精米機：Rice Machine

Let me introduce you to a thing that I think many native Japanese people aren't too familiar with:

精米機

( せいまいき / seimaiki )

pour the rice in here

You non-Japanese people are saying: "What's this?"

You Japanese people are saying: 「これ何！？」

Well let me enlighten you. Simply, this could be called a rice cleaning machine. If you don't know yet, rice isn't born white. After the rice grows to its maturity, the farmer takes a blade to it and decapitates it. They collect all the heads and then strips each one so that each grain comes loose. Unfortunate these grains still have their shells, and, unless you have tons of kids and tons of time, you probably wont try to deshell them by hand. This is where the machine comes into play:

Pour the (shelled) rice into the machine...and out comes beautiful, deshelled, white rice!

put the bag down here 

Unless your a big-time farmer, you probably don't grow your own rice. You buy rice in big bags like the ones shown above. 

1) Bring the bag of rice to the machine (In the country-side these machines can be found everywhere)

2) Usually these machines are coin-operated. So, pay the appropriate amount (300¥ for 30 kg)

3) Open the bag

4) Pour the rice in the hole

5) Place the empty bag under the hole where the rice comes out

6) Start the machine (or it may start by itself)

7) Wait for beautiful rice to come out!

The whole process takes around 5 to 10 minutes.

Now, I said that some Japanese may not be familiar with this. I say this because I think that this is a machine used mostly by country-side folk (like me!). I mean, I just don't expect Tokyo city-folk to use this on a daily/monthly basis (I may be wrong of course).

Well, that's it about  rice cleaning machines. If you have time watch this video below. If you don't have time, watch it anyways! (Again, the whole process is only like 5 minutes or so). And if you absolutely don't have time, watch it and fast forward through the boring parts.

Until next time, またね～

美味しい：delicious!

Question: What do you say after eating this?

some gyoza we just made

Here's the word of the day~

美味しい

( おいしい / oishii )

You and your friends go to eat out. You order food. Wait a few minutes. Bam, the waiter comes out with your food. You pray over your meal (or you don't :P). Now comes the itadakimasu. You take a bite of your food and then...

Oishii! Oh boy. If you are even remotely interested in Japanese culture, you know that this is the word for "delicious" or "tasty"! Of course, just like in America, you can use this word even when you don't mean it.

Taking a bite out of that natto-nori...."oishii"...(oh help me...)

The word is made out of two kanji characters: "Beautiful" (美) and "Taste: (味). Pretty straightforward. If something has a beautiful taste, it is delicious.

Ok, dinner is calling. Time to eat some おいしい food!
いただきます～

田んぼ: Rice fields

When I first visited Japan, back in the summer of 2009, I went to where everyone first thinks of visiting: Tokyo. It had always been my dream of visiting Japan, and of course I had to go to Tokyo.

I remember arriving in Narita International airport being totally dazed and confused (I had only studied Japanese for a year at that point). On top of that, I was a little sick. This was during the 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic, and I was actually pretty worried that they would throw me into quarantine and/or deport me back to Hawaii.

Miraculously, I am not stopped, I get my bags, and am ready to make my way into the gigantic metropolis of Japan, when my friend/guide tells me that we gotta ride a train to get to Tokyo. Also, it's going to be an hour or so train ride. Well, I guess I can wait an hour.

We hop on the train, travel through a bunch of tunnels, and then finally the light of day breaks through the windows. I take a peak outside, ready to see gigantic buildings, robots, Godzilla, and Ultraman, but all I see are rice fields. Well, I found out later that Narita wasn't a big city at all. It's basically just farmland and an airport. Really?! An international airport in the middle of nowhere? Whatevers~

Well, let me introduce the word of the day:

田んぼ
( たんぼ / tanbo )

If you come to Japan, be prepared to see the rice fields (tanbo) everywhere! Like I mentioned earlier, even if you do just decide to spend all your time in Tokyo, you will still see rice fields on the way there.

tanbo right next to our house

Of course if you get away from the city, you'll see this more and more. As you probably are well aware, rice is a staple in Japan. You either eat rice or noodles with every meal, and sometimes the noodles are even made out of rice! You even have some dishes that are over 90% rice: sushi, onigiri, etc.

