Here is Ruth’s most recent entry on Deep Japan about Frozen. Very interesting insight. After 27 years loving this country but always wondering why people hesitate so much in terms of English, she can finally see so many Japanese people…starting with the littlest…Letting it go!  “Frozen” is Melting the Hesitation towards English in Japan

Deep Japan is a brand new website venture to help visitors to Japan experience all the fun, culture and excitement of Japan’s “local” side.  Please like the Facebook page in order to join us in exploring Deep Japan in the close partnership between Jarman International and  Zeroin KK.

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Since the beginning of Deep Japan in August of 2013, our writing network has grown close to 300 strong. Our senpais range from modeling agency owners, to financial business professionals, to plugged-in Japanese entrepreneurs and more. See a few of them first-hand here.

One of our more unique senpais however is the author of “The Monster Movie Fan’s Guide to Japan”, Mr. Armand Vaquer.
He was deeply interested in the whole mosnter movie and sci-fi character culture of Japan since his first experience with Godzilla in 1954. As the title of his book suggests, he not only is interested in the monster media itself, but also how this has come to play a role in shaping modern Japan. We are very excited to hear his input on a variety of subjects in the future on Deep Japan.

Inspired by Mr. Vaquer’s hobby, another senpai here wrote on his musings of the Japanese “Giant Monster attacking city” culture we have come to see in flashy Japanese films for some time. Anime is also a major outlet for artistic expression in Japan, and moreover you’ll see some of the greatest social commentary coming to life in Japanese animated series. This is the reason they are so popular among a wide age range., far beyond the children-oriented nature of many “cartoons” in other countries.

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Now, if possible, you want to be jamming around Tokyo without engaging in any “problem-solving” conversation, that is, you want every interaction to be smooth, to the point, and you want to be on your way, unless of course you want to pursue a conversation with a certain individual, then at that point let simply the regular rules of human conduct be your guide (there’s really nothing special about Tokyo in this regard “culture-wise”, just you know, don’t be a dick.

That being said, let’s take a figurative walk downtown:

Stopping at a convenience store:

You will have a great time seeing various snacks, drinks, and accessories both familiar and not, at Japan’s array of convenience stores. The process of purchasing your items is identical to America, however, the store clerk will be doing 2 routine things:

1. Exclaiming the price of your goods (this will be the first thing uttered by the clerk)

{price} ni narimasu

Your total is {price}

Don’t trouble yourself with learning the Japanese numeral system, rather look to the screen to the immediate side of the register area, and see your price conveniently displayed.

2. Asking you if you want a bag (this may be said immediately after the price is said, so be ready with a response to this common second utterance)

Fukuro ni iremasu ka?

Bag will you put in?

Your possible answers:

1. Hai  (with a brief downward head nod)   Yes

2. Daijobu desu (In a slight “no” voice”) No, I’m fine

           *Note– this second question about the bag will not be asked with 100% certainty. They may just start putting your things you bought into a bag without asking.

You need to be aware, that anything you buy at a convenience store that is not consumed immediately in front of the convenience store (where there are trash cans), say, if you take it somewhere to eat it later, you will be stuck with the trash. You must not litter in Japan, under any circumstances. If you litter, you demonstrate ineptitude to be a simple consumer of products, and that’s embarrassing. So, you have a couple of questions to ask yourself when you make purchases at a convenience store:

Will I be eating this immediately? If not, perhaps the plastic bag is good because you can bundle up all of your trash into the plastic bag, tie it shut, put it in your backpack, and throw it away at the next convenience store.

Do I have items which will require use of the bag later? If you are buying say, cans or bottles, or a bag of chips, then you could probably open it immediately when you get out of the store, or put those items in your backpack for consumption later, as even after they have been consumed, the trash is unlikely to cause any dirtying of your pack.

—-If you fail to ask yourself these questions and take proper action when receiving items, you may find yourself with a lot of plastic bags you don’t need. This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s just habitual for me at this point, and I don’t like to use plastic unnecessarily.

That being said, if it is the case that the clerk is bagging your items without asking you, and it is also the case that you do not want a plastic bag, you need to say this:

Fukuro wa daijobu desu (say it with a bit of exclamatory intonation, and the waving hand gesture of refusal will work well)

Just think, no, no, the bag is fine (unnecessary)

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