Hanami And Other Things (花見とか）

I’m a foreigner like everyone else, but I’ve got two very bad traits.  One is that I don’t speak Japanese very well.  The other is that I look 100% Japanese.  This gets me into awkward situtations.  I spent 10 minutes listening to a store clerk trying to sell me beer in the supermarket.  I only understood about a quarter of what she said, but I thought it would be rude to interrupt her after such a long time of just nodding my head.  When I finally gave in and said I was American, she spoke perfect English.  I bought two six packs of beer.

Beer and alcohol in general play a big part in Japanese culture.  What I thought was a sake (日本酒） culture seems to be more of a shouchuu (焼酎） culture due to the fact it’s much cheaper.  There’s various types of shouchuu, but the most popular ones being imo (potato), kome (rice), and mugi (wheat).  My favorite is mugi, but they are all just as dangerous.

One good time to drink with friends and coworkers is when the sakura trees are blooming, and you can celebrate hanami (花見）　together.  I learned the proverb (kotowaza), “hana yori dango” (花より団子）.  It basically means you appreciate the eating more than the flower viewing.  I must say I fall into this category.  Especially since it rained this year during our party.

Other things you can’t avoid in Japan is karaoke.  If you can sing at least one song in Japanese, trust me they’ll be astonished.  Also, if you’re going to sing in English, please represent us well.  Karaoke is serious business here.  Not to be taken as just a simple drunk pastime.  It is part of the culture here.  So practice, practice, practice.

Baseball.  Don’t believe that it’s only an American pastime.  In Japan, even the high school baseball gets a lot of media coverage.  This dedication has also led Japan to be the two-time defending World Baseball Classic (WBC) champions.  All with less steroids for sure than the United States.  I will be going to my first baseball game at the end of this month.

Kind of sad considering I’ve been here over a year.  But unfortunately work comes first.  If there’s one thing I must say about my time in Japan, is that it’s proven to be a wonderful place.

There are many things I don’t understand, and things that for sure need fixing.  But it’s a place that has had peace for over 60 years, forced though it may be.  How many countries can say that?