Expanding the Kawaii Culture

[yubi-kobe-love]

Do you know how students will learn in the near future?

In the metaverse. The daily lives of everyone revolves around being comfortable in a virtual space; from emails, to social networking, talking with friends, business meetings, shopping, so much is done online the list is endless.

In a new and creative world, education must evolve with it.

For that future, we've just started using popular global online games for language lessons starting this spring.

If you like Minecraft by Mojang Studios or Fortnite by Epic Games from the States, we are pleased to offer Japanese lessons with Japanese teachers who speak English fluently.

Nowadays, convenience is key. You will be able to access us from any location (with internet access) to take Japanese language lessons.

We are now accepting new students daily.

Please feel free to send us messages!

Don't hesitate to ask us any questions!

[email protected]

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The tutoring center😁✨ language education

The language school and community network 🌍️✈️👜FuwaCINDY Tomoko 's Classroom in Kobe

Japan

@kobenokyousitsufuwacindytomoko

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🌟In that picture📸🌟 That's our actual Minecraft world for lessons.

#chineselesson

#englishspeakers

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#nextgeneration

#highereducation

#futuregenerations

#descendants

#offspring

#connectdiversity

#futuregenerations

#fansofthegame

#minecraft

#gamelover

#virtualworld

#metaverse

#coach

#announcer

#presentatiotips

#kobejapan

#introduceofus

#fuwacindytomoko

#fuwafuwamokomokocindy

[yubi-kobe-love]

Being from Los Angeles, the idea of walking is foreign to almost anyone who lives there.  Los Angeles is such a large city and public transportation is not that ideal that everyone in Los Angeles drives a car everywhere they go.  More often than not in LA, the streets are so dirty and smell of urine that it is rather unpleasant to have to walk around.  It’s also customary to run across various homeless people or rather unique individuals when you’re cruising the streets of LA.  People dread walking so much that they would rather drive around longer at a parking lot or along the street in search of closer parking to their destination.  I myself have been guilty of doing such things, because it's a far easier thing to drive around in my car than actually taking the energy to walk.  On the public transportation side of things, taking a bus or train is just not convenient to get to most places that you would like to go.  There are not enough stops and the trains and buses do not come around that frequently.  More often times than not, you are bound to run into a homeless person using the bus or train as their home, or run into some rather odd people.  

Moving to Japan, I have walked the most I have ever walked in my entire life.  Actually, when I first came to Japan, I hated having to walk everywhere and I missed the freedom of having my car.  But, overall, I have opened up to the idea of walking around.  First off, things are so much more compact and close together that it is actually feasible to do daily chores on foot.  There are multiple markets within a 2 minute radius of my apartment, dozens of restaurants, several laundromats, and various shops.  On top of that, the public transportation is really amazing in Japan.  It’s actually more convenient at times than having a car, because space is so limited in Japan, so parking is quite sparse and many times you would have to pay for parking.  On top of that, there are so many different train lines and buses that come around that normally you only have to wait for a few minutes before your train or bus arrives and they are almost always on time.  Finally, having to walk around everywhere is a nice change of pace from having to drive around and to be honest is just overall better for your health.

[yubi-kobe-love]

I did my last post around the etiquette of slurping noodles in Japan and how it is polite to do so.  I thought I would continue on this subject of certain etiquettes that you might see in social settings, restaurants, or izakayas.  In Japan, there are certain rules pertaining to drinking in social settings.  First off, you shouldn’t drink until everyone has a drink.  Next, once everyone has a drink, you should wait for the initial ‘kampai’ or cheers before enjoying your beverage.  Finally, something that most westerners wouldn’t know is that it is seen as completely rude to pour your own drink.  In many cases, you will be in a social setting with many people and the group will order many large bottles of beer for the group to share.  You must never grab the bottle for yourself and pour into your own glass.  If you want to drink, the easiest way to get a drink for yourself is to grab the bottle and pour a drink into someone else’s glass.  Once you do so, the person who you poured for will automatically reciprocate your gesture and pour you a drink.  This is a traditional and unspoken Japanese custom.

