Q&A
my friends ask me questions about Japan
So today’s post will be something new! I’ve been wanting to do a Q&A with my friends for quite a while now. I wanted to finally take the time and answer some of their questions about Japan. The reason I’d also like to share these questions and the answers that I found, is that some of you might ask yourself similar questions or are interested in general. I hope you’ll enjoy today’s post.
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To my friends: Thanks again for asking and I hope you find my answers interesting. Because I slightly changed some of your questions, I put your german originals (without any names) beneath the english versions. I’m sending lots of love to you and I hope you’ll enjoy learning something about my exchange country. I miss you and I thank you for your support! You’re the best friends anyone could wish for!
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1. Does really almost everyone have a pond with Koi fish?
Ist es in Japan mit den Koi-Fischen wirklich so ausgeprägt?
I know you’re probably aware that it sounds a little bit funny, but I understand why you’re asking: First of all I know you like animals and second Koi fish are a very common symbol for Japan. I’ve got you covered:
No not every house owns their own koi fish pond! But still it is true that there are certainly a lot, but they’re more common in public spaces. If there is a traditional Japanese garden for example it’s very likely to find a „Ike“, jap. for pond, there. The Koi fish and the goldfish are very popular in Japan and the most beautiful fish ponds I’ve come across so far, were always the ones at the Shinto-Shrines. Most Shrines have a garden and a pond. That is because Shintoism’s believes strongly connect with nature and their Shrines are therefore constructed with a lot of open space. You don’t „enter the house of god“ like you enter a christian church. If you want to pray, you visit sacred ground on which the Shrine has been build. The centrepiece of the Shrine will be a space with orbs or symbols of the god to whom this particular Shrine is dedicated to. You enter the Shrine gate, after cleaning your hands with sacred water, and you’ll find yourself in an open space usually with a garden and an old honoured tree. There are many Shrines all over Japan and they vary in size and popularity. Shintoism is a polytheistic religion, so it makes sense why they have many Shrines dedicated to many different gods.
2. What do you think about the television news? Are they very different from the german ones?
Wie findest du die japanischen Nachrichten?
I really like Japan’s television news, even though I still don’t understand everything, because of lack of more complex vocabulary. Why do I like them? Well, because there’s a huge variety of news’ channels, that you can choose from. For example every prefecture has their own news program, which will inform you about local occasions and give you a very detailed weather forecast. Then there are of course the „all Japan“ news, which will inform you about everything that’s affecting Japan and what the government is doing. Also the news will cover a broad variety of international topics and they are broadcasting very fast. For example: As the earthquake in Italy appeared this year, it was instantly on the international news’ channel in Japan, too. The international channel also does quite a lot of fun documentaries about „Gaigokujin“, jap. foreigner.
The only thing that is really that obviously different is also the only thing I slightly dislike about Japanese television news: If there’s an interview with a foreigner and it is originally spoken in a different language, for example in English, you will see the foreigner talk but you will only hear the translated Japanese voice over. Well, that is something the german news channels won’t do. They are actually rarely allowed to do it, because then there would be no evidence, that the translation is correct and not (purposefully) manipulated or falsely quoted. This would intervene with the german laws, that protect the right to freedom of speech! Now I really doubt that the Japanese are doing anything of the sort on their news’ channels. I think they rather do this simply out of convenience and because of the few english speaking permanent residents in Japan. Still it appeared strange to me, when I first saw it on TV, because I’m used to a different way of publicly quoting, from foreign languages, in Germany.
3. Do Anime/Manga have as huge a fanbase as they do overseas?
Gibt es in Japan eigentlich viele die Anime suchten?
Well, in my eyes Anime and Manga are still only a subculture of Japan. But even though I personally am not a huge fan and therefore am not that interested neither engaged in the topic, I can say this: There are certainly a lot of Manga and Anime! Especially on television programs for children you will see a lot of Anime. But there is a difference to the most popular Anime being watched overseas: The Anime that are liked best in Japan, are most often not being as sexualised, compared to the ones, that are popular on international markets. As for Manga: of course there is a broad variety simply because it is something Japan is famous for and it is an art form, that’s been recognised all over the world. But from my perspective, the people who only read Manga are even in Japan stated as „nerd“. Popular literature amongst high school students are short novels, which are often followed by sequels and continue to become a series. Most of them cover similar topics. Books about high school life and finding your way to university are especially popular around junior and senior high school students, because they can relate to these stories very well. Also the romanticised stories or dramas about high school and university dating are quite popular.
