Lukas and Martina in Japan//japan.lukas-prokop.at/blog/2017-07-31T02:02:00+09:00Why I don’t want to stay in Japan long-term2017-07-31T02:02:00+09:002017-07-31T02:02:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-07-31:blog/why-i-dont-want-to-stay-longterm.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the question <em>Do I want to stay longterm in Japan?</em>.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In my experience, if you study abroad, very soon you will be posed the following question: "Do you want to stay there forever? Do you want to live there?". It is an obvious question. Living there for a short-term means getting to know the culture better. The next step is staying there longterm. But what is my personal stance towards staying in Japan?</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I asked myself this question very soon. In fact, after 3 weeks of staying I was able to answer the Yes/No question definitely. Over the time, I was able to specify the main reasons. I want to present them now:</p></div>
<div class="dlist"><dl>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Sexism
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
I had to learn that this is a quite prominent difference between Northern America and Europe on the one side and the rest of the world on the other side. Especially in Asia, gender equality is not given and mostly not desired by the majority of the people. A friend of mine from the Republic of Cambodia described it with "I guess that’s how it works in Asia". Is Japan sexist? Yes, I think so. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawaii">kawaii</a>-culture emphasizes that women must look cute. The working-late culture prevents that men participate in family life. Politics is conservative and a high percentage of men think women don’t need proper education, because it’s not necessary for child bearing and maintaining a household. At the same time, I have met wonderful and brilliant women with high potential but low ranks here in Japan. japantimes recently put it this way: <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/16/national/social-issues/empower-women-japans-cultural-mindset-must-changed-global-summit-women-chief/#.WX4UpSdLeV4">To empower women, Japan’s cultural mindset must be changed</a>. Martina recently taught me about an article by thedailybeast: <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/does-japan-ever-convict-men-for-rape">Does Japan Ever Convict Men for Rape?</a>. One quote is very interesting, I think:
</p>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>The council also noted, shockingly (for Japan) that male victims of rape should also be acknowledged, because under current law only women can be victims of rape.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="attribution">
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>If this statement holds true, I think there is no doubt that there is a huge gap between the rights of men and women. In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Gender_Gap_Report">Global Gender Gap Report</a> by the World Economic Forum, Japan performs very bad. Austria, by the way, performs better; but not great either. And because this is discussed controversially, I have make a disclaimer: Yes, it is about both genders. Not about one of them.</p></div>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Work-life-balance
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
I think there are people who know better about this than students, but Japan has a problem with overworking in businesses. Because dedication and loyalty towards your boos is such a big deal, overworking is problem. Since Matsuri Takahashi’s suicide, Abe’s administration acknowledges the problem and began to <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/10/12/editorials/governments-karoshi-report/">introduce legisation to prevent karoshi, death by overwork</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kar%C5%8Dshi">Karoshi</a>, to the best of my understanding, is a result of employees giving their best for the company rejecting social and family life at the same time. This leads to depression and potentially to suicide. Japan has a different culture towards suicide than Western countries, but considering the government’s actions, I think we cannot deny overworking is an acknowledged problem in Japan.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Environmental issues
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
If you visit a supermarket, you get plenty of plastics. Everything is wrapped in plastics and every customer gets a bunch of plastic shopping bags, when leaving. Japan keeps <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_bluefin_tuna">overfishing the seas</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan">whaling</a>, even though international resolutions exist condemning these actions. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster">Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster</a> itself is a huge mess. I acknowledge that the size of the tsunami was difficult to predict. But if Japan keeps <a href="http://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2017/02/22/after-alarmingly-high-radiation-levels-detected-what-are-the-facts-in-fukushima/">leaking nuclear waste to the sea, 6 years later,</a> I think it is safe to say that solving the environmental issues is not a top priority.
</p>
</dd>
</dl></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>My answer is "No" and these are the three major reasons, why I personally decided not to live in Japan for the majority of my life. This is not a complete list of issues, I have with Japan. But I think it provides 3 arguments, which are reasonable and justified. You can, of course, declare these topics as cultural difference. "Japanese people look different at these issues", "are these issues really so important?", "aren’t you sure, these will be solved soon and won’t affect you in a long-term?". But if you go into a supermarket and behave differently than Japanese people, you begin to feel "different" and not integrated in society in the long term. Hence, I have a problem with these issues in the country and don’t see a bright future. And that’s why I don’t want to stay in Japan long-term.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Tap water2017-07-24T16:27:00+09:002017-07-24T16:27:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-07-24:blog/tap-water.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the tap water of Austria and Japan.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I have to admit, I am a big fan of Austrian tap water.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Whenever I leave Austria, I know that in most cases, the water in the destination country will taste much worse. I understand that the water taste is a subjective matter and we will discuss the details later on. The point I want to make is that in Austria the tap water is of high quality (at some places exceeding the EU’s required standards multiple times) and constantly monitored. Austria has many lakes and you can drink from almost all of them. For German-reading people, <a href="http://www.trinkwasserinfo.at/">trinkwasserinfo.at</a> is a good place to get an overview. The main reason for the high quality is the filtering done naturally when water passes through the rocks of the Alps. This is also the time when the water acquires a lot of minerals. As the Alps stretch through 8 different European countries, the high-quality water can also be found e.g. in Germany and Switzerland. But the local law regarding pesticides influence the quality greatly. For the record, the water from Graz (where I studied), comes from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hochschwab">Hochschwab</a> according <a href="http://www.holding-graz.at/graz-wasserwirtschaft/wissenswertes/grazer-wasserkreislauf.html">to the organization in charge</a>.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>When I arrived in Japan, I had to determine whether the water from the tap can be drunk or not. You can easily <a href="https://matcha-jp.com/en/1410">find out</a>, that Japan’s tap water is clean; as you would expect from a first-world country. However, as in most countries, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine">Chlorine</a> is added as biocide killing germs and algae. Chlorine has a very strong taste and if you are not used to it, you will immediately recognize that chlorine was added in this particular water. So when we arrived, our dormitory manager told us that he drinks the tap water every day and you can certainly do that as well. I agree, but the taste was terrible for me and is even worse in restaurants. So I usually buy water at the supermarket. The most expensive water even comes from the Rokko mountains. If you are familiar with Kobe, you will know, Rokko mountain is very close and therefore the water is a regional product.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><a href="20170509-a-long-time.html">In March/April</a>, I was visited by my dad and brother. They brought me a small bottle of Austrian tap water. I shared the bottle with one of my Japanese Aikido friends and asked him, which of the unlabelled tap water tastes better. He immediately responded with the water (unknowingly, that it is) from Japan. I had to expect it, but hoped for a different result.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>As of now, I got used to the water. It is very hot right now (the rainy season has just ended last week) and in the short breaks I drink more water than I am able to carry in bottles to the training. So I drink the water from the cooling unit provided in all sports locations at Kobe University. The cooling unit has a small reservoir of water. It is filled with tap water automatically and cools the water before it is released. It also tastes terribly, but I don’t see a good alternative. Now, I don’t even recognize the chlorine anymore, as it is so common.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Now, let’s look at the data. I want to compare 4 waters. 3 from Japan, 1 from Austria. The data can be read from the prints on the bottles. So it is not tap water, but the data for tap water is similar as the companies often use similar sources for their water.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_terminology">Terminology</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>For my German-speaking readers, I want to sum up the English vocabulary. The Japanese and German vocabulary is almost entirely the same.</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">dt./jp. Kalium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">en. potassium</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">dt./jp. Natrium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">en. sodium</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">dt. Kieselsäure</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">en. silica</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_vöslauer_ohne_at">Vöslauer (ohne) [AT]</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Declared as "natürliches Mineralwasser" (natural mineral water). Originating from Bad Vöslau, Lower Austria. Therefore a little bit more to the North than Hochschwab, but quite close. The data:</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:33%;">
<col style="width:33%;">
<col style="width:33%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chemical element</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/l (<a href="http://www.voeslauer.com/web/at/quelle/quellanalyse">documented</a>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/100ml</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">potassium (K+)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.50</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.15</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sodium (Na+)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">14.10</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.41</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">magnesium (Mg<sup>2+</sup>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">40.80</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">4.08</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">calcium (Ca<sup>2+</sup>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">112.00</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">11.2</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chloride (Cl-)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">19.40</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.94</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sulfate (SO_4<sup>2-</sup>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">224.00</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">22.4</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hydrocarbonate (HCO_3_<sup>-</sup>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">253.00</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">25.3</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">m-silica (H_2 SiO_3_)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">14.00</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.4</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">fluoride (F-)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.5</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.05</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></col></table>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">pH value</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">7.19</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hardness</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">25.00° dH (= hard water)</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">dissolved solids</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">679.30</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_suntory_jp">Suntory [JP]</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Declared as natural mineral water from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Daisen">Okudaisen</a>.</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chemical element</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/100ml</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">potassium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.2~0.6mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sodium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.4~1.0mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">magnesium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.1~0.3mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">calcium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.2~0.7mg</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">pH value</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">~7</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hardness</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">20mg/L (= soft water)</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_topvalu_jp">TOPVALU [JP]</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Declared as natural water.
