JapanesePod101.com Blog

Brandon Fogerty, a talented young programmer from Georgia and a long time community member of JapanesePod101.com has just finished coding a beta version of an Installer application for our iLearning Center. This incredible application, which is currently in beta and available only for Windows users, simplifies the installation process of the lesson notes and sound zip files on the iPod by automating the entire process and removing the need to unzip, drag, and drop the the files manually.

Premium subscribers who currently use the iLearning Center and are interested in beta testing this fantastic installer can get started by following these 3 simple steps:

Step 1: Read the PDF Installation Guide, which outlines the requirements and provides installation instructions for the application

Step 2: Download and install the correct version of the application according to the steps described in the Installation Guide from Step 1

–> Download Installer with .NET Framework - 23.4 MB (Recommended)

–> Download Installer without .NET Framework - 1.0 MB

Step 3: Read the User Guide, which provides detailed step-by-step directions for using the installer.

Please directly email Brandon at blackdragon7373@yahoo.com with all technical questions, issues, and feedback (kindly copy us at support@japanesepod101.com).

On behalf of everyone here at JapanesePod101.com, we would like to thank Brandon for all his hard work in putting together this extraordinary installer.

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.
JapanesePod101.com

Daniel here. Reporting for JapanesePod101.com.

Hay Fever, called 花粉症 (かふんしょう, lit. pollen sickness) here in Japan is a significant and growing problem. In most countries, grasses and weeds account for a large percentage of the cases of hay fever and reach their peaks in the Spring. However, the largest cause in Japan is 杉 (すぎ - sugi), which is usually translated as Japanese Cedar. Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) is actually a type of cyprus tree found in large quantities throughout most of Japan and it usually begins pollenating in January and peaks in February. And as just as the sugi pollen season dies down, the pollination of 檜 (ひのき - hinoki, Chamaecyparis obtusa), another type of cyprus, begins. So, for the poor souls, like me, who suffer from both pollens, there is an unbroken period of sniffling from late January through Golden Week (early May). Ugh.

The amount of pollen in the air varies from year to year based on factors like the warmth of the preceding summer and the natural cycle of pollination for each species. In my experience, it seems that sugi peaks about every five years or so. This year definitely seems to be an off-year, but there are still plenty of people suffering. In those peak years before I started visiting a specialist clinic, I would take an over-the-counter anti-histamine that would make me drowsy. It was miserable.

In the peak periods, I can smell sugi pollen. Most people I have spoken to are not sure what sugi smells like, so it may be that I am especially sensitive to this smell. If you have a dark paint color on your car (like I do), you can see the build-up of pollen on your car. It has a slightly yellow look to it.

What really upsets me is that the amount of suffering in Japan due to sugi is largely because of government decisions. In the period following WWII, the government wanted to plant trees that would be cheap, abundant and native to Japan for the purpose of construction. So, which tree did they choose for this role? You guess it – sugi!

Clinics specializing in nose and eye problems are crowded in this season. In addition to medicine, a common preventative measure taken is wearing masks not unlike those which you find in hospitals. And while they look uncool, they are very effective. In my first few years in Japan I refused to wear the masks and suffered for it. But when I began working at a high school, since most of the people was around were Japanese, I began to wear them. And I discovered just effective they were. So, these days, I don’t hesitate to wear them and buy them in bulk at Costco.

In particularly bad years, some people will wear goggles to keep the pollen out of their eyes. Now, I’ve never done this. I do remember in a really bad year seeing on the news people wearing ski goggles!

Another treatment that seems to be fairly effective is acupuncture, or hari. I’ve never tried this, but I’d be willing to.

Well, I do hope that you will not suffer from hay fever whether you are in Japan or any other country. But if you are, let me just say, かわいそう!

Mina-san,

Blogging at JapanesePod101.com has just reached a whole new level. And if saying so isn’t enough, we even gave our blog its own new website. That’s right, JapanesePod101.com Blogs has arrived. The new blog features a fresh, clutter-free design, an infrastructure that can support several independent blogs, and a completely new category structure.

We have a number of individual contributors who will be writing about various topics related to Japan and the Japanese language from their own unique vantage points. Max in Shanghai features Max, a student of Chinese and a JapanesePod101.com listener, discussing his Japanese learning adventures while living in China. Megumi’s Matters features the thoughts and musings of JapanesePod101.com voice actress Megumi, who was raised in Japan and spent a number of years attending a university in the U.S. before recently returning to Japan. The Samurai Theologian, known to many as Daniel Beck, is a long-time listener of JapanesePod101.com as well as a long-time resident of the western Tokyo area, and he shares his resultant expertise of sites around Tokyo as well as info about Japanese culture. Nathan’s Notebook, updated fickly by JapanesePod101.com team member Nathan, features blurbs about learning Japanese and attending a Japanese language school in Tokyo.

