Why Japan?

I am often asked why I came to Japan. Many reasons that could be summarized in the different kangaekata, way of thinking of japanese people.  For example look at this article about the new iPhone which is quite a success everywhere in the world but still not in tha japanese market.

Human font

I found this work exhibited at Design Tide.
The names are written in one of the alphabet of japanese that is called katakana.
This is the alphabet used for foreign words but in advertising for graphic and feeling the alphabet do not follow the standard rules.
This is the katakana chart:

If I want to write my name on my business card I should do like this:
Giacomo should be written using japanese syllabus.
Gia>>Ja (ja is made using shi and ya plus  ” which turns sha into ja)
co>>>ko
mo>>mo
and then write
ジャコモ
Done! So it is quite easy to write your name in katakana.
Watch out that many names will change:
Franco will be Fu-ra-n-ko
Marta will be Ma-ru-ta
Paul will be Po-ru or Po-o-ru

take pleasure in engrish

I heard Japan is the country in the world that spends the highest amount of money for english education. Quite often the result are not so exciting.
Nevertheless japanese people love to write things in english: names of shops, text on tshirts…
Many many times the results are exhilarating.

Be brave: try goya

Another unknown food is the Okinawa goya. It could be defined as a bitter melon.

Most famous recipe is the Gôya Champloo easy to do, it is a refreshing taste if are a bit tired of other japanese food.

Be brave: try gobo

I think almost every foreigner in a japanese vegetable shops wonders what some of the products are. On one side one sees the expensive known vegetable and fruits: tomatoes, melons, … On the other a bunch of white and brown long roots which cost nothing.

Finally I found out how to cook one of them (gobo, in the picture) and I bought it.
There are many ways to cook it: with vegetables in a fry pan, with meat and in a soup.
As I was explained, clean the surface, cut it in small pieces “a la julien” leave in water a 10-15 in to take some of the bitter taste away and then cook it. It is very tasty!

a new friend…

After a whole afternoon in Akihabara i bought
denshijisho *電子辞書* the electronic translator will be my best friend from now on.

Ifyou plan to stay in japan for a bit it is highly recommended. It is not so cheap (15,000Y up// 100 euro up to 200-300 for the models with television) but it is priceless to be in a converation and quicly find the word that make you sound as an adult person instead of just saying “good/bad” “that thing” “yes/no”.

Do not forget if you are around japan buying electronic products to check www.kakaku.com to find the best prices

about translating japanese

I found an interesting article about japanese and combination af the different type of writing.
read it

japanese slang

Agura
Manner of sitting with legs folded and crossed on the tatami, usually practiced only by men.

Aho; Baka
Invectives meaning idiot or stupid. Aho is more often used in Kansai, while baka is more common in Kantô. It is a cliché that aho has a warmer feel, because, when Kansaians say aho, it is implied that everybody has an aho side.

*Aidoru (idol)
Young male or female pop star created by stragetical calculations of the production office. Flourished especially in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The most representative idols of that period [golden age] include the duo Pink Lady, Yamaguchi Momoe (1959-), Matsuda Seiko (1962-) and Nakamori Akina (1965-).

Aka chôchin (red lantern)
Drinking place for men and women after work.

*Akutagawa Shô (Akutagawa Prize)
Most prestigious literary prize, conferred twice a year. It comes in a pair with Naoki Shô, the most prestigious prize for entertainment literature. In the 1980s, there was a general feeling that literature was in a crisis, but in the 1990s, literature seems to have picked up again somehow. Prize since 1935.

Ama-kudari (descent from the heaven, or golden parachuting)
The practice of bureaucrats finding high-ranking jobs in quangos or private enterprises after retirement. This allows the bureaucrats to find a handsome source of income after retirement, at the same time allowing the quangos and enterprises to secure a pull with the high officials.

An; Anko
Bean jam, often used in sweet cakes.

Anime
Short for animêshon (animation). Animated cartoons. As a variant of the manga culture, came to flourish in children’s TV programs and in movies, and achieved an artistic dimension in the 1980s and 90s with the works by Studio Ghibli and by film director Mr Oshii Mamoru (1951-).

Asshii
Derived from ashi (foot, leg). Young man who was ready to go and pick up a girlfriend by car on her simple demand. A young man who treated his girlfriend to good meals was called Messhii (from meshi = chow). A young man who presented his girlfriend with any designer goods she wanted was called Mitsugu-kun, Mr. Tribute. [1989]

Atsu-zoko sandaru (thick-soled sandals)
Sandals with a sole thickness of 10cm or even more, worn by girls of the kogyaru type. A 25-year-old Kanagawa woman died on August 26, 1999, presumably from stumbling and hitting her head because of the think-soled boots (reported in the press on September 2). On November 1, 1999, a 25-year-old car driver failed to step on the brake because of the thick-soles boots and crashed against a concrete pole in Ibaraki, killing her fellow passenger. The thick sole fad came as a blessing to the shoes industry, one of the major industries of Kôbe, which suffered significantly from the 1995 earthquake. [1999]

Awamori
Local alcoholic beverage of Okinawa, resembling whisky.

300 kanji, 1.500 words, limited grammar

Yesterday I manages to apply for The Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Only for level 3 (out of 4). It is the equivalent (level 2 would be) of ZDF, or TOEFL…
If you are studying Japanese and you want to apply to this test that is held only once a year in Japan and abroad here some useful links:
http://www.jees.or.jp/jlpt/en/ official site
http://www.tanos.co.uk/jlpt/ material
http://www.manythings.org/japanese/jlpt/ material
http://japanese.human.metro-u.ac.jp/mic-j/listen3q/index.html        listening quiz

visioni parallele

ecco un altro blog di chi ha trascorso un periodo in giappone.
interessante anche www.zasso.it

oltre al noto nipponico

automatic translator…

thank you for exhisting. If it is a bad day and you do not feel like working just go to any automatic translator and try it out. Many interesting things might come up, this was today’s best:

読売を見てご飯もそこそこにだんなと走ってきた
“that rice ran with the master there there to see Yomiuri”

If any japanese reads this page, please send me a correct translation (or another funny one)
ありがとう。