Things I Don't Like About Japan

Hey homies,

As I said before, not everything about Japan is shiny and sugar coated, and there are a few things I dislike. Since I'm leaving in a few days (sob sob) I figured I'd start bracing myself for the forthcoming emotional breakdown by discussing some aspects of Japan I dislike.

You can't get a decent cup of black tea anywhere. It's like it doesn't exist. Oh sure, there's Earl Grey and Oolong and Jasmine and all those fancy kinds, but when you're homesick for a nice cuppa? Forget it. Nowhere to be found.

Shopkeepers' voices. It's especially annoying in cafes and restaurants, when you're trying to enjoy your food and every few minutes you hear the abnormally high pitched, nasal "IRRASHAIMASE" (welcome)

The fear of gaijin (foreigners). It's not racism as such, but in a country with a 95% indigenous population, Japanese people are a little freaked out by foreigners; meaning people actively avoid sitting next to me on the bus or handing me flyers and such. I guess it's nice when you want peace and quiet, but it does make you feel a bit lonely.

There are almost no food vending machines. In Ireland you can always find a machine to buy crisps or chocolate - in Japan, not so. There are drink, cigarette, ice-cream, even alcohol vending machines - but I am yet to find one selling food. Though apparently in Akihabara Station there is a banana machine.

The fact that all manners dissolve on a busy train. People will push and shove and never apologise if it means they'll get a seat. And for that matter, Japanese people prefer to sit with an empty space on either side, so it's ridiculously difficult for two or more people to get neighbouring seats on the train.

The fact that, although I say "mou ichidou itte kudasai" (please say it again) in perfect Japanese, many Japanese people take it to mean "SPEAK ENGLISH NOW" and they usually just give up at that point and get someone to translate. Like, I am asking you to repeat yourself because you're speaking absurdly fast, not because I can't speak your language.

The insects. are. HUGE.

The thing I dislike most about Japan is that all of these things really have added to my experience, and I'm gonna miss them. I don't want to go home.

クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

My Weekend

Hey gang,

So I`m 18 now whaaaaat
I can`t get my head around it

I went to Numazu City with my host family and went to the fireworks festival, which was awesome. I got to wear yukata, which is Japanese summer kimono, and I`ll upload a photo when I get the chance. :)
Then we ate in a pasta restaurant where we were served by a Romanian woman who also had her birthday that day so we all sang "Happy Birthday" in English, bemusing the Japanese people in the restaurant. And I got melon soda best day ever :D

The next day, I did something I haven`t done in thirteen years - went to the cinema to see Pokemon. I still remember going to see Pokemon The Movie 2000 when I was five years old, and going to see Pokemon ExtremeSpeed Genesect at the age of 18 was pretty nostalgic. I must say, Japan does cinema way better than we do. Upon buying my ticket, I was given a password to download Genesect for free into Pokemon Black 2 or White 2 (unfortunately, I don`t have either of those games) and was able to buy a bunch of Pokemon merchandise - I got a keyring with Pikachu, Eevee and the new Eeveelution, Sylveon (Nymphia in Japanese). Then, at the food stall, I was able to buy a big plastic Pokemon tub of popcorn, with a free Pokemon strap and Eevee phone charm. It was so coooool!
And the best part was, I was pretty much able to follow the film, despite it being all in Japanese, so I feel more confident with my Japanese speaking ability than before.

After that, we did some shopping, and I bought this kickass hat that I can`t find online but it says "HELLO my name is" like the stickers so it`s coooool

And then I got to eat MOS BURGER WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Laters,
クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

Update

Hey gang,

sorry I haven`t written much lately. Tomorrow is my 18th birthday and my family are taking me to Numazu City for the weekend, so I won`t be online until Monday. Sorrrrry :(

I`ll think of something interesting to write over the weekend, I promise!

Sorry guuuuys :(

Goodbyes

Hey gang

Today was, bar none, the most emotional day of my life since the end of CTYI `11. Today the summer holidays started in Japan - meaning my time at Minato Sohgoh has come to an end.

I am heartbroken to be leaving.
(I still have two weeks left in Japan but still)

Today, I had to make a speech in front of the whole school for the second time. The first time, I was nervous as heck, trying to hold back nerves as I introduced myself in shaky Japanese. This time, I was trying to hold back tears as I thanked everyone for taking me under their wings and making me feel so welcome.

After the speech, a group of my friends ushered me to the cafeteria, insisting we eat together because it was my last day. But as soon as we sat down, they all jumped up again and said, "ok let`s go back to class."
I had no idea what was happening!