I've been living in Japan for a few months now and I am still in awe of these rice fields. To me, they are beautiful and add such a wonderful color to the land. My meager cell phone camera don't do these fields justice; they should be at least 3 times brighter and greener!

Well, just for your viewing pleasure, I've inserted pictures of some very special rice fields in Japan. If you know where these fields can be found, let me know, and I'll add another post about it later. Until then, enjoy!
またね～

鶏のなんこつ唐揚げ: Soft bone chicken Karaage

I love food. I won't deny it...and neither will you! Perhaps one of the reasons why I fell in love with Japan and its culture is its delicious delicacies. Japan has sushi, tenpura, chicken katsu, tonkatsu, sashimi, ramen, and the list literally goes on and on. Moving to Japan has become heaven for my taste buds, and unfortunately my waist line as well :(

Among one of my favorite foods is (chicken) karaage:

唐揚げ

( からあげ / karaage )

Wikipedia doesn't do it enough justice with its meager 1/2 page of content, but karaage is amazing. To an American, I would simply call it Japanese fried chicken, but anyone who's eaten it knows that its more.

Even more surprising to me is the face that it had another trick up its sleeves. Thus, let me present to you:

鶏のなんこつ唐揚げ

Chicken soft bone Karaage

that's right, soft bones

You've got your normal chicken karaage exterior and a wonderfully delicious, crunchy soft bone interior. I found these little treasures while dining at Joyful today. Just one bite and my Filipino desires went crazy for more. Needless to say, I ate everything, including the plate...and the menu.

So, if you ever stop in Japan, try these little wonders. Even if you aren't a fan of soft bones, I think you'll enjoy eating a piece of karaage that lasts a few seconds longer. Another good thing is that its cheap. This dish from Joyful rings up to 299 Yen, around $3. So try it!

Eat well my fellow travelers~ またね！

神社：Shinto Shrines

When I went to Provo, Utah it seemed that there was a chapel every mile or so. I never thought that there could be that many chapels in one little town. Well, Japan has a similar type architecture sprawled throughout the country. 

In Japan, you simply have to travel for a mile or so and next thing you know you've run into a Shinto Shrine. In Japanese these are called:

神社

( じんじゃ / jinja )

This word is made out of the characters of "god" (神) and "society" or "company" (社). This may not be totally correct, but a good way to remember this word is to think that a jinja is where you go to be in "God's company".

"Mitanit Jinja"

Honestly, if you travel any length of distance, in any direction, you will definitely bump into a jinja. What can you do at a jinja? It's simple. You just show reverence and pray. I'm sure there are occasions when one specifically shows up at a jinja to perform a special ritual, but for the most part people go to jinjas to ask for a blessing on their crops, jobs, families, etc. Its a place of meditation and wishing.

What should you do when you find yourself at a jinja? Well, just show respect. You don't have to believe in the Shinto faith, simply show respect and then keep moving forward...I'm sure there's another jinja just a block or three away anyways.

outside the jinja

On a side note, there are many types of shrines, not all of them jinjas. They are named according to their size and purpose. Honestly, however, you can call them all jinjas and I don't think anyone would mind (don't call me on that ok).

It's my pleasure to show you more and more of Japan. Until next time! またね～

床暖房：Floor Heater

Everyone in the world, except for people in the Philippines, Pohnpei, Guam, and Hawaii will know what I am talking about when I say "it is getting so flipping cold these days!" (Sorry PI, Micronesia, and Hawaii, I know how you roll)

That is to say, it's my fingers are about to fall off and my toes are turning black from frost bite. Not a pleasant feeling. Well, the Japanese have invented a few things to really help us cold people out. One of them that I had a vague idea of before I came here (saw it in movies, but never experienced it) is the kotatsu.

Now, I'll probably dedicate a post on the kotatsu later, but basically its a table with a cloth on top that keeps whatever's underneath of it warm and toasty. Pretty neat huh?

Well, another contraption that I just learned of today is...the floor heater:

床暖房

( ゆかだんぼう / yukadanbou )

As you can see above, basically there is a thin layer of water that lies right below the top layer. You simply press your magic button (hmmm...I don't even know where that button is in my house...looks like I've got to investigate) and viola, your floor gets warm!

