You've been in Japan waaaaaaaaay too long.
You can find cases like that here in America.
Come back to America, Greg. It's better over here.
You've been in Japan waaaaaaaaay too long.
You can find cases like that here in America.
Come back to America, Greg. It's better over here.
You can find cases like that here in America.
See, that's the important word.
'can'
If you look, you'll find them.
The above scenario is not something so uncommon that you even have to 'look' for it, because they're just here in massive number.
This individual for example, Joji (or George) is still a very popular TV personality that shows up on the variety circuit even though he had sex with a 15-year old while married.
Shocking? Maybe. Taboo? Nope.
Come back to America, Greg. It's better over here.
Not a chance, I'm here for at least another 4 years.
Do you not like America?
Not a chance? Did you make a contract or something like that? Are you being thretened by Yakuza or whatever that Japanese Mafia is called? :S
They also thought a sneeze was your soul trying to escape through your nose.
It isn't?!? D:
And they weren't THAT ridiculous and you know it. A better example would've been the leeches used during the Black Plague or something. But yeha, I have friends who's parents were born in Mexico and their parents ages usually match up like mom=14-16, Dad=27-30. And I don't wave my finger at them in disguist because if their culture allows it, so be it.
When all those female teachers go around nailing their 13 yr old male students, it isn't THAT scandelous over here. So yeah..that was kinda the point of that SP episode. I dunno, there are bigger problems than OMFG they sexed up some minors. I mean, I got hit on by adult women or college aged women since I was in 7-8th grade and I didn't go through with anything regardless of how cool or attractive they seemed. So as with most issues, I think it's the parent's responsiblity to set them straight if they don't want their kids running off with someone their age or older..
Do you not like America?
Are you kidding? I fuckin' love America!
But I worked my ass off for 5 years to get this dream job and there's no way in hell I'm just giving it up because I miss thigs like central heating, steak, pizza, malls with stores that don't suck ass, low consumer prices, Netflix, subs, Quick Check, my family, my friends, my pets, my awesome room, treadmills that work, weight equipment from the past decades, Cinnabon, driving a car, snow-plowed roads in winter, snow days, cheap utilities, houses with insulation, years without cicadas, normal-sized mosquitoes, clean beaches, normal-sized ice cream, cheap meat at the grocer, 2-liter bottles of soda, incandescent light-bulbs, being able to say straight-out, "No that's impossible.", to superiors at work, day-light savings, cheesecakes, ovens, hot running water, dryers, not having to separate trash into literally 5 catgeories and oh yeah, not getting scowled at by old people for being different.
Not that I think about them constantly or anything.
Not a chance? Did you make a contract or something like that? Are you being thretened by Yakuza or whatever that Japanese Mafia is called?
I have a contract I can renew on a yearly basis up to 4 times, hence 5 years total.
that and he's got a girl friend. teases
so what's this about no hot running water? are you exaggerating.
and I find here, the stores in malls suck ass too.
so what's this about no hot running water? are you exaggerating.
No, everything on that list is dead serious. My apartment does not have hot running water. There is a gas adapter for the shower but all of my faucets are linked to a common unheated pipe.
and I find here, the stores in malls suck ass too.
I'm a little biased here because I'm from Jersey, the mall capital of the universe ^o^;
That last one really grates on me…but I suppose it's common for old people to have pretty strong feelings of racism.
in other jappo news
i can only imagine the flavors
oh so you can still have hot showers and baths. (not that you would, I remember taht little tub) what do you do to wash dishes? boil water?
Nope, I stick my hands in friggin' freezing water and scrub them like you wouldn't believe.
i dunno why ur so surprised REAL LIFE IS WORSE!!!!!!!!!
ive seen it T________T
Are you kidding? I fuckin' love America!
But I worked my ass off for 5 years to get this dream job and there's no way in hell I'm just giving it up because I miss thigs like central heating, steak, pizza, malls with stores that don't suck ass, low consumer prices, Netflix, subs, Quick Check, my family, my friends, my pets, my awesome room, treadmills that work, weight equipment from the past decades, Cinnabon, driving a car, snow-plowed roads in winter, snow days, cheap utilities, houses with insulation, years without cicadas, normal-sized mosquitoes, clean beaches, normal-sized ice cream, cheap meat at the grocer, 2-liter bottles of soda, incandescent light-bulbs, being able to say straight-out, "No that's impossible.", to superiors at work, day-light savings, cheesecakes, ovens, hot running water, dryers, not having to separate trash into literally 5 catgeories and oh yeah, not getting scowled at by old people for being different.