Then, I was ushered back into the classroom, where I was greeted by exploding party poppers and applause. "THANK U FOR COMING TO JAPAN" was written on the board in big letters, and all the tables were pushed back except for a few in the middle, upon which sat two beautiful cakes and a huge bag of snacks. The whole class and our Home Room teacher began to sing Happy Birthday (although with the Japanese accent it`s "happy basuday") and some of the boys held up big signs saying Happy Birthday. Then, Manami (my amazing buddy) gave me a gift, a beautiful handmade card that everyone had written a message on. I immediately burst into tears.
I can`t believe that I meant so much to my classmates that they went to the trouble of organizing a whole birthday party for me (and it`s not even my birthday until Saturday) with such a beautiful gift. The teacher also gave me a wonderful gift -  a leather bracelet with the school`s logo imprinted onto it; it had been handmade by the Leather-craft class of the nearby Special Needs High School. I have only known these people a month and yet they treated me like an old friend from childhood. Everyone wrote such touching letters on the card, in English and Japanese, so much that I`m choking up just reading them now.

If any of Class 1-6 are reading this, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. The party was the sweetest, kindest thing anyone has ever done for me; and I will always remember you, and treasure our time together.
I will come back to you all one day, like I promised.
I don`t know when, or for how long
but I will

I promise.

クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

Weeaboos

Uuuugh Weeaboos

A weeaboo is a Westerner who is obsessed with and claims to be an fountain of knowledge about Japan, despite knowing very little about the culture or language.
Hate them

The word weeaboo was invented by the Internet and as such doesn't mean anything

Weeaboos are generally big anime fans and they learn their "Japanese" from Hetalia or the like. They are generally desperate to go to Japan so they can see "all the manga and anime and I will fit in" newsflash no you won't.
What's annoying about Weeaboos is that they fetishize Japanese culture. In a weeaboo's eyes, Japan can do no wrong. And obviously, as with any country, this is not true.

Weeaboos are the type you see in Western sushi bars, eating sushi and drinking Ramune (despite the fact that these do not go well together at all) simply because "it's Japanese." I have had the misfortune of meeting Weeaboos, at home and in Japan, who upon learning that I speak Japanese, will suddenly start calling me "Caoimhe-chan kawaii desu ne" which is the extent of their Japanese (and just nonsense) and it's just like... No. If you spoke like that in Japan people would avoid you like the plague.

Now don't get me wrong, people who actually bother to learn a bit about the language and culture of their beloved country are fine with me. As are people who don't know much about Japan but don't claim to. It's the Weeaboos, with their "Konnichiwa! THATS JAPANESE FOR HELLO I LEARNED IT FROM NARUTO" that piss me off. you are not the king of Japan please stop

Rant over.

クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

Japanese Etiquette

Hey gang,

Sorry I haven't posted the last few days. Have been having so much fuuuuun~

One of the biggest culture shocks for me was the common etiquette in Japan, so different from back home. It's cool! This'll probs just be like bullet points of random observations.

Everyone bows on first meeting with one another. The more important the person, the lower your bow. Like if you met the Prime minister or something you'd do a 90degree bow.

In shops, customers are treated like royalty. The whole staff shouts "IRRASHAIMASE" (welcome) whenever somebody enters the shop. In the case of a restaurant, the whole staff will also shout "ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU" (thank you very much) when you leave.

In restaurants in Japan, you don't tip. It's considered very rude to leave anything other than the cost of your bill - the mentality is that the service is covered in the cost of the food, so why pay extra?

Japanese language has varying levels of politeness, and it's very important to use the appropriate form when speaking to people. Thankfully, I learned polite, formal Japanese before coming here, and I've come to the conclusion that you should always use polite Japanese until you're on a first name basis with someone.

As a Westerner, lots of people try to shake my hand, which is really cute. I've had a few half bow, half handshake incidents..

On the train and bus, it's very rude to talk on the phone. Not only is this common courtesy, but it's requested by the train companies themselves that you set your phone to silent and refrain from talking. Near the priority seats, you're not supposed to use your phone at all.

