Huh? What? Questions?

Wed, Jun 13, 2007

Hey, guys, this is Erin (the one that writes about food). I’m making this post because I’d love to know, how are we doing so far? Is Tofugu living up to your expectations? Exceeding them, even? If you guys have any questions you want to ask us –stuff about Japan, Japanese, ourselves– feel free to ask them here, ok? We try to be creative, but feedback is always helpful!

P.S. Like that picture of me and Viet looking angry/bewildered? Definitely not our best moment.

This post was written by:

Erin - who has written 37 posts on Tofugu.com.

Erin is Tofugu's culture, food, and fashion writer. She's a quiet Hawaii girl who loves shopping, eating sweets, and traveling whenever she has the time and money to spend. She also has a little photo blog going, which can be found here.

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Viewing 36 Comments

Stacia 1 year ago 1 point
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Hmm...it's definately getting there (to my expectations). I love Koichi's blogs because that is what hooked me on english.koichi and then tofugu.com. But, I also love the additional blogs/articles just as much. I look forward to the development on this site.

Uh...and for suggestions....*shrug* Love the food stuffs, gives me things to try, and just random tidbits on Japan is always good. If I think of anything...I'll just comment again.

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Kitsune 1 year ago 1 point
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Oh, I love this site n.n I just found it through Youtube.. I think I'll probably come here at least once a day. =D

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Josh 1 year ago 1 point
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I love this site.And where do I ask questions about japanese?Beacause I have alot.

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koichi 1 year ago 1 point
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we're working on a forum, but I don't want to open it up until there is enough of a reader base to make it worth while. Soon, though, soon.

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http://www.tofugu.com

Nick 1 year ago 1 point
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Yeh it's great keep up the good work!

Things that i would like to see though:
Current fashion (and recent fashion history). Less of the harajuku stuff but more of what u would find in a magazine like ウイズ. so not stuff that is too crazy, but a bit of that is good too! Also hair styles that are interesting or really good lookin.

The religions in japan, maybe shintoism mostly. I dont know much about it so i'd like to know, and perhaps about why most of them are non-religious.

Cool phrases in japanese, like things you cant translate directly. Such as we have 'don't count your eggs before they've hatched!'. I'm under the impression they dont have many but maybe u can correct me?

hope its not too much of a tall order!! Just throwing some ideas out there

Thanks

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ジャーミー 1 year ago 1 point
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I really enjoy your blogs and you videos. I come back checking everyday for new posts. I really think you guys are doing great, and I find each of your informative segments interesting. I would love to know more about social things in Japan..(i.e. how friends would talk to each other or family and such.) I guess that goes under politeness level...heh' (I guess I'm asking this because I can't find any real Japanese friends :(..)
~
Well, I guess just keep up with your random segments...Forum sounds good.
~
Thank you for your attention to the audience.

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Erin 1 year ago 1 point
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While I don't think we could do a completely comprehensive article on how teens in Japan talk, I do think we could help you out. Maybe an article about the use of なんか, one of my favorite words, would be good to start things off.

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Erin 1 year ago 1 point
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Guys fashion? I guess I could tell you the trends now that I think are cool. Some guys are so feminine in the way they dress, though, ew.

Koichi likes to talk about Shinto, I'm sure he wouldn't mind doing a post on that. I might do a "Erin's 5 Most Favorite Temples" post, haha.

Ooh, and Japanese proverbs (諺)! I really like those.

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Ernie 1 year ago 1 point
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Hey i was wondering about the education in japan for college and how important does it revole around them just like in America. Where you can barly even get a job with a diploma.

p.s. Im thoughts of when or if i become a doctor i was thinking to Japan and if i could go to school there.{to live and work}

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Erin 1 year ago 1 point
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Well, Ernie, the simple, generic answer is, when Japanese kids are in high school, they study their butts off, and they try really hard to get into good colleges. When Japanese kids are in college, though, they pretty much cruise and their teachers don't care all that much (but perhaps this depends on the school, just like here). Generally, if you graduate from a "good" college, you can get a "good" job.

