Conversations with Kids - Part II

We attended a retirement party for Dorothy's aunt. The following is a discussion on retirement with our daughter.

Naomi: What is retirement?

Me: It is like taking a long vacation from working.

Naomi: What do you do when you retire?

Me: Well, you can use the time to just enjoy life. Take vacations.

Naomi: You mean like when we go to Seattle to visit Ojiichan and Obaachan?

Me: Yes, that's right.

Naomi: So how old do you have to be to retire?

Me: Most people are in their 50s or 60s.

Naomi: So if you don't make it to your 60s, does it mean that there's no retirement?

Onomatopoetic Words

Onomatopoetic words are that are used to represent sounds. Remember those old Batman shows where every time Batman or Robin punched the Joker words like BAM! or POW! would splash onto the television screen? These are examples of onomatopoetic words. The English language has its share of such words, the most common being sounds that animals make.

The Japanese have taken such words to the extreme though. They've even grouped these words into four categories: gitaigo (a word that represents an action), giseigo (a word that represents a sound made by animal, person or thing), gijoogo (a word that represents a human emotion or psychological state) and giongo (a word a word that represents a sound of nature). These words are used frequently in the ever-present comic books in Japan.

The following are some examples of onomatopoetic words in the Japanese language:

1. bari bari
2. boro boro
3. deko boko
4. doki doki
5. fuwa fuwa
6. gari gari
7. giri giri
8. gucha gucha
9. guru guru
10. hoka hoka
11. iro iro
12. kara kara
13. niko niko
14. peko peko
15. pera pera
16. pika pika
17. pon pon
18. ten ten
19. wai wai
20. wan wan

Match the above words with the meanings below:

a. the sound that a dog makes
b. blinking lights
c. the state of being very dry
d. being very soft and wet (flooded carpeting)
e. excited fast beating heart
f. a state of noisy exhuberance (noisy kids)
g. fluent in a language
h. this and that
i. just in the nick of time
j. to be bumpy
k. to be dotted
l. to be hungry
m. warm, heated (a warm bento)
n. the sound of scraping
o. being worn out and old
p. to have a full stomach
q. smiling
r. round and round in circles
s. fluffy
t. the sound of tearing paper

Check back for the answers in a future posting.

Conversations with Kids - Part I

Here's a conversation with Ethan, our 5-year old son, and Naomi, our 6-year old daughter, this evening at the dinner table:

Me: Wow, those lemon grass chicken sticks are sort of spicy.

Naomi: What are you talking about?

Me: Those things in front of you. Right there. Those things that look like taquitos.

Naomi: Yeah, you're sweating.

Me: You want to try one. Ethan has one. Maybe you're like mom and can handle spicy foods.

Naomi: Yeah, I'm a little bit like you and a little bit like mom. So maybe I can eat spicy foods like mom. (Proceeds to put one of the chicken sticks on her plate.)

Me: In other ways you're more like me.

Naomi: Like how we don't get cavities. (Unlike mom who gets cavities easily)

Me: That's right.

Ethan: But Dad, how come I get cavities easily even though I sweat like you?

The Toire

After having arrived at my cousin's place in Osaka after a long bus ride and a taxi ride, it was natural for my son Ethan to want to use the bathroom. We were escorted to the bathroom.

"Ethan, do you want me to stay?" I asked.

"No, that's okay," was the reply. So I closed the door and left.

After about 10 minutes, we began to wonder if Ethan was okay. Perhaps he was having difficulties with the toilet. It was a Western style toilet so I never thought to give him pointers on the use of the toilet. I decided to go check on him.

Knock. Knock. "Is everything okay in there?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm done," was the reply. He didn't sound troubled, but I didn't hear any movement either so I decided to take a peek. Opening the door slightly I could see that he was still on the toilet, his feet not quite touching the floor swinging back and forth like the tail of a happy pup.

"Are you finished? Or are you just roosting?" I inquired.

He started to push himself off the toilet, hands on the seat like a gymnast dismounting from a pommel horse. "But Dad it's so warm."

