Shinto

Shinto is the oldest religion in Japan. These

pictures are of Miyajima in Hiroshima

prefecture. Many traditions come from Shinto

belief. The gate is a classic Shinto symbol. It seperates the normal world and the sacred world.

Even the Kanji for gate looks like these Shinto Gates.

Shinto religion has affect on several things in Japan. Sometimes it is the New Years and sometimes it is actually going to a shrine and praying. Holiday foods are another thing affected by the religion.

Unfortunately Shinto has been manipulated for nationalist reasons. During World War 2 Shinto was used
as a way to gather support for the war in Japan. Eventually

when the war ended the Emperor had to admit that he really was not a Shitno Diety like he had claimed.


People today aren't as concerned about the true meaning
of Shinto religion. Younger people now still practice it but

don't understand or think about it. It is more tradition
than religion now.
Kami or Gods are a big part of Shinto also. They are believed to have control over weather, crops, nature in general, and also daily life.

Castles

These are pictures of some Castles in Japan(Osaka and Fukuoka). Castles have been a part of Japanese history for hundreds and hundreds of years. Castles began as wooden framed buildings and were normally based at the bottom of hills and surrounded by forests to prevent archers from hitting them from far distances. As weapons advanced stronger castles needed to be built. As you can see at the bottom of the picture of the Fukuoka castle there were many stones used in the structures of the castles. Not only on the castles themselves but on the many walls that surround the castles. Castles had many walls that ran similar to mazes to slow intruders, tire them out or confuse them(not all castles though). Walking up to the main tower of Fukuoka was not close to the outside gates and going through the valley like pathways with people attacking you from above would have been extremely difficult to gain access to the main tower. During 1575-1615 many castles like this were built. Japan was at war with itself and many clans were fighting for control.
Castles had many different parts to them. The most important was the main tower where the rulers would be. There were also places for soldiers and food storage.
As you can see in the picture of Osaka Castle there was a moat and the castle was far from the inner side of the moat. This is to make it harded of course for the enemy to reach the tower. If they were attacking on foot or with guns it was much safer and harder to damage from such a far distance. Castles all through Japan used the moat or sometimes a couple of moats. Now the second or outer moat would most likely be filled in because the space is needed for buildings and other things. At the time when these were being built though these castles were supposed to be the center of the city and easily entered if you were not an enemy but difficult if you were.
Now the castles around Japan are still used daily by many people. I met people at various castles that like to go there to meet people and talk about Japanese history and future. Some people give free tours about the castles as their hobbies. Japan should always keep these castles as a marker of their history. There are many great stories about these castles that definitely shaped Japan. Castles were not built so much after Tokugawa Ieyasu took control of Japan as the Shogun. He destroyed many also because he was unsure of who to trust and didn't want people to have a defense against him if he needed to get rid of them.
Castles now are mostly rebuilt because of the damage that has happened to them over the years. Osaka for example has been rebuilt at least two times.

Cars around the world

These are two pictures I took of German cars in
Japan. These are three of four of Germany's most popular cars and the more expensive of the four. From what I have learned, Japanese people much like Americans want to show their wealth, and having a nice foreign car shows that you have money and like to have toys. These models of cars are not like the usual Japanese style car. These are the sedan models and the coupe would be a little more Japan sized. Many Japanese cars are smaller because of the driving conditions in Japan (narrow roads, small parking spaces, etc...) and large cars are inconvenient. I have seen six Hummers here. Having a Hummer in Japan is (in my opinion) one of the worst autos to have here. I think besides it being too big for here it is rude to other people for making it hard for them to maneuver around your monster of an auto.
In America people buy a lot of Japanese cars. People are buying Japanese cars more because of the price and they are reliable. With the price there are a few points about Japanese cars that are reasons why they are becoming more and more popular with Americans.
First is Japanese cars are built to last. With regular upkeep Japanese cars will run forever. This is going to save on taking your car in to the shop often to fix things. Most Japanese autos are also champions on gas. Even the large trucks get better gas mileage than American trucks. This together with being more reliable is knocking American trucks and cars down in sales.
Another reason people in America want to have Japanese cars specifically is that they are fast and you can race them. People have done racing in America for ever and now they are turning to Japanese cars for ease of replacement parts also. One problem with this is that some of the racing style cars are also very easy to steal. So when someone breaks something they may know where to get a replacement part off someone else's car. That is not a good thing but it is true. Japanese cars handle very nicley also. That is important if you are racing your ride (car).
Japanese cars are everywhere now and there are many foreign cars in Japan. The world is just becoming smaller and things from other countries are a lot easier to get for whatever reason you may have to get them.

