Taikinblog

Hi,friends.Happy new year!
2020 has arrived finally.I,m sure that you have lots of things you wanna do in this year.Stay energetic and foolish.Btw,I went to “Ueno” in Tokyo to buy ingredients for Japanese dishes called Osechi yesterday Jan 1 2020,then I took the following photos there.

Hi,friends.I will write about the events Japanese do on New year holidays today.
Since New year 2020 is coming,you guys must be exited and might feel getting old.Time flies so quickly.When it comes to Tokyo Japan,Tokyo Olympic will be held in next year 2020.
We are so exited to see the event and looking forward to meeting people coming from all around world.
I think there are wide variety of customs for events that conducted on New year holidays in each country.Some of my friends from overseas are interested in Japanese one.So Let me introduce two things which are the most common traditional one in Japan.

①WHAT IS “HATSUMODE“??
HATSUMODE means visiting a Shinto shrine during the first three days of Jan in order to pray for God for their own Happiness,health on the year.Some shrines like Meiji Jingu( http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/index.html )attract more than three million worshipers every year.It is said that Meiji Jingu is the most popular and famous shrine in Japan.Since the shrine is basically opened on the night of new year’s Eve,lots of people belonging to Shinto come there to feel new year and hear the “Joyanokane”,the bell that rings out the old year.Other than that,people are supposed to buy “Omamori“,good luck charms and “Hamaya“,sacred arrows,to invite good fortune and ward off evil.Also by visiting the seven shrines for the seven Gods of shrines by Jan 7th,people are able to gain seven kinds of good luck(Wealth,longevity,Success in business,Wisdom,Virtue,general good luck and Victory).HATSUMODE is one of the authentic and traditional occasions.What’s more,it gives women to put on Kimonos in the present age.

②WHAT IS OSECHI THAT JAPANESE USUALLY EAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW YEAR?

If you haven’t been to Japan before,you’re not supposed to know it.Osechi is one of the Japanese traditional cuisines specially prepared for New year’s dishes to be eaten during the first three days in Jan.Most dishes are cooked to be preserved for at least three days,so women are able to take a rest during that period.A wide variety of prepared dishes are set in four-tiered lacquer boxes.Although there are kind of differences in the contents of Osechi in between areas,it is said that most of them are almost same.Each of the dishes has some auspicious meaning which reflects people’s wishes,for example,Kazunoko,herring roe,represents fertility,Kuromame,cooked back beans are health(mame means heakthy in old Japanese),and lobsters are for longevity because their bodies are bent like and elderly people.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today.

Hi,friends.How was your Christmas day?
Although I was gonna eat Fried Chicken in KFC(Kentucky Fried Chicken)yesterday,it’s was too crowded and quite long line up in front of the store.One of the staffs said I need to wait for 1 hour and half to order one,I’ve given up…
Even if most of the Japanese belong to Shinto or Buddha except for Christianity,we’re supposed to celebrate Christmas every year.I guess that it’s just for fun and the strategy that pushes Japanese to consume money even more by the government for economy. Going back to the main topic today,”Is it true that Japanese food keeps you slim?”.This is the question that I got from my friend from US.Let me write about it as follows.

Is it true that Japanese food keeps you slim?
Answer is yes.If you only kept eating Japanese dishes every day,it’s gonna keep you slim definitely.In general,old Japanese were not supposed to eat meat,but instead of that,they used to eat fish and Soybeans that kept Japanese health and slim.
Most Japanese usually eat Japanese food such as Grilled fish,Natto,Miso soup, Pickled Japanese vegetables,Sushi,Soba,Udon,every day though we tend to eat fast foods like McDonald’s,KFC or western dishes these days.The average Japanese consumes 1,840 Kilocalories per day as opposed to westerners who consume approximately 3,600 Kilocalories per day.Furthermore,our intake of animal products is about half that of westerners.So If you try to go on a diet,you should shift to the style of Japanese food and eat fish instead of meat.

Thank you for your time and reading my blog today.