Conclusion: It’s perfectly fine to come and visit Japan, because you love Anime or Manga. Also the „Studio Ghibli“-movies have a huge fanbase and are viewed as being very artistic! But: Don’t expect everyone you meet, to love Anime/Manga as much as you might do. And: Cosplay is basically anywhere in Japan, except for Tokyo, something very rarely done or liked.
4. How do you like Japanese Pop music?
Was sind deine Eindrücke der japanischen Musik?
I do like it and I’m certainly fascinated/impressed that there are still a lot of young and very popular singers and songwriters, who actually perform only in their mother tongue: Japanese!
Even though there is of course international influence as well and sometimes songs are written in Japanese and a weird kind of Japanese-English, I think it pretty awesome that there is a broad variety of Japanese-only groups/bands/songs and that Japan therefore takes pride in their language! This is something I’d like to have in Germany as well! A movement towards good and popular german music!
It’s not that Germany lacks young talented performers, no we do have them, but they’d most likely be more popular or famous when performing in English! The number of songs/music in English is flooding the charts! Though I do understand why: English is understood by many people all over the world and therefore will gain more attention and is pushed up the charts, but still I’m kind of sad, that hardly ever a none-English song is at the top of the international charts. I personally like very much to listen to English music, but I’m even more happy if I come across a song that catches me even though I don’t understand it’s lyrics! [Last week I came across a song in Norwegian and even though I don’t understand anything at all, it happens to be one of my favourite songs this month.]
So: Yes I like Japanese pop music, but I’m no hardcore fan, because my taste in music greatly varies with my current mood and I value diversity. I’ve now also added some Japanese to my playlist. :-)
5. Is everyone in Japan as small as everyone overseas expects them to be?
Sind alle Japaner wirklich so klein?
First of all: No! I came across quite a lot of tall people, but: they were mostly male. The girls tend to be rather small, at least from a European perspective. But I think the german boys will actually envy Japanese quite a lot for my next fact:
Japanese boys are biologically more muscular built but at the same time they tend to have slender statues, which is quite the goal a lot of german boys try to achieve: slim and muscular! Well, the Japanese have a biological advantage for that and because a lot of them enter sports’ clubs at school, most of them are rather good in shape. At least whilst staying at school. Adults tend to have office jobs so after school it rather equalises towards Germany: there will be the people, who will do sports for their shape or the ones, who care a little less about weight. But in general there are not many people, who are severely overweight. Being healthy is viewed as something very important in Japan and it’s greatly emphasised and encouraged by the public.
Lastly: Don’t judge the Japanese for their height, it’s in their genes, just as it is in the European genes to be a little taller. For those who know me and are aware of my height: There are some girls in my class who are smaller or my height but only one boy who’s my height, the other boys are at least 3cm taller or quite a lot more!
6. What did you discover in Japan that should definitely be a thing in Germany as well?
Was findest du haben die Japaner, das hier unbedingt eingeführt werden sollte?
There are actually quite a few things I’d like to have in Germany, too.
First of all コンビニ Konbini! This[コンビニ] is the Japanese expression for „convenience store“ and trust me: I absolutely love them! For all of you, who’ve been to America, it’s basically the same here and 7eleven is also a thing in Japan even though the products strongly vary. So: the Konbini opens 24 hours at 7 days a week. They mostly offer stuff for on the Go or being in a hurry, which means they have the best snacks EVER and really nice to-go foods, too.
Another thing I desperately want in Germany, but will never be possible because of law, is: In Japan there are a lot of supermarkets who are open on Sundays and even on public holidays!
Also I want Japan’s trains! They are awesome! Always on time! And at the rare occasions that they are not, they will immediately tell you how much delay is to be expected. Even if it is only one minute later than schedule, the station stuff will make an announcement and apologise for the inconvenience caused by any delay! I won’t say anything about the „Deutsche Bahn“ here, but my friends will understand, how desperately Germany needs the Japanese way of respecting that, some people actually do depend rather a lot on reliable public transportation.
7. Are you still okay with eating rice every day?
Hast du dich an Reis schon übergessen?
