Japanese Fun Facts

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Japanese Fun Facts

I wasn't really born with any talents, but I have been blessed with a lot of interesting experiences over the course of my life. I've lived and worked in Japan on 3 occasions, and I've got a ton of interesting stories and experiences. Plus, since so many people who like Cammy are also interested in Japan because of all the games, toys, anime, and other cool things that come from Japan, they're always asking me about what it's like in Japan. So I thought it might be interesting if I wrote down some kind of experience or fact every week. Japan really is an awesome place, and I think you'll enjoy hearing all about it. Then hopefully someday you can go there and experience it for yourself (if you're not lucky enough to have done so already).

BTW, for all the older Japanese Fun Facts, please check out the Fun Facts Archives.

Cammy's the best!

.March 5, 2008 - Umm... Hmm... Well... what now?

OK, after 6 years of fun facts, I think I've run out of facts and stories to tell you! And the archives are so big now, it's getting a bit overwhelming. A lot of the very best 'facts' are lost somewhere in the archives, so I think I'm gonna re-create this section and start recycling some of the old facts. I'll add some new stuff too if something comes up. And I'll probably create 1 Best Of archive or something like that. Stay tuned...

dfsfCammy' the best!

.February 15, 2008 - Tokyo's overflow

I recently caught an episode of Cities of the Underworld on the History Channel all about Japan, and it was really fascinating! The episode is called "Cities of the Underworld: A-Bomb Underground" and it'll be on again Feb 16th and 22nd this month. Check it out of if you can! You can easily find out more info from their website.

The most fascinating part of the episode was when they showed how Tokyo is protected from flooding (typhoon, tidal wave, etc). They created some overflows in the water drainage system where the water will go into 5 HUGE holding tanks! And when those are full... the water gets pumped into an even more GIGANTIC reservoir. OMG!! It's awesome, you gotta see it to believe it.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.February 1, 2008 - Thining Outside of the Box

When I was getting ready to move back home from Japan, I had a TON of stuff (toys, games, and manga) that I had to ship back to the US. I looked around for a while, but couldn't find any boxes. So I went to a local department store because I knew they'd have a ton of boxes from merchandise they'd received. It's very common to see the boxes broken down and tied up on the street ready for pick-up, but I figured I better not grab the trash off the street. So I asked if they had any extra boxes in back that I could have, and they got really uneasy. They're just boxes that're gonna get thrown in the trash anyways!

The thing is, Japanese people really don't like new or awkward situations. You see, those boxes normally go in the trash. That's what you do with them! They'd never had anybody ask for those boxes, and it kinda confused them. They did give me the boxes, and it really wasn't a problem, but I could tell that I kinda threw a monkey wrench into their normal everyday plans. Japanese people hate that LOL Thinking outside of the box isn't something they're very good at.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.January 6, 2008 - Parking in Japan

There's very little parking in Japan, but one interesting thing I noticed was that I never once saw a "no parking" sign. And I never once saw anyone park a car in some stupid spot, even for a minute. That's one of the things I love about Japan... they just know better!

dfsfCammy' the best!

.December 15, 2007 - Christmas & New Years in Japan

Yes, Christmas is really big in Japan! No, there aren't many Japanese Christians, but they've adopted the holiday nonetheless. Most people don't give our presents or anything like that, and everybody still goes to work on Christmas Day. But everywhere you look, you'll see Japan decorated for Christmas! I even remember walking around town and hearing Christmas music playing over the PA speaker on the streets.

It's pretty simple... Japanese people just love the look and feel of Christmas. You'll see Santas in ads and on street corners, stockings, trees, mistletoe, cards, and all most all the normal X-Mas stuff we've got around here (except the lights). It's all meaningless, but quite fun. If nothing else, it made me feel at home the 2 years I was in Japan for Christmas.

BTW, friend told me that X-Mas eve is a big night for dates. I went out on X-Mas eve (to NeoGeo World!) and it sure seemed like that was true.

Cammy

New Years is called "Oshogatsu" in Japan, and it's the biggest holiday of the year. I think it's much more like our Thanksgiving than anything else. They don't really stay up and celebrate the stroke of midnight, but turning of the year is very important to Japanese society.

Typically, families get together for a HUGE meal on New Years day. Like our Thanksgiving in America, New Years is a time for family and food. It's also a time to be grateful for everything that happened over the last year, as well as a time to look forward to the new year. Besides the food and the family, the other big part of New Years is going to the local Shinto shrine to pay respects and get a blessing. People wait in line for hours! And it doesn't matter if you're Shinto or not... it's just something that everybody does.

People in Japan also send out a lot of cards for new years. It's mainly just to thank, congratulate, and say hello to people you know. Acknowledging relationships is very important! Japanese people are really into giving gifts too, and it's not odd for people to end up with a calendar for every wall in the house.

BTW, there's a cool Cammy picture showing her sitting on a traditional New Years decoration. I don't know what it's called, but it's a pile of "mochi" (steamed rice pounded into a goo) and 3 stalks of cut bamboo. You see those everywhere. You'll also see people with arrows that they get from Shinto shrines, but I have no idea what those are for. Here's a Cammy picture of that too.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.December 1, 2007 - Underwear story

The first time I went to Japan, I worked at a home for displaced children. The house I lived in had a mom, dad, their 2 children, and about 8 other children. Mom did all the cooking, laundry etc. After a few weeks she came to me kinda worried and awkward. It was obviously very difficult for her to ask me this... but she wondered why I didn't give her my underwear to wash.

