OMGhontoni comments

@honey:

Omghontoni, Not to get off topic,but some helpful info. The caffeine in Japanese Green Tea is different than Black or Coffee because it is not fermented.Probably a healthy choice as opposed to heavily sugared drinks.

Interesting. Never knew that! Knew it was a healthy choice as opposed to sugary drinks though. They are well known to dehydrate you more.

Just curious as to what proportion of total "legal herb" users this is. Would be very interesting to compare it against the percentage of marajuana smokers who have put in calls to emergency.

Hello mold spores!

Yeah that was the first thing that sprang to my mind too, along with a stiff neck from a combo of wet pillow and aircon. Given the state that bathrooms get into here with damp and heat, I certainly wont be creating the same conditions on my pillow. Eugh!

And, stop drinking that bloody green tea rubbish. It is a diuretic and will dehydrate you.

VERY good point disillusioned. My husband and mother in law try to press that drink on the kids in Summer and get annoyed with me when I tell them not to. Believe it or not they dont even believe me when I tell them it is full of caffeine! They tell me western tea and coffee is, but Japanese green tea isnt! Grrrr! Mugi cha is ok though, but I always think it smells and tastes a bit like an ashtray!

The drills had been held every year for decades but when the time came they failed.

Made me smile! We drill at the schools every year for disasters, but when the time came everything in the rule book went out the window! And yet, come the following September, 6 months after the disaster, there we were, practising again, following all the rules, even knowing that most of them dont work in a real emergency, not learning anything from the actual experience! It was a joke!

But no parent has never looked away for a moment, hopefully most of them have never had such a terrible thing happened in those few seconds though

The most sensible comment yet. I was putting the washing out yesterday. I had my 2 year old come with me onto the balcony. But in the few seconds I was focusing on clipping the washing into the clips and he was behind me he disappeared. I knew the balcony was safe so I didnt drop the washing and instantly screech for him. About a minute later I found him back inside the bedroom (trashing it, to be exact!) But in those missing seconds something could have happened to him, and parents, whether they admit it or not, have "missing seconds" many times a day. You make the place as safe as you can (which is clearly not the case in this report) and hope for the best but even the best of parents are not infallible.

Oh - and 2 of my 3 were walking within a year! The third one just couldnt be arsed and he has followed that general pattern ever since!

WTH, we didn't get above 15C yesterday and that is the same high temp for today. Damn Yamase wind. Tohoku can't get a break.

Enjoy it! The heat in the city is not pleasant!

I know some people like to laugh at women in their long gloves and big hats, but for me it is a necessity. My weak northern European skin does not cope well in this climate, and I have to protect it. Its just the sensible thing to do. My Canadian best friend who also lives here has already had 3 skin cancers removed, mostly from her head. The sun beats through her fine blonde hair right to the skin. I would rather be laughed at than go through painful biopsies and surgeries. I just turn Dracula for the Summer and only come out at night!

Sunscreen is all well and good, but full of chemicals and you cant put it on your hair.

So you will find me dolled up like a beekeeper most of Summer and carrying a water bottle! I also love those scarves you can buy now that you put gel packs from the freezer into. I have had a few old biddies in past years telling me off for drinking on the street or on the train (just water!) because it is not polite (apparently) but I just politely ignore them now.

lachtatamber - if you had done that, you would have been mooned.

hee hee! Sorry Ivan - every sympathy with your neck problems, but I just have an image in my head now of a guy in a neck brace on a crowded train awkwardly fiddling with this belt buckle whilst trying to not actually move at all, and then gingerly lowering his kecks millimetre by millimetre in order to carry out said threatened manouevere! I think the impact would have been lost by the time you got them down, but full marks for effort and intent!

The only way to deal with these people is to call them out on it. I will never forget my friend telling me that she got onto a crowded train with her toddler, and the guy next to her complained that the kids shoes were touching him. She immediately apologised and asked if he could help her by just removing the shoes as she was carrying the child, and some bags, and it was too difficult on a crowded moving train to do it herself. He responded by spitting in her face, and then in the childs face. Sorry but I dont think people who behave like that should be able to get away with it. My friend gently placed her child on the ground where someone who saw the whole thing held her hand and proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the guy. Extreme, yes. But I cant say if someone spat in my childs face that I wouldnt do the same thing.

Horrible, truly horrible. RIP little guys.

Jonathan Hunt - I think Buggerlugs was simply speaking as a parent. I have never (thank God) experienced a major fire but I would still say the same thing, irrational as it may be.

So do kids in Japan wait and wait for a "typhoon day" for school to be closed the way kids in the north of America wait and wait for snow?