Sushi

This is a picture of a Kaitenzushi restaurant in Namba. I think that sushi is becoming a very global food. Other countries are eating it because of the health benefits and of course how delicious it is. People are also eating it because it is very different from burgers and your other foods in America.
I first had sushi in America. Sushi in America has some of the same fish or types of rolls, but America has also changed it to be more Americanized. An example of this is cream cheese on the sushi rolls. Traditional sushi would never have cream cheese with it. It is rice, fish, and maybe some seaweed depending on the if it is a roll or nigiri.
In Japan there are different types of sushi restaurants. This kaitenzushi restaurant is more like a fast food of sushi restaurants. The rolls are made and set on plates that rotate in a circle on a conveyor belt. At these places the quality of fish is not as good, but it still plenty fresh and tasty. Also in these restaurants there are more people going to them. Sometimes the waits are 10-30 minutes and sometimes even longer. Because this one is cheaper it is also a place for families to go.
Another type is more expensive but better fish is used and it is more fresh. You would normally sit down and order certain dishes and they would make them for you when you order. Very different from just grabbing a plate as it passes by you. I have never seen a wait in this style but many people still enjoy these ones equally to the kaitenzushi.
In America there are Kaitenzushi, regular sushi, and all you can eat sushi. People in America like I said earlier are becoming more interested in living longer, so Japanese cuisine is becoming more and more popular. Prices in America are more expensive because the fish has to be flown in more often to keep the freshness. I talked with a couple of my friends from Europe and they said people in Europe eat sushi for similar reasons.
So sushi is eaten all over the world now. People want to live longer and sushi is basically rice and protein (unless you are eating the fried sushi). Eating sushi everyday will not pack on as much weight as if you were to eat burgers(depending on how much you eat). I eat it often and still lose weight instead of putting it on like if I would have eaten in a burger restaurant.

I was curious about college life in Japan compared to my home country (America) so I went around and asked people various questions about their college life, free time, etc..

The first huge difference I noticed here is that people in Japan want to go to College immediatly after high school (unless they fail the exam, but that is another story). I have attended two colleges in Japan and asked about older students (being one myself) and if that ever happens here. The answer I got was no. I am sure it could happen under irregular cicumstances but it isnot at all common.

People in Japan normally graduate around the age of 22 or 23. I America someone can gradute at age 60 or when ever it wouldn't matter aslong as they do the work, but it is not uncommon for that to happen in America.

Another difference I am used to is that in America you have more options about if you are a part-time student full- time or just taking a class. Here in Japan you are a full time student first and then you decide what you will do on your spare time. School will run from around 9 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon on the weekdays. Their study time is how much they are willing to invest into it.

A big thing here is sports clubs and circles. Clubs and circles are almost the same but clubs will have more strict rules with participation and attendance. Cirlces are more relaxed about that kind of thing. If a student is in a circle or club they will most likely be spending about 10 hours a week, but can be much more on practicing with their other members. This plus the school work makes for a busy week.

Many students here have part time jobs also. (This is the opposite from what I think of American Universitys. I have a full time job and am a part time student.) These students will work short shifts but they seem to work many days. I am just amazed at how much time the students here spend on school, school activities, and work. It seems to me like they never would be able to have fun.

They do! Many of the students will go out with friends and play, drink, sing, or whatever, but what they give up is sleep. Students here don't sleep like Americans at all! I have talked to many Japanese students and they have told me about how they slept for two hours the night before or they average 5 hours of sleep a night. This in America may happen, but it is more likely that student will skip the class and try to catch up on their sleep. I am amazed at how much the Japanese students work and how little they sleep. (Of course this is not every Japanese student).

When is work over?

This is a picture I took of an older gentleman working in Japan. The reason I chose this as a point of interest is because I am so surprised at how many older people here are working and are as active as anyone else is. I see people( that in America would not go anywhere without a car) riding a bike down the steet with a basket of groceries on the handlebars and a basket of various things on a rack above the rear tire. My Grand father is 80 years old and I always considered him pretty healthy. He walks around a lot and does yard work etc... He keeps himself active, but I never see him do the things that I see older people in Japan doing. The man in this picture is not 80 years old and I am not sure how old he is because of it being rude to ask people their age. It took me long enough just to get someone to allow me take a picture of them.

My point of all of this is that what I have seen from people in Japan is that the work is never really over. I talked to an older friend of mine and he says he feels useless when he is not being productive. this could all change in the future because of how younger people are "becoming more lazy".

I tried to get pictures of many other people doing normal things in their lives but they were not willing to allow me to take their pictures. What I saw and continue to see though is people not being effected by aging the same as I am used to in America. I am used to my family and friends that are not lazy they just say they are tired and don't want to exert themselves as much as they use to when they were younger. I am going to continue looking into this and see why there is more active people in the older generation here.