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What is Otaku?

Otaku is the Japanese term describing people who are obsessed with Pop culture such as anime and comics. The word, Otaku, has a similar meaning with nerd or geek in Japanese. They are usually unpopular and less talkative. However, when they talk about their favorite Anime and comic, their eagerness explodes and they talk unstoppably. They usually do not much care about their clothes. The stereotype image of Otaku is people with glasses, unarranged hairs, and unfashionable T-shirts. Their mecca is Akibahara in Tokyo. In Akibahara, many shops provide animation and comic goods or service which are popular among Otaku. One of the popular service in Akibahara is called Maid café where cosplayed girls serve and communicate with costumers by animated way. There are many Maid café where Otaku spend their precious time with the cosplayed servers in Akibahara.

I have gone one of the Maid café in Akibahara with my friends by a curious. The food was expensive and not delicious. The cosplay girl was just annoying for me, and I thought the service is not enjoyable if I am not interesting the particular culture.

If you go to Akibahara, you should have enough preparation. The place was congested with people and the electric advertisements in the city made me tired by the flashes and loud sounds.I like manga and animation, but the enthusiasm of Otaku about the culture is extremely greater than what I have.      

Many foreigners have interests in Japanese animation and comic, so I recommend them to go Akibahara at least one time. I think you can enjoy if you have an interest in the culture, but I assure that Akibahara is special place even for Japanese.  

Resources

Photos

 ( https://www.google.com/search?q=otaku&rlz=1C1DVJR_jaUS701US701&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjK4aXTj4fTAhVJ9WMKHdK5ANAQ_AUIBigB&biw=1280&bih=591#imgrc=S10dT8e976J_DM:)

(https://www.google.com/search?q=otaku&rlz=1C1DVJR_jaUS701US701&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjK4aXTj4fTAhVJ9WMKHdK5ANAQ_AUIBigB&biw=1280&bih=591#tbm=isch&q=akihabara&*&imgrc=WcvMEpjhwenN0M:)

(https://www.google.com/search?q=otaku&rlz=1C1DVJR_jaUS701US701&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjK4aXTj4fTAhVJ9WMKHdK5ANAQ_AUIBigB&biw)

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Your Name

The Japanese animation film, Your Name, which many Japanese admit as the best film in 2016, is coming up at April 7th on the theaters in Honolulu. The story of the movie is about girl and boy in the different high schools. Mitsuha and Taki, who are completely stranger and live far from each other. However, they unintentionally switch their bodies at one night, and it continues after and occurs to them randomly.

I better should not write about the story more because I want you to watch it in the theater. However, before you go to the theater, I want to explain some features of Japanese high school which probably unfamiliar to you.

At first, many Japanese high schools force students to wear uniform. When I was a high school student, I wore a tie, white shirt, and black jacket, which looks like suit. Girls also wear uniform and one famous type of the uniform is called “Sailor Fuku” which can be seen in many famous Japanese animations and comics.    

For many Japanese high school students, train, bicycle, and bus are the main transport way to school. The legal age of driving is over 18 in Japan, and high school students are usually under the age and not allowed to drive. I had a friend in my high school who lived far from the school. He rode a bicycle to the station, took a train and get off, also took a bus from the station to the school. He often complained about how stressful to stay in the morning train where is intensively congested with office workers.

Japanese school are strict about the school rule. The rule can be changed by the school, but many schools prohibit some activities such as eating snack in school and dying hair and piercing. In my school, we were not allowed to bring comic books, but as teenager who usually want to refuge the rule, we read it during the class. Eventually, teacher found it, and punished us with additional cleaning service of the school. (Japanese students usually clean the school themselves in after school.)

It is important to say that these are just some features of the typical Japanese high schools, and there are schools which is not adapted with the explanation. However, I think these information will become a little help for you watching the movie without too much distraction to the unfamiliar high school life in the movie.  I promise you the movie, Your Name will attract even you are not familiar with the Japanese culture and hope you go to the theater and watch the best movie in Japan in 2016. 

Resource 

Photo( https://www.google.com/search?q=kimi+no+na+wa&rlz=1C1DVJR_jaUS701US701&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiuopmU_YPTAhUBJ5QKHT3yCVkQ_AUICCgD&biw=1280&bih=591#tbm=isch&q=your+name+&*&imgrc=R563a8se6izQxM:)

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Osaka

I was born in Osaka and stayed there until I came Hawaii after my high school graduation. Osaka is a prefecture located in West side of Japan and the capital city called Osaka-shi(shi means city in Japanese). Japanese usually define the city as the second largest city in Japan following Tokyo, and the city is always crowded with people.