I don't know how employment opportunities for 外人 doctors are in Japan, honestly. Unless you're Japanese. If you've got your heart set on working in Japan, you might want to stay in the US (or wherever you are) and then try to get a position in a hospital in Japan. Not too many foreigners work in positions like that in Japan, I think.

Still, if you're fluent in Japanese, I don't see why you couldn't go to college there (maybe not to your first choice, but still). You might also want to look into English-speaking colleges (all that comes to mind right now is Beppu Daigaku).

This is just the answer I'm coming up with at the time, but do a little bit of research and correct me if I'm wrong. Good luck~!

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koichi 1 year ago 1 point
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Yeah, pretty much going to college in japan means very little. Getting into it, like erin said, is the tough part. If you can get into a good university, it shows you're smart enough and hard working enough to get that far, and after that it's pretty lame compared to america. Don't get me wrong, though, japanese high school is far advanced from ours, but when it comes to college, Japan lags behind.

Doctors are a funny bunch in Japan, and perhaps worthy of an article. First of all, they learn everything in German, which is already kind of weird. Then when you get into the culture of the doctors in regards to their patients, it gets even stranger. But like I said, a whole article can be devoted to something like that, and perhaps even a video.

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Fred 1 year ago 1 point
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This is a type of website I've been looking for. Haha. It's entertaining and informative. It's a rare combination. I think y'all are doing great so far. I wish y'all good luck with everything. Thanks for the hard work!

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Erin 1 year ago 1 point
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Thanks, Fred. You're sweet.

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Fred 1 year ago 1 point
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Here's one question! How do you subscribe? I click on "SUBSCRIBE" and then it takes me to a feeder page. I don't use feeds of any kind. I guess I'm less intelligent about the web then I thought? I already subscribed to the newsletter. How would I log in? Is that option available for everyone or just the web designers? Maybe it's just too late and I'm confused and sleepy.
PS: You're welcome.

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http://myspace.com/fredydb327

koichi 1 year ago 1 point
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when you click on subscribe, usually there is an option that you can click to add it, which means in your bookmarks (or your feeder) you can quickly click and check to see if there are any new articles. It also depends on which browser you use, I think - I've only used firefox and safari, so I don't know how it would work on anything else.

As per the log in, I think you can create a registration - all it does is streamline the commenting process (for now), though perhaps in the future it will do something else. Hard to say at this point.

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Erin 1 year ago 1 point
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I don’t know if I would say advanced.
“Harder” seems like a good word, though, hahaha.

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Kuristeru 1 year ago 1 point
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Yeah, if your using Firefox, you don't really need to register or anything like that. (Maybe for the forums, when it's up) When your commenting, Firefox fills out the required information automatically. Although, I could be wrong. I haven't used any other browser besides Firefox in such a long time.

Other than that ^^

I love the site guys. So far everything I've read has caught my attention. I find all the videos very amusing, love that humor of yours Koichi. One of the things I would like to know are some things about yourselves. Mostly basic stuff, such as life-styles, backgrounds, likes, dislikes, etc. Other than that, everything is great. Oh and maybe a couple more things, lol "gomen". One of my favorite Japanese musicians is Hikaru Utada, if you guys listen to her at all, would you like to share some comments about her?

And just for kicks, I would really like to know how Koichi feels about Morning Masume. I laughed soo0o0o hard on your little comment in your video, "Secret to Learning Japanese".

Well it's pretty much late and my eyelids feel heavy. Kon bon wa. Ja nai.

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http://www.myspace.com/chriscurameng

Sexy Beam 1 year ago 1 point
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I love Koichi's humor ... the site would just be bland and boring without it! =) It is kind of sarcastic though, which I've noticed Japanese often don't "get" in same sense of American-style humor, although there IS such a thing in Japan (皮肉).

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Nick 1 year ago 1 point
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ahhh thanks! yeh the guys do look feminine and its kinda confusing from the back bc they're not exactly built like men either haha! However, i did mean mainly girls/womans fashion, yes - i am a guy - i noticed that but i still find it interesting

thank youuuuuuuuuu

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Erin 1 year ago 1 point
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Koichi prides himself on his sarcasm, haha.

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