Aloha

Hawaii is a popular vacationing spot for Japanese people. But there is a bunch that is humorous when it comes to traveling to those islands.

These are actual conversations I have had.
Me: "Have you ever been to America?"
Adult student: "No."
Me: "Where have you been?"
Student: "I've been to Korea, Canada, and Hawaii."

or...

Me: "Do you plan on visiting America one day?"
Different student: "I don't know, maybe."
Me: "Do you have any travel plans for this summer?"
Student: "Yes, I'm going to Hawaii."

hmm...

Yet another student of mine is traveling to Hawaii this Thursday. I asked her how long she will be there for. She replied, "6 days, 4 nights."
Her English is advanced, so I am confident she knows her basic numbers. After my double-take, I asked her to explain that.
She leaves Japan Thursday afternoon and arrives in Hawaii Thursday morning (local, of course). She and her husband will be in Hawaii on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. They leave Monday afternoon and arrive back in Japan Tuesday night. So she will be gone for 6 days, but will only sleep in Hawaii for 4 nights.

Sakura

The world-renown cherry trees recently blossomed.

Erections

So, the erections happened last weekend. Err, I mean, eLections. Sorry bout that, becoming more Japanese than I thought.

Japan has a thing that the louder salespeople are, the better they are. As in, the louder you are as a salesperson, the more people are going to buy from you. This is true in a supermarket, when shelf-stockers shout like auctioneers, "Irashamasae! Dozo!" at the top of their lungs, repeated ad nauseum, to entice people to buy things. It entices me to get the hell out of there as fast as possible, quite likely overlooking an item I'd might otherwise purchase.

Everyday, without fail, I see at least one advertisement on wheels. It's the same idea as in the grocery store, except these advertisements drive up and down every road in the town. Reminds me a lot of the Blues Brothers:


And so of course, with this mentality firmly secure in the minds of buyers and sellers alike, it's no wonder that on the day of the erections, the supporters of each candidate were out - in the rain - campaigning for votes. The scene was not all that dissimilar from that in Lost in Translation:



Granted, the movie took place in Tokyo, so what I experienced in my little town was not identical, but the spirit was the same.


I don't know who won, nor do I care all that much, but it was fun taking pictures of them.

Okinawa

Question: In Japan, the school year runs from April to March. How long a break do students get between one school year and the next?
Answer: A weekend. End 4th grade on Friday, start 5th grade on Monday.

So the fact that I had a full week off from work without any classes means I had an obscenely long vacation.

For 5 of my 7 days off, I was in Okinawa. It was a gorgeous, gorgeous place. Certainly the absence of screaming, crying, crotch-poking kids had a lot to do with the solace I found there. But even so, absolutely nothing went wrong on the trip. The weather - which up to a day before my travels was going to be rain, according to the forecasts - was splendid. Sunny, mid-to-upper 70s in the day. Night time was a very pleasant 65. The water was clear. The coral beaches were gorgeous.


The food was great. Okinawans have some local specialties, which were all delicious. The local beer, Orion, was much better than the beer drunk on Honshu (where I live). The people were very nice. Sure, just about all Japanese people put on a smiley, friendly face, but there was a level of genuineness to the smiles in Okinawa I normally don't see.
Their Japanese accents were - as advertised - very different from what I am used to hearing. For example, to ask someone to wait a moment, you say, "Chotte matte, kudasai." In Okinawa, that turned to, "Choshi mashi, kudashai."

Made it to the famous castle in Okinawa - Shuri-jo. That was pretty cool. Easily the castle I have most liked since arriving in Japan.



Most regions in Japan have statues which are pretty prevalent. They appear on rooftops, in doorways, on bridges, most anywhere a protective and/or welcoming statue can go.
Okinawa has Shisa. When asked what kind of animal Shisa is, no one's quite sure. Something between a dog, a lion, and a reptile.


The hotel I stayed in had an arcade room. Straight out of Lost in Translation, I played the drum-banging game. I also got to use my American size on a game calibrated for the Japanese size. Not too hard to see why I placed 2nd and 4th on the all-time leader board for this game.


All in all, an absolutely wonderful few days. Back to real life now, though. But it's spring time. The cherry trees are blossoming - pictures to come.

Happy Passover.

A Quick Engrish Update

Some Engrish pictures worth sharing:


I believe these are both hair salons. She sure does look happy in the second one. I'm surely gonna send all my friends there.


This is the underside of a tag in a shirt I bought recently.


And this one I saw in Okinawa.