Hi,friends.How you doing? I will write about what Geisha is in Japan today.
I visited in the western part of Japan Kyoto for business last week,then I came across Geisha on the street like above pic.The last time I saw them was 5 or 6 years ago.If you were living out of the Kansai district in Japan,it would be quite rare to see them in your life.While staying in Kyoto for a couple days,I’ve got a few questions about Japanese Geisha from our clients born in US.Let me write about them here.

①WHAT IS “GEISHA” IN JAPAN?
Although Geisha literally means “artist”,the Japanese use it to refer to women who mastered the specific traditional art of entertainment that includes Japanese dancing,playing musical instruments,singing and performing the tea ceremony.Until the end of the WW2,the Japanese girls were supposed to be sold by their parents and taken to “Okiya” where they were trained to become Geisha when lots of Japanese got struggled with poverty at that time.But women who become Geisha today have their own will,it’s all on them.Well-trained Geisha are basically respected as women who have inherited the traditional art of entertainment in Japan.Although the number of authentic Geisha have been decreasing recently,there’re still lots of “Geikos” and “Maikos” ,apprentice Geikos. When it comes to “Geisha” and “Geikos”,it is said that there are no exact differences between them.A best -selling book called Memoirs of a Gaisha,written by American Arthur Golden,has generated a renewed interest in Geisha.

②WHAT IS KIMONOS?
The cloths the women putting on you can see above pics are called “Kimonos”.What we call Kimonos today were originally a kind of underwear called “Kosode” worn under longer robes in Heian period(794-1185).It was at the end of the Muromachi period(1336-1573) when Japanese women began to wear them without the robes.In the middle of the Edo period(1603-1868),Kimonos have become more decorative and the sashes called “obi” were made wider.The bottom of Kimonos used to drag along the ground til women started to adjust their length by tying them at the waist using sashes.“Obi” were wrapped around the waist twice and tied in the back with a original bow.As for most of the women today,Kimonos are only worn on special occasions such as New year’s season,a coming-of-age ceremony or receptions.Some of my foreign friends guess that Obi bows are supposed to use for carrying objects,but it’s not the case of course.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.
If you are interested in the culture of Gaisha in Japan,I highly recommend you visit in Kyoto.You will be able to meet them and having a good experience there.

Hi,friends.I will write about a jam-packed train I usually see every morning on my way to work in Tokyo.Although I’m used to come across the situation above the photo,you guys living in other countries might feel weird. Especially Tokyo,Osaka,Nagoya are the most crowded and popular cities for business or schools in Japan that mean people are gathered and gets jammed even more.Those terrible commutation by trains makes Japanese depressed and not wanna go to work or schools.As for me,I was living in rural are HACHIOJI,TOKYO 4 years ago and had to commute to the office by train for 1 hour and half,it was like hell.Then I’ve decided to move to SHIBUYA where is near the workplace. But there are still lots of employees spending over 1 hour for just commutation every day in the company I’m working at.It’s true that 70% of my colleagues have no choice but to commute from countryside by train for their family.Are you able to stand it with you packed in too crowded train for over an hour every morning? I couldn’t unfortunately…

①Why doesn’t Japanese use their own cars for commutation?
If you live in above gigantic cities such as Tokyo,Osaka,Nagoya in Japan,it’s very costly for you to just park your own cars.Now,I’m living in the middle of Tokyo,Shibuya,it costs 300～400USD for just parking per month.Aside from that,the cost of running a car,including insurance,amounts to a great deal to be honest.It’s way over the top and the reason that people stay away from holding cars and lead them to use public transportation.What’s worse,in general most of the Japanese companies don’t have parking lots for their employees that force them to use the Jam-packed train everyday. That’s why almost of my friends don’t have their own cars.If we need one for vacations or something necessary,we are gonna rent one from rental car shops.

②Why don’t they move to near workplaces in those big cites?
Because the rent of house in big cites is too high for their salary.It is said,the salary for 30 year-old man in Japan is approximate 280,000 yen net (About 2,600USD*1USD=109Yen)a month.On the other hand,the average rent 2DK for central Tokyo SHIBUYA is approximate 200,000 Yen(About 1,800USD*1USD=109Yen).As you can see,it’s all due to the rent.

