Notes for confused Westerners

[hasbeen]

Originally Posted by Bloke

Thanks for sharing Gary - keep them coming.

hi bloke, i forcast a lot of chin wagging in october

[hasbeen]

OSU GARY!!

i find these stories amazing, please share more

[jcc]

Great - the spirit of Osu! in school baseball!

[jcbel]

Originally Posted by GJEChamberlain

Come to think of it, getting ratted every Saturday and having fights outside kebab shops is no better, in fact far worse. At least people in a dojo are there from choice

Alcohol and kebabs - great night out for many!

[Angelslayer]

Originally Posted by GJEChamberlain

Osu! tmd,

I understand your point. This is a very deep cultural thing, which takes a lifetime to understand. Kancho Ninomiya's Honbu dojo in Denver is very traditional, but I never saw anyone abused as described above in the Kyokushin Honbu. The sempai are very helpful to everyone who tries. Maybe that's the right blend. The 'sempai' in the Tokyo changing room might have been expelled the very next day (hence me never bumping into him again) so perhaps should not be taken as a definitive example.

hey I go to that Dojo! you've been here before?

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Angelslayer,

Every year since joining in 2000. I'll be over in a couple of days to the Sabaki Challenge. You've made a great choice!

Gary

UK Enshin Karate Home Page - Enshin.co.uk

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu!

4) Train travel and the ultimate faux pas.

I had heard about crowded trains in Japan, but the sheer number of people travelling still took me aback, as did the perfect alignment of trains in the immaculate stations and the orderly way people disembark on one side, and embark on the other.

The trains are always punctional, and people are literally shoved on by guards with crisp uniforms, white gloves and whistles. Once on board, finding a seat is next to impossible. Even if I did, I'd then have to give it up immediately for a little old lady or a mother with children, something the young Japanese company men seemed very reluctant to do. I was amazed to see people apparently fast asleep, only to wake up by telepathy when they arrived at their station.

As people were cramped in together, a certain amount of intimacy is inevitable. I'd heard tell of sexual touching being endemic on busy trains, so regularly stood next to beautiful women in case they wanted to touch me up. Sadly, no-one bothered .....

On one such day it was incredibly hot. I was standing up as usual, head and shoulders taller than everyone else in the carriage. Having had my nose broken a few times and also suffering with allergic rhinitis, I noticed my nose starting to run a little. I reached for my handkerchief and gave an almighty blow. Felling good, I gave a few more and had a good old empty out, right from my toes.

The atmosphere changed instantly. Looking around I saw about 200 pairs of eyes staring at me in horror. Children were grasped closer to their mothers. Men scowled. Old ladies muttered about "Gaijin" (alien) and "Baku" (stupid) all in the same sentence. Their reaction couldn't have been worse if somebody brought a pig into a 5 star restaurant. I meekly put away my handkerchief and stared out of the window, feeling myself going bright red with embarrassment.

Over dinner I mentioned this strange happening to Sensei. He too was aghast. The Japanese use a handkerchief to mop their brow in extreme humidity, and would no more think about blowing their nose (loudly) into it than flying. They have a real aversion in fact to blowing it at all, prefering to sniff things back up rather than risk sharing germs with others. If people have a cold they often wear masks out of consideration for the same reason. If all else fails, a discreet and quiet wipe with a tissue is as bad as it gets. Yet another embarrasing lesson into the vast cultural gap I now found myself in.

Gary

[hasbeen]

osu gary!! this is all a bit like michael palin does karate,keep em coming

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu! Hasbeen,

Some things were definately Pythonesque.

I've got a few more, but I'll stick to cultural differences from now on .....

Gary

[jcc]

I´m suprised that no one has written a guide for visitors to Japan to warn about all these no-nos. Now there´s an idea for someone

[Angelslayer]

A friend told me that 16 is the age of consent over there is that for real?

