Dear my readers

January 28th is one year anniversary of my weblog.  I really appreciate your support.  I had not expected that I could continue writing stories for a year.

Now I am thinking that I will take a rest from the work .  Thank you very much for your big support!

Happy Holiday and I wish you all the best for the year 2009 !               

                                                                             mirai

             Eye Contact ( shisen o awasu )

Are Japanese offended by direct eye contact in certain situations?    Yes!

I can tell you that Japanese don't look at your eyes all the time while talking.    Personally I don't hesitate to keep eye contact while I am listening and talking to someone.  However, I sometimes feel that they are uncomfortable to keep eye contact for a long time. Some people try to look away or down at some points...

Suppose a teacher is angry at you and giving a lecture, I would guess you would look at the teacher, right?  If your father is mad at you and if you don't look at him, he might say  " Look at me!"

In Japan, if someone is, scolding you or reprimanding you,  you should never stare at him.  In that case, most Japanese look at a lower point with their head down in order not to make him more angry.  If you look him in the eye, it is considered confrontational.

Some foreigners living in Japan say that is one of the most surprising things in Japan. What do you think?

Have a look at this picture, this is a common scene of it between a father and his daughter. Both of them don't see each other.    Well, there must be some different opinions about it from your experiences.

I think Japanese are nodding their heads or saying "hai, hai " or "mmm" instead of making eye contact. Maybe Japanese are shy in that way.

          The Year of the Boar ( inoshishi )

Japan uses an ancient form of the Chinese zodiac called Eto.  2007 is the year of the Boar( inoshishi or i ) .

The animals are as follows:  Rat (ne), Ox (ushi ), Tiger ( tora ), Rabbit ( u ), Dragon ( tatsu), Snake ( mi ), Horse (uma), Sheep ( hitsuji ), Monkey ( saru ), Rooster ( tori ), Dog ( inu ) and Boar ( i ).

Each year is named by adding doshi ( year ) after the names above, for example this year is inu-doshi( dog's year ). It is said to have adopted in Japan in 604 during the reign of Empress Suiko.

According to Chinese legends, before Buddha departed from earth, only 12 animals came in their devotion to him. Buddha honored them by naming the years after them in the order arrived. It seems snakes were faster than dogs back then!

As you know, Japanese people are very interested in other's ages. Every Japanese person knows what year of the zodiac they were born in. Japanese are likely to ask what your zodiac sign is, instead of asking how old you are. So watch out when they ask your zodiac!  They are guessing your age~~~

Next year is the year of boar ( inoshishi ). People born in 1995, 1983, 1971, 1959, 1947, 1935, 1923, 1911 are boar ( inoshishi ).  They are brave. They have tremendous inner strength which no one can overcome. They display great honesty. They are short-tempered, yet hate to quarrel or have arguments. They are affectionate and kind to their loved ones!

What is your animal?  Have a look at this list.

Rat:  People born in the year of the Rat are charming, honest, ambitious, and have a tremendous capacity for pursing a course to its end. They will work hard for their goals. They are easily angered but maintain an outward show of control.

Ox :  People born in the year of the Ox are patient, mentally alert and when required to speak are skillful. They have a gift for inspiring confidence in others. This allows them to achieve a great deal of success.

Tiger :  People born in the year of the Tiger are sensitive, stubborn, short-tempered, courageous, selfish and slightly mean - yet they are deep thinkers and are capable of great sympathy for those they are close to and love.

Rabbit:  People born in the year of the Rabbit are the most fortunate. They are smooth talkers, talented, ambitious, virtuous and reserved. They have exceedingly fine taste and regarded with admiration and trust.

Dragon : People born in the year of the Dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable, short-tempered and stubborn. However, they are honest, sensitive, brave and can inspire trust in most anyone. They are the most peculiar of the 12 signs of the Zodiac cycle.

Snake : People born in the year of the Snake are deep thinkers, speak very little and possess tremendous wisdom. They are fortunate in money matters and will always be able to obtain it. They are determined in what they do and hate to fail.

Horse : People born in the year of the Horse are skillful in paying compliments and talk too much. They are skillful with money and handle finances well. They are quick thinkers, wise and talented. Horse people anger easily and are very impatient.