I’m sure especially since my food post a lot of you might wonder how it’s like to eat rice three times a day everyday. Well, I happen to really like rice. If there’s a day I’m a little fed up with it, I’ll put some raw egg and soy sauce over my hot rice or switch to an O-Nigiri or sprinkle dried algae over it, really there are enough options to pimp up your daily bowl of rice! So: No, I’m still perfectly fine and happy with my rice. Also don’t forget that there’s more than rice at every meal. Meat, fish, vegetables, noodles, Miso soup, salads…. The rice is just a basis so you can devour all the delicious foods of Japan and still satisfy your hunger.
8. Did you come across something that was very hard to understand being a foreigner? Did it make you judge before understanding? Maybe something that made it a little difficult to find friends?
Gibt es eine Sache in Japan / an Japanern , die du als sehr schwer nachvollziehbar oder "strange" empfindest?
I’d like to start with something very general here: It’s almost always hard at first to find new friends! No matter who or where you are, it always takes courage to open up to people. That said, I wouldn’t say there was anything particularly hard with finding friends in Japan. Well, except for the language barrier. BUT: Everyone was very eager to meet me and talk to me and they were all so nice and understanding at my school. Especially because I couldn’t really talk any Japanese and they were rather limited in English as well. So we got along with hands and feet and a lot of my classmates helped me, more o less unconsciously, with getting through the first months of adapting to my new surroundings. They pulled me along and made me laugh when they noticed that I felt lost somehow, because I couldn’t follow their conversations. In many ways I would now say, that they’re timid way helped me to learn a lot about myself actually. Yes, you’ve read it right: the Japanese are more timid or shy, than we’re used to from Europe, especially at making new friends or meeting new people. But now I would rather describe it a little further than just putting it off with a simple „shy“. Japanese respect their opposite a great lot.
More accurately: They have great respect not to embarrass their opponent!
This explains quite a bit about why a lot of my classmates refused talking to me in the beginning. They were interested in me and not at all rude or frigid. No! More the opposite: They didn’t want to ask me something I could not yet understand, because of my lack of vocabulary. They didn’t want to make me feel uncomfortable during conversations, that might be too difficult for me to understand. I also guess that they felt embarrassed themselves to talk English with me, because they had heard me talk earlier and had noticed the great difference of my English level and their own. Of course this took me sometime to understand and I’d like to be honest here: it hurt at first. I felt excluded and somehow left alone, left alone by my new fellow students and left alone by myself because I couldn’t talk, something that usually never happens to me. For those of you, who know me: I usually talk period and it’s hard picturing me silent. Well, that was what I was forced to turn: silent. But that was only what I first thought. And I was so wrong about that! Luckily it didn’t last long enough to sadden my spirit and here we come to the point where I learned something, that helped me in uncountable situations I was to encounter during my exchange year:
If you are upset or feeling unhappy, you’re the only one who’s responsible for changing something about it!
You can't expect people to help you, if you don’t take responsibility in asking for help or telling them that you’re sad.
You can’t expect yourself to get along all on your own, if you don’t take responsibility in picking yourself up and moving on.
There is always a good to the bad, another perspective to a problem and a hand you can take. But you have to feel responsible for yourself, your attitude and your feelings! Otherwise you won’t see „the other way“ and people also won’t see, that you might feel lost. Like I said earlier, luckily this didn’t take me too long to realise and instantly my situation improved. I gained motivation for my Japanese studies and the more I studied the more nice comments I got from my classmates which then encouraged me to try and talk to them as much and as best I could. So one thing led to another and I can tell you 100% honestly, that even though this was hard at the beginning and I didn’t get to instantly understand every aspect of this „Japanese-way“ I know feel very grateful to have learned something very important for myself, from this particular experience. It helped me so much to understand aspects of the Japanese culture and lifestyle and ever since that very first „down“ my exchange rollercoaster has only gone „up, up, up“ and I’m so happy right now!
9. How’s it going with your Japanese?
Wie ist das mit dem Japanisch sprechen?