The cheapest water available at the supermarket GourmetCity. It costs 68 Yen per 2l bottle.</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chemical element</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/100ml</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">potassium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.08 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sodium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.61 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">magnesium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.10 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">calcium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.57 mg</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">pH value</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">6.5</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hardness</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">18mg/l (= soft water)</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_asahi_jp">ASAHI [JP]</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Marketed as natural mineral water coming from the Rokko mountains.
I think it is the most expensive water at GourmetCity. It costs 105 Yen per 2l bottle.</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chemical element</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/100ml</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">potassium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.02~0.18 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sodium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.0~4.8 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">magnesium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.10~1.10 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">calcium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.2~1.7 mg</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">pH value</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">7.2</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hardness</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">32mg/l (= soft water)</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>For the ranges, I used the mean value. Then I made a chart:</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Bottled water metadata, Japan and Austria" src="images/water-metadata-chart.png">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In conclusion, the values for calcium are about 20 times higher and the values for magnesium are about 40 times higher. This makes Austrian water hard as compared to soft water. Which one is more healthy? This is subjective, but it is believed that hard water is better for the body. But because hard water leaves traces of lime, hard water is much worse for machines like water boilers.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I always put everything in contrast and ranted about Japan’s water. But in the end, please enjoy the availability of clean water in your country.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Quote from Der Standard2017-07-03T17:54:00+09:002017-07-03T17:54:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-07-03:blog/quote-from-der-standard.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses an article by <a href="http://derstandard.at/">Der Standard</a>, an Austrian newspaper, from January 2017.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In January 2017, <a href="http://derstandard.at/">Der Standard</a> published a booklet "Reif für die Inseln" (engl. "Ready for the island"). I will do my best to translate the German text to English and want to reflect on one interview specifically. This interview was given by Megumi Ito moderated by Michael Hausenblas and is also accessible online on <a href="http://derstandard.at/2000050556557/Megumi-Ito-Japaner-sind-sensibler">derstandard.at</a>:</p></div>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Was können Österreicher von Japanern lernen? Warum begegnen Japaner Alltagsobjekten mit mehr Wertschätzung?</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Was können Österreicher von Japanern lernen? Warum begegnen Japaner Alltagsobjekten mit mehr Wertschätzung? Wie anstrengend ist die japanische Höflichkeit? Dies und noch mehr fragten wir die Designerin Megumi Ito, die seit 25 Jahren in Wien lebt, anlässlich eines Japanschwerpunktes im RONDO.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><strong>STANDARD:</strong> Wenn Ihre letzte Mahlzeit, also sozusagen Ihre Henkersmahlzeit, eine japanische sein sollte – was würden Sie bestellen?<br>
<strong>Megumi Ito:</strong> Eine schön geformte Schale, gefüllt mit Reis und Umeboshi, das sind in Salz eingelegte Früchte ähnlich der Pflaume, dazu grünen Tee und schwarzen Pfeffer.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Und wenn das letzte Mahl eine österreichische Speise sein sollte?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Gansl mit Rotkraut, Kartoffeln, Preiselbeeren und irgendein Dessert mit Mohn – auch wunderbar.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Wie ehrlich ist die berühmte japanische Höflichkeit?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Meistens ist sie ehrlich, sie ist aber auch anstrengend. Es gibt im Japanischen verschiedene Arten, Wiederholungen und Stufen der Höflichkeit zwischen Begrüßung, Konversation und Verabschiedung. Das ist in Österreich viel unkomplizierter. Hier sagt man, "Danke und auf Wiedersehen", das war’s. Wir sind sensibler.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Woher stammt diese Höflichkeit?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Ich glaube, das hat mit der hohen Bevölkerungsdichte zu tun. Menschen haben durch sie gelernt, sensibler und höflicher zu sein, Takt zu entwickeln. Es hat auch mit Religion zu tun, mit dem Shintoismus.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Die katholische Kirche ist also unsensibler und härter als der Shintoismus?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Nicht härter, anders. Wir haben unglaublich viele Götter, vergöttern die Natur. Es gibt Götter an jeder Ecke: die Luft, das Wasser, die Erde. Deshalb müssen wir im Alltag besser aufpassen. Und was dazukommt: Wir müssen nicht einen Gott mit vielen teilen. Das macht uns ebenfalls sensibler.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Was fehlt Ihnen am meisten an Japan?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Viele regionale und saisonale Arten von Gemüse, Obst und Pilzen. Vor allem gehen mir die vielen Bittergemüse ab. Hierzulande ist der Spargel schon ein Highlight. Und natürlich vermisse ich auch die warme, offene Art der Menschen.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Was vermissen Sie am wenigsten?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Die Hektik, den Umstand, dass sich die Leute wenig Zeit nehmen. In Japan wird man ständig mit Informationen bombardiert. Das beginnt schon mit den Schildern auf der Straße. Die Supermärkte sind rund um die Uhr geöffnet. Man kommt einfach nicht zur Ruhe.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Das heißt, an Österreich schätzen Sie, dass es gemütlicher zugeht?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Ja, ich mag die Gelassenheit, die Großzügigkeit und die Flexibilität. Ich denke, das liegt an der Geschichte des Landes.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Das müssen Sie jetzt aber bitte erklären.<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Es liegt daran, dass Österreich einst so ein unglaublich großes und mächtiges Land war. Da ist noch immer ein Stück weit diese K.-u.-k.-Mentalität zu spüren. Durch sie lehnen sich die Menschen weiter zurück als andere.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Was geht Ihnen hierzulande auf die Nerven?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Die unsensible Art, mit Gegenständen umzugehen. Ein Beispiel: Wir stellen eine Tasse Tee behutsam mit zwei Händen auf den Tisch. Der Österreicher knallt sie wie einen Bierkrug auf den Tisch, um es etwas übertrieben auszudrücken. Das hat mich schon in meiner Anfangszeit hier sehr verwundert. Wir haben mehr Respekt gegenüber Objekten.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Auch Verpackung hat in Japan einen viel höheren Stellenwert als in Europa. Warum?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Wir haben eine sehr alte Papierkultur. Auch wenn wir nur eine winzige Kleinigkeit verschenken, verpacken wir sie liebevoll, und seien es nur ein paar Karotten aus dem Garten, die wir dem Nachbarn rüberbringen. Es handelt sich um eine Wertschätzung gegenüber dem Beschenkten, aber auch gegenüber dem Objekt.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Was kann ein Japaner von einem Österreicher lernen?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Individualität, Flexibilität und schnelle Entscheidungen zu treffen. Wir sind oft viel zu umsichtig. Weiters nützen die Österreicher ihre Freizeit besser. Viele gehen um 17.00 Uhr aus dem Büro, treiben Sport oder sitzen einfach am Wasser. Die Japaner sind den ganzen Sonntag müde von den Anstrengungen der Woche. Viele Japaner arbeiten von acht oder neun Uhr morgens bis neun oder zehn am Abend.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Was kann sich ein Österreicher von einem Japaner abschauen?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Sensibilität, Genauigkeit, Esskultur und natürliche Heilungsmethoden, mit denen wir schon im Kindesalter umzugehen lernen. Ferner kann er sich abschauen, weniger Zucker zu konsumieren und sich massieren zu lassen. Ach, und noch etwas: ein Bad zu nehmen, bevor man ins Bett geht.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Sie leben in der Wiener Innenstadt, wo es viele japanische Touristen gibt. Was denken Sie sich, wenn Sie an einem solchen Schwarm vorbeikommen?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Ich genieße es, schleiche mich an, lausche und freu mich, weil ich alles verstehen kann und heraushöre, woher sie stammen.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Sie haben in Wien seinerzeit begonnen, Lampenschirme aus <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono">Kimonostoffen</a> zu designen. Wie haben Ihre Landsleute auf diese Arbeiten reagiert? Ist das nicht ehrenrührig?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong>* Gar nicht. Ein Kimono besteht aus einem Teil Stoff und wird nicht aus verschiedenen zusammengenäht. Wenn ein Kimono nicht mehr als solcher verwendet wird, macht man verschiedene Dinge daraus: Untersetzer, Tischtücher etc. Das ist in Japan eine Form der Nachhaltigkeit, die es schon sehr lang gibt.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Sie sind vor allem für Ihre Lichtobjekte bekannt. Japan wird auch "Land der aufgehenden Sonne genannt". Haben Ihre Landsleute ein anderes Verhältnis zum Licht?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Ja, ich habe das Gefühl, dass wir das Licht der Dämmerung mehr genießen, als dies Europäer tun. Die Lichtfarben dieser Stunden haben es uns angetan, und wir sehen sie als Belohnung für den Stress des Alltags. Es gibt in Japan keine Sommerzeitumstellung, also weniger Abendlicht.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Möchten Sie in Wien bleiben oder eines Tages wieder nach Japan zurückkehren?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Ich würde gern noch eine Zeitlang in Paris leben. Nach Japan gehe ich dann im Alter zurück.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Soll Ihr letztes Stündlein also in Japan schlagen?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Ja, im wunderschönen <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakura">Kamakura</a>, woher ich stamme. Dort gibt es viele Tempel und Schreine – und das Meer.<br>