I must say that it is amazing. Because of this, my feet can survive the harsh winter ahead. The best part is, it's not just for your feet, but the warming effect will also rise through the floor boards and heat up the rest of the room (because hot air raisess, of course).

our floor. looks pretty normal right? but try walking on it!

So there you have it. Another example of Japan Smarts~ Until next time:

またね～

PS. Just thought I'd add this is: If you have this in your own snow-infested country, don't attack me for saying that this is a Japanese invention! I simply have never lived in snow, so I don't know these kind of things :P

垂れ目：Droopy Eyes

Now, I'll be one of the first to admit that I don't have a splendid eye for fashion or an inkling on how to become more beautiful or gorgeous (my only advise is to exercise/workout -_-), but I thought I knew what a droopy eye was before I came to Japan.

Just the other day, I was told that I had:

垂れ目

( たれめ / tareme )

A quick consultation with a dictionary will tell you that this means "drooping/droopy eyes".

What?! I know I'm no Brad Pitt, but I never knew I was this:

whatcha looking at kid?!

Well, apparently I was in the wrong because it was soon explained to me that having 垂れ目 was a compliment. It meant that I had nice curves to eyes; even better, the edges of my eyes slanted downwards.

Now, I don't know if it was just the way that I slept the night before, or if I've always been blessed with droopy eyes, but either way I was shocked and happy at the same time. Happy because no one has ever complimented my eyes before (why do blue/green-eyed people get all the compliments?!), and shocked because I could never imagine people wanting droopy eyes.

In America if someone says you've got droopy eyes, you've either:

1) Have a medical condition

2) Been training for the UFC too hard

3) Been hitting the drugs too hard

And only number 2 sounds like it has any merit. 

The point is, in Japan, having droopy eyes means something totally different. Even after reading my banter, I still would recommend talking to a good ol' fashioned Japanese High School girl because she could probably explain the detail a whole lot better. But, simply look at this picture and try to understand:

look into my eyes...

Yep, droopy eyes are beautiful in Japan. That's all there is to know.

Hope you learned something! I kinda did...kinda~

おつかれさま！

My suggestion for Katakana カタカナ

Katakana is one of the three written languages used in Japanese. I like to describe it like this:

Kanji- Chinese characters that will give you a headache. Used for Japanese words.

Hiragana: Japanese characters that are wavy and beautiful. Used for Japanese words.

Katakana: Japanese characters that are very rigid and straight. Used for foreign/loan words.

So, what's my beef with Katakana? Well, personally, I hate it! I'm terrible at reading and writing it (even after studying  Japanese for 4+ years). AND there are many Japanese natives who confess that they have trouble with it!

One reason that katakana is so hard for Japanese learners is (and this is just my opinion) that it doesn't have enough characters to compensate for all of the phonemes found in other languages.

Here's an example:

Yummy oil!

If you look at the big, blue letters you'll read:

ヘルシー

ライト

In other words, "healthy" and "Lite/Light" (oil with low cholesterol ).

What's wrong you say? Well, the word ライト can also refer to the word "right" or "rite". In fact, when I first read this word (on this bottle of oil) I let slip the "right" before correcting it to "lite". This is just one out of possibly hundreds of examples, but the bottom line is, the current system of Katakana is not sufficient for all words that could possibly be borrowed from around the world.

Well, I want to offer a suggestion (instead of just ragging on Japanese). Perhaps, the government should think about adding more characters or symbols (in addition to ゛ and ゜) to this written language. For example an additional symbol to this ラ could help us know if this should be an /l/ or /ɹ/.

I think Kanji and Hiragana are fine the way they are, but Katakana I believe will continue to be used more and more as Japan is influenced more and more by foreign entities.

Have you had any difficulties reading, writing, or remembering Katakana? What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

焼き鳥: Japanese Fried Chicken

Take a look at this!