Important question that one! I’m sure a lot of you are wondering and have similar questions: „Can she communicate properly now?“ „Is she fluent yet?“
Well, let’s start like this: I’ve never made so much progress in learning a completely new language in such a short period of time! Sounds pretty satisfying for me, can we stop there? No? You want more details? Okay: So just to remind you, I arrived in Japan with a brief learned-by-heart self introduction and a lot of research background about the language’s structure, but that was it. I couldn’t talk. During the one week stay in Tokyo, together with my fellow exchange student friends, I got 3x 2hour Japanese lessons and a lot of culture input. So when I arrived at my host family’s home, I could do basic sentences like: „How are you?“ „I’m fine/happy/sad.“ „I had a good day.“ and probably the two most important sentences for at least my first three months in Japan: „I’m sorry, I didn’t understand that.“ and „What is this?“
So that was how I started. Now I can say: I feel comfortable with Japanese! I feel comfortable hearing it, talking it and being surrounded by it! I still don’t understand everything and I still can’t express everything how I’d like to, but: I came to love this language and the people, who speak it and the country it’s spoken in and the culture it describes. I know Japanese won’t end for me after Japan and that there will always be a „come back“ a „coming home“ to Japan.
I’ve learned so much while studying Japanese mostly on my own. About how language evolves, about how to study language, why I love language and how language affects your personality and your actions.
I’m now fairly certain, that I want to take up Japanese and German studies at university and preferably study it up to at least a „Bachelor of Arts“. Without coming to Japan and jumping into these foreign waters, I might have never experienced the self esteem boost and the happiness you feel, when you know deep down, you’ve just found what interests you most.
„Luck is when opportunity knocks and you answer.“ anonymous author
10. Is there something the Japanese envy us Germans for?
Gibt es irgendetwas, das die Japaner an uns Deutschen beneiden?
The two things I get asked about the most are: german beer and german cars (especially Volkswagen). So I guess that’s the answer to your question. :-)
Pretty simple this time. Teenagers find it especially hard to believe, that we’re allowed to consume/buy alcohol at the age of 16 (in Japan the limit is 21, for every alcoholic beverage). And hearing about our school holidays makes them almost double over. I really feel very sorry for the Japanese students, who spend so much time of their teenage years at school and have very few holidays.
To my friends: I promise you, even although all of you are now in the „Oberstufe“ (senior high school) and you might think it’s a lot of study work, Japanese students will still study at least twice as much! You might not believe me and I still understand that you’re also working hard, but: trust me, you wouldn’t want to have to graduate here! We’ll discuss this when I’m back! :-*
11. Which german meals or food items do you miss the most?
Gibt es irgendwelche deutschen Gerichte, welche du total vermisst?
As much as I LOVE Japanese food there’s three things I extremely miss: german bread, german pretzels (Brez’n) and german fried potatoes (Bratkartoffeln)!
But these are food items I miss whenever I leave Germany, because for me, these foods only taste good/delicious in Germany! Apart from that, I’m facing a real problem when thinking about all the delicious Japanese meals I will miss out on, when back in Germany. Don’t make me think about, it hurts my food loving heart. Too many meals I came to love, that simply don’t exist in Germany. :-(
12. Do the Japanese really have so many unnecessary gadgets as it is often pictured on the internet?
Haben die Japaner echt so viele unnötige Gadgets, wie es oft in Vorurteilen heisst?
I’d really like to say something fairly important here: Most of the stuff popularised for being Japanese on social networks is from or happens in Tokyo. You might ask yourself, well but isn’t Tokyo part of Japan and therefore Japanese? Yes, of course it is, BUT: In many ways Tokyo is a subculture of Japan. Not only is the capital of a country almost always at least slightly different from the rest of the country, but also Tokyo does happen to be the one and only focus of the internet, when considering Japan. Tokyo is one of the biggest metropolitans in the world and it is also the city in Japan which is influenced by foreign countries the most. Therefore it’s kind of hard to make Tokyo representative for the entirety of Japan. On the other hand it is also hard not to. It’s the capital for god’s sake, so it is thoroughly understandable why Tokyo is the centre of reports from countries other than Japan, when talking about Japan.
Ok, so I drifted a great deal away from the original question here, but it was important. So, apart from Tokyo, I have not come across a lot of funny or strange gadgets. The new stuff I’ve encountered was mostly really useful and made me say: „Why didn’t we(germans) think of that, too?“
13. Are the Japanese really as timid/shy s everyone thinks them to be? Especially when meeting people for the first time?
Sind die Japaner sehr viel schüchterner oder verschlossener, wenn man sie neu kennenlernt?
Please see my answer to question number 8.
14. Why is Japan called Japan?
Warum heißt Japan Japan?
Well, to answer this question I myself had to do some research. Always nice to get inspired to learn something new!