(Michael Hausenblas, RONDO, 28.1.2017)</br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></p></div>
</div>
<div class="attribution">
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>And here comes the English translation:</p></div>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>What can Austrians learn from Japanese people? Why do Japanese people interact more carefully with daily objects?</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>What can Austrians learn from Japanese people? Why do Japanese people interact more carefully with daily objects? How cumbersome is Japanese politeness? We asked these and other questions designer Megumi Ito, living in Vienna for 25 years, on the occasion of the Japan focus of this Japan booklet.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><strong>STANDARD:</strong> If your last meal is a Japanese one - what would you order?<br>
<strong>Megumi Ito:</strong> A beautifully shaped bowl, filled with rice and umeboshi, these are fruits similar to plums pickled in salt, accompanied by green tea and black pepper.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> And if your last meal is an Austrian one?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Goose with red cabbage, potatoes, cranberry and some dessert with poppy seed - wonderful as well.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> How honest is the famous Japanese politeness?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Mostly, it is honest, but it is also cumbersome. In Japanese, there are various forms, repetitions and levels of politeness between greeting, conversation and goodbye. This is much easier in Austria. Here, people say "Thanks and bye", that’s it. We are more sensitive.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Where does this politeness come from?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> I think this is related to the high population density. This way people have learnt to be more sensitive and polite; be aligned with other people’s life. But it is also related to religion; shintoism.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Therefore the Catholic church is more insensitive and strict than Shintoism?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Not more strict, but different. We have so many gods, we idolize the nature. There are gods on every corner: the air, the water, the soil. That’s why we need to take better care in our daily lives. And additionally: We don’t have to share one god with many. This also makes us more sensitive.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Do you miss most about Japan?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Many regional and seasonal kinds of vegetables, fruits and mushrooms. Especially the many kinds of bitter vegetables. In this area, asparagus is already a highlight. And of course, I miss the warm, open personality of the people.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> What do you miss the least?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Well, I like the calmness, the courtesy and the flexibility. I think, that is based on the history of the country.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Please elaborate.<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> It originates in the fact, that Austria used to be an incredible large and powerful country. You can still feel a little bit of the k.u.k. mentality. By this, people tend to relax more than others.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> What annoys you in this country?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> The insensitive style to interact with objects. One example: We put a cup of tea carefully on the table with two hands. The Austrian smashes it to the table like a beer mug; to exaggerate a little bit. This irritated me since the very beginning of my time in Austria. We have more respect for objects.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Also packaging has much more value in Japan than in Europe. Why?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> We have a very old paper culture. Even if we gift tiny things, we package them affectionately. Even if they are just some carrots we gift to our neighbor. It is some kind of appreciation of the gifted, but also of the gift itself.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> What can a Japanese person learn from an Austrian?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Individuality, flexibility and making decisions fast. We sometimes look into too many directions. Austrians also use their leisure time better. Many leave the office at 17:00, do sports or just sit next to rivers and lakes. The Japanese people are tired the whole sunday from the endeavors of the week. Many Japanese work from eight or nine o’clock in the morning until nine or ten at night.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> What can Austrian learn from a Japanese?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Sensibility, precision, eating habits and natural health techniques, which Japanese learn beginning from childhood. Furthermore, they can learn to eat less sugar and take a massage. And another thing: Taking a bath, before they go to bed.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> You live in Vienna’s downtown, where many Japanese tourists come across. What do you think when you see such a group?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> I enjoy it, I sneak up, listen and enjoy, that I can understand everything and can recognize where they come from.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Back then, you began to design lamp shades made of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono">kimono</a> fabrics. How did your country’s people react? It this scurrilous?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Not at all. A kimono is made of a single sheet of fabrics and is not stoated. If a kimono is not usable such as anymore, various things can be made out of it: trivets, tablecloth etc. This is some kind of sustainability in Japan, which exists for a very long time.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> You are especially famous for your light objects. Japan is also known as the "country of the rising sun". Do you country’s people have a different relationship to light?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Yes, I feel like we enjoy the dusk more than Europeans. We love the light colors of these hours and consider it as a reward for the day’s hard work. In Japan, we don’t have Daylight Saving Times and therefore less light in the evenings.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> Do you want to stay in Vienna or do you want to, some day, return to Japan?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> I would like to live some time in Paris. When I get old, I want to return to Japan.<br>
<strong>STANDARD:</strong> So you want to spend your final hours in Japan?<br>
<strong>Ito:</strong> Yes, in beautiful <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakura">Kamakura</a>, where I come from. There are many temples and shrines - and the sea.<br>
(Michael Hausenblas, RONDO, 28.1.2017)</br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></br></p></div>
</div>
<div class="attribution">
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I want to point it out, because it was an intriguing interview for me. I recognized some of the patterns she mentioned. And she made several points, I began to pay attention to to make up my own mind. So I want to reflect on them now.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The discussion regarding "honest politeness" is, in my opinion, ambiguous. What does honest mean? Are Austrians honest, because they smash tea like beer mugs and show that they don’t care about it? Are American waiters honest, because they truely want to raise their tip they rely on? Japanese people are raised with a very distinctive sense of politeness from a young age. They try hard to treat you nicely. If they don’t feel like they want to be nice to you, they will still use the corresponding politeness levels in their language and actions, because they are used to the paradigms and conventions. Maybe this is what some people call dishonest, but the same holds for an Austrian waiter. They will still treat you with the same procedures like other guests even though their partner just texted them that they will break up with them (to mention some situation of emotional distress). So in my opinion, the discussion is about routines and procedures. And not so much about conventions and culture. You would determine honesty much better in uncommon situations where no routine is given.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I got a strong opinion towards politeness. Japanese politeness in the language is incredibly crazy. I don’t enjoy German’s distinction between "du" (casual) and "Sie" (polite), but Japanese takes it to a whole new level. As a customer, they will use some different verbs for you to raise your status (called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorific_speech_in_Japanese">Keigo</a>). This makes it awkwardly difficult to understand them if you already know some basic Japanese. This actually excludes certain groups from interacting. I claim that this situation is much more impolite than the significance of politeness words. Therefore <em>I generally only consider politeness on a level of actions, not on a linguistical level</em>. Don’t forget that linguistic politeness can be culturally misunderstood. You might consider it as a polite expression, whereas people with a different cultural background will see it as offense.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In terms of warm and open personality, I was kind of curious. I think both cultures are warm and open in some way. We have certain ways to express affections, but these are very different from Japanese ones. For example, for Japanese people it is always strange, if I kiss my girlfriend in public. However, as a European, I think it is strange, if someone falls asleep on the train and puts his head on his neighbor’s shoulder. That is very intimate for us. So I think there is a big cultural difference, but Japanese as well as Austrians can be warm and open-minded. I totally enjoyed this part about my time in Japan.