I was kinda confused for because she had been washing my underwear along with everything else. Then I realized that she must have thought that my boxers were shorts. LOL

dfsfCammy' the best!

.November 15, 2007 - What I dislike most about Japan

I love Japan, but it's not perfect. What I love about Western culture that's really missing from Japan, is the ease with which you can talk to strangers.

In Europe, 2 people at a table for 4 often share their table with 2 strangers who wanna sit down and order something. It's common to sit on a park bench or stand in a line and talk to the people around you. When I go out to eat, I almost always talk to the waitress. A few days ago my friend went grocery shopping with his baby, and some random lady helped him out to the car cuz he was having trouble handling all that. At the Blues NHL game two nights ago, people around me were high-fiving me when we scored.

That's all stuff you don't really see in Japan. People mind their own business a bit too much. They come off kinda cold at times. It's not that they don't give a damn about you, it's that they don't wanna bother you.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.November 1, 2007 - Japanese culture

I recently re-watched one of my all-time favorite animes, Samurai Champloo. Also checked out the art book, comics, etc. Not the PS2 game yet. Anyhow, in an interview with the director, Shinichiro Watanabe, he said something so true...

"The Japanese people place importance on harmony above all else, fear offending others, pound the nail that sticks out, avoid overly stressing the self."

dfsfCammy' the best!

.October 15, 2007 - Halloween pictures from Japan

I've never seen anything especially big about Halloween in Japan, but I always thought it would be huge there. It just seems like their kinda holiday. Well, the costume part of it, but they're not into candy at all (sweet is to Japanese people what salty & sour is to Westerners).

Anyhow, I did an image search of Halloween in Japanese, and here's what came up. Thought you might be interested in clicking around. Yahoo! Japan: Halloween

dfsfCammy' the best!

.October 1, 2007 - Not always conforming...

Have you ever watched any of the PrideFC fights? It's the Japanese UFC (now owned by the UFC). One interesting thing that I've noticed over the years is that a lot of the Japanese fighters are really unorthadox and downright silly at times. Japanese society is so structured, and there's such a long history of martial arts, so you'd think that the fighters from Japan would be very traditional and by the book. Not so. Maybe it's because so many of the Japanese fighters came to MMA (mixed martial arts) from pro-wrestling, like the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.September 15, 2007 - Japanese political chaos in the news

Sorry, I really don't know much about modern-day Japanese politics, so I don't have much to add to this story. But it's big news... the Japanese Prime Minister is quitting after 1year of trouble. Read all about it here.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.September 1, 2007 - Honk! means...

One thing I love about Japan is the respect they show for each other. A great example of that is that a car horn in Japan is used 90% of the time to say "thank you" not "f--- you". If somebody lets you into traffic or whatever, they honk to say thanks. The leftover 10% of the time is to warn somebody.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.August 15, 2007 - Opinionated

One of the things that stands out most about Japanese culture is the fact that they almost never give you their opinions about something unless you ask them. They almost never tell you what you're thinking or feeling, especially if you're a stranger. I like that. In the West, we're SO opinionated about everything! And usually, it's a foolish opinion about which we know nothing about. Like other people give a damn what you think. Freedom of Speech and all that...

Anyhow few day ago some girl was giving out flyers for the little bank branch in the grocery store. She tried to give one to some guy walking in, and he went into a tirade about how he'd NEVER do business with whatever bank. Blah blah blah. The poor girl was like o_O; I see stuff like that too much. I was just walking by. I don't care. STFU. The girl is just handing out flyers, she doesn't have any power. STFU. I though that if that happened in Japan, the guy would have just said "No thanks" and walked right by.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.August 1, 2007 - Gym Shirts

This week's cosplay picture of the girls' gym outfit reminded me of a fashion trend I saw a few years ago in Japan. They were really into American high school gym t-shirts LOL There is (or was) a HUGE market for 2nd hand clothes like that in Japan. I've heard of people over here making a ton of money off stuff like that.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.July 15, 2007 - Tokyo Disneyland

When I lived in Tokyo, I lived very near Tokyo Disneyland. I'd try to get over there as often as I could!

One of the things that always impressed me was how well everybody's attitude was. It's just as hot, humid, crowded, and expensive over there. But people were happy! They stood in lines and talked about good stuff... what they'd already experienced, what else they wanted to do, etc. In the US, it sounds like everybody is having a horrible time! It's almost nothing but bitching, crying, and misery. That's a perfect example of one of the things I loved most about Japan. Nobody over there bitches and moans because they know it doesn't help, and other people don't wanna hear it!

dfsfCammy' the best!

.July 1, 2007 - w

Ever seen Japanese people type online? You might see an entire sentence in Japanese followed by 'w'.

That's a Japanese LOL. It's short for "warau" (laugh). When I started playing Final Fantasy XI (Isobel, Titan server), I saw this all the time, and it drove me nuts until I learned what it was.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.June 15, 2007 - Foreign words in Japan

Obviously, the vast majority of foreign words in Japan are English (unless you wanna count Chinese LOL). After that, it seems like German is 2nd. Or maybe the 'German' is really Dutch since the Dutch were the only foreigners allowed to trade with the Japanese? German and Dutch are very similar, so I'm not sure.

