2 February 2011

a slightly boring January

During the coldest January in 25 years in Nagoya (though this is only at about 0 degrees on average), I count down my days teaching – about 10 or so left to go!

January has been a pretty tame month; nothing particularly noteworthy has happened (is it bad that this bores me?), spending my weekends either going out for karaoke (yes it is actually really fun!) or going to see the Nagoya philharmonic orchestra, and sitting around having a lot of coffee! However, next week I’m off to see the snow festival in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Apparently they have giant ice statues, on top of which the winter illuminations should still be up. Chilly on the outside, but oh so warm on the inside (what a cliché!). A bonus of course is that I immediately associate Hokkaido with good food – at a food festival I went to once most of the stalls displayed food from Hokkaido. This means fresh crab, lamb, ramen, and CHEESECAKE! Tanoshimi ni!! (I’m looking forward to it, in Japanese). Expect tonnes of photos.

Futhermore, by the end of this week I am aiming to get some flights booked for my upcoming adventures, though the timing of my visit to the Middle East isn’t exactly perfect. Is it ever?
The way I see it is that most of the anger is directed towards the government, and the latter will be doing everything possible to protect the tourism industry! And who knows, maybe an exciting story will come out of it? Anyone with suggestions on things off the beaten track to see/do in Jordan, Syria or Lebanon please give me a shout!

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30 less obivous quirks & oddities of Japan

Many street performers (mainly people with guitars) will pop up near stations and a lot of people stop to listen to them
They will queue for hours at a time to try something because it's recommended, new or popular
They wear masks all the time, but not because they hate germs - A LOT of Japanes (almost all it seems) suffer from hay fever, which even occurs in autumn due to certain other blooms, and they also wear them in the winter to prevent their skin from drying out
Even though Japanese people are less physical than us on a daily basis, with close friends they'll be more so than many foreigners - many young boys and girls will hold hands in their early teens, and even some girls at a much later age
Certain items, such as kitkats or little hello kitty phone hangers, are customised according to different tourist places you visit - a special one for each region/town! Collectibles
100 yen shops - they may not always be cheaper than home but they have EVERYTHING you need
Shops only open at 10-11am but stay open until 8pm
The heated toilet seat - you can spend hours on one in the winter. That and a washlet (the upper part of the toilet is made into a sink)
Stares - you can blend in well if you feel comfortable enough to act like Japanese but the stares never really go away (not stares but definitely glances)
Karaoke - it's brilliant. Though apparently foreigners do it differently from Japanese. Japanese are very self-absorbed whereas foreigners sing along and dance
Kotatsu - a table with a heater in it cover with blankets, once you put your legs under one you won't get up all winter
The elegant mix of old & new is one of the most remarkable things of Japan - best to notice this is the summer matsuri (festivals) with fireworks were most people wear their summer kimono (called yukata)
There are love hotels everywhere - Japanese houses are public for some loving, so they have these hotels where they are crazily decorated - mirrors on the walls, videogames and karaoke, you can rent costumes etc
Those unable to speak Japanese may realise they can pick out a few words in the conversation, actually Japanese uses a lot of borrowed words from English, but uses them incorrectly and their meaning is completely different
To find restaurants, don't just look a ahead, but also up - most buildings will have 4+ restaurants, on different floors
Japan is so safe that you can leave all your belongings on a chair in a crowded place and itll still be there an hour later
Perikura - i've mentioned it before. Brilliant!
Japanese shop staff are always friendly. It may not be sincerely but a smile is always better than someone snapping at you
Japanese food - it's all amazing but i LOVE furikake, which is like flavouring you sprinkle on top of rice
Japanese bars may be more expensive but they love doing 'all you can eat/all you can drink' deals at restaurants WAY cheaper than anything back home
Japanese girls, including school uniforms, wear ridiculously short skirts. Never got used to it
People will bike & do anything at the same time - bike with an umbrella, bike and smoke, bike and call on their phone
The Japanese language has many quirks - some i like are 'otsukaresamadesu!', which means thanks for the hard work but they even say it when someone arrives at a social gathering, or they complain out loud to no one in particular - they'll say 'atsui!' (its hot) but just as a statement
You change your shoes when entering a house/school/doctors office
When you eat, you pick up your bowls (eg. rice) and move it towards your mouth
They have absolutely no reserves about bathing with each other naked
Shop staff yell ALL THE TIME! (welcome! please look around! - in Japanese of course)
People don't blow their nose in public and you don't say anything when someone sneezes
Vending machines on almost every street corner
No talking on your phone on public transportation (unspoken rule)