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Austrians are certainly more flexible and calm. If a new situation occurs, Austrians come to new conclusions very fast and try to make suggestions whereas Japanese people still think about the politeness form to pick in this situation (sorry, I had to make this exaggeration here). Austrians avoid to make too much noise in public places and no loudspeaker sounds tune through the residential blocks. There are many places where you can enjoy the sounds of the nature in Austria. In Japan, this situation is often accompanied by advertisments and notifications.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I consider the environmental issues related to Japanese packaging approach as a serious threat to the environment. Japanese people use so much plastics and I don’t see any kind of improvement. Austrian people are much more aware of possible consequences in this regards. I think the European Union helped a lot to raise awareness and establish certain protocols.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Leisure time and work time is certainly different. This interview actually hides the actual causes of issues. Yes, Austrians work less and enjoy more leisure time. For Japanese people, it is the opposite. But what are causes? Can we simply ask Japanese people to take more holidays?<br>
The difference is: Austrians don’t like their work very much. They don’t identify themselves with the work, they do. They try to avoid it and get it done quickly. At least, this is something I perceived. Japanese people in general like their work, but they have hundreds of conventions making business environments a difficult place to survive. For example, one awkward behavior is that we go together towards the appointment and the Japanese people start to run the last few meters, when seniors can see us. Why? Because they want to make seniors to feel like they have been running all the time and putting some effort into coming quickly to the place. These sort of things illustrate how different they perceive time and work. Austrians are masters in quickly sitting down, relaxing during a chat and proceeding with work. They are good at relaxing and are therefore not so tired so often.</br></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>On the other hand, this hard-working attitude leads to dedication and precision. Japanese people want to submit perfect work, before they finish. For Austrians, an economical consideration is always implied and action stops, when it becomes to cumbersome. So Austrians work more efficient, but Japanese people often master precision and detail.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Yes, there are a lot of differences and I think you can master them, if you really care about it. But Japanese culture is more different from other cultures, than any other one, I think.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
My event days in winter term2017-06-11T23:30:00+09:002017-06-11T23:30:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-06-11:blog/event-days-in-winter-term.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses my event-days in winter term 2016/17 in Japan.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Last semester, I used one weekend day to travel in Japan. I called this day my "event day". This semester, it is different. In general, I have quite a lot of homework. Usually, I have classes until 15:00. Then I have to go to Aikido lessons at about 16:30. At about 21:00, I am coming home, cooking for the two of us, finishing homework and getting ready for the next day. This means I finish my day always past 00:00 and get up at about 07:15. But right now, I am not so busy as I did not have regular Aikido practice the past 2 weeks. This was quite relaxing. Aikido practice started yesterday again.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I think the event days of last semester have been quite successful. I already travelled around quite a lot in Japan. Studying here for 1 semester is really busy if you also want to travel around as well, but I had a good opportunity to do so in winter term and the summer term is more focused on studying. I am still unhappy about my Japanese skills. I was never really good with languages, but it is a nice brain teaser to be outside of CS and mathematics.</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 10 月 01•02 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="visiting-sannomiya.html">Arrival in Japan & Sannomiya</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 10 月 08 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="kobe-jinjas.html">Kobe City, Great Awaji-Hanshin Earthquake Momentums</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 10 月 15 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="osaka-kita-ward.html">Osaka Kita Ward</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 10 月 22 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="jidai-matsuri.html">Kyoto: Jidai Matsuri</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 10 月 29 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="horyuji.html">Horyu-ji</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 11 月 05 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="calligraphy-with-kokoronet.html">Calligraphy @KOKORO-NET</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 11 月 12 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="rokkosai.html">Rokkosai (Kobe University club event)</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 11 月 20 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="rokko-meets-art.html">Rokko meets Art 2016</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 11 月 26 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="osaka-chikko.html">Osaka: Tempozan Ferris Wheel</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 12 月 03 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="himeji.html">TRUSS Cooking event, Himeji Castle</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 12 月 09 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="luminarie.html">Luminarie</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 12 月 17 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="kokui-christmas-party.html">Christmas party at Kobe University Kokui dormitory</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 12 月 23 日 </p></td>
</tr>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="osakajo.html">Osaka Castle, Buikukai Aikido Enbu Presentation, Osaka Aquarium</a></p></td>
</tr>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2016 年 12 月 31 日 </p></td>
</tr>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="arima-onsen-irizome-shiki.html">Arima Onsen Irizomeshiki</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 01 月 08 日 </p></td>
</tr>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="oji-zoo.html">Oji Zoo</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 01 月 15 日 </p></td>
</tr>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="kobe-harbor.html">Kobe Harbor</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 01 月 21•22 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">(studying for the finals)</p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 01 月 28•29 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">(studying for the finals)</p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 02 月 04 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="ikebana.html">Ikebana @KOKORO-NET</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 02 月 11•12 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">(finishing a report for the finals)</p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 02 月 19 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="todaiji.html">Todaiji</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 02 月 24,27 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">Attending a Japanese birthday party, <a href="arima-onsen.html">Arima Onsen</a></p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 03 月 04•05 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">(irregular Aikido training)</p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 03 月 11•12 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">Aikido training camp (<a href="harugasshuku-1.html">1</a>, <a href="harugasshuku-2.html">2</a>)</p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 03 月 18•19 日 </p></td>
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<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">Tokyo (<a href="shinjuku.html">1</a>, <a href="imperial-palace-shibuya-yoyogi-koen.html">2</a>, <a href="asakusa-sensoji.html">3</a>, <a href="ginza-tsujiki.html">4</a>, <a href="odaiba.html">5</a>, <a href="tokyo-tower-zojoji-meiji-asakusa-narita.html">6</a>)</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 03 月 25•26 日 </p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">(after-preparation of Tokyo, preparation of next weekend)</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 04 月 01•02 日 </p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="sightseeing-in-kobe.html">Dad and brother in Japan: Kobe and Osaka</a></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 04 月 09 日 </p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">Hanami mit Aikidokas</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 04 月 16 日 </p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">Okonomiyaki with Aikidokas</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 04 月 22•23 日 </p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock"><a href="sightseeing-in-kobe.html">Austrian friend(s) visits me</a></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">2017 年 04 月 29 日 </p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">Dinner with Aikidokas</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></table>
</div>
</div>
