Hahaha! I was laughing by the time you wrote “paCHINKO.”
By the way, you do realize who the actor is in that commercial short I posted, don’t you?
There are just too many of those little “too good to be true” mistranslations that I am now convinced that Japanese are completely unfairly stereotyped as having an unrefined sense of sarcasm.
Easy ones for the uninitiated:
One of the major Gatorade-type sports drinks here is called Pocari Sweat
Another popular drink that is white, creamy and the consistency of watery milk is called Calpis (say it out loud)
I’d welcome more. I need to get to work now.
[quote]Cortes wrote:
By the way, you do realize who the actor is in that commercial short I posted, don’t you? [/quote]
Is it you?
Obviously, after the kuso hit the senpuuki over this bit of racial insensitivity, the brand name of the toothpaste was changed to “Darlie”, and the mascot was changed to a grinning white guy in a top hat.
But there are plenty of other questionable brands still in existence. This caffeinated chewing gum is blackety-black and it’s black, y’all.
So what is the allure of Japan? What keeps guys there wanting to stay after 5 years (besides the women)?
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
[quote]Cortes wrote:
By the way, you do realize who the actor is in that commercial short I posted, don’t you? [/quote]
Is it you?[/quote]
It is, indeed, your friendly neighborhood Cortes. (^^)b
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
But there are plenty of other questionable brands still in existence. This caffeinated chewing gum is blackety-black and it’s black, y’all.[/quote]
I have been enjoying the hell out of this thread. Much appreciated. Though it’s not “Japanese” culture…I am really missing Okinawa lately.
[quote]Brett620 wrote:
So what is the allure of Japan? What keeps guys there wanting to stay after 5 years (besides the women)? [/quote]
Wow. Simple question, no easy answer.
I left Japan about five years ago when my marriage fell apart.
I came back to the States, thinking I would get over the inevitable initial culture shock, and ease back into “American Life”.
I was kidding myself, of course. My entire adult life had been spent in Japan, and I found that, like Rip Van Winkle, the country had changed almost beyond my recognition. I don’t know if I’d seriously consider going back and starting over in Japan at this point of my life (although legally I could: I still have a permanent residency visa), but I do occasionally get twinges of natsukashisa (nostalgia) for what I think of as “the old country”. So in no particular order, what I miss about Japan:
The beautiful girls
The ocean
The mountains
The hot springs
The sushi
The countryside
The fact that you can make huge money writing or teaching your native language
The lack of crime
The cleanliness of the cities
The contrast of incredibly high tech on the one hand with almost primitive practices on the other
The fact that with very rare exceptions nationalism and religious extremism are nonexistent
The martial arts
The history and traditions, some of which are five to ten times as old as the United States
Yukata and kimono, especially when worn by aforementioned beautiful girls
The fact that very few people are fat
The fact that the police are not belligerent assholes with automatic weapons
The fact that nobody takes the government very seriously
The fact that Korea, which has pretty much everything Japan does, with meatier cuisine and (I’m gonna get in trouble for this) even prettier girls, is just an hour or two away.
I’m sure I’ve left some stuff out. But that’s the short list.
Oh, and clean futons on fresh tatami mats. I’ve never quite gotten completely used to beds.
[quote]Brett620 wrote:
So what is the allure of Japan? What keeps guys there wanting to stay after 5 years (besides the women)? [/quote]
Is it hard to find hardcore gyms there?