In addition to these, JapanesePod101.com Blogs also features the following categories: Community Contributions, General Announcements, Lesson Specific, Media Coverage, New Features, Scheduled Maintenance, and The Crew. We encourage everyone to visit our blog often and to participate by posting comments and feedback.

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
JapanesePod101.com

Mina-san,

As many of you heard in the Saturday’s news, JapanesePod101.com will be taking five days next week, February 19th through the 23rd, to take a look at everything that we’ve done over the past year, and then shuffle it all into order. Things are non-stop around here, with a small team constantly working to bring you, the listeners, high-quality content, released daily. With such a rush, it’s easy for things to get a bit messy! That’s why it’s time to do a little spring cleaning here at JapanesePod101.com.

Not only will we be getting things in order behind the scenes, but the improvements to our web site just keep continuing. Our blog, long neglected, will be brought back to life in a whole new way, with a whole new design. We have a number of contributors who will be bringing you various content related to Japanese, which you can hear more about in the Saturday news. There is a lot to look forward to once we swing back into motion!

While spring cleaning may be necessary, we realize that it may be an inconvenience to some of you, but don’t worry! If you are a paid Basic or Premium subscriber simply email support@japanesepod101.com when your subscription ends to receive a one-week extension. Be sure to include your email and username when sending the request.

In closing, we want to extend a huge thank you to all of our listeners - you are the ones that keep us motivated to keep providing quality lessons and study materials. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be here. Thank you for all that you give, and thank you for your understanding. See you next week!

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

JapanesePod101.com

Heroes is a TV show from America’s NBC. It follows a group of men and women who suddenly develop superhuman powers.

There is a woman with a split personality, a man who can fly, another who can paint the future, and a girl who can regenerate her injuries.

But my personal favourite¹ character is 中村広², who can bend time and space. Not only is his superpower the coolest, he has the added power of being able to speak Japanese at a native level.

中村広 (広 for short) has a sidekick, Ando, who he speaks almost exclusively in Japanese to. Try closing your eyes and listening to what they say; you might find out you will understand more than you think you could!

Here are some words I have learnt from Heroes:

運命・うんめい　Destiny/Karma. Chinese learners will recognise³ the characters as the same as the Chinese, except backwards: the Chinese word is 命運. Whenever Ando doubts their mission, 中村広 tells him that it’s their destiny: 「運命だよ！」　or something similar.

ピンチ・大ピンチ　A problem. Taken from the English word ‘pinch’, as in ‘I say, I’m in a bit of a pinch, can you help me out?’ When 広 gets a gun pointed at him (I won’t spoil the plotline for those who haven’t seen the series, but suffice it to say that it happens a lot) he gets a sheepish look and says 「ピンチ！」

やった！　よし先生⁴　explained this Japanese word in a Jpod lesson much better than I ever could. “Sometimes I just wake up and the sun is smiling and I just say…　やった!” I’m paraphrasing though, as I can’t find the right lesson. It was one of the funniest lessons I’ve heard. なつかしい！I can’t for the life of me find which one it was though… Perhaps someone with a better memory could put the link in a comment to this post? But I digress. The first time 広 successfully uses his superpower to teleport, and at other moments of elation, he pumps his fists into the air, closes his eyes, and yells 「やった！」

I’m now going to write a little about the latest episode. If you haven’t seen it, you might want to stop reading now, as I’m going to talk about plot points that might ruin the story for those who haven’t seen episode 16.

In last week’s episode, 広 and Ando were separated, so there wasn’t much dialogue in Japanese. They meet up towards the end of the episode,　and 広 reluctantly tells Ando that he will be continuing his journey on his own. Ando isn’t too pleased. He says,

運命じゃん！

After seeing that line, I did the same thing as many readers did just now, I typed the line into Firefox, toggled Rikaichan, got no answer on the じゃん part of the line, and scratched my head.　I kept watching until the end, taking note of the celebrity cameo appearance made during the scene between 広　and Ando.

愛香⁵ explained quite simply to me that じゃん＝じゃないか and that she had explained this to me before. 「おぼえてる、じゃない？」　she said, which just confused me even more. Is Ando saying that it’s not destiny? Was 愛香 saying that I didn’t remember? It was all too confusing. Then I did something I should have done a long time ago.

I called up the Jpod grammar bank in the learning center, looked under ‘J’ for ‘じゃない’　and found out what it meant. I won’t get into too much detail, I’ll let you have a look through it yourself!