Instead of prefixes such as Mr and Dr, Japanese uses suffixes, and there are lots. The most common is -San, meaning Mr or Mrs. It's a polite word and generally applied to strangers' names or elders' names.
Then there is -Sensei, meaning Teacher but also Doctor.
-Chan is a term of endearment used mainly for children. It's also commonly used between teenage girls. It's not applied to teenage boys, and never for adults (except maybe close women)
-Kun is used for boys or men younger than yourself.
-Sama is a more formal version of -San
-Senpai is your elder or superior in a club or work environment

Weeaboos (oh don't worry I'll explain them) are infamous for misusing the suffixes. I think Littlekuriboh put it best on his YouTube series of Naruto Abridged with his weeaboo impression
"David Bowie-sama-Senpai-Sensei-San-Senpai-San-sama....Kun"

Hate Weeaboos

Love
クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

Bulk Photo Post #2

Me and the cool Hawaiian English teacher Carl :) ALOHAA

Real life Mario Kart in Tokyo

Random ninja strolling around Tokyo

Myself and the Daibutsu

Maneki Neko! (lucky cat!)

saw this in the toilets of a cafe run by two sweet old ladies

NOM NOM NOM PANDA in Chinatown

Classmates in Yokohama :)

Myself and Chipi, the family`s 9 year old Budgie :)

Skytree! 634 metres :O

View of Tokyo from 450metres in Skytree

Daibutsu

Me in the Shaolin temple :)

Dogs in Japan

Heeeeeeeeeeey

Because Japan is a very mountainous country, dwellings tend to be built upwards rather than outwards. as a result, small dogs are super popular here - Toy Poodles and Shih Tzus being the most popular. It`s amazing.

DOGS WEAR CLOTHES



and shoes and socks when the ground is hot

IT`S SO CUTE IMMA EXPLODE

IT`S A WONDERLAND

ahem. Today I saw a dog cafe too- no, not like the cat cafe. Dog cafes are normal cafes where you go in and buy coffee or whatever-but not only are dogs welcome, a special menu exists for them too, with things like sausages; and they sit on the floor next to your table with a plate of food. It`s AMAZING.

It`s such a cutesy idea :)

Also, dogs seem to be treated like babies here - literally

Dog buggies are fairly common (NOT TO MENTION ADORABLE) and the dogs seem well behaved enough to stay in the buggies and not jump out :D
I also saw a woman walking around the supermarket with two Border Collies in her trolley. My first thought was "what aisle do they sell dogs in"

Dogs are hugely popular on Japanese TV, so this kind of thing is common. Yesterday I watched a programme called "Petio" and saw a Shih Tzu trained to fetch the balls on a golf course, a Poodle in a tuxedo and (my favourite) a 6 year old boy and his 4 year old sister taking their Corgi on a walk for the first time. I melted :`)

When people walk their dogs here, they bring a bottle of water, and when the dog pees on the ground or on a tree etc etc, they pour water over it so it won`t dry up and leave a stain. I think that`s a fantastic idea!

I saw these outfits for sale in Asakusa and died laughing.

Before I go, I can`t forget one of my favourite (and easily most popular) Japanese breeds - Shiba Inu :)

They look like big fluffy foxes :`)

Night gang,
クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

Japanese Cooking - Gyoza

 

Hey y`all,

today I`mma tell you about my dinner today (WHICH I LEARNED TO MAKE WOOOOO) - 餃子　(gyoza- pot stickers)

Okay, so gyoza isn`t actually Japanese food, it`s Chinese - but it`s so popular in Japan that it might as well be.

Gyoza are little pastry parcels of meat and onion, and they are DELISH. I love them. And cos I am so nice, I will share with you a recipe! :D

What you will need are:

• Minced beef (one pack should do it, yknow like what you get in Tesco)
• One long green onion
• One long leek
• Pinch of ginger
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper
• Drop of Olive Oil
• Sake (Japanese rice wine, can get it in Asia Mart etc)
• Gyoza Wrappers*

Of course, in Ireland and other Western countries it`s quite difficult to get pre-made Gyoza Wrappers so here`s a video.

Ok, so once you have the wrappers, you`ll make the filling. Chop the leek and onion into very small pieces and feck it all into a bowl with the meat, salt, pepper, ginger, a drop of oil and a drop of sake. Mix and mush it all together (with your hands) until the meat is smooth and pink rather than lumpy and red.

Then, this bit is hard to explain, so another video is in order methinks. Skip to about 2:10.

Each wrapper should have no more than a teaspoon of filling in it - otherwise, it won`t close properly and the flavours won`t be locked in.

Now, put a bit of oil in a pan and put the gyoza into it, flat side down. Cover the pan and fry on a low heat. When the bottoms are browned enough that you can see the edges beginning to brown, take off  the lid. Put some water and oil on top of the gyoza and turn the heat to a high heat. Cover them again. Now just wait for all the water to vaporize and BAM! You`ve got a delicious snack :)

Can`t feckin rotate this

Nom nom nom!

