issue 20

iJapanese Newsletter
7th December 2015

NEW YEARCOURSE STARTS

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Gift Giving in Japan
Have you made your Christmas list for Santa Claus this year?
Japanese people do not traditionally celebrate Christmas, but they exchange
gifts due to strong influence from the western culture.
There are many occasions when
you’re expected to give a gift inJapan. Gift giving is a traditional partof Japanese culture. Different types ofgifts are given on different occasions.
The custom helps keep social relations
smooth and includes formal social
expressions of appreciation as well as
more personal gestures.
For example, Japanese people send
gifts in July and December, these gifts
are called お中元 (Ochugen) and お歳
暮 (Oseibo). Ochugen and Oseibo
gifts are sent to family, business clientsand bosses, anyone to whom you wish
to show gratitude. Japanese
department stores offer variety of items
which can be nicely wrapped andarrange to be delivered for thecustomer.
Another interesting gift is お土産(Omiyage / souvenirs). As in mostother countries, travelling normallyentails setting aside time to buy
omiyage such as sweets or little local
products for family members andfriends. However in Japan it’sconsidered to be an obligation, youare expected to bring omiyage backfrom your trip not only for family

members or friends, but also for yourclassmates or colleagues even shorttrip or business trip. Consequently,
tourist spots and airports feature many
souvenir shops specialising in local
foods and products. You might haveseen colourful omiyage boxes
containing individually wrappedsnacks, perfect for sharing.
Other important gift-giving occasions
in Japan include children receive New
Year’s money, お年玉(Otoshidama)from parents and relatives, as well as
お祝い (Oiwai / celebration events)
such as the birth of a child, starting
school and graduation, coming ofage, marriage, building a new home,and moving house. There are also gifts
for less fortunate times, including お見舞い(Omimai) for those who are sickand 香典(Koden) for funerals, both aremonetary.

By Noriko

メリークリスマス！
らいねん
来年もよろしくねがお願いします！

iJapanese Newsletter issue 20

Page 2 of 4Student from iJapanese
Lachlan Arundell san
My Japan Adventure...
After a year of studying Japanese with iJapanese, I
finally felt ready to try my skills in Japan, so my girlfriend
and I booked our tickets and flew off into the unknown.
I was very excited about experiencing the variety ofJapanese culture, so we took flights between Hokkaido,
Honshu, and Okinawa. Travel costs were helped alongby Jetstar opening new flights to Japan.
We arrived into Tokyo, and promptly picked up a pair ofJapanese SIM cards, and a pair of Suica passes (reallyhandy passes that allowed us to travel on most local
trains and buses we came across). At lots of the train
stations there are coin lockers for bag storage, however
the larger ones seemed to be taken every time wearrived, so we ended up carrying our bags through Meiji
Jingu shrine before flying away to Hokkaido the samenight.
One important note is that although Japan has afantastic train system, there seem to be far fewer trains
around rural Hokkaido, so whilst we were hoping to train
from Asahikawa airport, instead we had to catch a cab
because our flight arrived at night.
There are many important lessons we learnt at Mt
Asahidake - firstly, going away from the major tourist
destinations means that far fewer people will be able tospeak English. Fortunately, this was just what I needed in Tokyo (and later, in Kyoto), it was really easy to findEnglish-speakers, however checking into our hotel here
was the first real test to my language skills. Also, working
out how to properly bathe in an onsen (hot spring) isreally difficult when you don't know the words for towel!
This brings me to the second important lesson - theJapanese people are super-welcoming.
Our first day in Asahidake brought a gentle snowfall,
which intensified overnight. Watching the steam rise off
streams cutting through the freshly fallen snow was veryrelaxing.

At Lake Kussharo, we learnt another amazing fact. You
don't buy breakfast out in Japan... Restaurants open at
11:30am. Most hotels we went to only offered buffet
breakfasts, so the hunger pains got pretty extreme.
Speaking of food, it was amazing! Because all themenus are written almost exclusively in Kanji, I had noidea what we were ordering 9/10ths of the time (somemenus do have pictures!), it was lucky that everything
we ate tasted fantastic!
We then flew to Osaka, and took a train to Kyoto. Kyoto
was lovely, and people were super-friendly. We saw
several amazing cultural spectacles, which were by andlarge massively attended - we snuck off to Fushimi Inariearly in the morning, and we had the shrine almost toourselves, which was fantastic. Fushimi Inari is anexcellent example of how Japan mixes it's major cities
with tranquil retreats.
Okinawa, our next location, was a real treat. We stayedin an AirBnb house in both Kyoto and Ishigaki (in theYaeyama Islands), and I can't speak highly enough of
our Japanese AirBnb hosts. I wouldn't feel comfortablestaying in many people's home's in Australia, however I
haven't ever felt more welcome than I did in Japan. I
highly recommend the experience.