[vapor]

There being where? Japan

You can't smoke until you are 20.
Drinking is also 20yrs old.
Driving license can be issued when you hit 18, and complete a massive driving training course which runs a couple thousand US$ (the test is also several thousand $$- and that is a separate fee from the training course!)

So, depending on what the definition of age of consent, I would say tha your friend has some mis-information.

18 would be the min. age for some things, 20 for the important things!!

vapor

[Nix]

Originally Posted by Angelslayer

A friend told me that 16 is the age of consent over there is that for real?

I think that's the rule almost everywhere except the US.

(EDIT: I may be wrong, but from what I can gather, "age of consent" usually refers to laws regulating sexual acts.)

[Angelslayer]

Age of consent= legal for the person to have sex without it being illegal. at least thats what it means here

oh and yeah in japan

[hasbeen]

Originally Posted by Angelslayer

A friend told me that 16 is the age of consent over there is that for real?

osu angelslayer, hands up, i`m being nosey, why are you asking this question? i`ve got this vision in my mind of a 21 year old george cooney lookalike legging it to the airport,tongue hanging out, desperate to get at the japanese ladies

[Angelslayer]

ha ha no Im no cherry hound I just thought it was weird that people could give consent at that age.

back when I was 16 I couldnt even make up my mind about which football team was my favorite let alone decide who I should do the deed with

[vapor]

Originally Posted by Angelslayer

Age of consent= legal for the person to have sex without it being illegal. at least thats what it means here

oh and yeah in japan

In that case I think the general rule of thumb is 17 year old, however 20 years old is when a person is considered an adult.

Do with that information what you will.

vapor

[jcbel]

Originally Posted by vapor

Driving license can be issued when you hit 18, and complete a massive driving training course which runs a couple thousand US$ (the test is also several thousand $$- and that is a separate fee from the training course!)

Vapor do you find people to be good drivers there? I think REAL driver education is very lacking in a lot of countries...

[vapor]

I don't think that I ever saw a serious collision during the 13 years I lived there...the only car crashes were usually 1 car, utility pole (which often times are so close to the street that the white line has to curve around them)

The other thing that I will give drivers in Japan, is that the ability to park is awesome.

Small parking spaces, and everyone backs in, typically without having to see-saw the way to be perfectly aligned in the spot.

I laugh when I see the parking antics at shopping malls here, with HUGE wide parking spaces!!

I had to re-learn how to park when I was in Japan!! (our parking space in Tokyo is inside one of the parking towers---big car elevators if you haven't seen them...just wide enough to get the car in!)

vapor

[GJEChamberlain]

Osu!

5) Eating out with extremely big men.

During my stay I was lucky enough to travel to Kyoto and later to Shin-Osaka to visit a Tournament hosted by Shihan Makoto Nakamura, the former World Champion.

Sensei Tatuo Nakamura and Makoto Nakamura are not related, but were literally the 'big' and 'little' Nakamura of Kyokushin Honbu a few years previously and remained firm friends. After the Tournament and it's customary celebrations we went off to a small family restaurant for a private meal. On arrival we were greated personally by the owners and sat down for a feast.

As a child I was called 'Dustbin' by my family as I ate absolutely everything put in front of me, so I quickly polished off a superb meal. Shihan Nakamura beamed, called the host, more food arrived ..... I emptied my plate (wasting food was a criminal offence in my house) and Shihan again laughed, called the host, more food. He was tucking away himself, but as he outweighed me by 50% I doubted I'd keep up for long.

I'm probably the only man to survive about eight 'rounds' with Shihan Nakamura without a bruise, but instead I had to quit eventually as my stomach was groaning under the weight. I later found that although my early training in food 'manners' meant cleaning my plate, this put our host in the position of having to order more - as this is considered only right if the guest has not entirely finished eating. The polite thing for me would have been to leave a little and explain that, "Although the food is fantastic, I very much regret I can't quite manage another mouthfull" as then honour would be upheld on all sides.

Happily, the only ill-effects were a very tired host, as in Japan restaurants stay open as long as you're eating .....

Gary