We also had crab. It was yummy. UNDER THE SEA~

Hello also to fangirl @Aquinasaur :)

Peace out homies!
クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

Pilgrimage

Hey all,

Today was a national holiday in Japan (Marine Day) so my family took me to some religious sites in our area :) For those who don`t know, I`m a Buddhist, so it was a great experience for me, kinda like going to Lourdes for Christians :)

First , we went to this incredible statue: the Daibutsu (literally, Big Buddha)

It`s a 13 meter, bronze statue of Amitabha Buddha and it is truly breathtaking. It was built in 1252 by the Shogun, and originally it was housed by a giant temple. But, what makes this statue really special and holy (in my opinion) is that when the temple was destroyed in a huge tsunami in 1948, the statue was untouched. Similarly, the base of the statue was damaged in the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, but the Buddha`s body remained unscathed. Remarkable!The statue is also hollow, so you can go inside and see where extra reinforcements have been added to the neck and head over the years. It`s amazing.
I was approached by an old Japanese man here who gave me a letter written in English and asked me to write to him and be his pen friend when I got home. It was so cute :`) I also posed in the same way in front of the Buddha for a photo (which I will upload when I have WiFi) and loads of random Japanese people thought it was hilarious and took photos. I felt so famous :D

Next, we went to Hasedera, one of the great Buddhist temples in Kamakura. Here is me praying there :)

Big smile on my face cos I knew I was being photographed.

It`s got huge gardens and is dotted with statues of Buddhist deities, koi ponds and beautiful old trees. There`s also a sprawling underground cave filled with fortunes and small statues. I did おみくじ (fortune) and got an eerily accurate good luck fortune (which was better than the equally accurate bad luck fortune I got in Sensouji in Tokyo. But, I was able to negate the bad luck by tying the fortune to a special pole, so it was OK!) When I say eerily accurate, I mean it- these aren`t just things vague enough to apply to anyone. When Yukika, my Japanese teacher, and her son did omikuji before, his said "You are the youngest of three siblings" like WHHAAAAT HOW. I`m not putting mine up but it was very very real. whhhooooooa trippy

This is where you tie your bad luck fortunes to negate the bad luck.

Hase-dera temple

Hasedera is famous for its large wooden statue of  GuanYin Buddha (same one from Ofuna). Starting to sound like a broken record? She`s a very popular deity in East Asia, because she`s basically the Mother Theresa of Buddhism. Legend says that she was granted 11 heads and 1000 arms by Amitabha Buddha so that she could help more people than before.

After that we took a stroll around a Shaolin temple before heading back home. It was a truly beautiful day and I felt like I really got in touch with my spiritual side :)

Special shoutouts to @ConstantlyYoung, @Forever_A_Conee and this creepy man for shamelessly promoting this blog on Twitter! :D if you wanna get mentioned, feel free to tweet the link to the blog and leave the link to the tweet in the comments :)
Also feel free to follow me on twitter at @CaoimheCarnage :)

Anonymous comments are now enabled, but please be nice :)

Peace out!
クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

Japanese Snacks #2

Well lads,

This weekend in Japan is a 3-day weekend so tomorrow evening I`ll tell y`all what I got up to :)

I`ve tried some very strange foods while I`ve been here. Mainly snacks... by Jaysus they`re strange. Delicious, but strange..

Pepsi Crisps

Without a doubt, the WEIRDEST food I`ve ever eaten. Pepsi flavoured crisps. They are sweet and almost fizzy, and taste like Cola Chupa-Chups lollipops. I can`t get my head around them, they`re so weirdly yummy and whaaat I don`t even

Pizza Crisps

 I don`t think this flavour is exclusive to Japan, but I`ve never seen it in Ireland. These taste great, and far less bizarre than the Pepsi crisps (called Shuwa Shuwa Cola, if anyone wants to search for them online.) They taste just like those mini-pizzas you can get in Tesco or Dunnes- you know the ones, mini margheritas with no crusts. Delish.

Fish
I have tried sooo many fish and to my delight, lots of them taste amazing!

• Eel （うなぎ） new favourite sushi. Tastes like chicken with a flaky texture in BBQ sauce. Nom.
• Octopus - YUCK NO NO NEVER AGAIN it`s weeeeeird
• Squid - funnily enough I like this. At least the taste. The texture is weird as.
• Crab - Nom nom nom I like crab om nom nom UNDER THE SEEEEAAAA

ahem. Short post tonight cos I`m shocked over the death of Cory Monteith/watching Japanese news with bated breath over Royal Baby.

Night yall,
クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

Airurando no Shinbun (irish newspaper)

Yo!

Just a short post today to show you myself, my lovely teacher Yukika and lovely sponsor Joe looking fabulously sexy in the Tullamore Tribune.