Not that I think about them constantly or anything.
I have a contract I can renew on a yearly basis up to 4 times, hence 5 years total.
Hey Greg, how'd you become an exchange student? And excetly what do you do in Japan? I forgot.
Oh yeah, I've been hearing these crazy stories in Japan, I guess I'll just take a vacation there
I think he is teacher, and who knows what he did, but I'm sure it was frickin hard for him to achieve his dream and even more to overlook the negative things of his Japanese Life.
Anyways, how are Lawyers in Japan, Greg? Have you ever needed their services? :P
@Cap'n:
in other jappo news
[qimg]http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/10/20/world/20japan.xlarge1.jpg[/qimg]
It'd be funnier if the bend was up by his crotch.
…then again, could be a midget.
Are there midgets in Japan?
Do Asian midgets exist?
what about needing hot water to sanitise the dishes?
@ kaimei: ask him to bring up his story about going to the doctor. I still remember that one, and I was a new member then. XD
@ kaimei: ask him to bring up his story about going to the doctor. I still remember that one, and I was a new member then. XD
Well, who doesn't know that Doctors are EVIL, plus they write like if they were tards..
Anyways…....
What about perverts? Have any dirty old woman ever tried to take advatange of you in a packed place? :S
no no no, you have to hear the story. you haven't heard anything yet.
(wonder if I can find it)
EDIT: oh here it is. still a good read.
http://apforums.net/showthread.php?t=5534
Hold the phone.
I just found out an awesome piece of useless trivia.
This past weekend I learned the precise origin of the 'V sign' in Japanese photographs:
Jun Inoue.
He's a popular talent on the variety circuit who pops up in films and TV drams from time to time. He had a popular series of catch-phrases in the 1970's, one of which was, "Peace!"
That in and of itself doesn't account for much but in 1972 he appeared in what was apparently a very popular commercial for the camera company Konica. During the shoot he was photographed in a number of 'candid' photos where he was flashing the 'V sign' in all of them. He came up with the ad-lib based on the sign's popularity abroad. Taking a look at random photographs from 1972 forward shows the sign continually while there have been no findings to date of the sign in Japanese family/friend photos prior to 1972.
And if this sounds similar to the wiki on it, it's because I just wrote that before coming here. Wow. Makes me wish Spring of Trivia was still on TV.
That is freaky man, I was just reading the V sign article on wiki the other day. I just ran by there again and saw your add.
Presenting the shit I'm going to have to put up with for the next year:
vkMOtFXi1MA
Presenting Jero, a 1/4 Japanese guy from California who sings enka and the cause of what's sure to be a year filled with unecessary bullshit jokes and comments from press and celebs with a healthy dose of obasan fangirl screams.
Jero came to Japan with a sob story about how he made a promise to his now dead Japanese grandma that he would appear on the Kohaku New Year's special singing enka. If that wasn't enough to get the collective mind of the Bor…I mean Japanese people ready to hand the guy a contract there's the WACKY AND ZANY JUXTAPOSITION OF A BLACK GUY IN HIP-HOP GEAR SINGING ENKA! WHERE DOES THE HILARITY END!
"Greg! I'm offended by your comments! Is there something wrong with him being black!?"
Shut up. Now.
Do you know what this means? It means a year of him showing his face on countless programs telling the same story while the hosts shed the same fake tears that sell their programs so well, while making the same goddamn immature jokes time and time again:
"So you DO speak English right!? HYUCK HYUCK HYUCK!" (I hear this everytime I meet someone new and it just makes me wanna punch them in the face)
"YOU LIKE NATTO!? But you're a foreigner! And to top it off, you're black!!" Fucking Japanese people and this natto exclusivity bullshit. Jero has to go and pick Natto and Umeboshi as his favorite food so everytime we have to see everyone be amazed. As if he were the first foreigner on TV say he liked them. In fact, I used to say I liked natto too (and I do) until I realized what a tool I sounded like and got the same annoying response everytime.
"He's a black genius!" This cracks me up the most. The Youtube crowd is already gushing over him in his videos where they can't understand a lick of Japanese and see how they're talking to/about him. A 'black genius'? That's some stupid shit right there. As if it was an amazing event to have a black person be talented. Oh wait, I'm sorry, he's a genius because he's singing in Japanese....LIKE ALL THE OTHER FOREIGN ARTISTS WHO SING IN JAPANESE HERE!