A reflection of memorization2017-06-01T00:50:00+09:002017-06-01T00:50:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-06-01:blog/reflection-on-memorization.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses my sleep schedule in Japan and its effect on studying.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I was raised in a family, which was never really fond of memorization. What I mean is that we tried to think critically, but learning something by heart was always a no-go for us. In family discussion, this topic was raised several times. In general, I agree: Learning by heart does not contribute to your mental capabilities as much as rational thinking. If you have to tackle an exam, learning by heart will make you forget about it after the exam. At least in theory.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>These days, I think the issue is rather different. I had to tackle <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji">Kanji</a>, which I consider one of the most difficult memorization challenges, I had so far. Cramming Kanji into your brain just for your weekly exams won’t get you far. The final exam of the semester covering all Kanji, you studied, will make you recognize that you already forgot them right away after one week. The solution is actually repetition. You just cannot expect your brain to remember something it heard only once. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition#Software">SRS</a> stands for Spaced Repetition Software and attracted my interest during my time here in Japan. In general, I use <a href="http://wanikani.com/">WaniKani</a> (an SRS implementation) to study Kanji recognition. My relationship with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anki_(software)">Anki</a> is a little bit more difficult. My point here is: Be sure to revise the content multiple times if you want to memorize something. Mnemonics can also help you depending on your learning style.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>At the same time, I continue my current approaches regarding my sleep schedule. I want to sleep 7 or 8 hours, but in 50% of the occasions, I am off schedule. I often make todo list and define what I want to finish on a day. I sit down and work hard to finish it. I succeed, but finish much later than I anticipated. So often I work until 1am, 3am or even 4:30 and I have to get up at 7:30 by the latest to go to university in the morning. I think it is difficult to tell whether I can finish my workload without spending endless nights of work. But you can in general critizise that I try to tackle to many subjects at one time, taking to much classes or don’t skip unimportant parts of projects. Often I am very tired in class and after coming back home, I sleep for 3 hours to regain some energy.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>My typical day begins at about 07:15 and I have classes until 14:50 with small breaks. Afterwards, I have to wait until about 16:20 to go to Aikido and I spend about 3 hours there. I return home at about 21:00 after buying some groceries and begin to cook. It is about 22:00 or 22:30 after dinner with Martina and I take a shower. So between 22:30 and 23:00, I can sit down and work on my daily homework. I never finish it in my waiting time before Aikido. My homework is really just the basis. Actually I should study and memorize about 40 vocabulary on 4 days of the week. And here is the issue: I am really bad at this.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>At the beginning of the semester, I tried to use Anki, but never found the time to revise the vocabulary more than once in the train. And I always forget them very soon. As pointed out I learned that I need repetition to remember and I began to just take the book and study the right column while covering the left column. This works, but it does not stick to my brain for long. Why?</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>As it turns out, my memorization capabilities are heavily influenced by my sleep schedule. If I sleep regularly enough, I can memorize new vocabulary much better. I also pay more attention in class and revise the vocabulary if I come across the words in class.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So my point of this blog entry is: Never underestimate how important repetition for memorization is! And ensure a proper sleep schedule to enhance your memory!</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Good luck with your studies!</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Meeting your brother’s girlfriend2017-05-12T21:16:00+09:002017-05-12T21:16:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-05-12:blog/meeting-your-brothers-gf.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This happened to me on 12th of May 2017.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Today, I told a Japanese friend of mine, that I will meet my brother and his girlfriend tomorrow in Kyōto.
First, I thought he did not understand my English, but his reaction actually meant that he was not sure, this is culturally acceptable.</p></div>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>They are not married. So, in Japan you are not allowed to meet your brother’s girlfriend, before they marry. In Japan, many people are shy for that.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="attribution">
— said by a Japanese friend
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I think "shy for that" means they hesitate to do so, because of social conventions. I was kind of baffled. I know that Japan politically serves conversative positions, but this is something I really did not expect. I need to investigate how much "many people" are.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
On Japanese comedy and Kansai-ben2017-03-21T00:48:00+09:002017-03-21T00:48:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-03-21:blog/kansai-ben.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses an experience I made after coming to Tokyo after living in Kansai for 6 months.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> I am a beginner of the Japanese language and therefore neither watch nor understand Japanese comedy regularly. However, I understand the claim a Kansai student has made from a phonetical point of view. I will elaborate on this now.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>At Kobe University, most students don’t come from Kobe, but from Osaka. But Kobe and Osaka are both part of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai_region">Kansai</a> and therefore the vast majority of students at Kobe University speak <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai_dialect">Kansai-ben</a>, the regional Japanese dialect of Kansai. Living 6 months in Kobe, I got totally used to Kansai-ben. The dialect contrasts the Kantō region around Tōkyō. But, there is no such thing as Kantō-ben. The Japanese spoken in Kantō is considered as "Formal Japanese".</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I don’t listen to word-level differences that much. First, I am not that long in Kantō and generalizing things is therefore difficult. And second, as a beginner in Japanese, I focus more on gestures / body language as well as pitch/stress in pronunciation. And pitch is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai_dialect#Pitch_accent">the <em>major</em> difference</a> between Kansai-ben and Kantō. Kansai-ben features a wider pitch range.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Because of the changes of the pitch, listening to Kansai people gives you a lot of information about their emotions and level of excitement. Listening to Kantō people is strange to me. It sounds monotonous and the missing pitch range indicates lack of interest to my brain.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><strong>Different topic:</strong> I prefer Austrian (esp. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJRRyFULmlY">Alfred Dorfer</a>) and Swiss comedy (esp. <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursus_%26_Nadeschkin">Ursus & Nadeschkin</a>) over German comedy. And let’s have a close-up look at these comedians and their phonetics. The comedian use little pitch, stress and the volume is constant. Punch lines are almost entirely based on associations, words and meanings. Imitation is important. But the punch lines don’t need special support by sounds, noise or visual effects.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Let’s talk about Japanese comedy. For example, take a look at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwnj-psRIRA">comedy by some 吉本新喜劇 </a>. Pitch, stress and volume are extrordinarily important compared to conversational Japanese. For punch lines, the comedians often raise their voice. <a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8E%9A%E5%88%87%E3%82%8A%E3%82%B8%E3%82%A7%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BD%E3%83%B3">Jason Danielson</a> is from the US, but a Japanese comedian. He also employs the same characteristics (for example <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOOYphi7akw">in this video</a>). This is quite contrary to Austrian or Swiss comedy.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>And now comes <strong>the claim</strong>: Because Japanese comedy uses these phonetic changes for punch lines and Kansai people also use it in everyday language, most Japanese comedians actually come from Kansai. It is easier for them to make the audience laugh. Interesting, right?</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Granted, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai_dialect#History">Wikipedia</a> gives a different explanation (not phonetics, but convention):</p></div>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Since the Taishō period, the manzai form of Japanese comedy has been developed in Osaka, and a large number of Osaka-based comedians have appeared in Japanese media with Osaka dialect. Because of such associations, Kansai speakers are often viewed as being more funny or talkative than typical speakers of other dialects. Tokyo people even occasionally imitate Kansai dialect to provoke laughter or inject humor.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="attribution">
— https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai_dialect#History
</div></div>
</div>
</div>
What to pack for one year of student exchange2017-03-02T23:26:00+09:002017-03-02T23:26:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-03-02:blog/what-to-pack.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses a very general topic for exchange students. I also make some remarks about my Japan experience as a male European.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>My brain likes to-do-lists. This way I can forget about things and look them up, when they are relevant. Before I went to Japan, I collected all items on a list which I intended to pack. In general, this worked out very nice. However, you always need to consider:</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
the luggage limits of your flight(s)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
consider which kinds of bags you will use in your target country. You don’t want to use a trolley to go to university.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
you will never know which items are most relevant in the end. You cannot consider all possible scenarios.<br>
But for those, you might be able to ask someone from your home country to send a package to you with your missing belongings. Or a friend takes them with you, when he/she visits you.