Schools will be closed or kids sent home early depending on when it is due to hit. because it came to Tokyo overnight, we got a letter yesterday saying that if the wind and/or rain is strong this morning, not to risk coming in on time and the school will be expecting people to be late so come in whenever it is safe to do so. Very reasonable of them I thought!

This one took me by surprise actually. After the direct hit on Tokyo last year (or was it earlier this year? Cant remember) I wasnt expecting this one to be quite so bad, especially given its predicted path, but we were up at 3.30 this morning, grabbing the remaining plants and the poor bewildered bunny off the balcony. Did occur to me after yesterdays discussion above that we could end up being the very statistics we were joking about ! But other than catching my finger on a piece of wood, we will live to see another storm.

@japangal

News said drinking cadmium

I read that and was like "WHAAAATTTT???!!! What an idiot!" for a few seconds - until I realised who you were addressing! :)

Awful. One of the more nasty versions of this horrible disease. I wish him all the best in his battle to beat it.

Would this be caused by alcohol consumption or smoking?

Yes. And recent research has also suggested consuming very hot drinks over a long period of time. The scientists that conducted the research suggested leaving your tea or coffee to cool to under 75 degrees. I wonder if there may also be a link to the very hot soup that comes with things like ramen for example. The study I read about was western and so didnt include that.

It seemed that everyone kept saying roof, roof, and that struck me as strange.

Not that strange to the 32 people who have thumbed up kansaifun so far

Thank you Himajin! Too busy (lazy?!) to respond to Vinnyfav/Lowlys posts, but you have done it for me.

If you have never heard of these things happening in 20 years of being here you must never watch the news.

This has become a big problem in the UK with what are called "honour killings", where the girls are raised in the UK but still expected to confirm to their South Asian cultural norms. The result is conflict and occasionally murders committed by male family members using pretty hideous methods. It seems to be an accepted part fo the culture, that the women in the family "belong" to the men to be treated and dealt with as they please.

I try to respect other cultures as different to my own, but something like this is just way beyond my grasp. There just is no justifying it in any civilised society.

Is it so rare for guys to give up a seat to an old lady?

Cant speak for old ladies as I am not quite there yet(!) but I can tell you it is rare for a pregnant woman to be given a seat unless you shame them by directly asking for it.

One time though, a woman not in a priority seat jumped up as soon as she saw me and offered me her seat. It was a hot day and I was very grateful and said "arigatou gozaimasu" at which point she replied in very fluent and VERY loud Japanese that she wasnt actually Japanese but Korean and not to expect any of these #$#%#$% to give me a seat because Japanese are #$#% and have no %$%& idea of basic manners etc etc etc. Everyone in the carriage suddenly found their shoes fascinating, and I sat down realising that the woman had only given up her seat to me to make a point and launch a tirade on the unsuspecting masses in the carriage. Was pretty funny tho...

Why Japanese people put up with this crap day in and day out is beyond explanation

You took the words right out of my mouth. I dont understand it. I doubt this will even be on the news tonight.

@tmarie - oh really, powder? Oh yes, that would be different. And brushing their hair too - yeuck. Hair flying all over the place. But I often see women popping a bit of lippy on, or even painting their nails with the bottle lodged carefully between their knees. Again - if it doesnt impact on anyone around you, I dont see the big deal.

I commuted for years on the London tube and believe me - THERE are a bunch of passengers with a reason to be pissed off at the world! But I honestly havent seen the lack of consideration that I see here in Tokyo. I often saw men offering women their seats who werent even pregnant, just because it was a nice thing to do, or people standing up for someone else and saying "I only have one more stop to go" etc etc. I agree with what someone else said - I dont necessary think most Japanese are bad-mannered, I think they are simply inconsiderate and dont think. I dont think they are taught to beyond the rote manners-learning of "o jama shimasu" and suchlike. The London subway staff were shockingly rude though.

What's it with all the comment¥s about elderly on the roof??

Are you new to Japan Lowly? It is famous (or infamous?!) here that whenever there is a typhoon, the following day there are a smattering of news reports about how elderly Japanese seemed to think it was a perfect time in the middle of the storm to go up and fix the roof with obvious tragic consequences.

Personally, I always picture the obaasan snug and warm in their lounges, grasping the insurance policy with both hands and eyes cast towards the ceiling, listening for the clunk!

I am assuming by the time this one hits Tokyo it wont be so bad. Hope so anyway. Cant be arsed to get all the bloody flower pots in off the balcony.

Make up, I have no problem with. Shaving is just disgusting though.

