SoraNews24 —Japan News—

“You know you’ve been in Japan too long when you start bowing on the telephone” is an old classic. But how about those things that, even if you haven’t been here long, still make you stop and think, yup, this is definitely Japan!

Japan
(culture • customs • funny • Japan • manners • opinion)

Does the experience of living in Japan make you a better person? The good, bad and ugly

Amy Chavez
Dec 31, 2015

We asked expats living in Japan if they thought that simply living here has made them a better person. Find out the results: the good, the bad and the ugly!

Japan
(expats • japan experience • Japanese language • manners • opinion)

Culture clash: 10 insider tips for visiting Japan

Amy Chavez
Dec 15, 2015

The Japanese are known for their politeness, so it’s only natural that visitors to Japan want to know what to do, or not do, to avoid appearing rude. Check out this list of little behaviors that you won’t find in your guidebook.

Japan
(faux pas • Japanese culture • manners • opinion • tips • visiting Japan)

8 things you should never say to a Japanese person

Amy Chavez
Dec 9, 2015

We asked Japanese people to tell us the things foreigners say or think about Japan that really gets their goat—and they were happy to oblige! How many of these faux pas are you guilty of?

Japan
(faux pas • Japan • Japanese culture • opinion • Yasukuni Shrine)

Japan Misunderstood: 3 stereotypes that live on

Amy Chavez
Nov 24, 2015

Every time I visit my home country and talk about my life in Japan, one thing becomes clear to me: Japan remains incredibly misunderstood overseas. With this in mind, today we’ll be discussing three stereotypes of Japan: the country’s apparent disdain for those who stand out from the crowd, the notion that Japan is a strict society, and that the idea of ‘losing face’ is a quintessentially Asian concept.

Japan
(Japan • Japanese culture • Japanese society • opinion • stereotypes)

We ask Japanese people about their favorite aspects of eight different cultures

Audrey Akcasu
Oct 10, 2015

We often hear about foreigners’ favorite parts of Japanese culture, like trains running on time and unparalleled customer service, but it’s not every day that we hear from Japanese people about their favorite parts of foreign cultures.

With that in mind, one of RocketNews24’s Japanese-language writers decided to interview a few well-traveled Japanese people and hear some of their favorite aspects of the different cultures they’ve experienced and how they compare to their own.

Global, Japan
(culture • internationalism • opinion • travel)

Super Mega Important Debate – Japanese TV: is it just plain awful? 【Poll】

ロケットニュース24
Aug 29, 2015

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Super Mega Important Debate is back! This weekend, we’re putting Japanese TV under the spotlight and asking you, our good-looking and never-shy-to-venture-an-opinion readers, whether you think the TV shows broadcast in Japan are wonderfully entertaining or a big bag of steaming horse poop.

Japan
(debate • Japanese TV • opinion • poll • Super Mega Important Debate • television)

Confessions of a gaijin: 12 things we do that we’d never admit to Japanese people

Amy Chavez
Jun 17, 2015

In Japan almost everyone hangs out their laundry to dry rather than using costly, energy-guzzling clothes dryers. Foreigners have no problems complying, but one quickly learns that underwear is special–you don’t hang it out with the rest of your clothes where others might see it (or try to see it). The “smallies” are to be hung up inside. When you think about it, it does make sense. But other things are harder for foreigners to get used to and yet others just don’t make sense at all to us so are harder to incorporate into our lifestyles here.

Pooling responses from expats living here in Japan and the RocketNews24 staff, today we’re sharing the most common things that we just can’t quite embrace like the Japanese do, no matter how hard we try. Join us after the jump as we reveal the secret life of gaijin…but shhhh, don’t tell anyone!

Japan
(culture • customs • ex-pats • food • Japan • language • opinion)

Super Mega Important Debate – Natto: is it nom or vom? 【Poll closed】

ロケットニュース24
May 9, 2015

Sometimes our modern lives lack conflict. Let’s remedy that today by having a massive fight about something that doesn’t really matter.

This week, we’re talking about the fermented soybeans known as natto, and there’s one question we need you all to answer: is this dish “nom” or is it decidedly “vom”?

Global
(food • Japanese food • natto • opinion • poll • Super Mega Important Debate)

What some Japanese people think of China is as stereotypical as you can get

KK Miller
Apr 7, 2015

China and Japan have always had a tenuous relationship and in recent years you could classify it as somewhere between “sworn enemies” and “best buds”. Their close proximity to each other should allow each of the two countries to learn a lot about the other, yet even with informational tools like the Internet, what exactly the Japanese know about their “neighbors” is cringe-worthy.

When asked “What is your image of Chinese people?” the responses were exactly what you would expect. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s about to get really stereotypical in here.