I think this guy has a great gig going. His Japanese is very polite and everyone is already gushing over how wonderful it is, and honestly, he has a good accent (much better than Dizon's) but he sounds like a text book and its boring as anything.
So on both sides you've got people not understanding shit and going apeshit about it for the wrong reasons be it the Japanese who are just using him until he appears on Kohaku and then drop him, or the foreigners who think he's a hero that speaks kickass Japanese when he sounds like my textbook CD and is handled like a toy by the Japanese media.
It bothers me when both sides can't put shit in perspective. I dunno why, but it does. I can't wait until the Jero fad is over. He can then join the forgotten ranks of Sapp and Bobby and all the other foreign oddities of Japanese media....except Spector who just won't die.
Y'know, before I read into the post, I had almost thought Will Smith was becoming some sort of big sensation over in Japan.
Still, I don't he sounds too bad at all. He's got a nice voice.
Kinda sounds like they are making fun of him in that video…
Kinda sounds like they are making fun of him in that video…
They're not making fun of him so much as they're acting like a bunch of jackasses being shocked that someone can actually sing in their language. Imagine that!
Wow, I gotta say that is a different kinda post then you usually do. Bring on the pop culture. XD
No one wears seatbelts in this country.
For all their advancements in technology and contributions to the world of science you'd think they'd BUCKLE THE SHIT UP.
I wish I had pictures to show you guys. It's ABSOLUTELY hysterical. After I finish my daily jog I'll be walking back exhausted beyond words and just see a sight that sends chills down my spine. A picture REALLY would suit it best but since I'm not creepy enough to take pictures of random people in cars, picture a 3-year old in the front seat of a car with an infant on their lap grabbing onto the dashboard without seat belts staring at oncoming traffic.
Yeah. I know.
Click it or ticket, only in the states.
Here too. They actively try to avoid it and are proud of it.
I have been told the following. In TOTAL seriousness.
"Oh it's the back seat don't worry, you don't need a seat belt."
"There aren't any cops around this time so you don't need to worry about it."
I'm NOT kidding.
I only found this thread and was reading the older posts…what exactly is 'gaijin profiling' and 'uwasa', Greg? And no offense, but if you see both good and bad sides of Japan, why do you write only about the bad ones?
Probably because it's more entertaining/funny/scary that way.
\And no offense, but if you see both good and bad sides of Japan, why do you write only about the bad ones?
Probably because the good parts are already being covered by all the people who don't live there.
Those are pretty stupid reasons not to buckle up.
sounds like people here 20 years ago.
hey greg, while we're on the topic of japan, how exactly do you make a japanese futon on the floor. I'm sure it's more than just throwing some blankets and a pillow on the floor. they have special roll up sleeping bag things, don't they?
Can you get that stuff over here? is it cheeper than buying a bed?
Here too. They actively try to avoid it and are proud of it.
I have been told the following. In TOTAL seriousness.
"Oh it's the back seat don't worry, you don't need a seat belt."
"There aren't any cops around this time so you don't need to worry about it."
I'm NOT kidding.
Haaa…Really though, thats humanity for you. Doesn't matter what country you're from, theres always gonna beat least one person with less-than-intelligently motivated optimism.
Actually since the topic is up Greg, I don't know if your into the numbers or anything like that, but how often do traffic accidents occur over there? Would you say its more or less or not really any different from the States?
I did a temporary log-in from a school computer, wrote a huge response, and had it all lost because the temporary log-in timed out. Sorry guys, won`t be going through all of that again today.
I did a temporary log-in from a school computer, wrote a huge response, and had it all lost because the temporary log-in timed out. Sorry guys, won`t be going through all of that again today.
Oy. Stuff like that's why I always write out and save long posts in WordPad before I post them.
If he was using a school computer with temp log-in I doubt he had that option.
While I have this topic to post in, I must voice my opinion on this issue. Greg-san, I have always liked and respected your country but there is one serious gripe I have about it. WHALING!!! Your (forgive me if for saying your if it is inappropriate) country has been illegally hunting whales and getting away with it just because of some loop hole on the law which banned them. They say it's for scientific research (lol) but we all really know it's just for gaining profits in a failing industry. The point of this is to ask you what the general attitude of this whaling business in Japan is. Is it just the government who wants to make a quick buck or is it everyone. What do you feel about this hot, controversial topic?
