Parasite Singles

Have you ever heard of the term "parasite singles"? If you have, you might have thought of inconsistency in Japanese child-rearing practices while reading our previous blog entry "Immature Young Adults." As our previous blog entry explains, parents are not expected to attend their children's university entrance ceremony because parents should treat their children as an adult at the age 18. On the other hand, parents allow their "parasite singles" to be dependent on them even after the singles get mature enough to lead their own lives.

"Parasite singles" are unmarried adults who live on their parents. They seem very strange from the viewpoints of most Americans, who are supposed to lead their independent life when they become an adult. Some "parasite singles" do not have a means to support themselves. Others can often afford to make their own living, but choose to live with their parents for their convenience. Even professional adults over 35 years of age are tolerated to stay at their parents' house.

Parents take care of their children by making meals and doing the laundry for them. "Parasite singles" enjoy such luxury as these domestic services and left-over free time which could have been spent on these household chores. They do not even have to pay a rent for their own apartment.

An extreme example of "parasite singles" is a 50-year-old single lady who lives with her brother's family, as well as her parents, at her parents' house. She might sometimes feel uncomfortable about living with her sister-in-law, but she chooses her parasite life over an independent life. Her sister-in-law and/or mother cook for her and do the laundry for her. All she has to do is pay $300 or so per month as a "rent" and for all these domestic services and food. She can use the rest of her salary for her leisure activities, such as travelling abroad or going to a beauty salon to maintain her youth. Don't you find such a parasite life attractive?

Immature Young Adults

Something unusual has been going on these days in Japan. Japan seems to have been going through some sort of social change. Spring is the season when a lot of memorable ceremonies, such as graduation and entrance ceremonies, take place. It is a pretty common practice for parents to attend such ceremonies for their children up until the high school level. However, this spring sees very unusual phenomena at the university level.

More and more parents have attended the school entrance ceremony of universities their children are permitted to enter. Some universities had to hold their ceremony more than once to accommodate those parents. When interviewed about the reason for their attendance, these parents answered that they wanted to share such an important and precious time with their children. High school graduates gave a similar answer when asked. Yes, that is right. However, eighteen-year-olds (i.e., high school graduates) used to feel embarrassed if they were accompanied with their parents to such a ceremony. They used to feel that this is a sign of immaturity and dependence on their parents. Even if their parents insisted they attend the ceremony, children used to decline their parents’ offer.

Is this only one time phenomenon we have witnessed this year? Or, is it going to continue? Although indulgence of YOUNG children towards their parents is a pretty well-known child-rearing practice in Japan, YOUNG ADULTS’ indulgence has not been tolerated. What is going to happen to Japan if these immature young adults outnumber “ordinary” young adults?

One Day Trip to Hiroshima from Nagoya (part1)

When you leave Nagoya early in the morning by Shinkansen (English: Bullet Train), you could make a one-day trip to Hiroshima. It takes less than 2 and half hours by Super Express Bullet Train called Nozomi to reach Hiroshima. On your way back, you just take the 8:37 pm Shinkansen so as to return to Nagoya around 11 pm. You can visit famous historical sites, including the Atomic Bomb Dome and its Museum, within one day. If you are a vigorous traveler, you could visit the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima (i.e., an island near the Atomic Bomb Dome), which is one of the Nippon San Kei (English: the three most beautiful places in Japan) as well as a World Heritage site.

If you stay at a hotel in Hiroshima, you can visit the beautiful Kintaikyo Bridge in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi prefecture (which is a prefecture next to Hiroshima prefecture). It takes only one and half hours by both train and bus. Only a few foreign travelers who visit Hiroshima actually reach far to Iwakuni to enjoy such a beautiful bridge.

We would like to share some pictures taken in Hiroshima, Hiroshima prefecture and Iwakuni, Yamaguchi prefecture. However, in part 1, we would like to show some "typical" or famous pictures of buildings, such as the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Itsukushima Shrine and its gate.

This is a picture of the Atomic Bomb Dome. A building was destroyed by the atomic bomb and only its frames survived.

The above picture shows a replica of the actual atomic bomb dropped to Hiroshima. This replica is displayed in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

This is the famous gate to the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima. When the tide rises, the gate looks to be floating in the ocean.

The above picture depicts how the Itsukushima Shrine looks with the gate at its back. The muddy area in the picture will be covered with water when the tide rises. Then, the Shrine really becomes mysterious, as if it were really floating in the ocean.

This is one of the cherry blossoms you see in the garden of the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima.

This picture shows a long hallway or passageway of the Shrine with the five-story pagoda at its back.

In part 2, we will share some pictures depicting some popular food in Hiroshima.

Time to View Cherry Blossoms

Do you know what the cherry-blossom front (Japanese: sakura zensen) is? As we wrote somewhere in our blog, cherry blossoms have a special meaning to Japanese people. This year as well, the time to enjoy viewing cherry blossoms has just arrived.

The cherry-blossom front, which is officially announced by the Meteorological Agency, is an indicator of when and where people can enjoy viewing beautiful cherry blossoms in Japan. The front moves from Kyushu all the way up to Hokkaido, (i.e., from the south to the north), indicating some part of Japan has become ready for the cherry-blossom feast.