But before I hit my keyboard to ask google, I typed down two words in my Q&A document: Nihon and Nippon
These are the two words the Japanese use now for their own country. Well, you might ask yourself: Why do they have more than one word? And why do they sound so similar? This is how „Japan“ is written with Chinese Kanji characters: 日本
So I’ve talked about Kanji on this blog before, but here’s another very brief introduction:
Kanji were originally adapted from China, which has influenced Japan in many ways throughout history, due to both geographical and political circumstances(The Great Empire of China). Because Japanese had already been a spoken language and was therefore not lacking vocabulary, but was simply in need of a written form for their language, the Japanese paired existing Japanese words with existing Chinese characters (Kanji). In Chinese these, into Japanese adopted, characters of course also had a meaning of their own, so that is why, Japanese Kanji have at least two different readings:
Kunyomi and Onyomi
Kunyomi-> this reading indicates the symbolic meaning of the kanji. The Japanese vocabulary meaning to be clear. When a Kanji can stand on it’s own, Kunyomi will be the reading used, for single Kanjis. In Kanji dictionaries Kunyomi will be transliterated with Hiragana.
Onyomi-> this is usually the Chinese reading of a Kanji. It indicates the former Chinese pronunciation of the Kanji and is used/read when combined with other Kanji characters. Onyomi is therefore often also known as Sino-Japanese reading or sound reading. In Kanji dictionaries Onyomi will be transliterated with Katakana. Often a Kanji has many different Onyomi because Chinese sounds are very flexible.
Back to our „Japan“ Kanji. So the written version for the country’s name was developed by the Chinese and is still used today. But, it has been „japanized“ as it is no longer read the Chinese way. [Concerning the Kanji below, I’ve only listed the most common readings and meanings.]
日
kunyomi: hi or ka both indicating a Japanese word for „day“
onyomi: nichi or jitsu also known as special readings for „day“
but the old meaning of these transliterations or the ancient usages of this Kanji in Chinese can also indicate the meaning of „sun“ or „to rise“
本
kunyomi: moto
onyomi: hon meaning „book“ „reading“
again: the Chinese usages of this Kanji can also indicate „open“ or „present“
Due to these many possible readings, Japan is still read two ways today: Nihon and Nippon.
Keeping in mind that from China the sun rises in Japan, the name „the country of the ring sun“ developed and possibly lead to the Chinese using these particular Kanji:
日本.
As for the history of why „Japan“ was named „Japan“ in other (western) cultures.
„The English word for Japan came to the West from early trade routes[…]“ in the 16th century. „The early Mandarin Chinese or possibly Wu Chinese word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu[…]“ or „[…]Cipan (日本).“ „It is thought the Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. It was first recorded in English in 1577 spelled Giapan.“
So it is likely that the word „Japan“ developed from the Portuguese sailors’ early attempts to copy the Chinese sounds/pronunciations, as best as they could, into their own language.
15. How many languages are spoken in Japan?
Wieviele Sprachen werden gesprochen?
One. Japanese is the only official language of the country of Japan.
There are of course foreigners from all countries of the world and an especially broad number of residents from other asian states, such as China, Thailand and many more, but nevertheless Japanese is the single official language.
16. What’s your favourite place to be at the moment?
Was ist für dich der schönste Platz?
I really like to make a visit to the local library near my high school. It’s really big and very modern. They have a nice collection of children’s books, with which I’m studying to read more fluently and there even is a Starbucks in the library. Being surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of books always calms me down somehow and makes me feel happy and excited.
17. Are you being accepted as a woman?
Wirst du als Frau akzeptiert?
I can assure you, you don’t have to worry about that. I’m aware of the existing prejudices, but I’m totally accepted as a female foreign under-age exchange student.
