Hello world, what do you find weird about Japan? This is actually a question I got asked while being interviewed.
Yes, some people actually think I have something worthwhile to say.
My answer?
Silence. Not for a few seconds, not for a few minutes, not even for a few days.
Nothing was going on in here. You see, I didn't start making videos to showcase the weird, the wacky Japan.
No, I wanted to make videos to talk about what it was really like for the regular -- whatever that means --
Japanese family, Japanese person.
However, that question just didn't stop bouncing around in my skull: What is weird about Japan?
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There's the easy things to point out, like renting a family or renting a boyfriend.
Everyone knows that maid cafes are popular in Japan: the cutesy little hearts that are drawn in the air, the cute power that is infused
into your drinks. Sidenote: maids be expensive, yo.
Others even the wild clothing styles and harajuku. Another side note:
I started making this video before Conan came to Japan
but the timing was great because he provided awesome on-point examples of the weird Japan that's usually shown to the world.
And then there's those weird Japanese always wearing masks.
Um, how come you're wearing a mask? Are you going to do some surgery?
No, I'm kind of sick.
Wearing masks is an everyday occurrence. They're worn to protect yourself from others' germs,
they're worn to protect yourself from giving other people germs. They're worn to protect from allergens. They're worn to protect from air pollutants - PM2.5.
That's a scary thing. And they're worn to hide yourself because sometimes you don't feel like putting on makeup.
Cuz maybe today you didn't feel like putting on makeup.
And because maybe today you just thought-
Agh!
Let's just use this take. -- Okay.
But besides wearing masks on the regular, do Japanese do those other weird things?
Is it weird or cool? -- Weird! Totally weird!
Have you been to robot restaurant? -- No.
Do you know anybody who's been there?
Uhh, no.
But I saw the video on YouTube and it was very cool.
Are you interested in going there? -- Yes.
I think it's well-known in the Japanese pop culture.
Yeah, so, umm...
I think the image is not so good for me, but it's very interesting culture for foreign people.
To Japanese people, the latest street fashion is quite niche, maid cafes are rarely frequented.
And renting a girlfriend? That's not even on the radar.
A lot of those "weird Japanese" things, Japanese people don't even do or don't even know about.
On the other hand: Masks.
That's something that's very normal to Japanese people. But undoubtedly, weird to people from the west.
But why is it weird? What does the word "weird" even mean?
So, of course you Google "weird" and you get words like strange, odd, fantastic, magical.
Hmm. Okay.
But what do those words mean? "Strange: relating to, or characteristic of another country: foreign"
Seeing something in a different country that is not your own is foreign, which is strange, which is weird.
Let's try another one.
"Fantastic: marked by extravagant fantasy or extreme individuality.
Yes, amazing Yatu's fit the mold.
If you've lived in Japan though, you'd know that the majority of the population isn't considered as extreme or extravagant.
Okay, last one. "Odd: differing markedly from the usual, ordinary, or accepted."
Japan has a unique culture in many ways. Everyday ordinary things over here may not be accepted in other countries.
So what are the everyday things in Japan that I find weird?
I think food is a very easy area with which to find weird things. Take Yuta for example:
I think many people would say that this squid he ate, especially people in non coastal cities is weird.
By the way, this is a fusion dish. So while eating squid is common presented in this style is somewhat weird.
This is what it looked like when some of my family were preparing squid at home.
Fish presented like this is totally normal.
Now, this is a higher-end meal, think "fancy steak dinner." Japanese people don't eat it like this every day.
But it's totally not out of the norm to have a fish's head prominently displayed like this.
The prairie boy in me is screaming, "Why are you leaving the head on the plate?!"
You can even buy the head on its own at the local supermarket.
And of course you can get a whole fish on a stick.
When I first saw this I didn't even know where to start. Is it the head, the tail? Do you bite in the middle?
Hmm.
Aha! It looks like it's in the middle.
The ambiguity of what to do goes out the window if you downsize a bit and simply go for a whole bunch of these little guys.
In conclusion, eating seafood prepared in every which way is completely everyday in Japan.
And don't get me started with natto.
If you don't know what it is, take these fine looking edamame, peel the shells and let it rot. Now you have natto.