There is also certain etiquette I have noticed when you see Japanese businessmen (or salary men as they say in Japan) drinking together.  So, typically when they pour drinks the person pouring will grab the bottle with two hands to pour.  In the same fashion, the person accepting the drink will also pick up their glass with two hands and angle the cup towards the pourer to make the pour easier.  I have also noticed that in almost every case as a sign of being polite, the person receiving the drink will always act modestly and decline the drink, but the pourer will always insist that you drink more.  This is typical Japanese style, even if you want to drink or eat more, you always so no  as a sign of modesty.      

[yubi-kobe-love]

In most societies across the world, there is unspoken rules about quietly eating as to not disturb those that are eating around you.  For example, chewing with your mouth closed is a rule known worldwide.  I grew up in the US, but was raised Japanese, because my father was Japanese.  Japanese people are known as some of the most polite and well mannered people in the entire world, but they do have one interesting cultural habit that irks Westerners.  When I was younger, I reached somewhat of a culture clash when my father was teaching me how to eat noodles.  Aside from rice, Japanese people absolutely love noodles and consume a great deal of noodles in their diet, whether it would be soba noodles, ramen noodles, udon noodles, and so on.  So, as a young boy, I was surprised when my father kept urging me to slurp noodles with a loud and somewhat obnoxious sound.  Doing so in the States, would garner all kinds of glares from the people around you and maybe some comments on how rude and loud you are being.

So, I want to delve into why Japanese slurp their noodles.  Right off the bat, it's a widely accepted cultural thing that dates back so far in Japanese history that people do it without thinking.  Next, my father told me that slurping noodles makes the flavor of the noodles taste much better than simply chewing them.  I kind of equate it drinking wine.  For wine drinkers, you’re taught to swirl the wine to increase the contact between the air and the wine and then you are taught to smell the wine before drinking it.  In the same way, slurping the noodles enhances the flavor of the noodles.  Another reason Japanese slurp noodles is to show respect to the one that cooked the noodles for you.  By slurping the noodles you are showing visibly and audibly that you are enjoying the meal and showing that appreciation to the chef.  I personally still find it difficult to slurp noodles because of where I was raised, but I can appreciate the cultural history behind doing so.    

[yubi-kobe-love]

In the US, most service industries are entirely based around tips.  Tips are essentially giving extra money directly to someone who has provided service to you as a way of expressing gratitude.  So, for example, a waiter or waitress will give you service based upon the expectation that they will receive a tip according to that service.  So, going to a 7 Eleven in the US, there is an expectation of subpar service because you will not be giving the cashier a tip.  Whereas, when you go to a 5 star restaurant, the waiters or waitresses will treat you like a king, with the expectations of getting a nice tip.  In fact, I have had experiences where the server has chased myself or a friend or a family member outside of the restaurant because of the fact that the tip they received was lower than they expected it to be.  This is entirely wrong because the tip amount should be the decision of the customer entirely, but in the US, people at times are so entitled that they just expect things without putting in the proper effort or work.  

Moving to Japan, one of the things that sticks out the most is just how polite the society as a whole is.  Even just traveling to Japan on vacation it’s quite obvious how polite the people are in general.  You can walk into a 7 Eleven and get the same respect and treatment that you would receive going to a 5 Star restaurant or hotel.  Most restaurants or places you go, the service is extraordinary and the waiters or waitresses will always serve you extremely well.  On top of that, service in Japan isn’t tip based.  Good service is just part of the experience and it is expected as part of their job.  Essentially, as part of receiving a wage, the employee should provide good service to the customer, because that is simply their job (What a Novel Idea!!!).  

[yubi-kobe-love]

So I recently went back to the US around a week ago and I was just utterly shocked at the stark difference in the weather between Los Angeles and Kobe.  LA weather is pretty ideal in my opinion.  It is basically summer year round.  The whole week I was in LA the weather was near perfect.  I literally was wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts, typical beach wear, during my entire stay in LA.  In fact, upon returning to Japan, I had gotten a nice little tan because of the wonderful weather.  It rained one day, but to be honest, rain in LA hardly ever happens.  LA has been in a drought as long as I could remember, so having it rain in LA is actually a welcomed sight.  