おいし= delicious

Great, I've got your attention (food has always worked for me)! This, my fine friends, is a picture of 

焼き鳥

( やきとり / yakitori)

Roughly translated, comes out to baked/fried/grilled chicken. The first character is "to grill" (焼) and the other is "bird" (鳥). Pretty simple, don't you think?~

Yakitori is a must have in Japan. These are basically comparable to BBQ shish kabobs and can be found in tons and tons of restaurants (not to mention food vendors sprawled throughout towns and service areas).

Although it can be translated as "fried chicken" or even "grilled chicken", please don't expect it to look like what you'd normally see in America. In fact, most yakitori is comprised of bite-sized pieces of meat and of course served via skewer or sharp-pointy-stick.

Many times you are given the choice of having your yakitori cooked in salt (shio) or with a sauce generally made up of mirin, sake, soy sauce, and sugar.

Now, I've always known that this food was darn good, but when I took a bite out of this last bunch, I noticed a few different words on my kabob sticks. I've outlined them below:

ねぎま: Chicken with green onions

もも: Chicken thighs

レバー: Chicken livers

つくね: Minced chicken

かわ: Chicken skin

I tried all of these and found all of them to be quite delicious. So far, my favorites are もも and かわ.

Wikipedia says that there are other kinds that can be purchased, but alas, I have not been fortunate enough to eat them yet. However, when I do, I will be sure to make a follow-up post.

The main point is, if you come to Japan, please try this. You won't regret it!

Until next time, またね！

声が低い：A low-deep voice

This is an example of a difference in word choice. In America, when we listen to someone talk with a good bass-like voice, we say that he/has a "deep voice". 

However, Japan is different. In order to say that someone has a deep, rumbling, booming voice you have to say something like, "彼の声が低い” (kare no koe ga hikui).

Directly translated comes out to "his voice is low". 

In English, if someone's voice is low, it means that the volume of his voice is low (or soft). Then you reply, "speak up! I can't hear ya!"

Well, this isn't Japanese at all, but I thought it was someone related because a Japanese person would probably say that he has a low voice.

Hope you learned something! Now use it!

日本語がんばって～

寝てください: Please sleep soundly

Imagine this: You are a 10 year-old kid in America. You've been working hard on your homework all day, and finally, finally, finally you're able to complete it right before dinner. 

You eat dinner like a zombie, lethargically spooning heaps and heaps of food into your mouth. Right as you finish, your mom tells you to brush your teeth and then ________ (?)

Choices:

a) quickly go to bed

b) take your time and fall asleep

c) take sleeping pills

d) watch the news in order to fall asleep quicker

If you answered (a) you're correct!!!

Japanese sleeping pillow

Incidentally, in Japan, your Japanese mother (okaasan) would tell you differently.

In this situation a Japanese person would tell you "ゆっくり寝てください” (yukkuri netekudasai), or roughly translated, "please sleep slowly".

Of course it doesn't mean that you should take 3 hours to fall asleep, nor does it mean you should take your time to prepare for bed, but I think it falls more upon the lines of sleep soundly.

So, if a Japanese person says this to you, don't look at them like they said something outrageously idiotic (like I did :P), simply nod your head, quickly go to sleep, and then take your time in the land of dreams.

Well, it's almost time to sleep, so everyone: ゆっくり寝てください and またね！

注意：Watch out!!!

If you come to Japan, you will probably see this picture (or these words) in many places that you go:

Stop, in the name of love...

I took this picture inside an elevator (エレベーター), but you can find it on tons of other signs in tons of different places. I've found this on signs telling you to pick up your dog poop or on power generators on the side of buildings. So what is this word!?

注意

( ちゅうい / chuui )

This is Japan's version of "caution", "warning", "attention", or simply, "watch out!!" This word is made up of the kanji "to pour" (注) and "opinion" or "thought" or "feeling" (意). Basically you can think of this as meaning: "Pour your thoughts into this."

When you really think about it, if you really pay attention to something, you are pouring your attention or thoughts into it. And, if you're not, you're probably not cautious enough.

Well, again if you see this sign it could mean something really important...but at the same time, it usually just means to "use your brain a little"; don't put your hand here (or you'll lose a finger), pick up your poo (or someone's gonna be mad when they step in it), and don't touch this (or you're gonna die of electrical shock).

So everyone please 注意!

みんな、がんばって！