i'm going to play a game. i do this when i can't sleep (like
now) - usually in my head, but because this blog doesn't get a lot of action, i
thought i'd share.
rules are simple. pick the first word that comes to your
head corresponding with the letter of the alphabet. usually i do things like
country names, types of trees, fruit, brands of cars, etc. today's topic is
broad, and therefore, easy: japan.
annnnnd go~
a - asakusa
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| area in tokyo known for maintaining the 'old' feel of the entertainment district and it's famous senso-ji temple and shrine more info |
b - bento
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| aka "boxed lunch" more info |
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| lucky school kids have moms that do stuff like this with their bento |
c - chanoyu
.jpg) |
| tea ceremony |
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| more info |
d - daruma
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| good luck talisman modeled after bodhidharma more info my daruma story |
e - enka
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| traditional and/or sentimental ballads more info usually conjures up an image of something like this lady... |
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| ...but then there is also this guy - jero |
f - fugu
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| blowfish |
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| it's poisonous - a chef has to be specially certified in order to prepare it more info |
g - genkan
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| entryway (technically, a foyer) - more info first tip you are given about japanese customs is "take off your shoes before you enter someone's home". idk why people think this is unique to japan. you better take off your shoes when you come into my house too! |
h - himeji-jo
.jpg) |
| beautiful castle in himeji, hyōgo more info |
i - ikebukuro (hubby has been randomly saying this apropos of nothing the past few days)
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| commercial and entertainment district in tokyo more info |
j - jizo
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| protector of unborn children more info |
k - kaiseki
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| traditional multi-course meal more info |
l - licca-chan
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| essentially, the japanese barbie - more info seems more like horror movie fodder than child's plaything to me... |
m - maiko
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| apprentice geisha more info |
n - ninjin
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| carrot (i just like the sound of it. and also carrots in japan are HUGE, and the ones in kyoto are red. weird.) |
o - onigiri
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| rice balls more info |
p - purikura
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| shortening of "print club" - or photo booth stickers |
q - there is no q .... ichi maru Q? that counts, right? lol
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| 109 shopping building in shibuya, tokyo - called ichi (1) maru (circle) kyu (9) ...and nine sounds like q so it's made to look sort of like one more info |
r - ramen
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| noodle soup more info (because it's NOT the instant crap you eat) |
s - shinkansen
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| "bullet train" more info |
t - tayu
.jpg) |
| top ranked orian (prostitute/entertainer of yore) - NOT a geisha more info |
u - ume
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| japanese plum - usually eaten pickled and the blossoms are just a beautiful as sakura more info |
v - there is no v in japanese... i'll go with VICTORY! (not "peace", like we think)
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| inevitably, cameras come out and fingers go up more info |
w - wagashi
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| traditional sweets more info |
x - X-japan
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| superfamous visual kei band |
z - zatoichi
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| zatoichi: the blind swordsman there are several versions but i've only seen this one. it's a great movie written & directed by and starring beat takeshi. more info it has an ending dance number that is equal parts totally awesome and 'wtf did i just watch?!' |
first, zenzen popped in my head, but that's hard to demonstrate in a picture.
ie. zenzen wakarimasen - i don't understand at all.
zenzen OK! - it's totally okay.
LOVE this, twinie!! I wanna go, too, now!!
ReplyDeleteThere's a ramen spot next door that does "real" ramen and it's sooooo good and now after reading this I think I'm gonna get real ramen today. Also, I want to go to Japan!
ReplyDelete