Now, fast forward to this week when I actually returned to Kobe, I was completely and utterly shocked.  Mind you, I just came from LA so I of course was wearing a short sleeved shirt.  Well, the weather in Kobe is essentially the same as an LA winter and its already April!!!! On top of that, it has been raining off and on almost the entire week.  This makes doing simple things such as going to work, getting food, buying groceries, and so on quite challenging and all the more difficult.  For example, when I went to the grocery store, I had all my hands full with grocery bags, but I need one hand to hold an umbrella otherwise I would get soaked.  Obviously, I just sucked it up and did not use my umbrella and ran back to my apartment.  I got so wet that the entire hoodie I was wearing changed into one color rather than seeing water spots.  

[yubi-kobe-love]

I did a post a while back about how eco-friendly Japan as a nation was, so I decided I wanted to touch on that topic once again.  The thing that I had to adjust to almost immediately once moving to Japan was the fact that simple things such as throwing out household trash was actually quite rigid and structured in Japan.  Where to begin.  To start off, you cannot use any type of trash bag to throw your garbage away.  Typically in the US, I would always just toss trash away in an old grocery bag or shopping bag.  But in Japan, you actually must purchase designated bags and use those bags to throw out your trash.  On top of that, there are four different varieties of these bags that you must purchase and you must organize and divide your trash according to these varieties.  There is a trash bag for burnable trash, so that would be paper, tissue, food, and so on.  Then there is a trash bag for non-burnable trash, which would include aerosol cans, metals, and other non-recyclable items.  The third type of trash bag you must purchase is for cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles.  The fourth type of trash bag you must purchase is for recyclable items.  Now this is what confused me the absolute most.  In the US, cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles would be considered recyclable items, but Japan takes it one step further than the US.  So take a plastic soda bottle for example.  Usually those types of bottles will have a cap of some sort and a wrapper with the company information or type of drink that you purchased.  Well, these two items would go into the recyclable trash bag and the bottle itself will go into the cans/bottles trash bag.  So you would essentially have to deconstruct the bottle and take it apart.  I honestly, love and appreciate the effort the Japanese society as a whole puts into being eco-aware and think other countries could learn from their example.

[yubi-kobe-love]

I want to continue discussing the unspoken rules that I have found in Japan to be quite unique and interesting.  Another thing that I have noticed is that whenever entering someones’s home, everyone always takes their shoes off.  This is a common place thing in most of Asia, but quite predominant in Japan.  Moreover, guests will normally be given slippers to wear while in the home.  Finally, there is etiquette to how and which way you place your shoes.  Shoes are normally placed in the manner at which it is easiest to put on before leaving.  So, the heels of the shoes will be facing inward so you can easily put them on when leaving.  In addition, they should always be lined up and not casually put down.  

Another thing that I found interesting that’s quite unique to Japan is that smoking is allowed in most restaurants.  This is actually completely opposite to the rules in America.  In the US, restaurants do not allow smoking by law, so if you do want to smoke, you will most likely have to go outside.  Only bars or clubs where alcohol is served will smoking be commonplace.  While in Japan, you can actually smoke in almost any restaurant.  It will be commonplace to go to a barbecue place or an izakaya and there will be someone having a cigarette in the table next to you.  Moreover, on the street or at train stations there will always be designated smoking areas where people will be allowed to smoke.  In most cases, people will not smoke while walking, but it won’t be uncommon seeing someone having a cigarette while walking on the street.   

[yubi-kobe-love]

Living in Japan, I have discovered that the society as a whole is quite layered and complex.  There are about a million unspoken rules that people living in Japan live by and that they aren’t written anywhere, they are simply unspoken rules.  I suppose if you grew up in Japan, you would have been taught these rules by your parents or possibly teachers or even your peers, but for a foreigner coming to Japan, it might be difficult to pick up these rules without really putting some effort into it.  

Some of the things that I have noticed are courtesies that Westerners would never even notice.  For example, Japanese people never speak on their phones on public transportation.  In fact, it's viewed as quite rude.  You will rarely see someone talk on their phones on trains, buses, or elevators.  If they do, they will make certain to go to the front, back, or corner of the train to not disturb others.  In addition, you never see Japanese eat or drink on public transportation.  Something else that is a small thing, but Japanese also rarely eat or drink while walking.  They will often find a public area to sit down and finish their meal or drink before walking.