I agree. I dont understand the issue with makeup to be honest - please someone explain to me why it is bad manners? It doesnt affect anyone around you, so what is the big deal? Shaving on the other hand - bits of stubble flying all over the people next to you - that IS gross.

I'd be interested to see what other Japanese people think of these apologising rituals, especially the people affected by what the criminal(s) had done. I understand that it's what people do here, but if the logic behind the apology is as Yubaru says, to bring piece of mind to the family/community, is that not quite a selfish reason for issuing the apology in the first place?

Well, different scenario but I do distinctly remember the JR west rail disaster years ago where the train took the bend too fast and over a hundred people were killed. It turned out a big part of the reason was the pressure management put on the driver to be bang on time at the station. Anyway, they put some poor low-level schmuck out in front of the crowds to apologise, in front of the place where people were laying flowers, and it was horrible to be honest! While the cameras were on him and he stood there bowing and apologising, people were screaming abuse at him and hitting him over the head! Now, I can totally understand peoples anger, but THIS wasnt the guy that caused anything. He wasnt even in a management position. The actual managers were hiding away like the cowards they were. So in conclusion no, I dont think Japanese accept apologising rituals either, but know the deed has been done and there is nothing else the apologist can do.

Niche "market" I know, but the number of people who pretended to be asleep, ignored me, or flatly refused to give up their seat when I was pregnant was amazing. If you call them out on it and flatly ask to sit down, most people will then jump up but you still get the odd few who say "screw you, I was here first"!

Other than that, I have often had people jump the queue on the platform waiting for the train to come in and stand right in front of me, thinking of everyone in the queue I will be the one who wont say anything (wrong!).

But I do think the whole "putting on make up" or drinking on the train is a bit too sensitive. Eating maybe I understand because of the smell and the potential for mess, but I often take a bottle of water on the train in Summer and swig from it and make no apologies for that - its the sensible thing to do in 38 degree heat!

Spot on Geoff and supersixevo. And until that changes (which it wont because it seems they would rather see the entire country go down the pan than "lose face") nothing else will. Sometimes I feel like Japan is its own worst enemy.

She may have been "quiet and serious" but any kid that brings a knife to school has got some serious problems going on.

I think any responsible parent be they western or Japanese would blame themselves for something their child had done (whatever age that child is) and would want to offer an apology. I know I would feel like that, and that I had failed in my duties as a parent if my kids grew up to commit such horrible crimes.

Sounds like a good idea to me too, but I just wonder why THIS girl? Were there no candidates in Japan? Why Vietnam? Did she enter some kind of competition for a scholarship and win? Good for her, but I am just wondering what the connection is.

It always makes me smile when Japanese who have never gone further than 4 days in Hawaii in their lives tell me that Japan has one of the most high quality lifestyles in the world.

I agree with all of the above. I think there is somewhat of a crackdown on paid overtime, but I think people are still staying for free, working long hours and "appearing" to be busy because they are all so sh1t-scared of losing their jobs. It must be incredibly stressful. At least in days gone by there was no uncertainty of ever being unemployed. These days it seems you have all the stress of the past AND insecurity for the future. Tough times.

I wish I had $350,000 to get my kids back :(

It wasnt the money that got her back. It was the fact that his ex-wife got greedy and wanted to live in Japan, have sole custody of their daughter, AND still have access to her green card privileges. That is how he got his daughter back. Without her arrest and subsequent plea bargain he could have thrown a million dollars at the system and the outcome would still have been the same as it is in 99% of these cases.

OMGhontoni, do you think it is right for a man to do the same to his ex wife? It is my belief she will not see her daughter this side of 18.

No, I dont. I condemn any parent that prevents a good loving (ie non abusive) parent from seeing their kids. Dr Garcia has already arranged visitation for his wife and will continue to do so. It may be your belief that this will not happen but it is patently not true.

ONGhontoni, I think she was scared and fled to Japan without thinking

You may be right in the very beginning. But what is her excuse for fighting him over even access to their daughter 4 years later?

My thoughts is she would of lost custody and he would of blocked her from visitation.

So pretty much what she tried to do to him then? But that seems to be ok with you.

I know people like him, they have to control things. I do not believe a word from the liars mouth. Call it my women's intuition or something. I have know men like him in my life and he is set to make her life a living hell.

Correct me if I am wrong but you dont know this man at all. All you know is what you have read, and the extremely skewed view of men and America that you seem to have.

I am also curious as to why she left in the first place. But unless a parent is violent or dangerous in some way, which this guy clearly isnt, there is NO excuse for using the children as pawns to hit back at someone, no matter what they may or may not have done.