A lot of foreign words in Japanese take on slightly different meanings. For example, "arubaito" is the Japanese word for part-time work. The word in German is "arbeit", and it simply means "work". And a funny one is "manshin" which is "mansion" in English... but the Japanese use it to refer to a big apartment.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.June 1, 2007 - Miss Universe Japan

Riyo Mori won the Miss Universe title last week, and I'm sure Japan is going nuts! For all the info you could want on the subject, check out... www.missuniversejapan.com

I loved her costumes! But if I hadn't know she was Japanese, I'da thought she was Chinese. She's not typically Japanese looking. (I think)

PS - F*** you Mexico for being a buncha rude @ss#0le$ and booing Miss USA. After all the US has done for Mexico and continues to do for Mexico... ungrateful!! You hate America, but you all wanna come here. And you wonder why we wanna build a wall.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.May 15, 2007 - Japanese B.O.

B.O. Yes... "body odor". I'm pretty sure that they don't have deodorant in Japan. I never saw it, and my friend who'd lived in the US for a while used to have me send it to him.

But it's not like France where there are some very serious problems with people using deodorant. From my experience, Japanese people don't have B.O.! No kidding. On many occasions I've been crammed on the subway with hundreds Japanese people in the hot and humid summers of Tokyo, and I never noticed anything. I never researched it, so I don't really know much, but I'd guess it's because of their diet that they don't get B.O.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.May 1, 2007 - Movies in Japan

A LOT of people in the US seem to live for movies. All my friends have seen every movie that's out. (I see maybe 2-3 a year) It's not nearly as big in Japan, but there is of course a market for it.

Here's a link the the Movies section of Yahoo Japan so you can see what's out now...

Babel seems to be out now, but that's pretty old, huh? 300 is due out in June. There's news on Spiderman 3, which is due here this week. And some Japanese movie which I kinda recognize from some comic or cartoon. Anyhow, if you're interested, click around a bit even if you can't read an Japanese, and you'll probably find something interesting.

BTW, it used to cost about $25 to see a movie in a theatre in Japan! Just 6 years ago. But I've heard that prices have really gone down (probably to about $15 LOL)

dfsfCammy' the best!

.April 15, 2007 - Fire-bombing Tokyo

OK, this fact is not 'fun' at all! But it's a fact.

After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, America retaliated with a fire-bombing attack on Tokyo that killed over 100,000 people! Almost all civilians. 12 square miles of Tokyo was destroyed. I think something like 1 million people were homeless. All in 1 attack.

Now THAT'S a war! The people who are totally freaking out about this 'war' against terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere need to study some history and get some perspective.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.April 1, 2007 - Washington DC's Cherry Blossoms

At this time of the year, Washington DC is famous for its cherry blossoms. You should know that the cherry blossoms in Japan are really popular too! Well, did you know that the cherry tree in Washington DC were gifts from the Japanese? Way back in 1912! If you're interested in some more info, check out this page on the National Parks Service homepage.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.March 15, 2007 - Dreaming in Japanese

I've never even been close to fluent in Japanese, despite studying it in college and living & working there on 3 occasions. I could read, write, and understand a lot (enough to get by), but definitely not fluent. However, on a few occasions I had dreams where I spoke and understood Japanese fluently! It was really amazing. I remember waking up and thinking... damn, how do I do that?! I wonder if deep down inside my mind, I know a lot more Japanese than I think or I know I do...

dfsfCammy' the best!

.February 15, 2007 - Searching in Japanese

Your computer should have Japanese fonts installed already, so when you go to a Japanese page, it'll be in Japanese. If not, you should be able to change the setting on your browser by looking under View, then Encoding, and selecting Japanese (auto-select) or whatever. That should do it.

Now, you probably can't type in Japanese. But, did you know that you can cut & paste Japanese? Yes, you can!! So if you know the name of a character like Cammy or something like that, you can cut & paste that into a Japanese search engine. Try it out at Google Japan. I'm starting you out with an image search for "Cammy" in Japanese. Here are some other names you can try... 1) レイレイ 2) 不知火舞 3) ブルーマリー
4) モリガン 5) 銃夢 6) るろうに剣心 7) ファイナルファンタジー

Have fun!

dfsfCammy' the best!

.February 5, 2007 - Twins

In all my time in Japan, I never met any twins. The only twins I heard of at all were two of the original cosplayers (before it got so popular). Even over here, twins are rare, but it seems like they're almost non-existant in Japan. Or is it just me?

dfsfCammy' the best!

.January 29, 2007 - Mos Burger

Mos Burger is a Japanese burger fast-food place, and I'm not sure I ever had the courage to eat there. Just looking at the menu always freaked me out! It's burgers and stuff... but done in a Japanese way.

You gotta see for yourself! Check out the website. Already on the front page is some kinda goofy sandwich/burger thing with a sausage curled up inside. WTF?! Click around the website and find more funny stuff to eat... www.mos-burger.co.jp

dfsfCammy' the best!

.January 22, 2007 - Welcome to the NHL!

Besides being a Cammy fan, I'm a big ice hockey fan too! One of the things that always amuses me about hockey, are all the crazy names (like Tjarnqvist, Orszagh, and Tkachuk). But the guys who announce the games are used to those odd European names, so they rarely have a problem pronouncing 'em. However, about a week ago, a Japanese player who just got called up for the 1st time got into the game... Yutaka Fukufuji. It's a fairly easy name, but the announcers weren't used to a Japanese name, so they made a total mess of it LOL

Kelley Chase (the color commentator on the radio for the St. Louis Blues) mentioned he saw Yutaka in the halls before the game looking around like @_@ Apparently he was pretty excited to make it into the big leagues! I think he's the 1st Japanese-born player to play in the NHL. Congratulations and welcome! Good luck.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.January 15, 2007 - Equality again

Along the same lines as last week, there's another story I have about equality in Japan. Also when I worked the home for displaced children in Japan, one of the regular Japanese workers pulled me aside and explained a 'mistake' I'd made one day. He was very polite and not mad at all.

