Beer In Japan - Part 5

bigonjapan — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:06:36 +0000

See below for previous entries in the Beer in Japan series:

Part 1 - Availability; Taste
Part 2 - Pseudo-beers; Pricing
Part 3 - Marketing; Uniqueness
Part 4 - More uniqueness

Beer Trivia

Beer cans on display in Japanese vending machines are typically ‘display models’ - that is, they’re empty and have a flat top with no ring pull or hole for drinking out of.

In ‘dodgy areas’ (rarely dodgy by western standards though), real empty cans are used but with their ring pulls in a vertical position (see photo above left) to show drunks the cans are empty, thus deterring them from breaking into the machines to steal them.

Evidence of what happens when machines with ‘display model’ cans are employed in such areas can be seen in the photo on the right, which I took in Osaka’s Tobita area.

As I mentioned in Beer In Japan - Part 2, the big four Japanese breweries have a monopoly on the domestic beer market.

The result is that prices are the same for every brand of beer of comparable quality, and beer prices are pretty much the same whichever shop you go to in Japan.

The same can be said of beer vending machines, and it seems that every machine sells cans at ¥300 a tall can, and ¥230 a small one.

However, recently I found possibly the only vending machine that sells Japanese beer at a lower price, ¥220 for a tallie and ¥170 for a shortie. Only problem is, the machine is located on the Shimonoseki-Busan ferry! (it seems that, as the majority of passengers are Korean, the prices are meant to reflect the price of beer in South Korea to make the beer more affordable)

In South East Asia it’s quite common for bars and restaurants to serve beer in a glass poured over ice (as is the custom with cider in the UK now). This seems like a bizarre idea at first, but when you actually experience it there it makes perfect sense in that climate. Despite Japan having similarly high summer humidity and temperatures however, this practice hasn’t yet made it to Japan.

As most people are aware, adding a slice of lime to a bottle of Corona transforms the taste of the beer from a watery brew made for American tastes, to something quite palatable. In Japan lemons are also sometimes used, but both lemons and limes are expensive. As a result, bottles of Corona sold in Japanese shops are now often sold with a sachet of lime juice attached to the neck in a bid to make the beer more popular here.

Japan has a number of beers that can best be described as ‘novelty beers’. These include kids’ beer, beer for pets and bilk - beer made from milk

European fruit beers available in Japan are sold with stickers on the bottles identifying them as happōshu. While they actually taste nothing like happōshu, their lower malt content than regular beer means that legally they are classified as happōshu for taxation purposes.

The Most Common Japanese Expressions - itadakimasu

bigonjapan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:02:32 +0000

itadakimasu (lit=’I am receiving something’)
One of many Japanese expressions that has no direct translation in English, ‘itadakimasu’ can basically be equated with ‘saying grace’, a short prayer said by a lot of religious families (particularly in the US) to thank God before eating a meal.

‘Itadakimasu’ may also seem like a prayer because of the gesture that often accompanies it, but in fact has little religious connection in modern day Japan. As abcjp.net explains, its origins lie in thanking both the person who prepared the food and the local kami (deity) but these days the latter is uncommon.

Both ’saying grace’ and the expression ‘itadakimasu’ are used to show a person’s gratitude for the food they are about to eat and are said before a family or group meal commences. But whereas ‘grace’ is usually said with eyes closed, ‘itadakimasu’ is said with eyes open, often while breaking apart waribashi (disposable chopsticks).

The Most Common Japanese Expressions - atsui and samui

bigonjapan — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:25:37 +0000

Atsui (hot) and samui (cold)
It’s often said that British people like to talk about the weather unusually often compared to other nationalities, but the same is true of Japanese people.

Whereas the British tend to elaborate on the topic in more detail (‘looks like rain’ or ‘Autumn’s almost here’, for example) however, the Japanese seem content with merely stating the obvious about the temperature – they exclaim ‘atsui’ at every opportunity all summer and ‘samui’ constantly throughout the winter.

This compulsion to comment on the temperature even extends to greetings, so much so that when I ask Japanese people how they are during summertime they almost always say ‘atsui’, while in winter the standard response to my question is invariably ‘samui’.

The introduction to this series of articles can be found here.

Because the intonation used for these comments is that of exclamation, it always sounds like people are half-alarmed and half-incredulous about the temperature. My Japanese friends assure me this is not the case, although I still find it hard to believe they’re merely commenting and not complaining.

The Most Common Japanese Expressions - Intro

bigonjapan — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:37:56 +0000

What The Japanese Say

This series will focus on the most common expressions used in the Japanese language. As anyone who’s spent a considerable amount of time in Japan will know, there are certain words and phrases you hear all the time. And I do mean ALL THE TIME, often to the point of being annoying to non-Japanese people.

Some of these are used so frequently because they are from areas of the Japanese language that have far less vocabulary to choose from than the English language, others because they relate to common Japanese customs and important aspects of the culture. Expressions I’ll be looking at include:

atsui (hot) and samui (cold)

itadakimasu (lit=’I am receiving something’)

kawaii (cute)

oishii (it’s delicious)

otsukaresamadesu (lit=’you’ve been working hard’)

sumimasen (excuse me)

sugoi (great)

Top TV Commercials - Toyota Human Touch

bigonjapan — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:21:15 +0000

The Product: Some model of Toyota or other.

The Ad: It uses a clear (and quite literal) idea to convey Toyota’s ‘Human Touch’ strapline, featuring a number of salarymen performing the roles of car components.

The Stars: The salarymen, memorable in the same way that androids in films tend to be (Westworld, A.I. etc). They’re also a good example of kimo-kawaii.

Why It’s Top: As the best TV ads do, this one uses a unique idea to convey a message anyone can understand. It’s also quite subversive in the it represents a reversal of the Japanese obsession of replacing humans with automated robots.

