A local matsuri in Japan

 Today I had a chance to attend a local Matsuri in Japan and took a lot of pictures for you.
Please refer to this link for my other post about Matsuries in Japan.

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3

Is it difficult to get Ph.D. in Japan?

Research facilities in Japan are very advanced. You can have almost all devices you need for your research.

Most of the Japanese professors are very friendly nice people. The only problem for foreigners is language. If your professor can speak English fluently then basically no problem. However, most of the Japanese professors can not speak English fluently. They can communicate at the minimum level, but this is not usually enough for guiding a Ph.D. student.

If you are very good at research and don’t need any guidance, then a basic level of communication is enough. Otherwise you should learn Japanese. This is what I did when I came to Japan about 15 years ago.

Most of the professors think that they are good at english and try to communicate in English. If you feel that that is not actually the case, then start to study Japanese as soon as possible. If you can’t speak Japanese, life is really difficult in Japan, not only in the laboratory.

If you are not ready to study Japanese, than either choose another country for your research, or try to find a professor who can communicate in English. They can usually write e-mails in English almost perfect and it may mislead students who apply from abroad. It may be very useful if you can confirm the english level of your professor from another resource.

Anybody who has average skills can get Ph.D. from Japan. Conditions are much easier compared to top US universities. Many foreigners around me got Ph.D. in Japan just going to the school a few days a week. I myself satisfied Ph.D. requirements in 2 years, and started to work full time in the 3rd year.
Even if you satisfy all the requirements in the first year, it may be difficult to graduate earlier than 2 years. Japan is very strict in these kind of things. Most of the time they will require you to go to the university for 3 years even if you just go there and sleep on your desk (which is what I did in the second year).

Here is top 10 universities in Japan (overall rating).

1 University of Tokyo
2 Kyoto University
3 Osaka University
4 Tokyo Institute of Technology
5 Tohoku University
6 Keio University
7 Kyushu University
8 Nagoya University
9 Hokkaido University
10 Tsukuba University

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3

Japan, probably the safest place in the world.

As you all might know, Japan is one of the safest counties in the world. I will not give you a lot statistics here, just a few examples from real life.

Now I am writing this post from a family restaurant in Yokohama, it is 12:30 at night. There are still a lot of people around me, mostly single man and woman, some couples. It is raining outside. This restaurant closes around 4am just before the sunrise. Most of the people in the restaurant are living somewhere around here, and they will leave the restaurant and walk to their home soon.

Japan is a counry where a young woman can walk alone in a narrow dark street at night very safely.

Some scenes from the restaurant, blurred a little bit for privacy.

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3

Bicycle, an indispensable part of daily life in Japan.

 Bicycle riding is an indispensable part of daily life in Japan. You can see people of all ages, gender and status riding on bicycles. Sometimes you see your professor in the university come to the school with a bicycle, even if he has a luxury car. They are all unbelievably good at riding bicycles. I have tried to imitate them a couple of times in the rainy weathers, but the result was not so good .

Here is a small collection of people riding bicycles.

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3

Convenience Stores in Japan

Convenience stores (small stores or shops) are very common in Japan (called as KONBINI in Japanese).
Most of the convenience stores are open 24 hours.
As their store sizes are limited, they are very careful in choosing what kind of products and brands to sell.
Generally, foods are delivered to each store two to five times a day from factories. Since products are delivered as needed, stores do not need large stock areas.
Although larger, newer convenience stores have quite a broad range of items, the selection is still limited compared to supermarkets, and in many stores only 1 or 2 choices are available.
Prices in a convenience store are typically higher than at a supermarket.

Most items available in larger supermarkets can be found in Japanese convenience stores. In addition, the following additional services are also commonly available:

* Courier, or postal service.
* Photocopying, or fax service.
* ATMs.
* Utilities and other bills and tax payment service.
* Tickets service for concerts, theme parks, airlines etc 

Here are a few pictures of various types of convenience stores:

 

And finally an bank ATM in a convenience stores. I have been using these machines recently and not going to bank ATMs, because they are everyhere, you can find one almost every 200-300 meters,
but usually slightly more expensive than bank ATMs.

Some views from inside the shops:

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3

Pachinko Parlors in Japan

 What is a Pachinko?

Pachinko is a Japanese gaming device used for amusement and prizes.
Pachinko Parlors are places with a number of pachinko machines. These places are legal in Japanese laws, considered as game rather than gambling. If you ask me what they are actually, my answer would be “inbetween“.

A short history:

Pachinko machines were first built during the 1920s as a children’s toy, then emerged as an adult pastime in Nagoya around 1930. All of Japan’s pachinko parlors were closed down during World War II, but re-emerged in the late 1940s and have remained popular since then.

Winnings?

The winnings are in the form of more balls, which the player may either use to keep playing or exchange for tokens (typically slits of gold encased in plastic), vouchers, or a vast array of prizes. Some prizes are as simple as pens or cigarette lighters; others can be electronics, bicycles, 50 cc scooters or other items. Under Japanese law, cash cannot be paid out directly for pachinko balls, but there is usually a small exchange center located nearby (or sometimes in a separate room from the game parlor itself) where players can conveniently exchange their winnings for cash. This is tolerated by the police because, on paper at least, the pachinko parlors that pay out goods and tokens are independent from the exchange centers that trade the tokens in for cash. Some pachinko parlors may even give out vouchers for groceries at a nearby supermarket.