</br></p>
</li>
</ol></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In the end, I devised the following list and I am publishing it, because someone else might find use for it:</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
clothes
</p>
<div class="olist loweralpha"><ol class="loweralpha">
<li>
<p>
jacket, coat
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
trousers for the public (like jeans or shorts)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
casual trousers for sitting comfortably at home
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
pullovers, hoddies, vest
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
T-shirts, shirts
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
shoes (summer, winter, sports, dressup) [be aware that shoes take a lot of space, so I took only 2 with me]
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
socks
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
underwear, bras
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
cap, headgear, hood
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
gloves (for winter)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
towels (body, hair, sports)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
bathing equipment (swimming shorts, bikini)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
rain protection equipment
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
clothes line (often helpful)
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
</li>
<li>
<p>
hygiene & medicine
</p>
<div class="olist loweralpha"><ol class="loweralpha">
<li>
<p>
deodorant
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
conditioner, shampoo
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
first-aid: plaster/band-aid, tape
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
medicine according to your needs
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
sunscreen
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
comb
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
scissors (hair, nails)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
tweezers
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
tooth brush, tooth paste, dental floss
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
cotton buds
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
earplugs
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
razors
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
</li>
<li>
<p>
documents
</p>
<div class="olist loweralpha"><ol class="loweralpha">
<li>
<p>
certificate of nationality
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
documents of academic degrees
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
passport
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
important emails of communication before flight printed out
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
a to-do-list for the first few busy days
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
</li>
<li>
<p>
office & studying
</p>
<div class="olist loweralpha"><ol class="loweralpha">
<li>
<p>
dictionaries
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
rulers
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
calculator
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
pencil case, sharpener, eraser
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
sticky tape
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
paper
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
scissor
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
</li>
<li>
<p>
accessoire & personal belongings
</p>
<div class="olist loweralpha"><ol class="loweralpha">
<li>
<p>
lanyard (I like to attach wallet and key to lanyards to avoid theft)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
glasses
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
briefcase
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
money to survive the first days (at least 2 weeks, remember that the investments at the beginning are the highest)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
gifts you want to give to your mates abroad (edibles are generally recommended)
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
</li>
<li>
<p>
sports (depends largely on the kind of sport)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
electronics
</p>
<div class="olist loweralpha"><ol class="loweralpha">
<li>
<p>
mobile phone + case
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
laptop
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
mouse
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
external hard disk drive (for backups or your videos and photos you make)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
battery charger for mobile devices
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
earphones
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
connector adapters, power supply adapters
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
headset
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
presenter (for presentations with a beamer)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
camera
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
</li>
</ol></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In the end, people take different approaches towards how much luggage they take with them.</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
Basically my luggage suffices for 1 week. Then I need to wash clothes. This should suffice for you as well, because I expect you to have a washing machine available abroad. However, if you are on a trip within your stay, you need to survive at least a week, I suppose.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
I took some old clothes with me. These clothes are at the end of their lifetime and I won’t take them back to my home country. So I throw them away and buy new one abroad. This way I can refresh my wardrobe with Japanese clothings and I am forced to tidy up my wardrobe once in a while.
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Japan-specific notes:</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
I underestimated the winter. I had to buy a very warm hoodie in Kobe, which turned out to be essential to survive the winter.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
I took too little money with me. I was equipped with 250 EUR (30.000 JPY), which was not sufficient for 2 weeks until I got my bank account and successfully transferred money from abroad.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Gift culture in Japan is omnipresent. I couldn’t get enough gifts from my home country. There was always an opportunity to give gifts away.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
You need a thick handkerchief to wipe your hands in Japan all the time with you (bathrooms don’t have towels/tissues). You can buy them easily in Japan.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Deodorants, handkerchiefs, women hygiene products and condoms are four major recurring topics in online Q&A boards (reddit is very lively as of 2016):
</p>
<div class="olist loweralpha"><ol class="loweralpha">
<li>
<p>
Deodorants are very different in Japan and Europe. They tend to be less effective.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Handkerchiefs are generally unavailable. You can only obtain thin tissues (like the ones for wiping off cosmetics).
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Women hygiene products are smaller because Japanese women are smaller. In case you are a tall European, consider taking a few extra packages with you.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Condoms are expensive in Japan and the sizes are determined differently. So bring some spare ones to be safe for the beginning.
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
</li>
</ol></div>
</div>
</div>
Final exam finished2017-02-14T09:27:00+09:002017-02-14T09:27:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-02-14:blog/final-exams-winter-term.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses my final exams between 17th of January 2017 and 10th of February 2017.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>At Kobe University, students just finished their final exams. I have to point out that most students end their term with the first days of February, but our Kanji exam took place awkwardly late. Anyways, I want to take this opportunity to revise all my subjects I took this semester:</p></div>
<div class="dlist"><dl>
<dt class="hdlist1">
English composition
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
A course held by a Canadian English teacher. She was very focused on speaking slowly and clearly. The English level was low. She raised the bar higher for me though (her remarks on my compositions were merely stylistic and less about the grammar). We discussed potential pitfalls in conjugations of verbs and other composition related matters. After she told me in mid-term, the Letter faculty won’t give me a grade, because I am registered at the University as Science student, <a href="this-mid-nov-week.html">I didn’t participate any more</a>. She explicitly pointed out that she totally understands that.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Academic Writing
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
In this course, an English man taught us how to write academic texts. It focused on textual structure in order to supply a reasonable argument. It was meant to be the course Martina and I visit together. We were told from the beginning, a grade cannot be given to us. But it was fun to both of us. Our teacher taught us a lot about Japanese culture and his accent was fascinating to me. However, once I was informed about "English composition" and Kanji class got more difficult, I dropped out. Martina dropped out at christmas time, because she wanted to attend Volleyball practices at that time.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Japanese Elementary Integrated
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
The main Japanese class is meant for every beginner of Japanese who does not want to have intensive classes. We had one session on four days (6 hours in total per week). We had 3 different teachers and I have to admit all our teachers were really good. One male teacher was incredibly enthusiastic, motivating and funny. One female teacher was exceptionally intelligent and adapted to every individual’s learning speed. At the beginning many international students take part and some of them were really uninterested (they never studied the vocabulary we had weeks before). At the mid-term exam by the latest, those students dropped out and our group size reduced from about 35 in October to 15 in January. In the end, a very productive course and the exam tested us on all aspects of Japanese grammar we studied so far.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Japanese Listening & Speaking 1
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
In this class, we are supposed to study to listen to Japanese texts and speaking freely. Again, this is for elementary students. The teacher was only speaking little English, which is good for listening exercise, but terrible if you want to understand a new Japanese vocabulary. The speed in the lecture was also unbalanced. We got a new text to read and a few moments later were asked questions about the text. We had to answer them freely. But being exposed to new vocabulary in the <a href="http://nej.9640.jp/">textbook</a> and sometimes to grammar, only the Intensive course students studied so far, the texts were often incomprehensible and split our class group in two. The feedback about the course was not positive. I also did not learn that much compared to the hours I spent on it. In the end, I also did terribly bad at the exam.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Japanese Reading & Writing 1