Well Japan isn't my country, not by far, but on the topic of whaling, they just see it like any other business. I'm not Mr. Save The Enovironment so I'm not exactly opposed to it. The general public seems to take it as something that just happens that's a part of culture. It's not like there's some big conspiracy to hide the fact that what they do is reviled the world 'round. Everytime some Greenpeace boat tries to harm fishermen it usually makes the news. But people just aren't vehemetly against it like they are on SO many other 'green' ideals. Like recycling for example. Which is yet another corrupt as shit venture in their country.
There are some regions of the country though, that literally survive on whaling. It's not some big corporate guy making his living, it's little people that live in modest homes in the boondocks of southern Japan. It's something they've done for a long time and it's how they make their buck. I'm not going to offer a reason for why they don't change their line of work because, I really don't know.
I will admit I've had whale sushi and it's super delicious.
sounds like the fishermen in eastern canada.
japan doesn't like recycling? why? I mean, besides being a minor inconvenience to sort things, it's something positive. trying to make things better. To me, that's like someone hating clowns. Clowns make people happy. What's to hate.
japan doesn't like recycling? why?
It's…..complicated.
It's not that they don't like it. Quite the opposite. They're obsessed with it. At least the general population. HOWEVER, the only reason they follow recycling SO strictly is because of a MASSIVE 'promise' made on three levels. I don't remember them exactly but I believe it was, civilians, producers & distributors. They would all follow an extremely strict policy regarding recycling (and believe me, it's STRICT, there are fucking websites to report people who don't recycle) however, to this day, the only people upholding the promise are civilians. The producers and distributors are not recycling via the policies of the promise.
I've never had sushi before. I love seafood, but usually fried so I wonder if I'd like sushi… probably not.
I've never had sushi before. I love seafood, but usually fried so I wonder if I'd like sushi… probably not.
Sushi's not so bad. I was pleasantly surprised at the taste.
Still doesn't top a good slice of pepperoni pizza, though.
The problem I have with sushi is two-fold:
If I wanted to spend that much money, I could eat a shiny new Core 2 Quad, or a gold sovereign.
It's so far afield from western cuisine that I can't develop a foothold– I don't know what most of the major components are supposed to taste like. Therefore, I can't select things I'd want, instead going for the "does this not have parasitic worms" or "this doesn't look like it's oozing" approach.
I like going to Japanese restaurants, but usually order a noodle dish.
- If I wanted to spend that much money, I could eat a shiny new Core 2 Quad, or a gold sovereign.
Yeah dude, sushi is expensive as fuck abroad. Here it can literally be a dollar a plate.
And even though it's the foreigner in me, delicious sushi I've had here ranks as follows:
1. Steak Sushi
2. Tuna (as in tuna salad) Sushi
3. Corn Sushi
4. Chuutoro Sushi
5. Whale Sushi
Ah… I didn't know sushi was expensive. Guess I wont be trying it. I don't wanna spend a chunk on something that I'm not sure I'll like or not.
Yeah dude, sushi is expensive as fuck abroad. Here it can literally be a dollar a plate.
I can see sushi being expensive in Arizona, given that it's, oh, 500km from the nearest place fresh fish might be produced in any quantity. Still, it seems you get so much better value from the non-sushi options– a typical full (non-sushi) lunch with miso and salad tends to be $7-10, while $7 would get you one, maybe two rolls (depending on type). I always thought the price was due to the intensive labour involved in preparation.
Also, I just always tended to imagine, I suppose, sushi as fitting into the same mindset that generates Japan's ultra-small laptops and 200,000 yen 11" OLED televisions-- an inherent drive to spend large amounts of money on the smallest possible item. :) The thought it could be affordable there strikes me as odd.
1. Steak Sushi
2. Tuna (as in tuna salad) Sushi
3. Corn Sushi
4. Chuutoro Sushi
5. Whale Sushi
I tried to look up what Chuutoro is… but could not find a picture of a whole one to see if it has big lips that smack when it speaks? :D I suppose I can get my head around eating white tuna meat more than some other fish, because it's normally served uncooked in salad. I assume the food safety regimen in Japan is more solid than in the US... but eating uncooked things is just an automatic 'freeze' moment for me.
The thought it could be affordable there strikes me as odd.
It's not just affordable, it's downright cheap ^o^ Of course there ARE expensive places but when you know when sushi is expensive in Japan, you're getting some top-class shit.
I assume the food safety regimen in Japan is more solid than in the US…
Nope. Especially not with their rash of cases of producers sneaking shit that shouldn't be in the advertised product. I have a friend who got IBS from eating pork over here.