People in Osaka are often portrayed as spontaneity and funny, which sometimes to be recognized as rude and rough. For me, people in Osaka is similar with foreign people. In Japan, strangers rarely talk like people in Hawaii. They don’t shake hand and have less physical contacts. However, people in Osaka are different. They often touch body and talk strangers without any hesitation. They tease each other and laugh loudly. Many Osaka people value “comedy” or “funniness”. They like to make laugh in someone, and many kids dream to be a famous comedian in TV.  In fact, many famous Japanese comedians are come from Osaka.Also, people in Osaka like to give something to others.  There is a famous phrase of Japanese elderly woman in Osaka that is “Do you want a candy?”. They say the word and take small candy from their bag and give it to children.    

In my opinion, the stereotype image especially adapts into older generations, because they have more strong empathy as Osaka’ people.

 Many Japanese consider Osaka and Tokyo as West biggest city and East biggest city. In general, Tokyo is the biggest city in Japan, and Osaka is always under Tokyo and stay as the number two. People in Osaka feel envy and stress to being number two and tease them.

“I hate people in Tokyo.”

I heard many people saying the word when I was in Osaka.Also, because we have slightly different accents and ways of talking by different regions, it makes little conflicts between the prefectures. The speaking way of Osaka sounds rough and unique in other prefectures. On the other hand, the way of Tokyo is known as the standard way of talking in Japan, that sounds more polite and noble.

“The taking way of people in Tokyo makes me annoying. My father told me when we went Tokyo as a family trip.

The confliction between Osaka and Tokyo is not a serious issue and people think it almost as a joke. However, It is interesting for me that even in small island like Japan, people feel a little hostility against others.    

Resource 

Photo(https://www.google.com/search?q=osaka&rlz=1C1DVJR_jaUS701US701&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv3NGe-IPTAhWLzLwKHcjIC6kQ_AUIBygC&biw=1280&bih=591#imgrc=MLUlqoRjdQjldM:)

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Music in the country

I like music and listen any genres as I get interests. Music often reflects the cultures and the society at the time. For example, Rock and Roll was dramatically popular around 1950. My father told me that he was a big fan of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones when he was young. In that time, Japan was gradually recovered from the defeat against WWII, and television was slightly spread among the wealth. The new Western technology and the culture make Japanese exiting, and Rock and Roll was the one which attracted people, especially young generation of Japanese who were mostly born after the war.      

As Rock and Roll, now Hip Hop is also popular among many people. Hip Hop music is mainly developed by black people and gained the popularity in the world. There are many famous rappers who became as an Icon of the time such as 2 pac, the notorious big, and Wu-tang-clan. Eminem is a famous white rapper whose movie also become popular. Hip Hop is now also popular in Asia countries such as Korea and Japan. There is a Japanese TV program which two guys are on the stage and battle with freestyle rap just like Eminem did in the movie 8 Mile.

Rappers are often featured as Gang or Violence people; however, many Japanese Rapper are far from these image and more ordinary people such as an office worker. The show especially become popular among the young generation, and the popularity of Hip Hop music in the country is increasing.  

I think that especially among young generation, they have the willingness to discard the old fixed idea, and desire something new. In my opinion, the increasing popularity of Hip Hop in Japan is the result of the willingness which situation is similar with the time that Rock and Roll become popular in the country.

site (http://kai-you.net/word/フリースタイルダンジョン)

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Tattoos in Japan

Even Western culture widely spread to the country and tattoos become more popular among the young generation in a decade, many Japanese people still recognize tattoos as a remark of Japanese Gang groups (in Japanese they are called Yakuza), and majority of Japanese do not accept tattoo positively. Some services such as public bathrooms prohibit the people with tattoo, and the media rarely show these people on TV.  

However, it is a controversial issue. Japan was decided as the place for 2020 Olympic and the number of tourists will highly increase. Tattoos are popularly accepted as fashion in Western society, and the difference of culture will shock the foreigners. It’s seemed that  some changes are needed in Japanese society to prevent the conflict between the different cultures.