Another thing that I have learned is the there’s a specific place to walk on the side of the street.  In addition, on the escalator there are also specific rules.  I live in Kobe and if you ride an escalator you must stay on the right side, if you want to walk up the escalator you walk using the left side.  This is opposite in areas such as Tokyo, where you walk up the right side and stand on the left side.  There are countless other unspoken rules that are ingrained within the society that would seem rude if not followed.  

[yubi-kobe-love]

Since Christmas day is rapidly approaching, I wanted to talk about the difference in the holiday in both Japan and US from my perspective.  In the US, Christmas is most likely the largest holiday of the year.  Almost every single person has the day off from work.  What’s more likely is that most people have Christmas off till past New Years Day, so essentially it is just one big holiday celebration that spans several weeks.  Christmas time in the US is family time, usually relatives from all over gather together for this holiday, so its like one big family reunion.  People often join together, sing Christmas carols, admire Christmas decorations, and share in holiday joy.  Christmas dinner is also quite a big event.  People will either have a ham or turkey or some other large meat.  You’ll expect cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, or some kind of veggie as sides.  Moreover (or most importantly to some, hahahaha), Christmas is a big gift giving celebration.  People exchange gifts with family, friends, co-workers, lovers, and so on.  

In Japan, Christmas season seems completely different from my perspective.  Most people don’t live in houses, they live in apartments, so you don’t see as much Christmas decorations.  So, right off the bat, America feels more festive just walking around.  Walking around the city, you might run into a few decorations here or there, but nothing to the scale of the US.  Probably the most decorated areas will be shopping malls.  The next biggest thing is that most Japanese will probably be working on Christmas, its just a normal day in the calendar year to them.  Finally, where Christmas is a family holiday in the US, Christmas in Japan is almost exclusively for couples.  There really is no conception of Christmas as a family holiday.  People are more worried that they are spending Christmas alone, because they’re single.  It’s quite amazing how the same holiday all over the world can be celebrated so differently.

[yubi-kobe-love]

I recently did a post about my experience finding an apartment and some of the differences I noticed in spacing between apartments in Japan and apartments in Los Angeles.  I want to talk further about how I have had to adjust my lifestyle to the space.  One of the main things that is quite difficult to adjust to is daily life routines, especially cooking.  I enjoy cooking quite a bit, one would say it’s somewhat of a hobby of mine.  I have lived in various apartments throughout my college years and even after graduation, so I have seen a fair share of apartment kitchens in the Los Angeles area.  Every single apartment I have had, has had plenty of countertop space where I wouldn’t have to worry about where I would need to do prep work (i.e. cutting vegetables, seasoning meats, and so on).  There was always enough space on the countertops to have a dish rack for drying my dishes and space to do that aforementioned prep work.  On top of that, in the US, a kitchen is actually its own completely separated room.

Once moving to Japan and looking through various apartments I discovered that the kitchen was going to be something that I would have to adjust to.  First off, every kitchen I saw was basically in a hallway leading to your room, so the space is just really limited off the bat.  Next, the stove was going to be a huge problem.  Most apartments I looked at had only one single range to cook on.  In US, its almost standard to have at least four.  So when you’re cooking in Japan, you cannot really multi-task and cook multiple things at once.  The next issue is that countertop space is insanely limited.  To put it in perspective, essentially between your sink and the stove, you can only fit a dish rack, so when you’re actually cooking, you most certainly will need to move the dish rack out of the way (I move it to my coffee table or on top of my washing machine, hahahaha).  On top of that the countertop is so limited that I purchased a small detachable countertop that can be placed over the sink so I have extra space to do prep work.  This whole experience has been quite fruitful in the sense of improving myself as an individual.  I have had to learn how to be creative and maximize/utilize what little space I have and I definitely believe it's a life experience worth having.  

[yubi-kobe-love]

First, I’d like to provide some background on the actual Japanese term for an apartment.  The Japanese term for apartment is MANSION, which for a native English speaker is quite ironic.  For native English speakers, when we hear the word Mansion, we instantly think of something like the White House in Washington DC.  Like a huge and luxurious multi-bedroom, multi-bathroom, wide front yard/backyard house. Where in Japan, a mansion is basically any form of an apartment.  

