In the last blog post, I introduced the first half of this article. \u00a0I mentioned Japanese Curry, Climates & Local Foods, the National Flower, Population and the Language in Japan. \u00a0This week, I am going to continue by starting with the 6th item. \u00a0For the previous part, please read 1 of 2 for \u201c11 Things You Thought You Knew about Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n 6. Taking off shoes<\/p>\n When you go to someone\u2019s house you are expected to take off your shoes. \u00a0I believe quite a lot of people know this already. \u00a0But did you know you\u2019re supposed to turn the shoes heels against the edge of the Genkan \u2013 Japanese entry area of the house? Your shoes should be facing the exit.<\/p>\n When you\u2019ve done that, you can proceed to the rest of the house. \u00a0The reason for doing so is for efficiency, as well as manners, to keep the shoes tidy and in the direction of going out that you don\u2019t have to look for your pair being all over the place even when there are many shoes.<\/p>\n However, there is an exceptional occasion. \u00a0Mind you this might be trivia so not every Japanese person knows this. \u00a0If you\u2019re going to a house on an occasion like funeral or a wake, don\u2019t flip your shoes against the edge of the entry area of the house. \u00a0Some people say the spirit of the deceased will follow you as they see your shoes being ready to leave efficiently and quickly from the occasion.<\/p>\n At the funeral it is common that you\u2019ll be handed a sachet of salt. \u00a0When you go home, before entering your house, sprinkle the salt over your shoulders and be conscious to leave the funeral or wake behind and not to bring it into your house.<\/p>\n 7. Bathing<\/p>\n When you\u2019re going to the bath you mean you\u2019re going to clean. \u00a0In Japan, this is not the case. \u00a0Bath is more than a place to clean yourself. \u00a0In fact, don\u2019t wash yourself IN the bathtub. \u00a0Wash lightly and discretely before going in to the bathtub.<\/p>\n There is an area next to it where you can wash yourself with removable shower head, a stool where you can sit in front of a mirror to wash your face, head and what have you.<\/p>\n Bath water in the tub is usually shared typically among family members and even with guests if they have them.<\/p>\n It is manners to keep the water reasonably clean by picking up hairs and other stuff before you leave the room. \u00a0For guests, it is courteous to ask them to take the first turn to take a bath while the water is fresh. \u00a0A lot of times, small children get in the bath together with their parent and it is a time and a place to communicate.<\/p>\n 8. Tattoos<\/p>\n Tattoos might be perceived as fashion or personal statement, but in Japan it means something different. To be exact, it is practical to distinguish in two categories: 1. Traditional Irezumi and 2. Tattoos. \u00a0The second one is more of a recent thing, a fashionable style with Western influence. \u00a0For convenience, please allow me to distinguish them by calling them differently in this article.<\/p>\n The traditional stuff — Irezumi — is deeply associated with Yakuza, Japanese mafia, and it is seen and considered antisocial. \u00a0Nowadays, a lot of (young) people have \u2018tattoos\u2019 for fashion than representing their tribal association with Yakuza. \u00a0However, both Irezumi and Tattoos are received negatively and it can be a problem if you love Japanese public bath because tattoos are usually banned.<\/p>\n I love public baths, especially Onsen (hot springs\/spa). \u00a0So, I will never risk that by putting tattoos on my body. \u00a0Why they\u2019re banned? \u00a0That\u2019s a good question, actually. \u00a0I hear it is because Irezumi\/tattoos intimidate other customers and scare them away. \u00a0But I know for a fact there is also sanitary and clinical reasons especially when tattoos are new, and the public bath owners do not want to be liable or involved in such troubles either. \u00a0Let alone they don\u2019t want to be associated with negative image it conveys.<\/p>\n 9. Tea<\/p>\n When we say tea in Japan, it can mean from Green Tea, Brown Tea, Red Tea (normal tea in England) to all other sorts. \u00a0Green tea, for example, is appropriate for many occasions, but the major misunderstanding is how to make it. \u00a0Unlike other kinds of tea, green tea requires a more delicate approach to savour it to the full extent. \u00a0I\u2019m sure there are other ways but this is what I do with green tea.<\/p>\n First, it is important to know how to store it. \u00a0I store green tea leaves\/bags in the freezer, not in a cupboard at room temperature. \u00a0Because the leaves go yellow we call it \u2018leaves catches a cold\u2019 and basically the flavour is long gone by the time it gets to this stage. \u00a0You don\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s make tea with fresh green tea leaves. \u00a0Please note, don\u2019t use boiling hot water, because it\u2019d be too hot. \u00a0Instead, bring it to boil but wait till the water temperature is around 70 degree centigrade. \u00a0And then quietly pour into the pot with tea leaves.<\/p>\n How would you know the water is cool enough but I don\u2019t want to use a thermometer? \u00a0Mix cold water! \u00a0Don\u2019t tell this to tea ceremony gurus, they might not like it. \u00a0Hard water is not ideal for green tea anyway, don\u2019t be a perfectionist \u2013 be practical. \u00a0This is just a quick solution but it helps.<\/p>\n Boiling water is 100 degree centigrade. \u00a0If you put cold water up to 1\/3 of the pot first and then add boiling water up to the full level you will get around 70 degree centigrade, wouldn\u2019t you? \u00a0Calculate by how cold the cold water you are using is. \u00a0Brew for a couple of minutes and it\u2019s ready to serve.<\/p>\n Brown tea, called Houji-cha or O-ban-cha, is very easy to drink after a meal. \u00a0It is mild but not sweet. \u00a0It is one of the first drinks given to even babies, of course it will be lukewarm or at room temperature when given to them.