New Year's Eve - How to spend New Year's Eve in Japan

New Year's Eve! What do you do in your country?

Speaking of New Year's Eve, "kouhaku utagassen," it is shortened into "kouhaku," is a popular TV show loved by everyone irrespective of age or sex. Watching kouhaku and eating dinner are the typical ways of spending New Year's Eve in Japan. 

The image of "kouhaku utagassen."

"Kouhaku" is a singing battle show and has been on the air on New Year's Eve since 1951(initially, it used to be broadcasted at the beginning of the year.) "Kou" is "aka(a Team Red- for female singers)" and "haku" is "shiro(Team White - for male singers)." But to be honest, it doesn't matter for Japanese people to which they belong. It's just a show! And the word kouhaku itself means "happy occasion." 

The image of "kouhaku."

Since the way of spending New Year's Eve hasn't changed in such a long time, the competitive TV show is broadcasted now.

I asked a lot of people what kind of TV show they watched. Some people said if someone in their family watches kouhaku(the rate of watching kouhaku is still high), some people said they watch "warattewaikenai," a comedy show, which is broadcast on New Year's Eve every year and is popular among young people.

The image of "warattewaikenai."

"Warattewaikenai" means "don't laugh" and they have a theme each year such as police, nurses, spies, etc, and this year's theme was "breakout."
One of the most famous comic groups, "Downtown", appears each year on the show as well as many other well-know comedians and actors. This year they were dressed in prison uniforms and many very funny things happened to them. But according to the show rules,they can't laugh or else get their butts are beaten by scary military-like people. One of the members' ex-wife, their family and the celebrities we think would never appear on this kind of comedy suddenly appear on the show, totally surprising them.

The image of "warattewaikenai."

While watching TV, we usually eat buckwheat noodle which are called "soba". The soba we eat on this day is specially called "toshikoshi soba." "Toshikoshi" literally means "crossing years," and eating soba 
signifies "wish for one's long life." We can eat it whenever we want to sometime during the New Year's Eve and is a very important custom. 

Eat soba at home.

Happy New Year!

日本ではクリスマスは恋人と、年越しやお正月は家族と過ごすということが多いですが、海外は全く逆になります。
この時期は家族でテレビを観るということが多くなる時期。「紅白」は今でも国民的なテレビ番組で すが、最近では「笑ってはいけない」も人気ですね。ちなみに、日本では年が明けてから「あけましておめでとう」と言うのが普通ですが、海外では年越し前から「Happy New Year!」、また「Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!」と言うことも多いです。

Pop quiz！ - What is this?

Look at the pictures below and guess what I ate for lunch the other day !

1, At first, a tray and disposal chopsticks which are called "waribashi" are prepared in advance.

2, Then, a cup of soup and a bowl of salad are served.

Hint 1 : It did not originate in Japan.

Hint 2 : We usually eat it with a fork.

Hint 3 : In Japan, "cod roe sauce" is very popular.

tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock

one… two… three...

The answer is,

PASTA!

We cannot help slurping pasta as we eat ramen in this restaurant, because they prepare chopsticks for us. 

According to the website of "Yomenya Goemon," a pasta chain restaurant, they commit their quality so much. The pasta, cheese, olive oil and tomatoes are from Italy. On the other hand, they believe that using Japanese tableware which are called "aritayaki," is a feast for the Japanese people's eyes. 

They have mixed cultures in their own way ! And they say, "This is Japanese-born pasta."

Is it so interesting or just weird for you ?

日本以外の国では「麺をすする」という習慣はほとんどありません。日本では「すすること」がある種マナーであり、当たり前のこととされていますが、海外では「行儀が悪い」という行為に匹敵します。パスタを食べる時、普段はフォークを使うのですすることはないとは思いますが、箸を使うとすすって食べてしまいますよね。それにしてもこの食べ方、日本人から見ても不思議だと思うのですが、皆さんはどう思いますか。

Belated Merry Christmas! - Japanese style Christmas

As I posted in the last post, my Christmas was not so fun because of my cold. To make matters worse, I've been busy at work and I have no time to celebrate Christmas. But it might be the real Japanese life style. Poor busy Japanese people! 

And when one of my foreign friends asked if I had made a Christmas wish, I was so surprised because I realized that we have no custom of making Christmas wishes. Looking back on my childhood, I prayed to an imaginary god of Christmas, or Santa Claus, for a present. 

Though most people have no religion in Japan, we don't know much about Christmas. Besides, we never try to think about it because it is not a big deal. In a nutshell, we like to celebrate events and Christmas is one of them.

We usually have three main events on Christmas: Santa Claus comes for kids, we go on date with someone as adults, and we have a special dinner for everyone. Some people have no time to do any of these since we have work even on Christmas Day.

This is all I can write this year!

Since I really wanted to post an article about Christmas, I'll write about it next year! 