Ishigaki had lovely beaches (and, in the Octoberweather, the tropical jellyfish weren't active, sosnorkelling was spectacular), fantastic landscapes, andAfter a few days of tramping through the snow, enjoying some great kayaking. I had a cold at the time, so I
the serenity, we headed back to Asahikawa airport tocouldn't do the major attraction on the island, scuba
hire a rental car (we had been going to use a JR pass,diving with manta-rays, however we had a marvellous
but unfortunately it was impossible to get fromtime regardless!
Asahikawa to Lake Kussharo by train in a single day).
A return to Tokyo was the wrap-up. Tokyo was amazingly
The drive to Lake Kussharo was amazing, as the autumn different to the rest of our experiences. A city of brightcolours were in full flight. Also, the roadworks signs are all neon lights, bustling streets, and entertaining Konbini's.
animals that have 'Sorry!' written on them!
Akihabara was a lot of fun, seeing the 7 floor stores filledwww.iJapanese.com.au

with manga, a rather conservative maid cafe, andgetting interviewed in English by a french reporter on ourexperiences in Japan (the reporter's English was worse
than her Japanese cameraman!). Ueno koen was acharming retreat in the middle of the city. Fuji-san was
also an unmissable spectacle, however I'd strongly
recommend spending some time there and not simply
taking a tour - a 10 minute walk from the fifth station
took us completely away from the over-packed tourist
area to a charming path along the mountain.
Such a short overview can't really do justice to Japan:
experiencing the juxtaposition of massive cities with such
an amazing respect for nature; the quaint Bird Cafe wewent to in Tokyo; or just chatting with Japanese tourists,very relaxed and open on their holidays; any one of thePage 3 of 4

myriad of experiences we had will be lost a little intranslation. All I can really advise is that, with a little
respect, a healthy dose of adventure, and an interestin history and culture, Japan is an unparalleledexperience. We can't wait to return!
Many thanks to Mihono
sensei, and the teamfrom iJapanese, forhelping us to have an
unforgettable holiday!

Station master… neko?!!
Tama (1999 - 2015), the world’s first cat as a station
master, “the only female in a managerial position” of
Wakayama Electric Railway, is the station master andoperating officer of Kishi station (貴志駅) on Kishigawa
Line(貴志川線) in Kinokawa(紀の川) Wakayama(和歌山).
Tama was originally a stray cat, born and grown withother fellow stray cats near Kishi station. They were atthat time mainly fed by passing passengers and theinformal station manager. In 2004, the station faced afinancial crisis and was almost shut down by the railway
company. Luckily the station was demanded to remain
after a citizens vote, but in order to cut cost, Wakayama
Electric Railway had to dismiss all staffs on Kishigawa line
and to employ local people who do business aroundthe station to look after it.
In January 2007, noticing Tamaand the other stray cats’
popularity among passengers,
the railway company decided
to officially appoint Tama as thestation master of Kishi station.
Tama’s duty was to greet
passengers, and for annual
salary, Wakayama electricrailway provided Tama cat foodfor the year.
Since Tama’s appointment, thestation’s passengers haveincreased rapidly, 17% for themonth compared with the same time last year.
In January 2008, Tama was promoted to "super stationmaster". Both the president of the company and themayor attended her inauguration.
In January 2010, Tama was again promoted to"Operating Officer". A study estimated that the publicity
surrounding Tama has contributed 1.1 billion yen($12 million) to the local economy.
In August 2010, the station was rebuilt into the shape of acat’s face, in recognition of Tama’s great job andcontribution to the area.
In spring 2009, a new "Tama Densha" (たま電車/Tamatrain) went in operation. The train is designed based onTama and is decorated with cartoon figures of her.
Sadly Tama passed away on June 22 ,2015 due toapparent heart failure, at the age of 16 (approximately
80 years old, human age). A Shinto-style funeral wasconducted for her by Wakayama Railway Company atthe station and she was given the posthumous title of"Honorable Eternal Stationmaster." Tama is enshrined ata nearby Shinto cat shrine as a goddess.
Tama’s job is now succeeded by her official apprentice
Nitama (二玉) second tama, who was praised for her“hat wearing” skills.

nBy Yueeie sa
Our student, Yueeie san worked with us for her
year 10 work experience in October of 2015.
You will see series of her articles in comingNewsletters.

www.iJapanese.com.auPage 4 of 4

Let’s welcome – Maiko Murakami

I was born in Tokyo. When I was 6, my family moved to
Okinawa where my mum’s side originally comes from.
Okinawa is the place blessed with bright blue sky andbeautiful blue ocean. I lived there with my family for 5years, then moved back to the main land of Japan toKobe.

My interest of tea mademe to knock on the tea
masters door, so I am
currently practicing
genuine Japanese tea
ceremony in Melbourne
which is giving me agreat understanding of
spiritual effect of tea.

So I speak Hyojun-go, which is standard Japanese as
well as Kansai-ben, which is a dialect spoken in theKansai area, such as Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto.
Not much Okinawa dialect, as the real old Okinawans
speak almost like a foreign language as it developed in
the remote island for hundreds of years.

I feel really lucky to be able to join iJapanese. I ampassionate about spreading Japanese language andculture.
I am really looking forward to meeting with everyone atiJapanese.
Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

Hajimemashite! My name is Maiko, let me introduce
myself.

I am an enthusiastic everyday tea drinker. I grew up in
Japan absorbing the aroma of green tea flowing fromlocal teashops.

First Christmas in Japan
Christmas is coming soon!
What do you do on Christmas in Australia? Having BBQ?
Unwrapping presents?
When Japanese people think about Christmas inAustralia we imagine Surfing Santa Claus!
What do you imagine Christmas in Japan? Eating KFCand Christmas cake? Do you think we don't celebrate
Christmas? Even though we have only 1% of Christian inJapan, we celebrate Christmas.
Did you know the first Christmas was in Yamaguchi?

Francisco de Xavier (1506 - 1552) was the person who
was promoting Christianity in Japan. He came toYamaguchi in 1551 and next year’s Christmas they
invited Japanese Christians and sang
hymnal. And now we call Yamaguchicity ‘Christmas city’ in December.
If you would like to have anexperience of Japanese Christmas
come to Christmas city!!

By Mihono

iJapanese Language & Culture School
Suite 3 Mezzanine Level, 257 Collins Street
0401 886 629
Info@ijapanese.com.au