So, since I have moved to Japan, I have often battled with the idea of space.  Japan is such a small country that they must utilize every single piece of land that they can.  In most cases, when they run out of space, they start building upwards.  Living in Los Angeles, there is undoubtedly a ton of space.  Houses have driveways, garages, pools and so on.  Most apartments and houses have multiple rooms, aside from the occasional studio apartments or lofts that you see in more urban areas.  Everyone needs a car, cause everywhere is just so far.

  When I first started living in Japan, the space was probably the largest culture shock that I had to deal with.  Initially, I of course had no apartment and I was basically living out of my suitcase.  I would constantly just book the cheapest hotel/motel that I could find while I would go through the process of finding a place to live.  I visited various apartments with a realtor, in total around 10-12 apartments.  The main thing that stuck out to me about mansions in Japan is that they are incredibly tiny, by US standards.  Essentially, most that I saw were around 20 square meters, which is roughly around 200 square feet.  When I think of 200 square feet, I literally think thats like one bedroom in an apartment, not the entire apartment itself.  Space is essentially not wasted and you can’t have too many unnecessary things in your apartment for lack of space.  

[yubi-kobe-love]

So, I previously talked about baseball games in Japan vs baseball games in Los Angeles, but I only touched on the differences in pricing.  This time, I want to touch on the actual experience at the games.  Firstly, baseball games in LA do have a grand appeal to them.  Dodger Stadium itself is gorgeous and uniquely located in that its perched on the very top of a mountain and completely isolated.  That in itself is quite amazing.  The next thing that jumps out at you is just how massive the stadium is.  If I were to compare the stadium seating at Dodger Stadium to that of the Koshien Stadium, I would have to say Dodger Stadium could probably fit almost double the amount of attendees.  The actual experience at the games is quite different as well.  In America, the catch phrase for baseball is that ‘baseball is America’s favorite pastime’.  I would say that accurately portrays the difference in the fans watching.  In US, people attend games to chat with friends, drink, eat and that watching the games for most comes second.  Of course when there is a nice defensive play made, a strike out, or home run, people will get involved and cheer, but the experience overall is quite different from a Japanese game.

I have attended several Hanshin Tiger games and I would vehemently say that the fans are intense and that they are really there to support their team.  Every single player on the team has their own special chant that fans will use to cheer in unity while the batter comes up to bat.  That was a huge culture shock for me and really something worth seeing even if you’re not a baseball fan.  On top of that, fans in the stadium always purchase these specialized Hanshin Tiger balloons that they blow up and release at the same time during the 7th inning stretch.  They’ll sing a song in unison and pump the balloons up and down to the beat until finally they release the balloons altogether.  The fans will also do this at the end of the games if the Hanshin Tigers end up winning.  Moreover, after wins, avid fans will be outside the stadium gathering together and chanting the players support songs in unison and they will go through the entire batting line-up that played to show their appreciation for the players winning.  The support and unity of the fans that they show to the team is really amazing and quite different from the US.

[yubi-kobe-love]

Since moving to Japan I have noticed that going out to karaoke is a really common thing for people to do.  Its almost distinctly a part of the culture and something that people really enjoy doing socially.  Just walking through the city, you’ll see dozens and dozens of Karaoke spots, often with workers outside trying to lure in drunk wanderers to sing Karaoke.  If you go to any major city in Japan you are bound to see a ‘Jankara’, which is the most famous chain Karaoke spot in Japan.  They are literally everywhere and to be honest, the inside of the Karaoke spots are really nice.  They serve all kinds of foods and drinks, they even have courses where you can do all you can drink alcohol.  To be honest, in this past year living in Japan, I have gone out to karaoke more than I have gone to karaoke in the US in my whole life.  

Being from Los Angeles, I would distinctly tell you that although people may occasionally go out to karaoke, it would not be that often and there really aren’t many Karaoke businesses in general.  Occasionally a bar or restaurant may have a karaoke night here and there, but definitely not all the time.  I just feel like the culture is quite different than Japan.  Typically, people would prefer to do outdoor stuff, like going to the beach or hiking or sports before they even thought about karaoke.  In terms of night time socializing, I would say people would choose to go bar hopping or clubbing before thinking about locking themselves up in a private karaoke room and singing.  I feel like people are more likely to get their karaoke fix singing in the car or the shower or home alone in their room than to actually go out to an actual Karaoke spot.  Maybe it has to do with being too shy to sing in front of people or maybe it doesn’t, but it definitely is a difference in culture.      