日本人にとってクリスマスとは？子供にとっては「サンタからのプレゼント」、大人にとっては「デート」、みんなに共通するのは「豪華なディナーを食べること」。でも日本ではクリスマスは休日ではない為、「クリスマスは仕事」という人も多いですよね。そして日本人は無宗教の人が多いので、何かイベントそのものが「ただ楽しむもの」でしかないのが現状なのかもしれません。ちなみに私は外国人の友人に「クリスマスに願いごとをした？」と聞かれて、「ああ、海外ではそんな素敵なことをするのか」とちょっとうらやましく思いました。

Paburon - a Japanese cold medicine

The flu season has come ! And it's Christmas Eve.

OMG! I feel like I caught a cold…

I just have a sore throat. There is nothing wrong with any part of my body.

In this case, the easiest way to improve one's symptom is to take a medicine on pharmacy shelves.

And I always keep "paburon" at home just in case.

Watching on TV, we usually hear the catch-phrase, "Hayame no Paburon" on the commercial in this season.

The meaning of this phrase is that "if you take Paburon early, you can be better." That is to say, "you can't cure your cold by taking this medicine. But it is effective to take this if you feel that you are starting to catch a cold." 

Anyway, I should go to bed and get enough rest.

「パブロン」とは「早めに飲むから効く」ということ、そして「症状を緩和する」と記載されています。悪化したら病院へ行きましょう。

Ramen - one of the popular foods in Japan

Do you know "ramen" ?  Ramen is a popular Japanese food, simply put, noodles in hot soup. 
As long as I know, most of the young people in Japan love ramen. 

                      The ramen of "IPPUDO" - tonkotsu

As you can see, there are some toppings: a few slices of meat - "cha-syu," bean sprouts - "moyashi" and sliced green onion - "naganegi." This is the epitome of  ramen in Japan.

In the ramen shop, we usually can choose among four tastes of soup: soy sauce, miso, salt and tonkotsu(pork bone broth). But sometimes the shops specialize in one taste , so if you definitely want to eat one of them, I highly recommend that you check in advance. 

Then what's the difference between these tastes ? Putting these tastes in order of non-fatty, salt, soy sauce, miso and tonkotsu.  "Tonkotsu" is normally greasy and has a strong distinctive smell.

In addition to eating in the ramen shop, we also eat it at home. At the supermarket and convenience stores, there are various kinds of ramens.

The corner of the piles of ramen at the supermarket.

                      

                        

Can you believe that these pictures are at the corners of the same supermarket ?  From these pictures, we can see how much we eat ramen.  

日本人のほとんどが好きなラーメン。日本の有名ラーメンチェーン店が続々と世界各国でオープンし、幅広い国、世代から愛されつつある食べ物となっています。日本では、有名ラーメン店が星の数ほどもありますが、スーパーの棚の一角を見るだけでも日本人がどれくらいラーメンが好きなのかを垣間みることができます。そして実は海外では「ラーメン」という言葉を知っていても、何種類のラーメンが日本にあるのか、ということはあまり知られていないようです。

The importance of "Kashiori." - How to quit a company in Japan

I decided to quit the company I've been working for almost 8 years at the end of this year. In this very simple matter; just quitting the company, you can have a fleeting glance of Japanese culture. So today's topic is the important thing to do when you quit the company in Japan. 

On the last day of your work, you should prepare "kashiori." "Kashi" means sweets in Japanese. If you quit the Japanese company, I suggest that you buy some sweets and give them to the members of the company, saying thank you and good bye. You might think the word "kashiori" seems to be very Japanese style sweets. But it doesn't necessarily mean Japanese sweets, all kinds of sweets are fine.

But usually, people prefer the sweets which can last for a while like baked goods. You should refrain from cakes with whipped cream. Because someone might be going on a business trip or taking days off; these sweets need to be given out to everyone.

The good examples of "kashioris."

Then where do we buy the sweets ? The most appropriate place to buy is the basement of department stores, we call it "depachika" in Japanese. Don't buy them at the supermarket; these sweets should be nice and fabulous.

The department store in Tokyo.

 FYI, "depachika" is abbreviation for "department store" and "chika - basement" in Japanese; usually the floor which deals with foods and sweets is the basement.

                              The image of "depachika."

The average price of these sweets are from 3,000 yen to 5,000 yen from each box which is packed with 30 - 50 items. 

This behavior, "to give some sweets to people," we call "kimochi." Basically, it means "only a little/few." Japanese people are so modest. Even though the sweets are so tantalizing, you should say "Honnno Kimochi desu." In this short phrase, it contains the meaning of "I don't know whether you like them or not, but they are just tokens of appreciation."

I wrote many things about "kashiori," but don't be serious. They are just sweets. " Just go to "depachika," then you can get some nice sweets. 