I had no idea what he was talking about. The bathroom was your typical Japanese bathroom. A small room with a toilet with a tank that had a wash basin built on top. The room did feel a couple of degrees warmer than the rest of the house - maybe because it was small and cozy.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Dad, the toilet's warm," was the reply.

I felt the toilet seat. It was warm. The toilet seat had a seat warmer! Ethan had a big smile on his face, "See, Dad."

Meet the Toto Washlet. [Note: the brand name Toto is synonymous with toilets in Japan much as Otis is to elevators here in the U.S.]

The last time we were in Japan nine years ago perhaps one of my relative's home had such a toilet. This time around nearly all of the homes had a Washlet, likely the most sophisticated toilet ever made. The list of features available with these toilets is almost endless: adjustable water jet nozzles, massage options, blow dryers, heater, air conditioning, air freshener, auto lid, pressure sensitive seats, self cleaning nozzles, and germ resistant surfaces. See this link for more information on toilets in Japan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_toilet

As you can see, using the the "toiretto" or "toire" (from the word "toilet) in Japan can be quite a comforting experience.

The Keitai Denwa

One of the biggest changes that Dorothy and I noticed in Japan since our last visit nine years ago is the proliferation of cell phones, or as they're called in Japan "keitai denwas." But then again this change should not be that surprising - even here at home cell phones and their use have changed considerably. We only got cell phones seven years ago before the birth of our first child so that I would be reachable any where, any time.

My first memory of cell phones were objects that we called "car phones." There were a few people in my office where I worked 15 years ago who had them. They were usually grey, brick-shaped phones that were powered through the cigarette lighter in cars or could be operated on their own. Somewhere in the past 10 years the term "cell phone" has become the generic term for these phones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mobile_phones

In Japan, these phones are called "keitai denwas" or more simply "keitais." The word keitai means portable with the kanji characters for keitai coming from KEI meaning "carry" and TAI meaning "belt." http://www.cjvlang.com/Writing/writsys/signs/keitai.html

This literal translation of keitai would be a better description of cell phones here in the U.S. than in Japan. It's much more common to see cell phones carried on the belt here than in Japan. Most of my male relatives in Japan seemed to carry their phones in a pocket. Other observations include:

1. Not as many variations on the shape of the phone (many seemed to look like my Mom's Cingular Erickson phone).

2. High quality digital cameras and the storing of photos on their phones seemed to be more common.

3. Many of the phones were decorated with tags like we have on key chains.

4. Much more text messaging, perhaps even more text messaging than phone calls. I think text messaging is less expensive than making a call and perhaps much of what can be communicated can be done so through short messages. Another reason for the popularity is its outgrowth from the popularity of pagers in Japan from the mid-80s to the mid-90s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cell_phone_culture#Teenagers_and_keitai

5. Cell phone usage in cars is not allowed. There are also signs in may establishments that request phones to be placed on "manner mode." Trains have signs requesting phones to be turned off near senior priority seats because of the risk of cell phone radio waves interfering with pacemakers and other medical devices. Why isn't this more of an issue here in the U.S.?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cell_phone_culture#Negative_aspects

Our Family Visit to Japan

Starting with the photo in the upper left corner and going from left to right row-by-row:

1. We stayed with relatives for the entire trip and slept five across in a tatami floor room. Ryan usually found his way in between Mom and Dad, and managed to wake us up with his nai-nai request at least once most nights.

2&3. It was the peak of the cherry blossom season in Osaka. We attended the opening of the Japanese Mint Bureau grounds on April 12 for cherry blossom (sakura) viewing. The sakura are located on the grounds along the banks of the Okawa River. http://www.pref.osaka.jp/koho/brand/no6/sl/24sakura.html

4. Only managed to get a few photos of us in a shinkansen (bullet train). A picture of a still shinkansen from outside wouldn't have done it justice anyway. We have videos that'll give you a better feel for these trains that reach top speeds of about 185 mph. The 90-mile trip from Osaka to Okayama took about 45 minutes including three stops on the nozomi (super express) train. http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/shinkansen_history.htm