We were out on some kind of field trip and I got something to drink out of a vending machine. Apparently since the kids didn't have money of their own to buy something to drink, that was kinda rude of me. Hmmm. I totally see what they mean. But I'm 6'7", 220 pounds, and I'm abnormally thirsty! We're not all equal >_< I don't much like the idea of making people believe that everything in life is fair and equal cuz that's total BS, and the kids shouldn't be fooled about any of that stuff. But that's how they do things in Japan! After that, I always made sure to bring a bottle of water with me, or look for water fountains.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.January 6, 2007 - No Show and Tell

Happy Birthday Cammy! Anyhow, the 1st 2 times I went to Japan, I worked at a home for 'displaced' children. Orphans and kids who couldn't live with their families anymore. They were all like 2-18 years old, so most of them were in school.

While I was there, I thought it was odd that nobody ever invited me to come to school so the other kids could meet me. In Kumamoto, I'm quite sure they kids had never met a foreigner or maybe ever seen one in person! Especially not one who was 6'7" tall (2 meters). In the US, I would surely be encouraged to come to school for a show and tell kinda thing. I asked about it, and my friend said that if I went and met some kid's class, it would be unfair to the other classrooms who wouldn't get to do something special like that. That was a big lesson and really pushed home the point how much Japanese society stresses equality. I think it kinda sucks, but I can understand it too.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.December 25, 2006 - New Years in Japan

dfsfCammy' the best!

.December 12, 2006 - Christmas in Japan

BTW, friend told me that X-Mas eve is a big night for dates. I went out on X-Mas eve (to NeoGeo World!) and it sure seemed like that was true.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.December 4, 2006 - Keyhole Tomb Mystery?

There are many very old keyhole-shaped mound in Japan that are thought to be old tombs. They're huge! However, I remember once one of my Japanese teachers in college saying that the tombs weren't allowed to be excavated! He/She said it was because the Japanese people didn't want to discover that their ancient ancestors were really Koreans...

For some more info on these mounds, click on the picture to the right to check out an archaeological website with more info and pictures.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.November 27, 2006 - 51 Million to talk?!

A few weeks ago the Boston Red Sox paid 51 Million dollars to TALK to a Japanese pitcher named Daisuke Matsuzaka...

BOSTON (AP) -- Daisuke Matsuzaka dined with his would-be Boston bosses and took in a Los Angeles Lakers game during a trip to the United States, then headed back to Japan and left his agent to work out a deal with the Red Sox.

"We had some initial discussions yesterday," agent Scott Boras said Tuesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "We're continuing to talk. We've started the process."

Boston bid $51.1 million for the right to negotiate with Matsuzaka, who was the MVP of last spring's World Baseball Classic. General manager Theo Epstein has until the end of Dec. 14 to sign him.

Red Sox owner Tom Werner confirmed that the sides got together on Saturday night for dinner at his Los Angeles-area home in Pacific Palisades.

"We had kind of an owners and executives meeting Saturday to kind of introduce D-Mat to everyone and everyone to us," Boras said. "It was an evening where I think both sides learned a lot about one another. A good cultural exchange."

Boras said Matsuzaka returned to Japan on Monday.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.November 20, 2006 - Grocery Stores

There aren't too many grocery stores in Japan. And they're not like the mega grocery stores we have in the USA. I've hardly seen any of the grocery stores in Japan have parking lots. For the most part, I think Japanese people get their everyday things from convenient stores (which are EVERYWHERE in Japan) like 7-11, AM-PM, etc. There are other little stores here and there where people pick up some foods too. I'm not quite sure where they get it all, but it's definitely not as easy over there to hop in the car and pick up everything you need at the store like we're used to in the USA. I think what you have and when you have it really depends a lot on where you live and what your schedule is like.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.November 13, 2006 - The Masahiro Chono fan club

I remember at some toy or game show I went to one weekend in Tokyo, I saw a buncha guys sitting all alone at a table in a corner. I went over to see what they had, and apparently it was a booth for the Masahiro Chono fan club. He's one of Japan's most famous wrestlers for the last 20 years!
When they saw me come over, they all got excited (a customer!) and one of 'em even asked if I knew Chono. And I actually did! That got them really excited that a foreigner knew about Chono LOL
I'm not big into wrestling, but I remember Chono for 2 of his moves... the STF and something called the Yakuza kick. The STF is what Cammy does to Chun Li in this comic, and Yakuza kick is some kinda running kick that I don't understand how it doesn't actually kick your head off! I wish you could see the kick because it's ridiculous!
Anyhow, looking for more info and pics on Masahiro Chono, I ran across the Wikipedia entry and learned a lotta interesting stuff. If you wanna learn more on Mr. Chono, check out Wikipedia!

dfsfCammy' the best!

.November 6, 2006 - 1 yen piece

People in the USA think the penny is worthless. Well in Japan, they've got a 1 yen piece which is worth less than a penny!

The thing that stands out the most to me about the 1 yen piece, however, is that it's made of tin (I think). It's really light and weird... like no coin I've ever seen anywhere else in the world. It's almost like it doesn't weigh anything, but if you drop it, it makes a really loud 'ping' or 'ting' noise.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.October 31, 2006 - Halloween in Japan

You know how big cosplay is in Japan, right? And you probably know that they adopt at lot of our holidays like Christmas and Valentine's just for fun. Well, how do you think they celebrate Halloween?!