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
The same teacher like in "Japanese Listening & Speaking 1" taught this class. We read aloud the texts of the textbook. However, the reading turned out to be shouting aloud wrong readings among the students, because the pace of the audio files was too high and we could not achieve the same speed so quickly. For writing, we had to write our own text based on the textbook compositions. The Writing part was good, but I am as unhappy about the Reading part as for "Listening & Speaking". I think my performance at the final exam was okay.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Japanese Kanji 1
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
The third and most comprehensive writing system of Japanese is Kanji. In this class, we were given 15 (at October) up to 25 (beginning from December) Kanji to study each week. We had to write a weekly exam. One part was about writing the characters for a given context (given in Hiragana, i.e. pronunciation) and the opposite way, we had to write the pronunciation for a given character in a specific context. This class was incredibly difficult for me even though I practice with <a href="http://wanikani.com/">WaniKani</a> regularly. Because of its difficulty, many of my friends dropped out (beginning: <sub>35 students, end: </sub>8 students). I don’t see any possibility to make Kanji studies easier and the teacher was incredibly energetic and enthusiastic. She tried to motivate us all the time. Sadly, it is her last year and she is retiring now. She made lovely presents during the term (christmas cards and handwritten cards to wish us good luck after this year). In the end, I liked that there was one particular difficult course and I hope I did good enough at the final exam.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Speech Communication
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
A very different topic to me was this course. In Speech Communication, students of linguistics or language teaching study phonetics. In general the course was supposed to study all aspects of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet">IPA</a>. When I was at school at the age of 17, I was always annoyed that we didn’t study the IPA. However, it turns out that the IPA’s definition is language-specific making it much less useful than I thought back in school. In general, the course was okay, however, the Japanese students are very defensive and silent slowing down the course a lot, if the teacher does not increase the pace oneself. We were three international students and the two others study Japanese language. As far as I can tell we were all a little bit bored. In the end, we had (almost) weekly homeworks and had to fill out a comprehensive exercise as final exam at home. We also had to give a presentation in the end. My performance was good at the exercise, although I don’t know the IPA by heart by now. For the presentation, we had troubles with the setup, but it was okay, I guess.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Japanese Culture 1
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
In this class, Elementary Japanese students were introduced to cultural conventions and practices. The teacher tried to speak Japanese only, but we only understand very little at the beginning of the semester. At the beginning about 20 students participated, but one week later already only about 5 students were left. The teacher did not seem very interested in the course and the content was too boring for the other 15 students. I have to point out that the handouts (summarizing Japanese history, ceremonies, vocabulary related to housing, food, religion, etc.) were very good. At the end of the term, we had to give a presentation on our country. 3 students were left and one of them got sick right before her presentation. My conclusion is: Acceptable course, but I would not take a second course continuing on that topic.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
A comparative study of Japanese Cultural Industry
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
A sociologist explains the Japanese cultural industry. What is the cultural industry? For example, Manga and Anime are important means to export Japanese culture to other countries. In general most international students in Japan preferred Japan as host country, because of their interest in Manga or Anime. In this sense, this course tries to discuss the industry related to this cultural export/import phenomenons and the course was one of the most terrible ones, I ever had. The class did not take place about 5 or 6 times out of ~15. But the teacher could have told us. For example, he was in Europe that week but he was not interested in telling anyone. So the organization was terrible and the content was confused. It had no structure. Our "final exam" was a submission of a report over 400 words. 400 words are just ridiculous. The last lecture was given by Nissim Otmazgin as a guest, who was incredible good. In conclusion, I looked up the Manga and Anime mentioned (so I learned about the most popular manga/anime) and the last lecture was good. Besides that, it was a waste of time.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
EU-Japan comparative seminar 2
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
In this course, the economical differences between the EU and Japan were discussed. This includes labor mobility, migration, diplomatic relationships with other countries and a free single market. In general, this course was very good and it got me interested in economics again. It was the first time, I realized how difficult it is to ask Japanese students for their opinion. At the end of every session we were given research questions and had to discuss them in a group of 3-5 students. Japanese students are just not used to think rationally about a topic or develop their own opinion (at least, that is my conclusion). The course is taken by students in intercultural studies, law or economics. It was interesting to discuss the facts and get the figures, but in the end they came short. The discussions were also very political and the international students contributed majorily with their opinion. Criticism was also given about one german teacher we had (he held about 4-5 classes). He expressed a very strong contra-Japanese political opinion about migration and integration. Of course this is inappropriate in a university. I agree that the Japanese policy towards these issues are subject to debate, but at university I only want to learn about the facts and figures. Our submission was just a small presentation I gave in Novemeber. In the end, an acceptable course, but it was not awesome.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Bachelor thesis
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
Weekly, I had to present my progress on reading the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0387310738">Machine Learning book by C. Bishop</a>. It is very interesting. I switched between mathematical theory, theoretical exercises, practical topics about implementations and side projects. I had fun to implement the fun and there are plenty of resources online. I think I did a fair progress, but I am not finished yet. In the end, I want to have an implementation recognizing mathematical expressions. I will continue during my holidays.
</p>
</dd>
</dl></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So this sums up the courses of this semester. Compared to other semesters, I spent a lot of time with activities outside university. Organizing the Japanese life was more cumbersome than in Austria, but I also spent a lot of time on sightseeing and of course on Karate (once per week) and Aikido (1-3 times per week). The Japanese people are incredible helpful and our tutors were very gentle.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>For the upcoming semester, I will skip classes which are not assigned to Japanese language or my bachelor thesis. I want to participate in the intensive course for "Upper elementary Japanese students", just like Martina this winter term. The intensive course students told me it is very difficult and the pace is incredibly fast. You need to study a lot on your own every day. I am fine with that next semester. And finally, I also want to focus more on Aikido and I terminate my registration at the Karate club.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
I realized, I recognized.2017-02-06T23:31:00+09:002017-02-06T23:31:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-02-06:blog/realized-recognized.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ I posed this question to Americans on 6th of February 2017.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Let’s consider some example statements in English:</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
I realized, that the animal underneath the leaf was a gekko.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
And once he showed me the picture, I realized that I was thinking of the wrong person.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
I range the bell, but recognized that no sound was triggered.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
In the end, I realized it by using the blueprint from the top of the shelf.
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>This discussion is about using "to recognize something" and "to realize something". Where is the difference? You will find many online threads about this issue [<a href="http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic39201.html">01</a>] [<a href="https://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsDifferenceAmongWordsRealize-Recognize/bwhhc/post.htm">02</a>].</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I think the confusion comes from German. In German, "etwas realisieren" means "to implement something" as well as "to identify/distinguish something". In contrast, "etwas wahrnehmen" (I think this is the most similar to "to recognize") only means the latter. There is certainly some kind of anglicism involved. Not all these definitions come from the German language originally.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Anyhow, I asked Americans how to use these verbs and their answer is:
They can be used interchangably except for "to build". It is uncommon and a bit archaic, but possible to substitute "to build" with "to realize".
In terms of the other cases, a certain preference can be identified. "to realize" is something personal about your own knowledge, opinion or view on a subject. "to recognize" is something external. An external state like the color of an object changes. If someone perceives this change, he/she "recognizes" it. The focus is on his/her change of behavior or reaction and independent on your own perception. Something external has to change.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So, what about the example statements? I think the following changes have to be applied:</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
I <strong>recognized</strong>, that the animal underneath the leaf was a gekko.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
And once he showed me the picture, I <strong>realized</strong> that I was thinking of the wrong person.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
I range the bell, but <strong>realized</strong> that no sound was triggered.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
In the end, I <strong>realized</strong> it by using the blueprint from the top of the shelf.
