I’m sure you’ve seen people in TV shows or movies say itadakimasu (いただきます） before digging into a meal. Maybe you’ve been with a Japanese person who’s said it. Maybe you’ve even said it yourself. But what does it really mean, anyway? The Meaning and Origin of Itadakimasu Some of you may recognize the girl in [...]
On the whole, Japan is viewed as a very polite society. I’m sure part of this is due to how most Japanese people conduct themselves in public, especially while walking around on the streets. There are a handful of things that are viewed as rude to do while walking around in Japan and I’ve listed [...]
In the last installment of How to Be a Baka Gaijin, we explored the many ways you can be a baka gaijin in the house. But one area we kind of glossed over was how to behave at the dinner table. Today, I shall answer all of your burning questions about how to show off [...]
Legendary competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi made headlines once again this weekend when he emerged victorious at the annual Wing Bowl. In front of a screaming crowd of 20,000 fans, winning $20,000, Kobayashi smashed all records when he devoured 337 chicken wings in 30 minutes. At a little over ten wings a minute, Kobayashi can eat [...]
Maybe it’s time he commits seppuku, though, I don’t know if I’d want to see a stomach full of hot dogs get disemboweled. It’s been a year since the last “Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest” at Coney Island, when reigning king (at the time) of eating food “really really fast” lost his title, and his [...]