Ummm... they don't! WTF? I have no idea why. I thought at least the costume part of it would be something they'd have a ton of fun with. They don't like candy much, and they probably don't know their neighbors like we do, but still... no Halloween at all from what I've seen. I think that's VERY odd.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.October 23, 2006 - Iwo Jima

Most of you have heard of the Battle of Iwo Jima from WW2. And you're probably hearing more about it now with the new movie, Flags of Our Fathers (which I hated!). We'll here's a quick lesson on what Iwo Jima was all about...
Even though it's not very close to Japan, Iwo Jima was the 1st time the Americans invaded Japanese soil in WW2, so I think it really meant a lot to both sides. Americans wanted to win it for moral and strategic reasons, and the Japanese were gonna defend it fanatically because it was their homeland. To be frank, Iwo Jima is a nasty rock about 2 miles wide and 5 miles long. There was really nothing there besides an air strip, but it was very strategically located, and that was enough to make it worth the battle. For 36 days, 110,000 Americans fought 22,000 Japanese, and it was incredibly brutal. All 22,000 Japanese were killed. Almost 7,000 Americans died, and around 19,000 were wounded.
If you're interested in learning more about it, don't see the movie... go to www.iwojima.com. It's a great site with tons of info, but very easy to read through without getting too deep into blah blah blah historical details.
PS - The scene of the very famous flag raising at Iwo Jima was only on day 3 or so. They'd won the mountain top, but fight for the island was just beginning...

dfsfCammy' the best!

.October 16, 2006 - The Shinsengumi

You've probably heard about 'em from some anime or manga like Rurouni Kenshin. I've heard A LOT about them, but I was never really able to find out much about them in English. Until now! I found a book called Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps.

I haven't read it yet, but I'm very excited! Here's a the Prologue which will give you a good idea of who and what they were...

By the end of 1862 the situation had gotten out of hand. Hordes of renegade samurai had abandoned their clans to fight under the banner of Imperial Loyalism. These warriors, derogatorily called ronin by the powers that were, had transformed the formerly tranquil streets of the Imperial Capital into a sea of blood. The ronin were determined to overthrow the shogun's regime, which had ruled Japan these past two and a half centuries. Screaming "Heaven's Revenge," they wielded their swords with a vengeance upon their enemies. Terror reigned. Assassination was a nightly occurrence. The assassins skewered the head of their victims onto bamboo stakes. They stuck the stakes into the soft mud along the riverbank. The spectacle by dawn was ghastly.

The authorities were determined to rein in the chaos and terror. A band of swordsmen was formed. They were given the name Shinsengumi - Newly Selected Corps - and commissioned to restore law and order to the Imperial Capital. At once reviled and revered, they were known alternately as ronin hunters, wolves, murderers, thugs, band of assassins, and eventually the most dreaded security force in Japanese history, Their official mission was to protect the shogun; but their assigned purpose was single and clear - to eliminate the ronin who would overthrow the shogun's government. Endowed with an official sanction and unsurpassed propensity to kill, the men of the Shinsengumi swaggered through the ancient city streets. Under their trademark banner of "sincerity," their presence and even their very name evoked terror among the terrorists, as an entire nation reeled around them.

BTW, like I mentioned, Rurouni deals a lot with this period of history and the Shinsengumi. The movie, "The Last Samurai" also deals with this period of Japanese history, but there's nothing about the Shinsengumi. This time in story (the Meiji Restoration) is one of my very favorites. It's absolutely fascinating!!

dfsfCammy' the best!

.October 9, 2006 - Dollar vs Yen

I haven't paid much attention to the currency, but right now $1.00 will get you 119.00 yen! Wow, that's awesome if you've got $. It hasn't been that high in a long, long time. Not since the 1990s I think. In the 10 years that I've been going to Japan, $1.00 has been worth anywhere around 90-something to 120-something Yen. For a few years, I think the US$ has been stuck around 105 Yen.

Prices of everyday goods don't really change with the fluctuation of the currency, but if you're going from America to Japan right now, your money will get you more! For example, a hotel room for 12,000 Yen is always that much within a few years time. Right now that's $100.84, but if you went 3 years ago when I was last there, it would have cost around $112.15 because all my money was converted from US$. Add up all the savings, and it's a good deal because everything is basically 10% off! I wish I had the money and time to go to Japan now... >_<

By the way, the way $ is the symbol for the US Dollar,

is the symbol for the Japanese Yen.

dfsfCammy' the best!

.October 2, 2006 - Futons

Everybody knows that futons are special Japanese wooden contraptions that turn from a bed into a couch so you can save space during the day. Right?

Well, Japanese people sure do sleep on futons, but I've never ever seen one over there that turns from a bed into a couch. In fact, every futon I've seen over there is simply a big pillow/blanket/matress kinda thing that you just put on the ground to sleep on at night. During the day, you roll it up and stuff it in a closet or something. There's no wooden anything to it. It's just the matress thing.

I think the 'futon' that we all know is actually more American than Japanese...

dfsfCammy' the best!

.September 25, 2006 - Sumo food

Sumo wrestlers like to eat chicken instead of beef before a match because a chicken stands on 2 feet instead of 4 like a cow. You see, in Sumo you want to be on 2 feet, because if you're down on all fours like a cow, you've lost!

dfsfCammy' the best!