This is soy beans
Okay, not quite. I exaggerate, but natto is fermented soybeans and it's a fine line between rotten and fermented.
I don't know, it's like you like it, but...
Japanese people like it.
What does it smell like?
I don't know.
And what in the world is this? It's a bitter deformed zucchini. That's what it is.
It can lower blood sugar levels, but that requires being able to stomach at first.
They sure got the bitter part of the name correct!
There's even a couple areas that have the Goya as a mascot like Goya-sensei in Fukuchiyama city in Kyoto.
Who yes, has his own Twitter.
And Goya kun, representing Okinawa who even has his own fan club. These are mascots and most every area in Japan has one.
It's completely normal. And don't get me started on unofficial mascots like Funassyi.
You'll actually find cute characters everywhere you go in Japan.
They'll be mascots of local areas that you can buy. They'll be on construction barricades, because why not make it nice and friendly.
They'll be on poles to stop cars from using sidewalks.
They'll be on park signs to warn plants of evil fires. Or birds of cars gone wild.
They'll warn mice about what will happen to them if we find them.
They'll sell homes by being a cute, pro-LGBT blob.
They'll sell KitKat. They'll sell themselves. They'll even sell chicken as a substitute for your turkey dinner.
Okay, some of the characters are not so cute.
Buy my chicken.
Turning to more appetizing food.
Let's talk about fruits. Just regular fruits. Okay, pricey fruits.
The meme is true some Japanese fruits be super expensive. These are what I categorize as gift fruits.
Yes, Japanese love to gift fruits to one another. But why give them as presents?
The wisdom of the gift of fruit, send "freshuness," send flavor, send fragrance.
Nothing "communicat" your thankfulness better "then" fruit. Those who say thank you with fruit are the wisest giver
Fruit often falls into the dessert category. You don't have to look any further than the Japanese school lunch, kyushoku, to see this.
Cherries, melons, mandarins.
These are all the dessert portion of the meal.
And how the Japanese eat fruits might be a little bit different than what you're used to.
Gonna go eat some grapes!
I don't think you should like, the clean way, how you...
While extremely pricey fruits is not the norm in Japan giving them as gifts is very much so.
The average Japanese supermarket, they don't have the variety that you'll find in Canada or the United States.
They are more focused on what's in season and their idea of what makes a quality fruit is more robust.
So think texture, shape, sweetness and you'll pay for it.
Alright, alright. Enough with the normal word stuff. Let's get to the real strange. Like kancho.
Shin, can you please explain to people what a kancho is?
Kancho? -- Yeah, please give the kitty a kancho.
Wait. Take this hand. Do like this, and *boom*.
*pew pew pew pew psssch*
Perhaps the most mainstream thing in Japan that I still can't comprehend is Japanese TV.
I'll try not to get too ranty, but can someone explain to me why there are so many
Japanese programs that need to have these little floating heads reacting to everything??
Mr. Greg, you do know there's a big react channel on YouTube?
"Welcome to Challenge Chalice today. With me we have a Marly from Teens React and we have Labib from Adults and College Kids React. -- 'Sup guys."
Yeah yeah, I know.
But there's a difference between choosing to watch a react channel
and having the react format forced upon you for a good chunk of Japanese TV.
So I did a bit of research and apparently Japanese people need to know how to react in order to enjoy the TV.
So these little heads you'll see
is called a wipe or waipu.
Tofugu has a good video on this so I won't go too much into detail.
But essentially it's been around since the 80's and it started as a way for a celebrity panel to react to other celebrities doing things.
So yeah, essentially the React Channel format, but done decades ago in Japan.
Beyond variety shows with the many "tarento," which is derived from the English word "talented," so panels of talented celebrities.
Anime is certainly another popular type of Japanese TV program.
Anime in Japan is weird. But this is not going to go in the direction you think it is.
I'm not talking about hentai anime. Nope. I'm talking about mainstream primetime children's
Hentai anime. I introduce to you tea pot genitalia man.
I don't think I need to explain how this is weird. So let me roll to the next clip.
And in case you forgot, this is mainstream children's anime.
I think this is where to North Americans because our kids cartoons don't seem to joke around in the same manner.