Eikaiwa Student Stereotypes - The Mumbler

bigonjapan — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:08:30 +0000

There are two types of mumbler, the most common being the type whose chronic shyness and lack of confidence causes them to speak at a volume that’s inaudible over the sound of an air conditioner. The second, rarer type (I’ve only taught two like this) is the student likes to do a bizarre kind of shadowing activity, lip-reading as you speak and repeating the words you say half a second later.

This gives the lesson the same kind of effect as the time delay that occurs during a webcam conversation with someone on the other side of the world, when you can hear what you just said in the background at the other end. Needless to say, this is very annoying, but can be countered by using long words the student is unfamiliar with.

Japanese Movie Quiz

bigonjapan — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:52:29 +0000

You can find the BigOnJapan.com Japanese Movie Quiz here on Facebook or check it out below. It’s a quiz about Japanese movies, actors and directors, as well as films made on location in Japan. If you take the quiz on Facebook you can get the correct answers instantly, whereas if you take the quiz below you can find a link to the answers at the bottom of the post. Gambatte!

Q01: In the film Lost In Translation, Bill Murray is in Japan to promote which product?

1. Nissin Cup Noodles
2. Asahi Beer
3. Pocky Chocolate
4. Suntory Whisky

Q02: Ridley Scott’s 1989 thriller Black Rain was shot in which Japanese city?

1. Hiroshima
2. Osaka
3. Nagasaki
4. Tokyo

Q03: Which of these Japanese blockbusters has not been remade by Hollywood?

1. Shall We Dansu (Shall We Dance) [1996]
2. Ring (Ringu) [1998]
3. Batoru Rowaiaru (Battle Royale) [2000]
4. Ju-on [2003]

Q04: Akira Kurosawas 1961 film Yojimbo was the inspiration for which later film?

1. The Dirty Dozen
2. The Magnificent Seven
3. A Fistful of Dollars
4. Once Upon A Time In The West

Q05: What is the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan?

1. Akira [1988]
2. Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) [1997]
3. Godzilla [1998]
4. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) [2001]

Q06: Which of these films was not based on a Japanese manga comic book?

1. Jackie Chans City Hunter [1993]
2. Takeshi Kitanos Zatōichi [2003]
3. Park Chan-wooks Oldboy [2005]
4. Shūsuke Kanekos Desu Nōto (Death Note) [2006]

Q07: Which of these films was not directed by Studio Ghibili’s Hiyao Miyazaki?

1. Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbour Totoro) [1988]
2. Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) [1997]
3. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) [2001]
4. Appurushiido (Appleseed) [2004]

Q08: What was the name of Beat Takeshi’s feature film debut as director and star?

1. Hana-bi (Fireworks)
2. Sono Otoko, Kyōbō Ni Tsuki (Violent Cop)
3. Sonatine
4. 3-4X Jūgatsu (Boiling Point)

Q09: Which of these films was not made by controversial director Takashi Miike?

1. Tetsuo: The Iron Man [1989]
2. Ōdishon (Audition) [1999]
3. Bijitā Kyū (Visitor Q) [2001]
4. Koroshiya 1 (Ichi the Killer) [2001]

Q10: Which of these is not the title of a Godzilla film?

1. King Kong vs Godzilla
2. Godzilla Raids Again
3. Mothra vs Godzilla
4. Godzilla Does Dallas

You can find the answers here in my previous post.

Japanese Movie Quiz - Answers

bigonjapan — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:49:18 +0000

These are the answers to the BigOnJapan.com Japanese Movie Quiz posted above. No cheating!

Q01: In the film Lost In Translation, Bill Murray is in Japan to promote which product?

4. Suntory Whisky

Q02: Ridley Scott’s 1989 thriller Black Rain was shot in which Japanese city?

2. Osaka

Q03: Which of these Japanese blockbusters has not been remade by Hollywood?

3. Batoru Rowaiaru (Battle Royale) [2000]

Q04: Akira Kurosawas 1961 film Yojimbo was the inspiration for which later film?

3. A Fistful of Dollars

Q05: What is the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan?

4. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) [2001]

Q06: Which of these films was not based on a Japanese manga comic book?

2. Takeshi Kitanos Zatōichi [2003]

Q07: Which of these films was not directed by Studio Ghibili’s Hiyao Miyazaki?

4. Appurushiido (Appleseed) [2004]

Q08: What was the name of Beat Takeshi’s feature film debut as director and star?

2. Sono Otoko, Kyōbō Ni Tsuki (Violent Cop)

Q09: Which of these films was not made by controversial director Takashi Miike?

1. Tetsuo: The Iron Man [1989]

Q10: Which of these is not the title of a Godzilla film?

4. Godzilla Does Dallas

Eikaiwa Student Stereotypes - The Prima Donna

bigonjapan — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:37:57 +0000

This selfish student loves to be the centre of attention and is the exact opposite of the Pot Plant: talking endlessly about themselves, regardless of whether their teacher or classmates are interested or not; over-participating in the lesson so that classmates are unable to answer questions or give their opinions; and competing with the teacher to ensure the lesson revolves around them.

In pairwork activities where they are paired with another student and not their teacher, this student gets sulky and agitated, and often tries to bully or ignore their classmates in order to take control of the class. While this type of student is very difficult to teach, dealing with one Prima Donna is much easier than teaching a lesson with two competing Prima Donnas…

Tokyo Skyscraper Time-Lapse Photography

bigonjapan — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:38:27 +0000

An interesting clip that gives a good idea of the frenetic pace of both TV programmes and construction work in Japan. Featuring the Shinjuku skyscraper district of Tokyo, keep an eye out and you’ll see one of Japan’s most impressive buildings, Tochō.