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>It was nice to have a chat about this issue 😋</p></div>
</div>
</div>
A strange time we live in2017-02-03T01:49:00+09:002017-02-03T01:49:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-02-03:blog/a-strange-time-we-live-in.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article is related to my next Kanji exam in one week, the 10th of February 2017.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>For <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji">Kanji</a> class I got a book. The book contains the first 250 Kanji we are supposed to study. Shape, stroke order, reading, 4 vocabularies per Kanji…. I already told you, that this class is the most difficult one for me.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Anyways, I made a funny experience. I want to have these Kanji as <a href="http://ankisrs.net/">Anki flashcards</a> on my phone. That way I can study them while commuting.</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
I open the book’s Kanji index, I take a photo and Google Translate scans all the characters. I get <a href="http://pastebin.com/eEJL3mtw">all the Kanji</a> as text content. I store them in a text file.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
I write a program which asks the <a href="http://jisho.org/api/v1/search/words?keyword=%E5%9C%9F">jisho beta API</a> for meanings of the Kanji. I show all meanings and choose the meaning, I want to have, from the list; for each Kanji.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
I store all Kanji and their meanings in a text file (AsciiDoc format).
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
A program, I wrote recently, takes the text file and generates Anki flashcards.
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Isn’t it a strange time we live in? I am amazed again by technology.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>(I am still in study mode. I am not sure I will have time for sightseeing or anything else until next Friday)</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Language barriers in action2016-12-08T23:50:00+09:002016-12-08T23:50:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-12-08:blog/language-barriers-in-action.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This happened on Thursday, 8th of December 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>After Aikido practice, I have two choices:</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
After 2 hours of offical practice, I leave and excuse myself for leaving so early.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
I stay with them. After the official practice, we can ask our senpai to show us certain exercises. Eventually the sensei/senpai asks everybody to finish and clean up. Afterwards we return all the equipment to the club’s room. We visit the Konbini before going to the train station together. In total, this takes 4 hours.
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I choose either option half of the times. At the Konbini, we are offered a free snack. If your item costs less than 130 Yen, the senpai will pay for it. This has been explained to me the very first time I followed them to the Konbini. However, an Aikido friend wanted to point it out again (probably he didn’t knew, I know, or he wanted to do it explicitly after I bought some 140 Yen item on my own). Because he could not express this offer in English words, he wrote it in Japanese and started Google Translate (hopefully I remember all words right):</p></div>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>If you stay late with the sensei, the night can be delicious.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="attribution">
— Google Translate Japanese to English translation
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I laughed pretty hard and I don’t think they understood why. As far as I am concerned I think the statement refers to something different than what they actually wanted to say. On the other hand, I also don’t know what they originally typed in. Anyways, this is a wonderful example of how words can be interpreted differently and language does not end where syntax and semantics end. You also need to study the associated culture.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
I’m Japanese!2016-11-22T23:30:00+09:002016-11-22T23:30:00+09:00Martinatag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-11-22:blog/im-japanese.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This happened on Monday, the 21st of November 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>A few days ago my tutor accompanied Lukas and me to the post office. I had to bring a letter there. Together we went from University to Sannomiya. In Sannomiya we had to find the post office which is located in a shopping mall. The easy part was to find the shopping mall and the corresponding floor. But my tutor was not used to this place and Lukas and me have never been there before either.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So my tutor asked a passerby where the post office is. The woman thought for a moment and then pointed in a direction while replying "Straight… まっすぐ" (the latter meaning "straight ahead" in Japanese). Then she continued her description in Japanese. Of course, my tutor understood her without problem. After she was gone he said to us "Why? I’m Japanese!". So for every Japanese student out there who is frustrated that Japanese people try to explain things in English to them, this happens to Japanese citizens as well. (At least when they are accompanied by foreigners.) 😉</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The next time my tutor had to ask for the direction, he asked us to wait in few meters of distance. Obviously, because it was in the middle of the street. But Lukas asked him "… to make sure they speak Japanese to you?" and we shared a good laugh.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
From Graz to Istanbul2016-09-30T02:30:00+09:002016-09-30T02:30:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-09-30:blog/graz-to-istanbul.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the 29th of September 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>To save a good price, we booked the flight in mid June 2016. To reduce issues, if some flights delay, it is recommendable to stick to one airline (thanks to Ali for this hint!). We discussed a choice between China Air and Turkish Airlines as airline. China Air provides flights from Vienna to Osaka (I don’t remember intermediate stops) whereas Turkish Airlines provides Graz to Osaka flights (with intermediate stop Istanbul). We chose in favor of the latter, because adding the costs of going to Vienna would reduce the price difference of those two Airlines. With the hint that the 30th of September 2016 would be most likely the first day to move into our dorm, we booked a flight from 28th of September (11:30, Austrian timezone) to 29th of September (18:40, Japanese timezone). In August Kobe University confirmed that we will get a room at the Kobe University International Residence beginning with 30th of September. So for one night, it was necessary to rest in a hostel.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>To avoid overlapping the events of moving out of our flats and travelling to Japan, we decided to move to our parents during summer. We spent the last week before our flight together packing and planning final steps.
In the final night, Martina was busy with some oganizing and packing while I tried to install <a href="http://opengapps.org/">GApps</a> with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CyanogenMod">CyanogenMod</a> on my Samsung Galaxy S2. Unforunately, this did not work out. I wanted this to work, so I can next install <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_(application)">LINE</a> which is a popular messenger app in Japan. As you can guess, we did not get much sleep that night.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In the morning, we met my parents and Martina’s parents as well as Martina’s sister at the airport. After drinking some beverages, we waved goodbye to all of them and left through the security check. After some short wainting, we entered <a href="https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=Airbus+a320-200+turkish+airlines&source=lnms&tbm=isch">an A320-200 by Turkish Airlines</a> where we got some lunch during our flight. Unexpectedly, only one third of the seats were taken.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Leaving the plane at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_Atat%C3%BCrk_Airport">Istanbul Atatürk Airport</a>, we joined a large multicultural crowd of people gathering at the gates of the ground floor. It was great to see so many people from all continents <span class="footnote"><br>[Okay, I am not sure about Antarctica]<br/></br></span>. When we walked around, Martina remembered some places at the airport, she has been at in the past. We noticed that on the ground floor were only metal seats, but power supply was available for free. On the other hand, the 1st floor provided more comfortable seats, but power supplies were only provided commercially. It was also interesting to see how popular power supplies for mobile devices are these days. The ground floor was crowded and lively, while some people used the seats on the quiet waiting areas on the first floor to rest.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We waited 11 hours at the airport for our next flight. I took two naps, Martina was working on her laptop or reading. I think this was the most boring part of our journey. Lacking desks, it was not really possible to work productively. So we slept, we discussed, we observed, we walked and kept ourselves busy. We were bound to the area after security checks, so I also could not check out whether any damages from the suicide bombings of 28th of June 2016 are left. Martina and I checked out duty-free shops. I took some photos of nice little bowls and Martina bought some sweets. We were also able to try some Turkish sweets for free. Eventually, we continued our stroll because, for my part, I did not want to increase my luggage weight.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In the evening few people were left at the gates, but people gathered again close to midnight. That’s when my second nap got interrupted due to the noise. At about the same time, Gate 306 was announced for our flight to Osaka. Finally, we joined a community of Japanese-speaking people, many of them using <a href="https://www.tofugu.com/japan/surgical-masks-in-japan/">surgical masks</a>, in the plane.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>All in all, our choice of Turkish Airlines resulted in a very nice travel experience.</p></div>
</div>
</div>