Here are a few pictures fo pachinko parlors taken at different hours of a day:

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3

Rainy Season in Japan (Tsuyu or baiyu)

Before explaining about the rainy season in Japan, I want to give a short background about the climate in Japan.

Japan is generally a rainy country with high humidity. Because of its wide range of latitude, Japan has a variety of climates.
The generally humid, temperate climate exhibits marked seasonal variation celebrated in art and literature, as well as regional variations ranging from cool in Hokkaido to subtropical in Kyushu. Northern Japan has warm summers but long, cold winters with heavy snow. Central Japan has hot, humid summers and short winters, and southwestern Japan has long, hot, humid summers and mild winters.

The climate from June to September is marked by hot, wet weather brought by tropical airflows from the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia. These airflows are full of moisture and deposit substantial amounts of rain when they reach land. There is a marked rainy season, beginning in early June and continuing for about a month. It is followed by hot, sticky weather. Five or six typhoons pass over or near Japan every year from early August to early September, sometimes resulting in significant damage. This is the average number I found in the statistics, but I remember there were times with 19-20 typhoons in a year.
Only Japan’s northern most main island of Hokkaido is not affected by the rainy season.

During the rainy season actually it does not rain every day. For example Tokyo registers only an average of 12 rainy days in June. As for the amount of rainfall, it varies from heavy downpours to occasional sprinkles.
The rainy season is probably not the most suitable season for visiting Japan, even though it can have its advantages. For example,  some sights can be very attractive in rain, especially some temples, gardens and hot springs.

Rainy season has not started yet (as of 31st of May) in Tokyo officially , but last couple of days were rainy all day, just like Tsuyu. Who knows, maybe the climate is changing .

Here are a few pictures from last couple of days:

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3

Garbage Disposal In Japan

Garbage disposal is a serious issue in Japan .
If you don’t take it as seriously as Japanese people do, you will have a lot of problems.
It took 10 years for my wife to be able to dump trash without having some of them returned back by the apartment management. As to me, I could not still learn during the last 14 years .

Yokohama city takes it even more seriously than other cities. When this city recently doubled the number of garbage categories to 10, it handed residents a 27-page booklet on how to sort their trash. Highlights included detailed instructions on 518 items.

Lipstick goes into burnables; lipstick tubes, “after the contents have been used up,” into “small metals” or plastics. Take out your tape measure before tossing a kettle: under 12 inches, it goes into small metals, but over that it goes into bulky refuse.

Socks? If only one, it is burnable; a pair goes into used cloth, though only if the socks “are not torn, and the left and right sock match.” Throw neckties into used cloth, but only after they have been “washed and dried.”

I hope now you understood why 14 years was not enough to learn it.
But personally I enjoy watching Japanese people dumping garbage .

Here are some related pictures.

Okey, Japan is a very clean country, but of course nothing is perfect. Here is another picture.

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3

Fruit and Vegetable prices in Japan

Before diving into the price list for fresh fruits and vegetables in Japan, I will give you a short background about the Japan’s food consumption etc.

The Japanese market for fresh fruit and vegetables has traditionally been supplied from local produce, with imports limited to a narrow range of products. However, due to reducing competitiveness in the domestic farm sector and the opening of the import market, Japan has steadily increased import volumes. This is forecast to continue in the years to come as domestic agricultural production falls.
From 1985 to 1994, Japan dropped from 100-percent to 93-percent self-sufficiency in the production of fresh vegetables. During that time, fresh vegetable imports surged 324 percent.
Imports of bananas, pineapple, papaya, mangoes and avocadoes have been increasing due to consumer awareness of their health benefits.

Fresh fruit plays a special role in Japanese life, from both a cultural and economic point of view. Unlike most Western cultures, Japanese consumers and traders seem to see little relationship between fruits and vegetables.
While vegetables are recognized to be a crucial source of fiber and nutrition vital to maintaining health, no such qualities are attributed to fruit, which historically has been thought of as a luxury item, a dessert or a gift.

Here are some pictures from a local shop:
For easy calculation you can assume that 100 JPY is 1 US$

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3

Electric cables in Japan

 Japan is a country of contradictions. I am planning to write a separate article about this.
It is possible to see a lot of road constructions everywhere, re-constructed again and again for various reasons. You can see the most modern trains everywhere. But electric posts and cables on the sides of the roads are literally from middle age. You can’t belive the following scenes from Japan. Even in my small city in Turkey, it is much better recently.

NOTE:  The following link is an english SNS in Japan (Youshare Japan). I am writing articles there on Japan/Japanese Culture/Business in Japan/Education in Japan etc, you can find many other blogs.

http://english.youshare.jp/blogs.php?action=show_member_blog&ownerID=1&blogID=3