Lost in Translation: Japanese Marketing that would fail in the US

Calpis – This is absolutely my favorite new soda in Japan. It reminds me of a white Sobe, but carbonated and a little bit sweeter. You can also buy it non carbonated. 

However, no matter how tasty, every time you ask for this, as an English speaker, you can't help but snicker to yourself. The pronunciation for this product would not work at all in the US.  

If you are still not getting it, let me spell it out for you….it sounds like “cow piss”. And the ad below, makes it even more hilarious: "Fill the world with _____". 

So no matter how you try to say it, that’s what you get. The name would have to be changed if they wanted to sell it mainstream in the US. And oh how i wish they would! It is sooooo good!

An American's Japanese Life XXII "Sayōnara Japan"

May 31, 2015

Today was the day that we all feared. The one day that we wouldn't mind to skip. Probably the hardest day that I had to face since I've been here. The day of departure. No one was ready for the long day that we were about to embark on. We gathered of things and did a final check of all our bags to make sure nothing was left behind because we knew that once we left, there was no going back. We met up on the "square" (in front of the Hostel) to turn in our keys and other things we burrowed over the trip. By 10:30 to 11 am, we were gone on our journey back stateside.

We walked to the metro line that we used to get to school. Of course, we were not going to school this time. We sat in the metro line getting our last glimpse of what we have gotten so used to seeing. Lucky for us now, we have our JR Passes so we did not have to take the long train to the Airport. We were able to get on a train that was solely designed to travel to the Airport. Even through it was much faster than the other train, it took us about forty-five minutes to get there.

As we were checking in our baggage, I got a message for my friends saying that they were sorry that they could not meet us one last time, but wished us a safe flight. I started to get into mine feelings a little bit, but I continued forward on my trip back to America. We made it to the gate after experiences minor problems. Airline Security is never a walk in the park. There at the gate, we enjoyed our last bowl of udon soup and what I call "Real Ramen". Hoping that it would be enough to last me on these twelve hour flight I was going to go on.

The twelve hour flight is worst going then it was coming. I did what I did last time, but this time it just felt better. I slept the first five hours to be woken up to the smell of our in-flight meal. I choose that, since I was still in Japanese airspace, that I would eat the Japanese box lunch. Once again, I was bombarded with the fishy smell. The one thing I will not miss. As the flight continued, I watched more movies and ate more food and before I knew it, we were pulling into LAX in California. If there was one thing I was proud about, it was about having phone service again.

Now we were on the next leg on our trip. Trying to figure out how to survive in LAX for over twelve hours without going insane would be a challenge. I slept, I worked, I made calls, but still after all that was done I still had like seven hours to endure. So I sucked it up, went over to a corner, and cried. The time finally came when we were able to get on the plane for the final stretch home. The only thing between me and Tennessee was a four hour plane ride. Now this flight, even though it was shorter, was worse than the flight from Tokyo. Probably due to the lack of entertainment and knowing that once we touchdown, we're home. Whatever it was, I could not fall asleep for more than five minutes. But at the end, I made it back to Nashville. After grabbing our bags and saying our final farewell to friends, I walked out the Airport into a congested parking lot with noise all over the place. I lifted my head and thought to myself, "Welcome Home".

An American's Japanese Life XXI "Farewell to the ones we'll won't forget"

May 30, 2015

       I woke this morning with a sad feeling in my gut. It is my last day in Japan. My life in this land in coming to its end and truly I do not want it to. I have grown accustom to the location and people that helped me as I traversed through these once alienated lands. The peaceful scenery of a tranquil city bounced around in my head. I sat at the foot of my bed reflecting over all that I have been through throughout the course of this trip. I was not alone to. My other roommates were doing the same and judging by the looks on their faces, they were not ready to leave either. We could not reflect for long because we had our buddies waiting for us outside of our hostel. Our TnCis group was going to have breakfast with some of the Chuo University students. Start the last day strong. Time is our most valuable resource.

 Breakfast this morning was amazing this morning. In my opinion, it was the best breakfast of the whole trip. It was right down the break from our Hostel on the fourteenth story of the Asakusa Tower. So not only did we get Breakfast but we also got a view. This breakfast was like a mixture between American culture and Japanese culture. They had the regular (to us American) eggs and sausages, but they also had the miso soups and sliced fish. This is just a small portion of what they had. As I sat at my table and ate, I could not resist to urge to look out the window. The view was nothing less of breathtaking. The city stretching out into the mountain side with Mt. Fuji in the background. I finally got to see where it was that I was staying at.