.September 11, 2006 - Haiku

A Haiku is a Japanese poem simply made out of 3 lines where the 1st has 5 sylables, the 2nd has 7 sylables, and the 3rd has 5 sylables.

It sounds overly simple, but they're really very clever and a lot of fun. Here's a Cammy Haiku I made up in 10 seconds...

Cammy beats Chun Li
The REAL world's strongest woman
Pigtails rule fat thighs!

Make some up for yourself. They can be really fun! If you need more examples, check out the Car Talk Haiku...

dfsfCammy' the best!

.September 4, 2006 - "Godzilla" by the Blue Oyster Cult (1977)

Ever heard this song? It's great! Here are the lyrics...

    With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound
    He pulls the spitting high tension wires down

    Helpless people on a subway train
    Scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them

    He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
    As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town

    Oh no, they say he's got to go go go Godzilla
    Oh no, there goes Tokyo go go Godzilla

    History shows again and again
    How nature points up the folly of men

Somewhere in the song is some audio of some Japanese guy...
Here's what it translates into:

"Attention, emergency news! Attention, emergency news! Godzilla is going toward the Ginza area! Immediately escape, catch up, find shelter please! Immediately escape, catch up, find shelter please!"

Cammy' the best!

.August 21, 2006 - Japanese News

Wanna read Japanese news in English? That's easy... check out Kyodo News

Cammy' the best!

.August 14, 2006 - V-J Day

Today is the 61st anniversary of the US victory over Japan in World War 2! Of course that came days after the dropping of the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It's one of those great yet sad moments in world history, but it's definitely something that ended good in the end.

Ever seen footage or pictures of the celebration in 1945? You wanna talk about one HELL of a party...

If nothing else, I'm sure you're seen that very famous picture of a sailor kissing his girl in NYC over to the right. And here's another good picture I found.

Cammy' the best!

.August 7, 2006 - Pantyhose

I'm not sure how we got on this subject, but my mom mentioned that years ago she swore she used to see Japanese girls wearing pantyhose under their swimsuits and the beach & pool. How odd! Hmmm... I don't really know much about it. I haven't noticed it myself.

But, I think it has been just recently (in the last decade or two) that Japanese women have been allowed to show their bare legs without pantyhose. Over here, you almost never see it, but now that I think about it, most women over there did wear pantyhose. And I heard once that at cosplay shows in Japan, the girls have to wear 'em.

I don't really know much about it. I never paid much attention to it, but now that I think about it, there may be something to all this. I'm gonna have to start paying. You should too. Maybe we'll discover something. If nothing else, we'll have an excuse to check out all Japanese girls' legs LOL

Cammy' the best!

.July 24, 2006 - Lala the penguin

I happened to catch a clip on TV this weekend of a Japanese family that had a pet penguin that lived in a specially air conditioned room they built. They rescued it from a fisherman's net. I don't quite know how that happened since there shouldn't be any penquins anywhere near Japan, but anyhow...

They trained the penguin to go down to the local fish market and pick up fish for the family! It wears a little penguin backpack (too cute >_<;) and when it gets to the market, the lady there packaged up the usual order and stuck it in the backpack. The money for the fish was also in the backpack, so she picked that out for herself. Then she gave Lala the penguin some fish to eat, and sent him back home LOL

Cammy' the best!

.July 17, 2006 - Shinto Gates

You'll see structures like this all over the place in Japan. They're gateways to Shinto shrines. Shintoism is Japan's traditional religion based on regional spirits... the spirit of the forest, the mountain, etc. There are small and big shrines all over the place!

I don't think people really believe in that stuff anymore, but it's still a big part of their culture. They go to these shrines a lot, especially on New Years and holidays like that, but like I said, I think it's just tradition.

Cammy' the best!

.July 10, 2006 - Hello?

When you answer the phone in Japan, you say "Moshi moshi". I always thought that sounded so funny! I hated answering the phone when I lived in Japan because I'd always start laughing when I had to say Moshi Moshi...

Cammy' the best!

.July 3, 2006 - PM Koizumi visits Graceland

Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to the USA last week included a tour of Graceland because he's a BIG Elvis fan LOL. It was all over the news. Click here to see a special video and other info about PM Koizumi's visit on Elvis.com

Cammy' the best!

.June 26, 2006 - Wine Spa?!

Click on the picture and see for yourself. I doubt they're really swimming in wine... it's gotta be watered down. Anyhow, there's some text under the picture that explains what it's all about. It's the Life Picture of the Week for last week. Thanks to my Mom for fiinding this one!
BTW - LOL at the little kids swimming in wine! Wonder how many of 'em are gonna be drunk as @!#%&*$ at the end of the day! Not so healthy I'd think...

Cammy' the best!

.June 12, 2006 - Japan loses 3-1

The whole world (except the USA LOL) is going nuts over the World Cup in Germany. Baseball is probably Japan's #1 sport, but Soccer is a very close 2nd. Whenever Japan competes like this internationally, it's a big event...

...so I'm sure everybody in Japan was devastated when Japan gave up 3 goals in the last 8 min to lose their 1 game against Australia. The game was played around 10-11 P.M. in Japan, so I'm not sure how many people saw it live. Since Japan won the World Baseball Championship earlier this year, I'm sure they're under a lot of pressure to win the next 2 games and make it to the next round.

Cammy' the best!

.June 5, 2006 - FFXI Etiquette

In Final Fantasy XI, there are many different ways to talk. For example, /party is just people you're grouped with, /say is just something that people around you can hear, and /shout is something almost everybody in the area can hear. In the cities, /shouts can get overwhelming and fill up your chat log real quick.