The only thing that pops into my mind, when thinking about woman and possible discrimination in Japan, is related to the following:
In Japan working women are culturally expected to retire from their job after their first child. Because it is in general, for both men and women, very hard to regain the same position at work, after a longer pause, this cultural expectation leads most women to quitting work period, after having given birth. This expected dedication or sacrifice for raising a family is not only an outside pressure. Many women think, that they can only be a good mother or successful with raising healthy and happy children, if they become a stay-home-mom. And currently there is little opportunity for them to break out of this habit or to get to know another possible way. Because the hard working hours and non-existing encouragement from neither the companies themselves nor the government, there are almost no working mothers. This is a serious problem, because of course many young and intelligent Japanese women want to study at university, which they are highly successful at, and want to make a career afterwards. Because the current situation makes them have to choose between family or career many choose the later, because they see more opportunity there to help their country or more importantly, to follow their dreams. This leads to the birth rate of Japan spiralling downwards and with 26% of the population being 65 and older (as of 2014), this will rather sooner than later destroy Japan’s economy. Why? Because of the immense health care costs and the lack of available staff, there will be a huge problem of money and resources. Young people will have to work at least twice as hard, because they will have to pay for their live and the lives of the elderly. This burden placed on the younger generations’ shoulders, amongst those the boys and girls I’m going to high school with right now, is, in my opinion, a severe mistake. Well, what has this to do with the question of discrimination? It might not be visible at first glance, but don’t you think of it as discrimination, if women can’t follow their dreams to be successful or simply work regularly without sacrificing the possibility of having a family with children? I certainly do think this is in one way or another discrimination.
I would like every young woman to be able to decide free from loss and sacrifice, whether they would like to have children or not. I would like for every woman to have the ability of making this, definitely somehow life-changing, decision freely and without considering anything or anyone except their own feelings.
There are some good news here, too. Japan does realise this problem and changes are on their way. But how long these changes are going to take to be made in a government mostly run by elder men and whether their ideas will be successful, no one can tell. I’m hoping for the best, because I already met so many intelligent and happy young women at my high school, I’d really like them to have a future filled with their own choices.
18. How is the gap between the rich and the poor?
Wie ist das Verhältnis von reich zu arm?
I can only share the experiences I’ve had while living in Saga, Kyūshū, which is a more rural prefecture of Japan. What I’ve experienced there is not that big of a gap between the rich and the poor, simply because of the fact that a lot of people in Saga happen to have a „wealthy“ „regular“ „normal“ income. But as I’ve said before, this is only my personal view on this topic and I’m no expert. If there are problems, then they are certainly not that visible.
19. Is there the problem of bullying at Japanese high schools?
Gibt es Mobbing in Japan?
Not at my high school. In general I would say, that bullying could in one way be less because of the general understanding of respect and politeness. On the other hand I’m guessing that, if there is an existing problem of bullies, it will most likely not be easy to be recognised. I know, bullying is never easy to be recognised neither is it easy to be stopped, but I’m guessing, that it could be particularly difficult in Japan. Why? A lot of students are under a lot of pressure, that the mostly make themselves, because marks and tests dictate their school life. They might easily miss to get themselves help if bullied, simply because they’re used to handling a lot on their own.
Another interesting fact is, that the phenomenon of „bullying“ has not yet been as frequently discussed as it has been over the years in European countries. I remember being teased in elementary school or seeing other kids being teased without anyone crying „Bullying!“, right away. Now I don’t want to deny that there is bullying and it is a problem, yes. But I also think that the cause for the increasing numbers of „bullying“ reports, gets so many because today’s kids are being softened up and monitored by their parents so much. A little teasing has always been normal and children will always have to face up to something upsetting in their lives. The question is, whether our society will teach children and young adults how to grow out of these insecurities or whether they will be taught to blame others all the time.
20. Are religious groups or other minorities being discriminated?
Werden religiöse oder andere Gruppen diskriminiert?
Now I won’t make a statement about minorities in general, simply because I don’t know, but I can say something about religious groups: I’ve never experienced any discrimination towards any believes or non-existent believes while living in Japan, nor would I think the Japanese would be likely to do so. Japan is itself a country with various religions regularly practised and accepted. There are of course the two big religions like Shintoism and Buddhism, but I also met Christians here as well and I’ve seen chapels. So I would say: I haven’t experienced any kind of religious or public discrimination in Japan.
So I hope I answered all of your questions at a satisfying length/quality. I promise you I’ve put a lot of effort, background research and heart into this post. My general mission of this blog is it to spread awareness and hopefully to awake interest for Nihon 日本 in a few of you. I had a lot of fun writing this Q&A, and I’d like to thank my friends again, for so willingly participating in my little project. Please feel always free to ask me about Japan, Japanese or how I’m doing! I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to future face-to-face conversations about the diversity of „my“ beloved country of the rising sun. Thank you for your support and understanding! I love you, you’re all great friends and adventurers of your own.
Stay safe, keep reading, researching, sharing and smiling.
LOVE AVRIA