After jumping through all those hoops to find out the meaning of those 3 syllables, it took me about 10 seconds to find it in the grammar bank. 早かった、じゃん？

Check your local guides for when Heroes airs, or watch it at the NBC website.

¹ favorite
² なか・むら・ひろ　or ‘Hiro Nakamura’ in the show
³ recognize
⁴ せん・せい
⁵ あい・か

Source: http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/images/cast/bio_hiro.jpg

One day I was at a 上海¹ sports centre², playing table tennis with some friends. Table tennis is very popular here; the place I was at had about 10 tables in a gymnasium.

While the others were playing doubles, I had a wander around the centre. Next to the table tennis hall, there was a gym where a group of approximately 20 people were practising 空手³. There were men and girls of many ages, all in neat formation, doing drills. The instructor was at the front, barking out orders and counting. He wasn’t counting in English, or even Chinese, but was yelling out in a bloodcurdling voice 「いち・に・さん・よん」

Whenever people practice 空手, they do so using Japanese instead of the language of whichever country they are in. So all over the world, or at the very least all over 上海, there are instructors yelling out 「いち・に・さん・よん」　to their students, in deference to the Japanese origins of 空手. The same is true of Taekwondo, which has its origins in the Korean peninsula. When practising Taekwondo, commands are yelled out in Korean.

But as you can imagine, there aren’t many things that a 空手 instructor has cause to scream out at the top of his voice to his class. Anything spoken to individual fighters, or instructions on how to perform moves was said in Chinese. Language doesn’t play much part in beating an opponent to a pulp.

At the end of the training session, everyone got the opportunity to practise their 日本語⁴. Everyone lined up in single file along one of the walls, from tallest to shortest. Then the tallest one broke off, faced the second shortest, bowed and said a very polite thankyou. Then he continued to the third tallest fighter, thanking him also. Then the second shortest broke off, and did the same to the third tallest. This continued, and in this way, everyone got the chance to thank everyone else. Only the Japanese could have come up with such an efficient, polite way to end a training session.

Allow me to sidetrack a little though. This ‘polite thankyou’ had not been taught to each fighter. This was a 空手 lesson, not a language lesson. So no one had bothered to correct anyone else’s pronunciation, and no one in the room was a native speaker. I’ll also tell you that this greeting is usually rushed over very quickly by Japanese people when they have to say it to many people. Combine that with the fact that it’s usually mumbled under the breath, while bowing at 45 degrees, and you’ll find that in real life this utterance doesn’t always sound like it does when 夏子先生⁵ and her colleagues say it on JPod.

Let’s continue with the language lesson though. What do you think that each fighter said to each other? As I mentioned, it was a very polite thankyou.

Of course, it was 「ありがとうございます」, often the first phrase that a Japanese learner learns.

But it came out rather differently. As I mentioned, no one had taught anyone in the room the proper pronunciation, or explained the lightning-fast pronunciation of native 日本人 when saying this. So there was a room full of people bowing deeply to each other and yelling at the top of their voices,

“Osssss… Ossss… Osssss…… Ossss…..”

And I totally agree with this pronunciation. I have been in a roomfull of サラリマン⁶　when they have greeted each other. They have bowed deeply to each other and said what sounded to my ears like “Osss….”. I actually expected them to come up from their bows with a sheepish grin, expecting “Osss” to be a joke or something.

I have even tried it out. I met a group of Japanese friends last week, and upon meeting them, bowed and said “Osss….”. I expected them to laugh at me, but they returned my “Ossss….” with an “Osss….” of their own.

¹ シャン・ハイ
² center
³ から・て
⁴ に・ほん・ご
⁵ なつ・こ・せん・せい
⁶ Japanese white collar workers. ‘Salary Men’.

Daniel here. Reporting for JapanesePod101.com.

Romance is in the air here in Tokyo as Valentine’s Day approaches. And in Japan this year we have a three-day weekend as建国記念の日 (けんこくきねんのひ - Foundation Day) is moved to Monday in accord with the Happy Monday* policy. And since Valentine’s Day is on Wednesday, the department stores, bakeries and convenience stores will be busy catering to the romantically-minded. But, it’s not just those romantically-inclined that will be lining up. But, more on that momentarily.

As the Japanese are masters of adaptation, they often take Western traditions and reshape them with a distinctly Japanese twist. And this is certainly true of Valentine’s Day. Whereas in the West the heavier burden of responsibility of gift-giving falls on the men, the exact opposite is true in Japan. In Japan, it is the fairer sex that is expected to give chocolate to the men in their lives. Girlfriends give to their boyfriends, female students give to their male teachers whom they like, wives to their husbands. However, it doesn’t end there.