But when it comes to showing or joking about the human body, I find what's acceptable really depends on the culture.
For example, this is acceptable fare in American music videos.
On the other hand, this is about the raciest mainstream Japanese music video I've seen
And if you check out Japanese teen dramas, this is about as provocative as it gets, folks.
It's like as if two statues were kissing each other.
Actually wait, they have a scene where they took away the plastic.
You must be thinking, "This looks a bit old. Yeah, it's 14 years ago. Nowadays it's a bit more racy, no?"
Here's the most passionate scene. You'll see in this teen drama
Yep, in all the 22 episodes this was the grand finale scenes a hug, and a...
In contrast, this is Gossip Girl.
"Excuse me, captain."
"Nate, can I borrow you? -- Uh sure. Will you excuse me for a second."
"Nathaniel, any interest in some fresh air?"
"When I get back?"
"If he gets back."
"What's going on?"
"I want to do this."
I think they'll stop it right there. What about some primetime sitcoms like The Big Bang Theory?
"So, what do you guys do for fun around here?"
"Well, today we tried [pleasing ourselves] for money."
"Umm, can I ask you a favor?"
"A favor?"
"It's just not the kind of thing you ask a guy you just met."
"Wow."
And hey, let's go back and visit some Friends.
"Stood up too fast. Got a little head rush."
"Do you want to come in for some lemonade?"
"Like you wouldn't believe."
"This place is really my grandmother's."
"Are you thirsty? -- Oh you bet I am."
So talking about you-know-what -- okay, I'll say it -- coitus,
that's a-okay on American television.
But if in real life you had some people bathe naked together? Wow. Stop the presses.
In Japan though, bathing together mixed gender is done roughly until children enter elementary school.
After that it's separated and the guys will bathe naked with guys, but female staff are allowed in.
While girls bathe naked with girls. No male staff allowed. This is normal for Japanese,
probably weird for most North Americans.
While being naked is a-okay at an onsen, revealing the skin in public is not as common.
Some of it has to do with females not wanting to get tanned. So, you'll see arm coverings like this or swim jackets like this.
Since we're back on the subject of clothing, you should know that most Japanese girls don't wear kawaii outfits.
Just look at the totally unscientific sample of young people we interviewed.
And sorry, I should elaborate. I think the outfits are kawaii -- or cute -- but what I was referring to
was that Harajuku kawaii are over-the-top maid outfit kind of style. That's a niche thing.
It's nice to see the Japanese kick back and relax at the festivals and sometimes they get a little too relaxed
and start losing a bit of their clothing.
This is a scene from the Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri, or as westerners know it, the Naked Festival.
It's often at the top of the list of weird Japanese things.
But there's only one big festival like this and granted,
there are a few small ones as well, but they're merely a drop in the bucket in the ocean
that is Japanese festivals. What you actually might see worn at festivals or special occasions
are kimonos, or more likely yukatas, also known as the summer version of the kimono.
It's not everyday wear but it is very normal to see them worn in Japan.
After the festivals though the Japanese have to get back to work but that's okay, they can always do inemuri.
That's napping at work. That's cool. On the train, or anywhere basically.
I think you can learn a lot about Japanese culture by visiting here, living here,
talking to locals and even YouTube videos like this.
On the other hand,
there's a lot to be gained from studying history and understanding how some customs that you consider weird came about.
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They have a library of over 10,000 video lectures in many subject areas like science or cooking.
But I took a course in Japanese history called Understanding Japan: A Cultural History.
Even though it's a history course it helped give me context for what I was seeing in modern day Japan.
I actually took a modern Japanese history course in university.
Like I physically sat down and took the course and read the book.
But it would have been great to have a resource like this to take any lecture
I wanted to at any time, whether on my computer or on my smartphone
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Japan is weird. But those weird things you find about Japan online? They're weird to Japanese people as well.
And for the foreigner who initially comes here and thinks something is weird, it ceases to be as it morphs into the everyday.
What was once weird to the foreigner the comes not so foreign. After all weird is a "strange". It's a "fascinating." "odd," "foreign.'
A magical concept, isn't it? What do you think foreigners would think is weird about your country?
Alright guys, thanks for watching. See you next time. Bye!