Thank you for reading the article today.

Hi,friends.I will write about Japanese religion today.Some people from overseas countries believe that most Japanese have a strong faith in religion like Buddhism or Shinto.But I don’t think so.Most of my friends or coworkers don’t seem even interested in any religion and not talk into it at all.They tend to believe and rely on advanced science rather than God or superstition these days.If anything,you would be teased or avoided if you are so into religions here from time to time .Some Japanese may think that “why we need to believe God without reasons”.Back in the day,my grandmother used to tell me that If you did something bad,God is supposed to see it and gonna punish you.That really hit me and effective for small kids,but once you have grown up,you try to put things in perspective and think logically.That gradually makes us not believe God.Of course,seeking specific answers is really important to develop our living standers or advance human societies,but if it’s too much,we would lose the emotional feelings and be like robots.I don’t mean to insist which one is better or not.Just “balance” is that I’m taking about.

①Do we all Japanese belong to Shinto and Buddhism?
According to a survey in 2016,the numbers of Shinto followers in Japan were 85 million,there were 88 million Buddhists and 2.5 million Christians.But total number of people who belong to above three major religions is approximate 176 million,more than the Japanese entire population about 130 million today.This means most of Japanese are on both the Shinto and Buddhist religions.Just so you know,I’m on Shinto so to speak.Shinto and Buddhism have co-existed in Japan since the 6th century,when Buddhism was imported from Korea,partly thanks to the tolerant nature of Shinto.Shinto is an indigenous one based on worships of nature.It has no founder,no dogma,no scripture and its most essential concept is purity.It is said the greatest Shinto impurity is death,and it’s always considered taboo.On the contrary,Buddhism mentions how to escape the agonies of your life and reach nirvana,or enlightenment.Therefore,most Japanese usually visit Shinto shrines for occasions related to this life such as Omiyamairi,baby’s first shrine or weddings.On the other hand,we visit Buddhist temples for events related to life after death,such as funerals.

②When do Japanese visit shrines and temples?
Lots of families in Japan have small household Shinto and Buddhist altars in their homes to pray everyday.The most important event for Shinto takes place in New year,when million of people visit shrines to pray for happiness and healthy year,that called “HATSUMODE. “Of course I’m also supposed to visit it next year.

Thank you for reading for this article today.

Hello,friends.How are you doing?I will write about the average age for getting married in Japan today.Last week,one of my best friends in high school got married and I’ve attended his wedding party.It was touching and felt that getting old at the same time.He’s 27 years old,has two kids and great family already.On the contrary I’m addicted to just working and something that I wanna do.I know there are millions way for your life and no answers,in my opinion,the most important thing is to have your specific dream or ambition and make every effort to reach it at all costs.Anyway,Let me tell you the main topic as follows today.

①At what age do Japanese normally get married?
In 2016,the average age to get married to the first time was 31.3 for men and 29.2 for women.Up until the early 70’s,although the average age for women was under 25,it has been rising since then,as more women are pursing higher education and professional careers for stable life style due to prolonged recession in Japan,because,unless they have expertise or knowledge on specific fields,it’s harder to find a good job.Not only that,both men and women are getting married at wider range of ages today.Aside from this tendency getting married late,the increasing rate of unmarried people,especially women,are able to be considered a social problem. Approximate 60% of Japanese women between the ages of 25 and 29 aren’t get married.In order to solve this critical issue,we Japan need to improve the economic situation and make faster circulation of money that increase incomes to each Japanese and make them affordable to get married easily.
From my point of view,whether you getting married or not is not that important.We have a wide variety of life styles these days.If you feel great with only yourselves,you should not marry with someone. Just follow your mind.

