The Japanese Culture Thread

[make_it_worse]

Pardon me for leaning toward the subject of pop culture, but is it common to find manga in libraries in Japan? If yes, what kind do they usually have (classic manga, popular manga, etc.)?

i think half of the libraries in japan are all manga..(just think)

[Kakuna Matata]

The garbage sorting x 3. Seriously, though, definitely the garbage thing. I didn't have too much trouble with anything else. Shopping was easy enough. I knew enough Japanese to get by where that was concerned since it's so basic. I guess going to the doctor was difficult because of the language barrier, but I was lucky in that regard. Oh, other thing was probably opening up a bank account, but I opened it up through the post office instead.

Oh, I know! How polite and nice people were and how much they really seemed to care about whatever establishment or company that they worked for. It was very nice to see how much they took representing their companies very well. They really did act as ambassadors to their companies, like in the store they help you if you ask for it and seem very professional. This took a while to get used to because back here at home, I just wasn't used to it. You hear/see people complaining about their jobs all the time. Over there, I'm under the impression that most don't or wouldn't because it'd make the company look bad.

Is it really that different concerning garbage? :o Like, there isn't a lot of garbage cans out on the streets, or am I missing what you're getting at here?

Even at places like gas stations and the like? I'm aware that Japan and other Eastern nations are more collectivist minded, but I didn't know if it extended from CEOs all the way down to cashiers.

[SSJ_Jup81]

Is it really that different concerning garbage? :o Like, there isn't a lot of garbage cans out on the streets, or am I missing what you're getting at here?

The sorting of the garbage is very time consuming and sometimes confusing. You have to sort it a certain way or else it won't get picked up at all. You also can only have certain type of garbage out on certain days (depending on where you live). There burnable garbage, non-burnable garbage, rubbish type stuff, glass/can, etc. Everything is categorized, but there are some things that's difficult to figure out how to dispose of it. For example, I had a small broom I wanted to get rid of. I had no idea which type of trash it was considered. I went to ask about it at information and even they were stumped. I had packing peanuts too (from a package I received from overseas) and I also had no idea how to throw it away or what type of garbage it was, and just assumed that it'd go where styrofoam would (non burnable plastics).

There are also plastic bottles and PET plastic bottles. PET bottles get their own bag, but the labels and bottle caps go into non burnable plastics (iirc). Other type of plastic bottles..I think go into the same bag. I had a jar of honey. I knew how to dispose of the actual jar, but had no idea what to do with the top.

The easiest trash to sort was the burnable garbage, as that consisted of foods and papers and the glass/cans (aluminum).

Anywho, like I said, different type of garbage is picked up on certain days. Let's say...the non-burnable plastics get picked up on Mondays, then that means you can only put it out on that day and you also have to use special bags for your garbage. There's one for each type of garbage. Anywho, if you put out the wrong bag on the wrong day, they won't pick it up. If you put out the right bag on the right day, but you accidentally tossed something in that doesn't belong (let's say you forgot to take the caps off of some of the plastic bottles as plastic tops and plastic bottles are separated), they'll leave the bag there with a note on it telling you what the problem is.

I heard that the garbage sorting is very extensive and even native Japanese have trouble with sorting out garbage sometimes.

Edit: This was pointed out earlier. It has a link to how the Japanese sort garbage, but like I mentioned earlier, it all depends on where you live. The actual bags themselves can even be different depending on where you live.

Even at places like gas stations and the like? I'm aware that Japan and other Eastern nations are more collectivist minded, but I didn't know if it extended from CEOs all the way down to cashiers.

Well, that's a good question. I don't know, but seems that since this seems like a Japanese mentality thing (harmony and all that), it just might. In public (like most employees, I'm sure) they act like a good representative of their company, and maybe very different behind closed doors.

[Kakuna Matata]

Wow, we only sort our trash into three categories here. :x

Thank you for taking the time to write all of that out and for answering my questions. ^^

[make_it_worse]

what does a normal student girl takes from a vending machine (what flavor of soda she takes?), need it for my manga..

[jda95]

Um, vending machines can have heaps of variety. There's some soda we have like Coke, but then there's heaps of flavors of iced tea and fruit juice, as well as canned coffee. There's also stuff like Calpis and Pocari Sweat as well.

[Baka-kun]

I know about about its purposes in celebrations and other events, but what is this ball called?

^I'm talking about this.

[SSJ_Jup81]

I know about about its purposes in celebrations and other events, but what is this ball called?

^I'm talking about this.

I'm pretty sure that it's called a kusudama (薬玉).

[make_it_worse]

Do Japanese depend more on technology or themselves?

[Isamu Akai]

Hey guys, I'm back again...

I know that you guys had did try to help with my house questions, which were for my still work-in-progress comic. That has otherwise been going pretty smoothly. But it kinda appears that I've run into yet another obstacle (oh joy...) over the house thing again.

Namely, I keep worrying over whether the house, one of the main settings in my comic, is seemingly too large or just right. When I initially designed the house, I designed the exterior of it and the surrounding area, stupid me didn't decide to design the floor plans first thing, and if I had, then maybe I wouldn't be having this problem. I had to design the floor plans and room concepts to match up with the exterior.

I look at my floor plans, and wonder if I have too much rooms. See, it started out where I had put the necessary, yet few, rooms on the second floor (As the house is a two story house). Then when it came to the main floor, I put in the genkan and single washitsu rooms. Then it lead to a lot of filler space in the first floor, which I mostly filled up with a second washitsu and some storage spots. Looking at it now, I don't know whether I should like it or not. I don't know if I put in way too much.

And I've literally been freaking out over this in worry. I fear that I may be making things too "awfully convenient" with the way it's set up. I guess I could have just thrown my family into an apartment, but they also have a dog, and thinking about it, I don't know if that'll work quite as well either.

So. If I may ask again, what is the typical size of a modern house that's intended for a small family? (Not too, too modern. My house looks more like it's from the 80's - 90's era.)

Thank you...

[jda95]

I don't think it matters too much about the first floor. Although my family had a three story house, the first floor consisted only of the genkan and two rarely used washitsu. I think if its a small family and all of the rooms are on the second floor, its probably quite normal.

[Isamu Akai]

Well, that's what I was doing on the first floor. One genkan, two washitsu and some storage rooms to fill filler space. (I won't really be showcasing every single room in the comic, I just needed to fill some space.)

I'm actually happy with the second floor. It's just with the first floor, of spaces needing to be filled, I fear some rooms in the first floor might be a bit too big.

[Kynn Master]

It is true that in japanese schools, girls can't put hair acessories?

I also remember that my friend said that her japanese-language teacher said when someone throw trash in the floor, that person must to go in front of the class and stay naked. O-O

[jda95]

I'm pretty sure that hair accessories are not allowed.... only things like plain elastics are allowed in most schools. I can tell you now that the standing naked thing is completely false.

[SSJ_Jup81]

Adding on to that crazy notion, I'm sure the student would just have to pick up the trash, not stand naked in front of the classroom.