STUNNERS :*

WE ARE GORGEOUS

xoxo
gossip goat
Caoimhe

ファッション （fashion）

Hey all,

Considering one of the reading comprehensions on the Japanese Leaving Cert paper this year was about Tokyo Fashion Week, I`m gonna talk about something pretty cool about Japanese culture- the fashion.

Japan has so many fashion trends that have really impressed me and befuddled me.
School uniforms are pretty fashionable here, for example.

It`s not unusual to be loved by someone to see people walking around in their school uniforms, even at the weekend- and really, can you blame them？

they look cool.
 

Another popular trend at the moment is platform Converse!

They add at least an inch to your height, if not more, depending on the shoes. They are EVERYWHERE in Japan right now, everyone is wearing them. Mad!

A subculture of Japanese culture is Lolita, and while it`s not that common, it`s by no means unusual. I`ve seen a couple of Lolita girls already! Within Lolita there are more subsets, the most popular of which is Gothic.

Lolitas basically dress in cutesy Victorian-style dresses and carry parasols everywhere. What`s most amazing about this fashion is that the girls usually make their dresses by hand, which astonishes me (a girl who can`t even knit a scarf)

From Lolita emerged a fashion that looks very similar to Irish girls at times- ギャル (gyaru- the Japanese pronunciation of "gal" )

Gyaru girls dye their hair light, wear lots of makeup and fake tan, and often wear dolls' eye contacts, which make their irises look bigger and therefore, more Caucasian.

 They`re very influenced by American culture. Unfortunately, as with Lolita, there are far more extreme subsets...

That`s "ganguro" and that passes for fashion here.


There are of course fashion trends among men too, such as "host" fashion

This comes from "host bars" which is basically the cat cafe from my earlier post except instead of paying to play with kitties you pay to flirt with effeminate men
There`s also "visual-kei", popular among musicians..

These guys just do their best to look like anime characters.
And my personal favourite, the punks!

Something else amusing about Japanese fashion (as I`ve said before) is the "Engrish". English curse words are on everything, it`s hilarious..

I know that`s the name of a Dead Kennedys album, but still...

On the other hand, I have seen dozens of women wandering around in beautiful traditional Japanese summer kimonos (called yukata)

Japanese fashion is a beautiful blend of old and new :)

Night y`all,
クイーヴァ
Caoimhe

Japanese Snacks #1

Whattup crackas,

Today I`m gonna tell you about some Japanese snacks :D

This is my new favourite snack food- カレーパン　(curry bread). I get it usually once a week as a treat for lunch (I had it today om nom nom nom)

If you like curry as much as I do, you`d love this. It`s basically fried bread with curry sauce and sometimes vegetables or cheese inside. It`s light but filling, and absolutely delicious. I intend to bring a suitcase home filled with it. It`s also cheap (￥180 for a large scone-sized piece - about 1.50euro)

Here`s another one I love love love - 抹茶キトカツ　(green tea Kit Kats)

Don`t be put off by the colour- it`s amazing. It tastes like white chocolate with a hint of sweet green tea and awwwwh it`s divine I love it <3 Also, probably because of the heat here (36C today) the chocolate is quite soft, making it even nicer to eat :)

Something I`m eating lots of in this heat is a more traditional Japanese treat - かき氷　（shaved ice)

It`s essentially a Slushee with thicker pieces of ice, so you eat it rather than drink. It`s just plain shaved ice with a flavoured syrup poured over the top - typically strawberry or green tea, but yesterday I had a Ramune flavoured one, so anything goes really. Sometimes milk is added to the syrup to give it a more ice-creamy flavour. It`s lovely and great to cool you down in this intense humidity.

Those funny looking things are actually chocolate dipped bananas - a very popular street food in the summer. They`ve got a few flavours- chocolate, strawberry, green tea, etc. They are insanely sweet, not something I`m a big fan of. They`re nice for the first  bite, but after that you can practically feel your teeth rotting...

Here`s another traditional Japanese snack - だんご (dango)

Dango are balls of rice dough flavoured with different things, such as green tea powder or anko (sweet bean paste). Those pictured are in a sweet soy sauce type thing, and are easily my favourite. They`re delicious and light and nom nom nom~

This last one isn`t really Japanese- vanilla pudding

but I like this brand cos Clint Eastwood is on the jar

Similarly, Boss Coffee

has Tom Selleck smoking a pipe

Speaking of Tom Selleck, please enjoy this photograph of him, the magnificent specimen of a man

Night gang,
クイーヴァ
Caoimhe