5. A view of Okayama Castle from the Korakuen. Okayama-jo aka U-jo, Crow Castle, because it is one of two castles in Japan that is painted black. The Korakuen is one of Japan's official "Great Gardens" - there are three such gardens. http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/okayama.htm

6&14. A view of the Yojima Bridge, the 4th of six bridges spanning 5.8 miles between Honshu (Kurashiki city) and Shikoku (Sakaide city) that make up the Great Seto Bridges. On Yojima, there is a Fisherman's Wharf area that is sort of a mini version of "Fisherman's Wharf" areas like those in Seattle or San Francisco. The bridges were constructed in 10 years at a cost of about $7.7 billion (assuming $1 = 130 Yen). http://web-japan.org/atlas/architecture/arc22.html

7. Beaver's Bakery is Tetsuya's (my cousin) bakery located in Kurashiki. In our humble opinion, it is the best bakery in Japan!

8. Muscat Stadium (capacity of about 30,000) is located in Kurashiki. Although Kurashiki (where Casey's relatives live) is not home to a professional Japanese baseball team, a small number of pro games are played there each year. We attended the game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Yakult Swallows on April 18. We rooted for the underdog Swallows to no avail as the Giants prevailed 1-0. The highlight was the release of thousands of noise making balloons at the end of the 7th inning stretch.

9, 10&13. Another highlight for our kids was the Kaiyukan (aquarium) in Osaka. It's an interesting aquarium with a 9-meter tall central tank display that houses a whale shark (9 years ago there were 2 such sharks in the tank). It's touted as one of the largest aquariums in the world. There are some 30,000 specimens of plants and animals representing 580 species in the aquarium, including dolphins, both sea and river otters, penguins and a sun fish. Headphones with narrations in English are available. http://www.kaiyukan.com/eng/profile/index.htm

11. Wish we could have gotten more pictures of the amazing train stations. Even in the smaller urban areas such as Okayama (population of about 1.9 million in the prefecture) the train station is home to several lines and plenty of shopping both above ground and below ground. The picture is of Casey and Ryan at the Hankyu train platforms at the main Umeda station in Osaka. Including the Hankyu line there are 5 private train lines, the JR line, a subway system with 7 lines and a monorail system in Osaka. There were something like 8 slots for Hankyu trains that were coming and going every couple of minutes. The slots were designed so that doors can open on one side to let passengers exit and open on the opposite side to take on passengers. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html & http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/accessmap.html

12. A highlight of shopping in Japan is the appealing cakes and pastries on display. The cake in the picture was Ryan's birthday cake. He celebrated his 2nd birthday during the trip.

15. Kurashiki is known for its Bikan-chiku area where several rice storehouses remain from the 18th and 19th centuries that were used to store rice harvested from the area around Kurashiki. The storehouses are located along the tree lined canal in the photo. http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/accessmap.html

16. The last photo is of us in front of the Okayama train station at the statue of Momotaro, Peach Boy. Momtaro is the main character in a well-known (at least to Japanese) Japanese fable about a boy found inside a giant peach in Okayama. Of course, the area is well known for its peaches with the peak peach season being in late summer. http://www.pref.okayama.jp/kikaku/kokusai/momo/e/momotarou/momotarou.html

Riddles, jokes and giggles

While we were in Japan recently, a highlight of one evening was exchanging jokes and riddles with Tetsuya who was familiar with American riddles having spent some time in the U.S. Here are some of the riddles that we exchanged and a few other gems.

Q: What is black, white and blue?
A: A zebra holding its breath.

Q: Why was 10 scared of 7?
A: Because 7 8 9.

Q: What kind of room has no windows and no doors?
A: A mushroom.

Q: Why would you put a saddle backwards on a horse?
A: To see where you have been.

Q: What do you get when you mix a grizzly bear with a kangaroo?
A: A coat with fur pockets.

Q: What do little girl grizzlies wear in their hair?
A: Bearettes.

Q: What do dinosaurs have that no other animals have?
A: Baby dinosaurs.

Q: What has no fingers but many rings?
A: A tree.