When Japanese people /shout anything that's gonna be more than a 2 lines, they start off with "I'm sorry for shouting m-_-m", then they say what they need to say, and then they finish off with "I'm sorry I shouted m-_-m". The m-_-m is the best I can do for the Japanese emote of somebody bowing down... -_- is the face and the m m are the hands... ummm... anyhow...

That's pretty much it. It's some strange kinda Japanese form of politeness to apologize for filling up your chat log with, but by doing it they actually spam you more LOL

Cammy' the best!

.May 29, 2006 - Kumamoto

The 1st time I went to Japan, I got sent to a city called Kumamoto. I'd never heard of it, so I ran out to the bookstore to look up some info. The only thing I found in one travel guide said "Kumamoto: nothing interesting"

That's so not true! I ended up loving it there, and it was a fascinating place to live. It's kinda out of the way if you're gonna visit Japan, but Kumamoto and the island of Kyushu is a wonderful place nonetheless. There's an amazing English website that tells you all about Kumamoto at http://www.manyou-kumamoto.jp/contents.cfm?id=222. You'll see for yourself that Kumamoto is really a neat place.

Cammy' the best!

.May 22, 2006 - Air for sale?!

I was listening to Paul Harvey on the radio this weekend, and I heard him report that a study in Japan said that sitting at a desk all day conducive to proper breathing. So 7-11 stores in Japan (yes, they have 7-11, and they're everywhere!) will start selling oxygen in a bottle. Hmmmm... sounds like a buncha BS to me, but I'd definitely have to try it out LOL

BTW, if you're interested, here's the 7-11 of Japan website.

Cammy' the best!

.May 15, 2006 - Japanese Denny's

A lot of American restaurants are in Japan, and one of those is Denny's. When I was living in Japan, I used to crave pancakes, bacon, etc. (good old, fat-ass, American food!) So when I saw a Denny's I was really excited!! But when I went and looked at the menu, I soon realized it was Denny's in name only LOL No Grand Slam breakfasts, no Moons Over My Hammy, or anything like that >_<

Here's the Japanese Denny's website. You probably won't understand much, but just try clicking around on some of the links, and I'm sure you'll see some interesting stuff.

Cammy' the best!

.May 8, 2006 - The "Viking" Obstacle Course

Check out ESPN2, and you might catch a Japanese TV show that's kinda like Spike TV's MXC, but it's a serious obstacle course game for some super athletes. It's a cool show, I think you'd like it. Take some time to check it out. For more info click here.

Cammy' the best!

.May 1, 2006 - Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossom season in Japan is over by now, but every year it's a BIG event! So many parks and outdoor places are designed around the blooming of the chreey trees. When the trees are in bloom, Japanese people LOVE to walk around and picnic around the trees.

Here's a link to a picture search in Japanese for "Sakura". If you can't go to Japan and experience the real thing, then this will give you a good idea of what it's like.

Cammy' the best!

.April 24, 2006 - Samurai headhunters

Samurai were famous for taking heads of those they defeated in battle, especially famous warriors, lords, or somebody important like that. After a successful battle, it was common practice to present the heads in tribute to their lords! The heads of important people would be presented personally, while the heads of the hundreds of enemy warriors would be collected in piles.
- info taken from "The Last Samurai: The Life & Battles of Saigo Takamori" by Mark Ravina

Shocked? I was at first, but then when I thought about it, I really wasn't. War is ugly, and you see this kinda stuff throughout history! Sure the Samurai were honorable and all that, but you gotta understand what their definition of "honor" is. Cutting off heads and displaying them as trophies was honorable to them.

Cammy' the best!

.April 12, 2006 - Kamikazi pilots wearing helmets...?!

I heard an interview with the legendary Bert Sugar on the radio a few days ago. He was talking about his new book, "Boxing's Greatest Fighters", and as he was explaining why Mike Tyson was only the 100th best fighter of all-time, he made some comment explaining (something) about Mike Tyson is like explaining why Japanese Kamikaze pilots wore helmets! LOL
It was a typical Bert Sugar comment, but then a few days ago I saw something on TV about Kamikaze pilots, and sure enough... they were wearing helmets!! WTF? Why did they wear helmets? ROFL

Cammy' the best!

.April 3, 2006 - Osaka and turtles...

Every Wednesday at around noon I go to Ice & Fuel in Kirkwood (suburb of St. Louis) for lunch. Come say Hello if you ever in the neighborhood LOL I'll be the 1st guy at the bar with my back to you as you walk in. Anyhow, last week I met a guy there who'd lived in Japan for a while like me, and we started talking about it...

He lived in Osaka and said they eat a lot of turtle there. Not just turtle soup and stuff like that, but even shots of turtle blood! Ewww... that's strange! I've never heard of anything like that, but since horse sushi (basashi) is a specialty in Kumamoto, I guess it shouldn't be all that shocking! I wonder what other strange regional foods they have in other places in Japan?!

Cammy' the best!

.March 27, 2006 - Japan wins the World Baseball Classic!

Japan has the best baseball team in the entire world!! I'm sure everybody in Japan is celebrating ^_^
I knew Japanese baseball players were very good, but kinda shocked that they ended up winning the whole thing because there are a lot of other countries that take baseball very seriously too. Anyhow, congratulations Japan!!

Click here to read all about it....

Cammy' the best!

.March 20, 2006 - Monster Japanese crows!