On the last day, everyone had last minutes of thing that they were not able to do throughout the trip. I was one of them. I planned on going to the Tokyo Dome area and riding the Thunder Dolphin. So after breakfast, everyone scattered apart. The people who I was going to go with just so happened to leave earlier than expected leaving my behind. But hey, it was okay. Don't let one thing slow your progress especially today of all days. I used this time to thinking and reminisce on the trip so far and then I remembered that there was Jamaica Festival Today. A few friends and I decided to go check it out. It funny because while were there, we met up with some other from the group.

The festival was so live. It was like little Jamaica in Tokyo. There was music, food, and a lot of dancing. Also there was a lot of people that spoke English there, it was the closest thing to home since I've been here. We found the Jamaican embassy and they gave us wristbands. The time for us to get our final supper in Japan.

After eating, we headed back to the hostel. On the way there, we say other classmates with their buddies. Instead to ending the night after eating, we decided to do a mass outing to Karaoke. It was probably the best way to end our trip. Singing and dancing with people who were once total strangers but are now best friends. It was heartbreaking to leave. Seeing their faces for the last time as we all hugged and said our goodbyes. The hardest thing was when our paths split and we walked away. It was our final farewell

Travel Travel Travel

Today marks 40 hours worth of traveling. We leave from our hostel at 11 a.m. Sunday morning, and we arrive in Los Angeles at 11 a.m. Sunday morning. This will literally be living the same day twice. Lost of time was spent asleep, almost the entire flight from Japan-California. Then the wait time for our layover in LAX was ungodly. 12 hours is an absurd amount of time to sit around and wait. Thankfully we made it home safe!

Saturday Free Day/ Last Day

It is with a heavy heart that I must write this post. My trip has come to an end, and this day solidifies that. I have made an amazing journey, encountered incredible people, and build memories that will last a life time. Words will never explain just how thankful I truly am for this experience.

To end this amazing trip we got treated to a first class view of Tokyo. We had breakfast at the Asakusa View Hotel. From this hotel you could eat as much food as you wanted, and see out onto beautiful Tokyo.

We also finally got to visit and ride the thunder dolpin. This was an amazing rollercoaster, and I got to ride along with friends.

Ending the night was quite hectic, I felt my first earthquake. This same earthquake shut down the transit lines, and got my buddies stuck in Asakusa. We ended up staying up until 5am to entertain them!

Last Day at CHUO & The Buddy Party

Today makes two days before we leave. As this trip winds down, I really start to miss my home. This has been exciting, and very amazing, but there is nothing like home. We had our final exam today, which turns out I passed with a 100%. The entirety of this three week program has taught me more than most semester long classes.

Having the buddy party was almost enough to bring tears to my eyes. Saying goodbye to all of the wonderful faces and friends was very challenging. We ended up spending the night walking Tokyo and just talking for hours. This day was an incredible experience.

Final Day in Tokyo and the Long Journey Back

This day was both filled with joy and sorrow. We are all very happy to leave, yet we would stay if we could. I will say that the journey to the airport was actually more of a pain in the ass than it should have been for my. I had to carry a very large duffel bag over my shoulder and throughout the subway system. Needless to say I was sweating like a pig all the way there. Besides the discomfort, we rode the Narita Express to the airport which was a nice change of pace. It was a very relaxing and smooth ride all the way to our destination.
Once there, Dr. J helped us all get our bags checks and our boarding passes for we could move through security. WE all got through safely and everything was in order. The only thing left now was for us to get aboard our 777 and make our way to LAX. As soon as I boarded the plane, I took 4 melatonin pills and fell asleep for the majority of the flight. We got to LAX and realized we have a 12 hour layover here. This was going to be rough, rougher than even our flight over the pacific. We all did things to kill time, so texting, using the internet, playing games, eating and sleeping. We did whatever it took. eventually the time passed and we had to get on board the flight to BNA. This really sealed it. We all slowly and quietly boarded and took our seats. The majority of us fell asleep, others just couldn't seem to make themselves. 

I awoke again, which meant I was home. We headed to the baggage claim carousel, everyone sad at the fact that our journey came to an end. After we all grabbed our bags, everyone said their goodbyes. 

I didn't see this as a permanent goodbye, just like when I said goodbye to my Japanese friends. I am sure I will see these people again in my lifetime. All that needs to be done is that you make the effort to see them .

