Japanese culture
couturebody
Posts: 71 Member
Anyone here interested in Japanese culture?
I've been there twice and lived in Kyoto for 4 months, in the summer, whilst working at a Graphic Design firm.
I started my weight loss journey because of my trip to Japan and originally lost around 4 stone.
I've now applied to the JET programme and once again, I want to go back to Japan fitter and healthier.
I love the more traditional aspects of Japanese culture and I'm not the biggest anime fan.
I've been to Shibuya and Akihabara but I feel like it was completely wasted on me.
I'm interested in sharing stories and photographs if you've been!
I'll start!
This is a picture from Kyoto Botanical Garden. It was an event called Pantheon — A Symposium of Gods created by Kenji Yanobe, Sebastian Masuda and Kyota Takahashi
I've been there twice and lived in Kyoto for 4 months, in the summer, whilst working at a Graphic Design firm.
I started my weight loss journey because of my trip to Japan and originally lost around 4 stone.
I've now applied to the JET programme and once again, I want to go back to Japan fitter and healthier.
I love the more traditional aspects of Japanese culture and I'm not the biggest anime fan.
I've been to Shibuya and Akihabara but I feel like it was completely wasted on me.
I'm interested in sharing stories and photographs if you've been!
I'll start!
This is a picture from Kyoto Botanical Garden. It was an event called Pantheon — A Symposium of Gods created by Kenji Yanobe, Sebastian Masuda and Kyota Takahashi
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I've never been, but I'd love to, it looks such a beautiful place. I'd struggle with the language if I went though, foreign languages have never been my strong suit. I really enjoy the anime art style, that's something I've been into since I was a child, although I don't tend to watch a lot of it anymore, I think I grew out of it in my early 20's, although occasionally I find a series that really grabs me ^_^
What did you do at the graphics design firm?0 -
CrazyComicLady wrote: »I've never been, but I'd love to, it looks such a beautiful place. I'd struggle with the language if I went though, foreign languages have never been my strong suit. I really enjoy the anime art style, that's something I've been into since I was a child, although I don't tend to watch a lot of it anymore, I think I grew out of it in my early 20's, although occasionally I find a series that really grabs me ^_^
What did you do at the graphics design firm?
I was lucky, my university offers short courses in Japanese, which i studied for two years. So I could speak a decent amount of Japanese to get through the day and survive my work at the graphic design firm. I do think it's possible to go there with little knowledge of Japanese though, so you should never let that keep you from going.
I'm not the biggest fan of anime, but I do enjoy the studio ghibli movies, I actually visited the studio in Tokyo.
At the firm I did some work for a couple of their clients, but I spent a lot of time helping with events, which was enjoyable.
Here's a photo from Osaka.
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A lot of my favorite movies are from Japan. The way they portray existentialist themes really invigorates my soul.
Some of them include:
Ikiru
Tokyo Story
Rashomon
Tony Takitani
Dolls
All About Lily Chou-Chou
Nobody Knows
Grave of the Fireflies
Matter fact, I think I watched all of these within a one year span. A year when I really needed answers and spiritual guidance. Thank you, Japanese filmmakers. =(0 -
ClubSilencio wrote: »A lot of my favorite movies are from Japan. The way they portray existentialist themes really invigorates my soul.
Some of them include:
Ikiru
Tokyo Story
Rashomon
Tony Takitani
Dolls
All About Lily Chou-Chou
Nobody Knows
Grave of the Fireflies
Matter fact, I think I watched all of these within a one year span. A year when I really needed answers and spiritual guidance. Thank you, Japanese filmmakers. =(
Nice! I haven't seen a lot of those, so i'll give them a watch. I'm mainly into Japanese comedy and horror. Have you ever been to Japan?0 -
I lived in Okinawa for two years in the late 80s, most of the time off base. My now ex husband and I rented a very nice house. I liked the way there were separate rooms for the toilet and shower. The landlady was insistent we not wear shoes in the house, which I think is a good tradition. It was a small property, but there were banana and papaya trees/bushes. There was a water storage tank on the roof for times of drought.0
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kshama2001 wrote: »I lived in Okinawa for two years in the late 80s, most of the time off base. My now ex husband and I rented a very nice house. I liked the way there were separate rooms for the toilet and shower. The landlady was insistent we not wear shoes in the house, which I think is a good tradition. It was a small property, but there were banana and papaya trees/bushes. There was a water storage tank on the roof for times of drought.