Crows are generally big, nasty birds, but in Japan they're especially creepy! Japanese crows have HUGE beaks! In fact, I think the Japanese crows are bigger than the ones I've seen around here. They're like chicken-sized but not so fat. They're pretty scary.

I remember being shocked when I first saw them, and when my mom came to visit me, she noticed them too. And although I don't know anything about it, Japanese people seem to dislike them very much. I always remember seeing them around train stations in Tokyo. If you've been over there, you probably know what I'm talking about. If you haven't been there but do go someday, you'll see too.

Cammy' the best!

.March 14, 2006 - World Baseball Classic controversy!

You probably know that baseball is really popular in Japan, so when when Japan lost to the US in the World Baseball Classic because of a controversial call, it became a big issue! Japanese people very rarely get mad or complain in public, so it's been interesting to see this unfold.

For a story on the game, check out this news story...

Cammy' the best!

.March 6, 2006 - Koala Poo-san

I saw something on TV about this, but I couldn't really find anything online. Just a few references and lots of dead links, but unfortunately no pictures or other info.

Anyhow, apparently Koalas are really popular in Japan, but Australia won't allow any to be exported, so some goofy lady created Koala Poo-san! Koala Poo-san is a clear little koala-shaped keychain with a genuine Australian koala turd inside!! I saw the lady interviewed on TV, and she said that poo is considered good luck in Japanese culture. Very odd, but at the same time so typically Japanese LOL

Cammy' the best!

.February 27, 2006 - Shiziku's gold & doughnuts!

Shizuka Arakawa won the gold medal in the Olympics for Women's Figure Skating, and of course Japan is going crazy! They're actually making golden doughnuts in Japan to celebrate ROFL!!

Here are 2 articles on the subject if you wanna see some more about it...
1) Arakawa gets attention, golden doughnets
2) Figure skater Arakawa gives Japan its first gold medal

Cammy' the best!

.February 20, 2006 - TecmoInc.com

OK, so it's not quite a fun fact about Japan, but the website is set up to look like Japan with the vending machines and all. It's REALLY cool, please check it out... www.TecmoInc.com

Cammy' the best!

.February 13, 2006 - Engrish

Japanese people sometimes use auto-translate programs that create the most ridiculous Engrish you've ever heard! For example, here's something I found on one cosplayer's website...

Please do not look at the site when there is reluctance in the
wrist-cutting syndrome and the violence expression.
It is not only a sentence of the site but also a materials are the prohibitions of all use.
This site is Japanese only.

Cammy' the best!

.February 6, 2006 - Hirosue Ryoko

When I was in Japan for the 1st time in 1996, a 16 year old girl named Hirosue Ryoko was REALLY popular! She was everywhere you looked! She remained popular for a few years, and probably still has quite a following. I'm not sure what she's doing nowadays, but she used to do it all... music, TV drama, modeling, etc.

Anyhow, if you wanna see who she is, check out Ryoko-Hirosue.org.

Cammy' the best!

.January 30, 2006 - Coffee Boss

There are TONS of drinks in vending machines in Japan. I hate coffee, but one of the products that always made me laugh was "Coffee Boss". It's one of the most popular coffee drinks in Japan, and I guess the funny name and logo always amused me. (there's lots of stuff like that in Japan LOL)

Anyhow, if you wanna see any more, check out the Coffee Boss website. After the silly little flash video ad for some kinda rainbow coffee stuff, you can check out the rest of the website... including some kinda online Coffee Boss slot machine! And online poker vs the Coffee Boss too! @_@
BTW, in my 1st game of poker, I lost with 4 Kings! The Boss had a Straight Flush >_<;

Cammy' the best!

.January 16, 2006 - Regional foods

Every region of Japan seems to have really gone out of its way to create it's own food or version of a good. For example, Kumamoto is know for "basashi" (horse sushi). And Osaka is known for a version of Okomomi yaki that's kinda like a sandwich. I don't really remember any other specifically, but there are lots, and Japanese people love trying them out. I know it's kinda like that in every country, but it's an especially big part of Japanese culture.

Also, if you go out of town, it's tradition that you to bring back some kinda treat from the place you visit. Usually it's some kinda candy or cake that you can eat with afternoon tea.

If you ever visit somebody in Japan, you might wanna bring them some kinda food that's a specialty of your hometown. For me in St. Louis is would be a Gooey Butter Cake... but there's no way to get that safely to Japan, and even if I did, they probably wouldn't like something THAT sweet.

Cammy' the best!

.January 6, 2006 - How Japanese people look different

In the Memoirs of a Geisha movie, the very 1st thing I noticed was that the actresses weren't Japanese! Not all Asian people look alike. I'm sure almost nobody else would notice that, but it really stood out to me. I wonder how Japan is gonna react to the movie?

So, how did I know? How do Japanese people look? Ugh, it very hard to explain because the differences are so subtle! And there are a lot of times that you really can't tell. But generally speaking I think Japanese peoples' faces are kinda round and more chubby. I don't think the features, especially the chin and cheekbones are as well defined. Geisha esepcially are known for having that really round face, so it stood out even more in the movie, and that's why it's such a big deal to me.

Cammy' the best!

For older fun facts check out:
Fun Facts Archives #1 (June - December 2002)
Fun Facts Archives #2 (January - June 2003)
Fun Facts Archives #3 (July - December 2003)
Fun Facts Archives #4 (January - June 2004)
Fun Facts Archives #5 (July - December 2004)
Fun Facts Archives #6 (January - June 2005)
Fun Facts Archives #7 (July - December 2005)