Skyline Breakfast, The Regae Fest, and Fugu

We awoke in time for 7 am because Dr. V had a special surprise for all the students and faculty. It was a fantastic breakfast buffet on the 24th floor of the Asakusa View hotel. Extravagant isn't even the right word to describe the view from the top. An almost 360 degree view of Tokyo gleaming in the morning paired with the aroma of fine creations of the chefs made it perfect. We all sat with separate groups but still felt as one. All the students went up to the buffet and filled their plates, some more adventurous than others, and I followed. The one thing I'd have to say I enjoyed the most was finding a table in the corner and enjoying a hot cup of coffee while looking out into the skyline and engaging in conversation with a couple others.

After making our way down and back to the hostel, we relaxed for a little while before we decided to head to a Reggae festival in Harajuku by Yoyogi Park. The reggae festival seemed appealing to me since I'm Trinidadian, I thought I'd be able to find others like myself. 

Unfortunately, I didn't run into anyone there, but we all had a good time. It smelled so good and the music they had blasting made me reminisce about home. 

Dinner time came, and I thought it was time to really take it to the edge. So back in Asakusa I took Sada and Suguru to a place I wanted to try ever since I arrived in Tokyo. They had Fugu on display outside the store. I'll be honest, I was very nervous as to if this would end up being my last meal or not. So, I just went for it. It was fantastic. Most tender meat I have had, very similar to eel. We had both the raw and grilled version. I recommend it to anyone who makes it to Tokyo. 

Final Day of Class and TNCIS Going Away Party

Final day of Class and TNCIS Party

Today is our last day of classes here in Japan so its just fitting that we have a final. The final that Dr. V gave us wasn't very difficult. It was a mostly subjective based exam. There was a lot of writing but that balanced out the difficulty.
The main event for the day was a planned event by the Chuo staff and students. It was essentially a going away party for all of us and one last chance for us to see everyone. At around 5:30 pm we all gathered on the first floor of building 3 in some sort of meeting room and we had a great time. One by one all students, both American and Japanese, stated their best memory they've had since our arrival. You could tell that emotions were rising when everyone realized that their time was running short here in Japan. So it was our time to make it worth while.

An American's Japanese Life XX

May 29, 2015

      I can slowly be surely feel my time in Japan coming to an end. Knowing all that I have done up to this point was an experience worth all the while. But sadly, my time is running out. With my departure date coming up but the need to do homework riding my mind, I was left with an inner conflict. After much mental debate, I came to the conclusion that since I have one more free day in Japan, I'll use that day to go out and get my fill. Plus we had a farewell party back at the university.
      A friend and I decided to use our time wisely and take advantage of the University's great WiFi. Good thing we did to, because as soon as we got started the rain come. I glad that I decided t work today in exchange for play because nothing beats that feeling of finishing an assignment and not having to worry about it. After completing our assignments, we went back to the Hostel to get some rest. Unfortunate for us, we were not paying attention to the time. We had just enough time to walk in, lay our stuff down, get any last minutes things, and had back out to the University.
      I really enjoyed the time we got to shared not just with our own, but with everyone else buddies. We bonded over stories about the past month and food. All the study aboard got to share their favorite thing about Japan. It's funny because even through we are all in the same group, we all had different experiences in Japan. We ended the party with an American custom. What better way to end a night than to dance. We exchanged gifts and plans for what tomorrow will bring.

Day 8, Taiko drums at Tama Campus

Breakfast at a new coffee shop chain, Doutor. I have a Matcha Latte and a tasty treat to go with it.

Today we visited the main Chuo University campus, Tama. We met other students here and tried our best to put together some origami. We decided to be ambitious and try to make a semi-hard one. It didn’t turn out so well, so I opted to make a little samurai hat. It looked ok.

Next they invited us to listen to a group of students play Taiko drums. I must say they are very talented. They were all very passionate and engaged in the songs. It isn’t just drumming, its about their leg and arm movement and their melodic, rhythmic chanting. It was really cool to watch. And then….they let us play…hahaha. It was very fun, but also laughable. Clearly, they practice A LOT! I wish I could’ve gotten some pictures of them, but I wanted to pay attention and wasn't sure if it would be rude or not.

After a long day, a few of us decided to hit the supermarket for some sushi before bed. I thought it was interesting to see the fried food out in the open and then a packaged pair of fried eggs.