Sheep : People born in the year of the Sheep are elegant, highly accomplished in the arts, passionate about nature. At first glance, they seem to be better off than the people born in other years. They are deeply religious and passionate in whatever they do and believe in.

Moneky : People born in the year of the Monkey are the erratic geniuses of the Zodiac cycle. They are clever and skillful in grand-scale operations and are smart when making financial deals. They are inventive, original and are able to solve the most difficult problems with ease.

Rooster : People born in the year of the Rooster are deep thinkers and are always busy and devoted to their work. They always want to do more than they are able, and if they undertake a task beyond their abilities, they are disappointed. Rooster people have a habit of speaking out directly whenever they have something on their minds.

Dog :  People born in the year of the Dog have all the fine qualities of human nature. They have a sense of duty and loyalty, they are extremely honest and always do their best in their relationship with other people. Dog people inspire confidence in others and know how to keep secrets.

    What do you think about the research?  Does that suit your personality? I am curious if it suits westerers...

              Yaki-Imo

 Have you ever eaten Yaki-Imo ?   Yaki-Imo ( baked sweet potato ) is one of the most popular winter snacks in Japan. 

Sweet potato ( Satsuma-Imo  ) is called Yam in the US, but I am not sure if US Yam is just the same as Japanese Satsuma-imo or not.

Since sweet potatoes were transffered via Okinawa from China in 1605, it has saved lots of people from suffering of their hunger, especially after the war.  Now sweet potato is a key ingredient in variety of Shochu ( distilled spirits).  Over 40% of sweet potato of Japan is produced in Kagoshima prefecture ! 

You can cook Yaki-Imo with an oven at home, but here are Yaki-imo men!   They are selling Yaki-Imo with a small truck carrying burning wood.  Their Yaki-Imo has a special name called Ishi-Yaki-Imo.  Ishi means stone. They make a very distictive announcement.  The potatoes are baked on hot pebbles and the fire.

It seems that the Yaki-Imo man thing is one of the quirkiest things for foreigners in Japan.  In this modern society,  the Yaki-Imo vendor seems to look quite backwards. When they drive around your place, you can hear weird announcement of theirs. "  Yaki-imo~~~  Ishi-Yaki~~~~Imo~~~~, Yaki-imo~~~ "  Can you hear it ?

When you want to buy it, just go out of your house and stop the truck by waving or calling him. I guess it is the same way you stop an ice cream man !

One more, digging sweet potatoes is a big and enjoyable event for Japanese children, which is called Imo-Hori.

You can do Imo-hori in this season here !

          Seto Inland Sea

 The coastal area of Seto Inland Sea ( seto-naikai ) is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Japan.  This was appointed as the first  National Park (kokuritsu koen ) of Japan in 1934.

Even before Japan opened to foreigners in the middle of the 19th century, its beauty was praised and introduced to the Western world by some foreigners who visited Japan. Philipp Franz von Siebold,  a German doctor, was the one who really loved the fine view of the Inland Sea.  He was the first European who taught Western medicine in Japan.

Historically the Inland Sea has served  good transport lines due to the place that was surrounded by Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. There are almost 3,000 islands in it, thus there are lots of ferry lines you can use.

Since the 1980s, Honshu and Shikoku have been connected by the three routes including the Great Seto Bridge ( seto-oo-hashi ).  This is the world longest two-tiered and suspended bridge, which is 13.1km (8.13 mile ) long. Crossing the bridge takes 20 minutes by car or train. The problem for us is that we have to pay the toll 4,850 yen ( $42 ) for an ordinary vehicle. takai yo~    $84 for a round ticket!

Due to the moderate climate and beautiful landscapes, fishing, agriculture and maybe tourism were supposed to bring a lot of income to the area. However, since around 1995, nitrogen ( chisso ) and phosphorus ( rin ) in the sea started to affect plankton.  Furthermore,  its periodic red-tide ( aka-shio ) was caused by dense plankton and resulting in the death of large numbers of fish in some part of the sea recently.

Fishermen said that it'd had something to do with Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995.  It killed a total of 6,433 people mainly in Kobe. It might have changed the surroundings.

Despite that, the area is still a good place to fish.  Now it is a great season of Kan-buri, which is fattier winter yellowtail.  I like the Sashimi ( sliced raw fish ) !