②Is the arranged marriage still in Japan?
We had the culture of the “arranged marriages” in the past.For example,your folks try to find out someone who would match you and forced you to get married to him/her.But it’s absolutely obsolete here in Japan today.Nobody likes it that way.The arranged marriages are just about 6 % in Japan.On the other hand,love marriages are 94% today.Since the world war second,we Japan have imported lots of western cultures and ideas that changed conventional Japanese cultures and make us efficient,free and updated significantly.Of course,there were some disadvantages like losing cultural minds and so on.As for me.it’s not a big deal and the thing we need to accept.
Recently,It’s trendy to find out a girl or boy friend on SNS or dating apps like “Tinder” or “Pairs”.Since time is ticking,it might be a good idea to use one.

Thank you for reading the article today.

Hi,friends.I will write about why Japanese drive on the left of road.Since I was born and raised in Japan,I’m used to driving on the left side.On the other hand,it seems ordinary to drive on the right side of the road in the world. The other day,one of my friends visited in US for business and drove a car there,but the Americans usually drove on right side,he said it felt absolutely wrong and scary.
In order to prevent accidents,we all nations may need to consider unifying the line people drive internationally.

①Why do Japanese drive on the left side of the road?
There are some popular beliefs for the left side driving as follows.
Driving on the left side was more convenient in ancient times in terms of Japanese history,because warriors were supposed to stand on left side of horses to mount it and if they were riding on the left,they could hold weapons in their right hands to fight against enemies or protect themselves.As you can see the below pic of Japanese Samurai,he has a sword on left side that means it’s easier to take it out by right hand all of a sudden and hit enemies quickly. On the other hand,some say that Japan has adopted British traffic law in Meiji period,because we also had followed the method of the train constructions from UK.Although there’re some hot arguments about it,it depends on people which one believe.

②Why do most countries choose the right side of road?
It is said that there’re two reason as follows.
・Napoleon(1769-1821) was a left-hander
Napoleon is know for a person who has carried out improving infrastructure around countries he conquered.When he started doing it,instructed standardizing the rules of traffic law that including right-side driving.As UK was not conquered by him,it’s left-side driving.
・Due to strategy of war from Napoleon
In those days,it was normal to fight with enemies in front,but Napoleon has come up with a strategy that attach them by right side and made them be thrown into confusion.
Although I’m not quite sure about Napoleon,he seems interesting and intelligent.If someone seeing this blog know about truth,please let me know.

Thank you for taking the time and reading my blog today.

Hello,friends.I will write about Japanese gambling Pachinko today.
Basically It’s not allowed to do gambling in Japan like Casino,Baseball gambling,Soccer gambling,because there’s high possibility for people to get addiction and out of control.But Pachinko is one of the exceptions due to the interests of Japanese government.When I was a college student,I’ve once played the Pachinko with my friends and won almost 1,000USD for just betting 50USD that is called “Beginners luck”.That luck makes us have confidence,get addicted and spend lots of money and time,what’s worse,ruin your family and relationships of your friends.
But If you have full confidence to control yourself,you can try it when you visit in Japan.
Now Let me introduce what Pachinko is first as follows.

①What is Pachinko?
Pachiko is a kind of vertical pinball gambling that is one of the most popular pastimes in Japan.By controlling a manual or electric-spring flipper,a player launches steel balls to the top of the Pachinko panel.If a falling ball enters a target hole,the machine dispenses many balls.My friends who like Pachinko said it’s not only making money but also like to see Anime Characters on the display. The accumulated balls are able to be exchanged for money or prizes such as cigarettes or sweets.Although the numbers have been decreasing recently,there are still approximate 10,060 Pachinko parlors in 2018 according to the statistics.
So If you wanna enjoy with this gambling,you are able to play it throughout Japan.

②How much is the sales for Pachinko Industry ?
Sales for Pachinko in Japan is quite huge. I’ve made a diagram of it that from 2012 until 2018.Although the sales have been decreasing due to the strict regulations and getting variety of other amusements like Smartphone games,it’s still gigantic industry.In 2018,Sales for 20,700 billion Yen(Approximate USD191.7 billion)and Profits for 3,380 billion Yen(Approximate USD3.1 billion).Wherever it is,gambling is a efficient business to make huge money,but at the same time makes people crazy.

Thank you for reading this article today.