Nice! I've never been to Okinawa! Whilst I was living in Japan my friend had a conference in Okinawa, I really wish I could have gone. It seems rather tropical compared to the rest of Japan, I hope I can visit there some day! I've lived in Nagoya and Kyoto, the first house had a separate toilet but the other didn't. I got fairly used to taking my shoes off when I entered the house, however, there were times when I'd forgotten something and I'd quickly jump through the house, in my shoes, like the floor was lava.0 -
couturebody wrote: »CrazyComicLady wrote: »I've never been, but I'd love to, it looks such a beautiful place. I'd struggle with the language if I went though, foreign languages have never been my strong suit. I really enjoy the anime art style, that's something I've been into since I was a child, although I don't tend to watch a lot of it anymore, I think I grew out of it in my early 20's, although occasionally I find a series that really grabs me ^_^
What did you do at the graphics design firm?
I was lucky, my university offers short courses in Japanese, which i studied for two years. So I could speak a decent amount of Japanese to get through the day and survive my work at the graphic design firm. I do think it's possible to go there with little knowledge of Japanese though, so you should never let that keep you from going.
I'm not the biggest fan of anime, but I do enjoy the studio ghibli movies, I actually visited the studio in Tokyo.
At the firm I did some work for a couple of their clients, but I spent a lot of time helping with events, which was
That's amazing, what university did you study at? I did a short Japanese course when I at college but really struggled to understand the teacher because she had such a strong Japanese accent when she was speaking English.
Your so lucky you got to see the Ghibli studio, the movie princess mononoke is what originally got me into anime and the Japanese culture in general.0 -
You should definitely give grave of the fireflies a go if you haven't seen it yet, it's such a touching and emotional movie. ^_^
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CrazyComicLady wrote: »couturebody wrote: »CrazyComicLady wrote: »I've never been, but I'd love to, it looks such a beautiful place. I'd struggle with the language if I went though, foreign languages have never been my strong suit. I really enjoy the anime art style, that's something I've been into since I was a child, although I don't tend to watch a lot of it anymore, I think I grew out of it in my early 20's, although occasionally I find a series that really grabs me ^_^
What did you do at the graphics design firm?
I was lucky, my university offers short courses in Japanese, which i studied for two years. So I could speak a decent amount of Japanese to get through the day and survive my work at the graphic design firm. I do think it's possible to go there with little knowledge of Japanese though, so you should never let that keep you from going.
I'm not the biggest fan of anime, but I do enjoy the studio ghibli movies, I actually visited the studio in Tokyo.
At the firm I did some work for a couple of their clients, but I spent a lot of time helping with events, which was
That's amazing, what university did you study at? I did a short Japanese course when I at college but really struggled to understand the teacher because she had such a strong Japanese accent when she was speaking English.
Your so lucky you got to see the Ghibli studio, the movie princess mononoke is what originally got me into anime and the Japanese culture in general.
I meant my university in the UK! I would have loved to have studied in Japan, but unfortunately there was no student exchanges available for me, as hard as I tried. That's unfortunate, my teachers both had really strong Japanese accents, but I'm used to it because of my friends haha. It really was brilliant, I almost didn't go because I didn't see much of Tokyo, but I'm glad my friend made me go. I think spirited away was one of the first movies I ever saw! That's probably what introduced me to Japanese culture, well that and Pokemon, which was a huge thing for us late 90's kids haha.0 -
CrazyComicLady wrote: »You should definitely give grave of the fireflies a go if you haven't seen it yet, it's such a touching and emotional movie. ^_^
Dats mean0 -
CrazyComicLady wrote: »You should definitely give grave of the fireflies a go if you haven't seen it yet, it's such a touching and emotional movie. ^_^
Dats mean
Not sure how anything in that sentence could come across as mean. Clubsilencio listed it as a good Japanese movie and I agreed.0 -
CrazyComicLady wrote: »CrazyComicLady wrote: »You should definitely give grave of the fireflies a go if you haven't seen it yet, it's such a touching and emotional movie. ^_^
Dats mean
Not sure how anything in that sentence could come across as mean. Clubsilencio listed it as a good Japanese movie and I agreed.
lol, I was just implying on how it was such a sad movie. my teacher gave me the DVD and told me how awesome it was, I was crying all night long and was so depressed afterwards. It's a great movie though, yah.0 -
couturebody wrote: »CrazyComicLady wrote: »couturebody wrote: »CrazyComicLady wrote: »I've never been, but I'd love to, it looks such a beautiful place. I'd struggle with the language if I went though, foreign languages have never been my strong suit. I really enjoy the anime art style, that's something I've been into since I was a child, although I don't tend to watch a lot of it anymore, I think I grew out of it in my early 20's, although occasionally I find a series that really grabs me ^_^
What did you do at the graphics design firm?