Generally in the US, drinking in public places, such as parks and riversides, is prohibited. In Japan, however, these places, especially under cherry trees or where people can enjoy viewing cherry blossoms, are the very best places where co-workers, friends, or families can get together. While viewing beautiful cherry blossoms, people drink beer and/or sake (English: Japanese rice wine) in such public places. Sometimes, as a Japanese saying "hanayori dango" (English: literally, sweets rather than flowers; figuratively, people prefer eating food to viewing flowers) shows, people may enjoy drinking more than viewing cherry blossoms. However, drinking while viewing cherry blossoms is good for a spring get-together. When you see some plastic sheet (mostly, blue plastic sheet) spread on the ground in a park or a riverside, it means the spot covered with the sheet is "reserved" for the cherry-blossom viewing party.

Female Figure Skaters (Mao, Miki, and Akiko)

Japanese people, in general, do not show nationalism. However, February 26th, 2010 was an exception. Around noon on that day (Japan time), literally every Japanese person was paying close attention to the figure skate competition of the Vancouver Olympics. It was a "feast" for Japanese people, whose hearts were united to cheer the three Japanese figure skaters: Mao Asada, Miki Ando, and Akiko Suzuki.

Nagoyans were especially in a fever around that time. At every corner of Nagoya, Nagoyans showed their enthusiasm to watch the competition. Pedestrians stopped at the intersection to watch it on the big TV screen furnished on the outside wall of some building. Shoppers bothered to go to an electric store to see on TV how the Japanese figure skaters would perform. Some lucky workers could watch the competition on TV in the office, while less fortunate ones could monitor it on the Internet. Even students could watch the skaters' performance on their cell phones. In the evening, a special news edition featuring Mao Asada's winning the silver medal was distributed to passengers-by at Nagoya station. People rushed to grab the paper.

It really makes sense why Nagoyans were so enthusiastic. All the three figure skaters are from around Nagoya. Mao Asada and Miki Ando are actually from Nagoya while Akiko Suzuki is from Toyohashi, which lies to the south of Nagoya in the same prefecture (i.e., Aichi prefecture). Nagoyans are so proud of the three "local" figure skaters. Nagoya Sports Center (http://www12.ocn.ne.jp/~skate/), where Mao Asada practiced, is getting one of the hottest places to visit now.

Japanese Apartments (Washing Machine)

When you rent an apartment in Japan, you have to buy a lot of furniture. Furnished apartments are not so common in Japan as in the US although they are getting very popular these days for a short duration of stay. Beds, tables, and chairs are on the list of necessary items to buy. Refrigerators are not furnished either. If you are used to using an oven when cooking, the oven could be a necessary item to buy. A cooking stove, which is normally a gas stove in Japan, has to be purchased if you cook or should boil water for coffee or tea.

From a Japanese sense, it is strange that a dish washer is a sort of standard equipment furnished in American apartments. Japanese people think they can do the dishes by hand, not by the machine, especially when there are a few people in the family. They think they can save electricity and water, which is environmentally friendly. On the other hand, what would surprise Americans is some "laundry space," where a washing machine should be placed, is furnished as a standard in Japanese apartments. Although you have to buy a washing machine, you do not have to go to the laundry mat to do the laundry.

How convenient is it to have a washing machine at home? You do not have to go out in the hot or cold weather. You can do other things while your clothes are being washed. Also, calculate the amount you would spend in the laundry mat. Suppose you do the laundry once a week and spend $5 each. You will spend $240 a year. If you keep paying this amount for 2 years, you could afford to buy a brand new washing machine with the total amount (i.e., $480). Since you would probably spend more than $5 each, the yearly amount could exceed $240. Japanese people would wonder why not a washing machine at home!

Eating Out in Japan

What we like most about eating at a restaurant in Japan is that we do not have to pay a tip. We do not mind paying it, or rather are willing to, when we get good service there. However, getting nice service is, unfortunately, not always the case in the US. Even when waitpersons do not attend you well, you are obligated to leave a tip against your will. Calculation of the amount of tip may sometimes be a headache.

In Japan, however, you do not have to worry about tipping at restaurants in general. Some restaurants in hotels, for example, charge you for their service. In this case as well, you do not have to worry about the tip because the service charge is already included in your bill. Also, good service is almost guaranteed at such upscale restaurants. Even not-so-sophisticated restaurants, like ones a little above fast food places, generally provide good service to their customers. You could enjoy your meal without worrying about how much you leave for the tip or being upset about the treatment you would get.

McDonald Japan has been on a campaign “Smile for $0,” which promotes a high quality of customer service. The attitudes of its attendants with a lot of smile would surprise you. However, good service is not limited to smile. One of the unique services at restaurants is a clean and hot wet towel (as you can see in the picture), by which you can clean your hands before eating or even wipe your sweat in summer. Once you get accustomed to this great service, you would surely miss it.

Another convenient service is a bell placed on each table, as shown in the following web link: http://www.pospos.jp/sonet.html. When you place your order, you just press the bell to get waitpersons’ attention. The bell transmits to the waitpersons the wireless signal that you are ready to order. At some restaurants, when placing an order, you can even avoid interactions with waitpersons. On the screen of some electric gadget, as shown in the links http://www.necinfrontia.co.jp/fit/hw.htm, you only select food items and then directly transmit the order to the cooks. When checking out, you press the panel and then go to the cashier. You can even check your bill before paying as well.