Another Japanese innovation is 義理チョコ (giri-choko – obligation chocolate). In this modern tradition, Japanese women almost invariably give chocolate to their male bosses and frequently also give to their male colleagues. While this practice may seem unfair, the men usually return in kind on White Day. But, I’ll save that topic for another time. The opposite of giri-choco is 本命チョコ (honmei-choko – true feeling chocolate, lit. favorite) There is also 友チョコ (tomo-choko – friend chocolate), which is chocolate women give to their women friends.

Being an American, I go to buy chocolate for my wife every year. But, when I do, I am usually the only man in a crowded space in front of the Godiva counter in the basement of a department store. It’s almost embarrassing to be the only man in a crowd of women like a man buying lingerie for his lover at Victoria’s Secret.

My wife also buys chocolate for me, which is nice. And having been a teacher at both high schools and colleges, I have received chocolate from some of my students. These are often 手作り (tezukuri – homemade). And, as Mikiさん pointed out in her audio blog, Japanese girls will often leave these on the desks of those boys they are interested in. Alas, this year I don’t teach on Wednesday, so I may be out of luck.

This year, I learned of a new development. Recently, some Japanese women will buy very expensive chocolate for themselves. They will spend twice or three times as much as they do for their boyfriends on the same amount of chocolate, ¥1000 or more. I believe there may be a word for this new “tradition”, but no one I spoke to seemed to recall what it is. I suggest 自己愛チョコ (jikoai-choko – narcissistic chocolate). If I find out the current term, I will post it in the comments.

Next month, I plan to write about White Day, the day where men return the favor.
Until next time, saraba.

Mina-san,

It’s been a busy few weeks here at JapanesePod101.com… on top of the recently launched Learning Center v2.0 and the Premium Podcast Feed, today we updated our homepage. Now when you visit our homepage, you’ll see a new and streamlined 2-column design that makes it easier and faster than ever to find the information you’re looking for.

Take a look and tell us what you think by leaving us a comment or sending us an email at support@japanesepod101.com.

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

JapanesePod101.com

Daniel here. Reporting for JapanesePod101.com.

In the Samurai Theologian in Tokyo series, I plan to give a behind-the-scenes look at JapanesePod101.com and to provide reviews of places and events in and around Tokyo. Some reviews, like the previous one on anpan, will look at more traditional Japanese topics. However, I also plan to review spots where foreigners can get a taste of home.

In this entry, I review the Blue Parrot, a used book store in Tokyo that caters to the needs of English-speakers. The Blue Parrot is located in Takadanobaba near the station. The station is on the Yamanote Line, the line that circles Tokyo. It is also served by the Seibu-Shinjuku Line as well as the Tozai Subway Line. From the train station, take the Waseda-dori exit and turn right as you leave the station. Cross the street and walk up the left side of Waseda-dori approximately 200 meters. From the subway line, take the #6 exit, turn right and walk about 100 meters. For a map, visit their website.

The Blue Parrot has a large selection of English books from a plethora of categories. There are also DVDs, CDs, video tapes, and more. Books are priced at a fraction of the list price, and single DVDs sell for 980 yen, while CDs sell for 2 for 500 yen.

You can sell you books for cash or store credit. If you opt for cash, the amount is fairly low, so most people go with the credit option. So as you clean out your apartment and bring in your old books, you can use your credit to obtain new books and DVDs. They also have a point card system where you receive a stamp for every 1000 yen spent, which you can save up for more store credit.

If you are also looking for a place to check your email or surf the internet, the Blue Parrot also has computers with internet access for 100 yen for 20 minutes. And now, they have an online bookstore. You can access the online store.

I have found the Blue Parrot to have a good selection at a fair price. In fact the DVDs may be underpriced, with the exception of some TV series on DVD. But, they are considering their policy on DVD sets, so this may change for the better as well.

For more information about the Blue Parrot, visit their main website at and their online store.

If you would like to download the enhanced version (podcast file with photos, urls and/or chapter marks) of this audio, visit my Samurai Theologian Podcast page. Consider subscribing to receive future enhanced podcasts. You can also the photos in an online slide show from my site. Look for the enhanced podcast and photo gallery in the next couple of days.

The Premium Podcast Feed is the very latest in the line of groundbreaking innovations brought to you by JapanesePod101.com! Available to all Basic and Premium JapanesePod101.com members, this password protected RSS feed brings flexibility and convenience to whole new level. Simply subscribe to the feed on iTunes and automatically receive all media files including the audio podcast, any informal or bonus audio tracks, videos and all PDF lesson materials for each new lesson as they become available.

To get started and to learn more about the new Premium Podcast Feed, click on the icon below:

We would love to hear what you think about this new feature, so please let us know by posting a comment here.

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

JapanesePod101.com