<\/p>\n In summer, barley tea — Mugi-cha — is made and stored in the fridge in many households. \u00a0For the past decades, Oolong tea has become also popular. \u00a0Oolong tea is made from tea leaves but barley is not. \u00a0Barley tea is caffeine free and it contains a lot of minerals. \u00a0It is healthy and particularly nice chilled to drink after a hot and long summer day.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s one of my school time memories. \u00a0Children take barley tea frozen in their flask to school to drink after PE or other sports activities. \u00a0The frozen tea will thaw while they are busy attending lessons, and when there are allowed to take a break, they dash to their flasks. \u00a0It is such a rewarding moment. \u00a0Tea is slowly thawing but is still perfectly cool and chilled. \u00a0Kids love it when they come back from playing sports outside all day. (They\u2019re not allowed to drink beer yet\u2026 lol)<\/p>\n 10. New Year and Chinese New Year<\/p>\n It is known that many Asian countries celebrate Chinese New Year. \u00a0However, it\u2019s less known that it is not really celebrated in Japan. \u00a0In Japan, New Year is 1 January. \u00a0We used to celebrate Chinese New Year, until it was changed to 1 January according to Gregorian calendar during the Meji restoration.<\/p>\n New Year is called \u304a\u6b63\u6708 Oshogatsu or \u6b63\u6708 Shogatsu in Japanese, and it does not just mean the first day of the year but the first MONTH of the year. \u00a0The second character of \u6b63\u6708(Shogatsu) \u2013so\u6708 –means \u2018 month.\u2019 \u00a0This character means the Moon. \u00a0It is the first character for Monday \u6708\u66dc\u65e5 for obvious reasons. \u00a0This character is pronounced either gatsu or tsuki, as it changes its reading depending on the context.<\/p>\n 11. Christmas and Valentine\u2019s Day<\/p>\n \u201cDo they know it\u2019s Christmas Time At all?\u201d – \u00a0Ohh yes, we do. \u00a0We do celebrate both Christmas and Valentine\u2019s Day, but we just do it \u2018slightly\u2019 (?) differently. \u00a0How different is it? \u00a0For example, Christmas is definitely the most important national holiday in Christian countries, but in Japan t is not a holiday.<\/p>\n Having said that, a great many people enjoy it as a very joyous, festive season. \u00a0The streets, buildings, shops and some houses are decorated with lights \u2013 this part is quite similar to the West. \u00a0However, one BIG difference I would say, or even odd (?) difference might be, we don\u2019t eat turkey.<\/p>\n We BUY a substitute from somewhere. \u00a0This somewhere is \u2013 KFC \u2013 Kentucky Fried Chicken. \u00a0If you get to spend Yuletide in Japan, you\u2019ll probably see KFC adverts on TV all the time. It is absolutely one of the biggest campaign season for them. \u00a0 They\u2019ll be sending out messages \u201cSpeaking of Christmas, it\u2019s KFC. Let\u2019s have KFC for Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n I might have been living in the West for too long. \u00a0I can\u2019t spend Christmas without Christmas Dinner. \u00a0 I even miss Pumpkin Pie on Thanks Giving where I don\u2019t even live in the states!! \u00a0There is another reason why Turkey or Goose are not common in Japan. \u00a0It is not because they don\u2019t like them. \u00a0It is because not many houses have an oven – That\u2019s why!<\/p>\n Valentine\u2019s Day in Japan is interpreted even more differently. \u00a0The original meaning was, not quite lost in translation, but construed differently. \u00a0Besides, I’m not sure if people know the actual meaning of the day. \u00a0I really think any average Japanese person probably has never thought about it. \u00a0There is no doubt they will not think of the martyrdom of the Saint Valentine, before thinking of chocolate.<\/p>\n But why chocolate? \u00a0There are several theories. \u00a0Whatever the truth is, definitely it is the day you will see enough chocolate to even put off a choc-freak. \u00a0St Valentine\u2019s Day is, for girls, they \u2018have-to-buy-chocolate\u2019 day, and for boys it is the \u2018have-to-receive-chocolate-or-you\u2019re-a-sad-individual\u2019 day.<\/p>\n St. Valentine\u2019s defiance in performing marriages in secret for young lovers, somehow turned into the day that \u2018even\u2019 girls are allowed to make confession of love to boys. \u00a0Where it would be considered daring otherwise. \u00a0They are \u2018allowed\u2019 to be proactive for the day. \u00a0They\u2019re encouraged to give chocolate to the men they fancy.<\/p>\n This may be a serious day for teenage girls and boys, but in general, it is more of a custom.<\/p>\n Some people argue it was because of Morozoff, one of the major confectionery & cake companies in Japan, who introduced St. Valentine\u2019s Day to the country, and that other confectionery companies followed to promote their sales.<\/p>\n Be it true or not, and whether I like the idea or not, chocolate for St. Valentine\u2019s Day and that it is always that girls have to buy for boys has not changed for a long time.<\/p>\n For more information on St Valentine\u2019s Day in Japan, see Giri Choco (obligatory chocolate) and other variations of chocolate giving.<\/p>\n Written by Rie<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the last blog post, I introduced the first half of this article. \u00a0I mentioned Japanese Curry, Climates &\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[575,574,954,576,952,951,577],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","tag-climate","tag-curry","tag-custom","tag-flower","tag-japanese-culture","tag-japanese-interpreter","tag-population"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/250e2afa59f569a9a9bf1a187a4b5ed4.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbLWmG-1N","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2758,"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions\/2758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rie.london\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\u571f\u8db3\u53b3\u7981\"](\"http:\/\/momolation.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/03\/e59c9fe8b6b3e58eb3e7a681.jpg\")
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