Photo by filmmaker in japan on Flickr
The Geisha: one of Japan’s most famous, but also misunderstood cultural icons. A common misconception is that these illusive women are some kind of high-class call girl, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. In short, their role is simply to entertain clients, male and female, with conversation, dance, music and drink pouring.
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Just watched this interesting video from Intercultural Twilight Zone on what the Japanese think about our western customer service. From being in retail for over a decade I can certainly say I broke my fair share of these rules. However, it’s a pretty tough gig and I’m sure even the ultra polite Japanese servers are boiling up under their cool exteriors when they get trouble customers :)
Another great link from Kirai. These two videos take a leisurely stroll through various locations in Japan during different times of day. It’s a really cool idea and it’s nice to see some of the different areas of Japan. I just don’t think I could ever walk that slowly :)
Found this neat video on Kirai today. It’s a promotional piece from Sony but it features 47 girls dancing from Japan’s 47 prefectures. Two things I learned was that it’s difficult to pick out the different places you’ve visited, and these girls a bit better dancers than me :P
Since the video goes so fast, you can check out where each of the dancers are from on Sony’s website here.
Photo by Cocoarmani on Flickr
Japanese cherry blossoms (Sakura) are a famous national celebration, and crowds from all around the world come every year to enjoy spring in Japan. But there is another natural event that worth the visit; the autumn leaves colors. Leaves turn to yellow, orange, red, purple, ruby, vermilion…giving a mystic atmosphere to some places. The Japanese summer is really hot and humid, and though Japanese enjoy the summer, I have a feeling that they are impatient for autumn to start and finally being able to enjoy the autumn colors and an outdoor activity without getting a sunburn.
Photo by kanegen on Flickr
Japan might be famous for mouthwatering food like sushi and sashimi, as well as for gorgeous geisha, technological advancements and cherry blossom, but this isn’t the only side of this unique country to have achieved notoriety. Whilst the main cultural reference points of Japan are more widely known, there are also a number of subcultures that have developed alongside over the years. One of the most fascinating of these is the subculture of customising vans.
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Photo by Stuck in Customs on Flickr
If you are bored to death by your daily monotonous activities, why shouldn’t you break the monotony by choosing a totally different country for your next vacation? Why not go to Japan? Spend some time there, enjoying everything that this new culture has to offer; I bet that your creativity and imagination will be the first to benefit from such an outstanding experience.
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Photo by tokyoform on Flickr
A hundred years ago, travel to Asia was a prospect fraught with peril. Not only was it a trip that required weeks of transport via train, boat, or both, but once you got there you would have to deal with a language barrier and a totally different culture.
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Photo by St Stev on Flickr
Sorry for being late with my typical Tuesday post. I was helping a friend with an appointment, so I was away all day yesterday.
Today I came across an interesting article on the popularity of social networking in Japan. The Japanese are certainly big on media consumption, but often it’s done in a completely different way than in the West.
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Photo by tokyoform on Flickr
Interesting BBC article on how Japan’s population is predicted to shrink by one-third by 2060. There’s some interesting figures on what this will mean, but no exact reasons are given to why the trend is going on. Perhaps it has something to do with singleness being on the rise in Japan?
The research says that Japan’s population will keep declining by one million people every year in coming decades. – BBC
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