China, Internet, Japan
(backwards thinking • opinion • smh • stereotypes)

Chinese commenter equates recent anime with fast food–What do you think?

Krista Rogers
Jan 2, 2015

How do you feel about the state of anime nowadays?

That question is likely to draw some strong opinions from our readers. There’s no question that the past few years have produced a number of works critically acclaimed for their innovative plots and characters. But then there are some series that have built up huge fanbases for their…wait, why was that again? As one Chinese anime fan so eloquently put it, it’s almost as if these “mass-produced series” are on par with fast food…

China, Japan
(anime • boring • fast food • opinion • quality)

An ocean apart, what do Japanese college students think about the US?【Video】

KK Miller
Nov 30, 2014

World opinion of the United States goes up and down like a giant see-saw. Sometimes the US is seen as a world leader in economics, science and technology, yet there is no denying the fact that around the globe, there are some groups that harbor negative feelings towards Americans. Post WWII, there has been an incredibly strong bond between the USA and Japan, but has public opinion been swayed in recent years? If this small sampling of college students is representative of how the youth of Japan feel about the US, relations between the two countries will continue to be solid.

Japan, USA
(college student • hamburger • opinion • survey • video)

Six of the “20 Coolest Arcades in the World” are in Japan! Want to know what Japan makes of that?

Fran W
Oct 16, 2014

Mashable recently put out a neat list called ‘The 20 Coolest Arcades in the World’, and Tokyo took more spots than any other place! Well, we wouldn’t expect anything less from the birthplace of the video game industry, really.

Turns out though, Japanese netizens were a bit baffled by Mashable’s choices: “That’s cool??” they spluttered into their keyboards. “That’s not even an arcade!”

Japan
(arcade • list • Mashable • opinion • Tokyo • video games)

Is the New Nintendo 3DS worth the purchase? Early adopters in Japan share their thoughts

Philip Kendall
Oct 13, 2014

As its super-cutesy ad foretold, Nintendo launched its new and improved version of the 3DS here in Japan on October 11. Boasting features like a bigger, improved 3-D screen and extra buttons, yet retaining much its predecessor’s form factor, the portable appears to be more of an evolution than a revolution, but that didn’t mean people weren’t excited and looking forward to getting their hands on the new hardware.

As owners of the existing models of 3DS and 3DSLL, we aren’t really in the market for the new system quite yet, but were curious to hear what new adopters thought of the upgraded portable. Join us after the jump to find out whether the New Nintendo 3DS will be worth picking up when it launches in your country.

Japan
(impressions • New Nintendo 3DS • nintendo • opinion • review • tech • video games)

What’s wrong with English education in Japan? Pull up a chair…

KK Miller
Oct 3, 2014

When you speak to foreign English educators in Japan, one thing becomes crystal clear: English education in Japan isn’t working. It’s just awful. While English classes are mandatory in Japanese schools, the percentage of students who emerge with actual English abilities are surprisingly low. Students in China, Korea and Japan are in an arms race to see who can produce students with the best English, and Japan seems to be trailing far behind in third place.

With the Olympic Games coming up in 2020, the Japanese government has proposed changes to increase the level of English ability in their students. Changes like starting introductory English classes in 3rd grade elementary school and making the subject compulsory from the 5th grade. Are these changes really going to help? We’ve gathered opinions from both foreign teachers and Japanese citizens about issues with the system and what might improve it.

Japan
(ALT • education • English • opinion • reddit • teaching)

Japanese people list 10 ingredients they never, ever want to find in their miso soup

Philip Kendall
Sep 27, 2014

Miso soup is a staple food in pretty much any Japanese household. Served morning, noon or night, this thin, slightly salty broth is tasty, filling, and, as you’ve probably already realised, is the perfect accompaniment to rice. It is so deeply ingrained in Japanese culture that in some areas of the country there even exists a joke that a man may indirectly propose to a woman simply asking, “Will you make my miso soup for me every morning?”

But one person’s idea of a perfect bowl of miso soup can be another’s salty soy nightmare. With so many ingredients that go, or at least seem to go, well in a bowl of Japan’s favourite broth, it can be difficult to find a bowl that ticks all the boxes, and there are some ingredients that – depending on one’s upbringing, personal tastes or geographical location – are considered simply unacceptable.

Internet, Japan
(food • ingredients • miso soup • opinion • ranking)

Tokyo’s 7 stupidest public art pieces

Jessica
Apr 10, 2014

Any city with aspirations to be a vibrant international metropolis should invest in interesting, challenging and useful public art, and Tokyo has certainly done so. There are some absolutely amazing artworks scattered around our fair city, but there are also some complete abominations lurking as well.

While acknowledging that art is subjective and one person’s favorite piece is another person’s piece of crap, here are what I consider the seven stupidest public artworks in Tokyo.