[yubi-kobe-love]

Baseball Season has just ended.  So, as such, I want to talk about the variety of differences between Japanese and American baseball from a fan‘s perspective.  First off, I am from Los Angeles and am an avid Los Angeles Dodgers Fan (another year, another World Series loss ***deep sigh***).  As such, I always attend a few games per year.  One of the amazing things, is that going to a Dodger game, I always expect to pay too much money for food, for drinks, for parking, and so on.  For example, just to get a Dodger Dog, which is basically just a hot dog, you expect to pay around 10-15 US Dollars, which is roughly 1200-1700 Japanese Yen.  On top of that, if you like to enjoy the game with a beer in hand, beers are normally going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-15 US Dollars as well, which is roughly 1200-1700 Japanese Yen.  On top of that, you are not allowed to bring your own food or your own drinks into the stadium, that is strictly prohibited, because the Stadiums make most of their money off of selling fans food and drinks.

Attending a baseball game in Japan is completely different.  I currently live in Kansai area and as such have attended a variety of games held by the Hanshin Tigers.  I was extremely shocked to learn that you are more than welcome to bring in your own food and drinks into the stadium.  In fact, when you come with a can of beer to the game, they will gladly pour the can of beer into a plastic/paper cup and take the can from you so that they can recycle it (talk about being eco-friendly).  On top of that, you could always just purchase food and/or drinks at the stadium, but the prices are far more reasonable than at Dodger Stadium.  For example, Beer Girls will be roaming the Stadium with large kegs on their backs ready to pour you a beer from the tap.  Those beers are smaller cups than they serve in the US, but at the same time they cost only 500 Japanese Yen, which works out to be around 4 US Dollars.  On top of that, you can get really tasty, fresh, and cheap food at the stadiums in Japan, so you really don’t need to worry about spending an arm and a leg for refreshments, like you would in the US.  So, just to attend a baseball game in LA (tickets, food, drinks, parking, and so on), you would easily expect to pay triple the amount of watching a game hosted by the Hanshin Tigers.       

[yubi-kobe-love]

I have attended quite a few weddings this year, both in the US and Japan. There are quite a few differences that I noticed between weddings from both　countries.  First off, Japanese weddings are steeped in tradition.  The feeling and atmosphere to me is that of reverence and tradition.  Everything is quite formal if you compare them to American style weddings.  The celebration is definitely more tamed, more like a formal banquet. The bride and groom will have their moment where they introduce themselves to the family.  Then family members go across the room introducing themselves and their relation to the bride and groom.  The ceremony continues and then the banquet commences.  Nothing gets to rowdy or crazy, just a nice formal meal.

 If you attend an American style wedding, there is definitely a formal portion to the celebration.  The ceremony itself is quite formal.  You`ll have the bride walk down the aisle with her father, then the father ceremonial hands his daughter to the groom, and so on.  But once the actually wedding ceremony is over, the actually party begins.  There`s always a dance floor at almost every single wedding, it`s tradition actually.  The father dances with his daughter, then the bride and groom will share their first dance as a married couple.  Then after that everyone joins in and starts dancing and having fun themselves.  This is the point when people get more loose and wild.  It`s really quite amazing noticing the differences in the cultures and celebrations.    

[yubi-kobe-love]

Japanese vs American Gestures 2 (with Hyokun)

It's always interesting to observe the differences between cultures. Everything from food, to customs, to the language can be markedly different. One differe...

There is a large cultural gap between America and Japan in terms of style of greetings.  In Japanese culture, the polite form of a greeting is the Ojigi (or simply bowing).  Based on the degree at which you bow you display a different sentiment or emotion.  For example, if you were to bow a complete 90 degrees you would be effectively communicating that you are extremely sorry or extremely thankful.  There is no body contact whatsoever in a Japanese style greeting.   In comparison, the American style of greeting varies greatly and there are many different types and style.  The most common would be the handshake.  The handshake is extremely important and in some cases people will judge your personality based on your handshake.  You want to make sure its a firm, but not too strong handshake.  Another type of greeting amongst friends is a simple hug, which shows that you know the person and are comfortable with them.  Another style is a wave or a head nod.  This is probably the only non-touching greeting that Americans use.