I was lucky, my university offers short courses in Japanese, which i studied for two years. So I could speak a decent amount of Japanese to get through the day and survive my work at the graphic design firm. I do think it's possible to go there with little knowledge of Japanese though, so you should never let that keep you from going.
I'm not the biggest fan of anime, but I do enjoy the studio ghibli movies, I actually visited the studio in Tokyo.
At the firm I did some work for a couple of their clients, but I spent a lot of time helping with events, which was
That's amazing, what university did you study at? I did a short Japanese course when I at college but really struggled to understand the teacher because she had such a strong Japanese accent when she was speaking English.
Your so lucky you got to see the Ghibli studio, the movie princess mononoke is what originally got me into anime and the Japanese culture in general.
I meant my university in the UK! I would have loved to have studied in Japan, but unfortunately there was no student exchanges available for me, as hard as I tried. That's unfortunate, my teachers both had really strong Japanese accents, but I'm used to it because of my friends haha. It really was brilliant, I almost didn't go because I didn't see much of Tokyo, but I'm glad my friend made me go. I think spirited away was one of the first movies I ever saw! That's probably what introduced me to Japanese culture, well that and Pokemon, which was a huge thing for us late 90's kids haha.
Yeah where abouts did you study? I studied animation at the university of Newport back in 2007 ^_^ decided it wasn't for me though, I love art but just don't have the patience for animating. Haha on I remember the Pokemon craze well, my game boy colour and Pokemon blue game was a well loved favourite, I remember spending most of my school brakes battling with people in the corridors and reciting the team rocket motto :P0 -
CrazyComicLady wrote: »CrazyComicLady wrote: »You should definitely give grave of the fireflies a go if you haven't seen it yet, it's such a touching and emotional movie. ^_^
Dats mean
Not sure how anything in that sentence could come across as mean. Clubsilencio listed it as a good Japanese movie and I agreed.
lol, I was just implying on how it was such a sad movie. my teacher gave me the DVD and told me how awesome it was, I was crying all night long and was so depressed afterwards. It's a great movie though, yah.
Ah, well I did say 'touching and emotional' rather than awesome :P I can't watch that movie without tearing up.0 -
ClubSilencio wrote: »A lot of my favorite movies are from Japan. The way they portray existentialist themes really invigorates my soul.
Some of them include:
Ikiru
Tokyo Story
Rashomon
Tony Takitani
Dolls
All About Lily Chou-Chou
Nobody Knows
Grave of the Fireflies
Matter fact, I think I watched all of these within a one year span. A year when I really needed answers and spiritual guidance. Thank you, Japanese filmmakers. =(
Grave of the Fireflies, but no My Neighbor Totoro? ::gasp::
Just kididng. GotF was really good. And sad. Totoro is what made me fall in love with Ghibli, though. You might like When Marnie Was There, it was pretty good and a little different than normal Studio Ghibli films.0 -
CrazyComicLady wrote: »Ah, well I did say 'touching and emotional' rather than awesome :P I can't watch that movie without tearing up.
Yup, totally agree! It was better than this movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_Gen_(1983_film) but that one made a huge impact on my life thanks to another wonderful history teacher.
On topic, I think it goes without saying Akira Kurosawa was a brilliant filmaker to add to that list.. Ran, Throne of Blood, and Seven Samurai are are also amazing movies0 -
I lived on Okinawa for a year, and loved the culture when I was there. One thing I always noticed was that they tended to just live their lives with less restriction on what society dictates. From the very quiet to the extremes was fine.
I wish I had some books of the hotels with the themed rooms. They had anything you could imagine from the strange, to the opulent, and then a million different themes in between.
Car culture was fairly big there, and quite a bit of street racing and pushing limits in that respect. But even many that kept it legal loved their cars, and they appreciated the US cars military people sometimes brought over.
And even the people that seemed more the wild type personality, seemed to me to have a deeper appreciation for nature and the beauty of the place. As well as an overall greater respect for animals and life in general.0 -
I will be going to Tokyo for a week toward the end of July. I know I have one day trip to Mt Fuji but otherwise the trip is wide open. Do you have any suggestions of what I should see or do while there?0
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I've lived on Okinawa in two stints, 5 years total. 03-06 and 13-15. Visited the mainland more than a few times.0
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