節目や、ご挨拶の時に欠かせないのが「菓子折り」です。買う時はどれくらい日持ちがするか、何人分必要なのか、いくら位のものを買うべきか 、など考えることが沢山あります。そして渡す時は、そのお菓子がとても美味しくて素晴らしいものだとしても、謙るのが日本人の心。日本人の「気持ち」という言葉一つにも奥深い意味があり、「菓子折り」とは日本人らしさが詰まった贈り物なのだと思います。

Wearing a mask - the typical winter scenery in Japan

No doubt wearing a mask became a standard practice in Japan. Needless to say, wearing a mask is "dos and don'ts" when people get sick. In addition to the situation of our being sick, the number of people who wear masks is increasing. Here are the pictures.

As you can see in the pictures, today I realized that the men who are working at the station, all wearing the masks en masse. And I saw a lot of people walking inside the station wearing masks. But don't be surprised, it's normal.

Most of the Japanese people believe that wearing a mask is effective for preventing colds. Maybe it's true, but as for me, it's very tough to wear it all day. It makes me feel bad and sometimes develop an illusion that I've caught a cold, since It's hard to breathe. But of course, I wear it if I catch a cold.

In my office, if someone gets a cold, all the employees are obliged to wear masks. I don't want to wear a normal white mask, so I usually wear this one. You might think what I'm saying is so funny, but a cute mask(for me) makes me feel good, though it's hard to breathe.

a mask of "opening ceremony "

By the way, seeing foreigners who are wearing masks, I think they might adapt to Japanese life. I rarely see this kind of foreigner, but sometimes I do. If you catch a cold, when you are staying in Japan, you should wear a mask. Because it's a kind of consideration for trying not to give others the cold. This is the Japanese style.


日本人にとってマスクは風邪の予防や風邪をひいた時に着用するのはあたり前となりましたね。この真冬の時期の外出時には、マスクを して出かけるという人も多いのではないでしょうか。この寒空の中、駅員さんが揃ってマスクをしていたり、町を歩く人たちがマスクをして通勤している姿を見て改めてマスク着用が定着したことを感じています。
でも、実は欧米ではマスクをする習慣がないということをご存知でしたか。時々日本でマスクをした外国人を見かけると、「ああ、この方はきっと日本の生活に慣れている んだな」と関心します。

Bounenkai - a drinking party in Japan

It's the middle of December ! In this season, we generally have drinking party which is called "bounenkai"; "bou - to forget,""nen - year" and "kai - party" in Japanese. It means "to forget every hardship of the year and have a wonderful party." This is one of the popular parties which is held in each company; not too much to say that "an essential event of the company," if you belong to a company.

  The center of Tokyo, Shinjuku.

The party organizer is called "kanji." He or she(sometimes they)  should take over everything such as arranging a restaurant(or izakaya) booking, planning a game, etc. 

As I  mentioned above, we sometimes  have a game in the middle of the party(it also depends on the company). I think the most popular game is bingo, but some kanjies who want make the party special might plan a more fun game. 

The image of a "bounenkai" in the company.

You might think "bounenkai" is just a party. Yes, it is. It's not so special ! I assume that it's similar to the Christmas party in your country. But the only different thing is how to finish the party. 

At the end of the party, we always do the special behavior which is called "tejime." Technically, there are many kinds of tejimes: ipponjime, icchoujime, etc. I don't mean to describe the differences among them, and to be honest, I don't know clearly… Because the rules are complicated. I guess most of the Japanese people don't know how many tejimes in Japan. Simply put, "tejime" is "clap your hands in unison."

After the party, if you feel like drinking more, you can go to the second party, called "nijikai" with your co-workers. To the contrary, you want to go home as soon as possible, of course it's OK. It's up to you! FYI, "niji - the second," and maybe you can memorize this word today, "kai - party." Generally, bounenkai is kind of formal, but nijikai is not. Regarding nijikai, maybe you have many options to choose such as, karaoke, bowling, drinking at the other place etc.

Some Japanese people might think bounenkai is somewhat bothersome event, because most of the time, we have to join the party definitely. Besides it is important to sense the vibe. And I've forgotten to mention that ! You should pour bosses drinks very often during the party; it is called "oshaku." Besides you have to try to be nice to your bosses with politeness all the time. Because in Japan it is very important to express your respect to the people who are superior to you such as bosses and older people.

This word "bounenkai" itself is used in December, so we can use it with your friends. If you want to throw a party with your friends, you can say "bounenkai shiyou(Let's have a party)" to them. 

A bounenkai with friends.

Finally, I have to explain about "shinnenn kai": a new year party. It's the exactly the same party as bounenkai, though the meanings are different. The meaning of shinnen kai is "to start the new year freshly and have a party." Anyway, we have two important parties at the end of the year and the beginning of the year !

If you stay in Japan in this season, you can join the party; in your work, you are forced to(someone might look forward to) or with your friends, just for fun !

忘年会とは何かと考えてみると、実は「12月に行われるパーティー」であり、特に何か変わったことをするわけではありません。重要なのは「締め」があるということなのですが、「締め」の種類も多様で日本の文化はとても複雑です。そして忘年会の後は新年会とこの時期は大忙しです。日本人はもしかしたらどこの国の人よりも「節目」を祝うのが好きなのかもしれません。