Ueno: the downtown of Tokyo

People get surprised when I tell them that I have been living in Japan for almost two years, and yet I still did not visit Ueno! But that is the truth, at least until last week.

This weekend, I finally visited Ueno, and I was surprised.

Ueno felt like Amman's downtown. Shops are scattered on both sides of the streets, where shop owners yell calling people to visit their shops, just like what happens in Amman's downtown. Shops are small and barely fit a person or two, while most of the items are stacked outside the shop itself to give a chance for passing people to buy.

There was a huge fish store in Ueno, which is actually closer to Okatchimachi. In that store all types of fish, some that I have never seen in my life, are being sold. The experience was new for me and fun to see this many types of fish. 

The great part was the suprise that many shops in Ueno sell arabic spices and goods like Hummos and Fuul. The prices were fair, eventhough they were a little bit more expensive than the prices in Saitama.

Ueno was a fun experience. If you still did not visit it, I advice you to do so ASAP.

I will leave you with the pictures.

Sorry for no-blogging

Dear readers,

I apologize for not updating my blog so often.

I am going through a critical period, study wise, and I barely have time to eat or sleep.

I thank my wife for all her support during this very tough period.

I promise you all that I will be updating often very soon, once I pass the couple of deadlines I have.

A scream from Tokyo: Stop killing people in Gaza!

A mixed group of Japanese and non-Japanese raised their voices asking for the very basic human right, the right to live, to be given to people of Gaza..

Let the whole world know who the terrorists are...

14.99 = 15.00 ?

 

What is the default facial expression that you’d receive from ANY employee in Jordan if:

1. Your bill was 1.5JD and you paid him a paper of 50JD waiting to give you back the 48.5JD change?

2. The price of an item is 14,99JD and you paid him exactly 14,99 not 15JD??

3. You asked the waiter to give you back the 2JD change without leaving any tip behind after having  a delicious meal at any respectful restaurant??!!! 

Of course if the employee was someone patient and he doesn’t usually say it direct in the face, he will only give you this bothered shocked angry blaming facial expression that is telling you ARE YOU CRAZY??!!!

Yes, it is WELL-KNOWN that we shouldn’t bother employees to look for 48.5JD change in order to give it back to us. Also, 14,99  ALWAYS means 15, who said that there is something on earth called 14,99!!! Or you had a delicious meal and you don’t even care to give this little tiny tip for the person who served you??? What a shame!!!!

These are what I’ve always thought as the default rules, or the least thing we can do as a social etiquette. And people who do such things deserve such a reaction. But for my cultural shock, the first thing I’ve learned when I came here to Japan is that those rules DO NOT apply. A client is always honored and whatever he does he should be always thanked and appreciated.

199 yen really mean 199 not 200 yen. So you should always wait for the employee to give you back your ONE and only YEN without forgetting the wide smile and the many thanks you will receive from him/her! I remember that my husband laughed out loud when I told him I want to leave the 10-yen change, it doesn’t really count as we always say for the employee it’s for you!! I discovered that if you did, the employee wouldn’t really understand what you mean!! It’s your right and you should take it.

You don’t have to be worried if you entered a taxi cab or a market for having a 10000 yen paper (almost 100$) and paying only 800 yen or even 110 yen (around 1$), on the contrary, the employee will apologize for making you wait to give you back the change!

Also, tips in Japan never exist, you only pay for what you eat and staff is meant to serve you respectfully in order to make you satisfied!!

Well, it is a cultural shock but the basic rule says 1+1=2, so in Japan it is never considered rude to say it is TWO.. (^_^*)

 

Sindbad, the ARABIAN"?" sailor...

اتا سندباد المغترب.. ابعد ابعد اقترب..

لا اهاب الموج ابدا حين يعلو و يضطرب..

Sindbad, the very VERY famous cartoon in the arabic world, talks about the story of an Iraqi kid who sails around the world.

If you were born in the 80s, then you probably grew up watching this cartoon.

To my surprise, this cartoon is actually Japanese. Yup. Its actually Japanese dubbed in Arabic. 

Nowadays when I have time, I watch the Japanese version to enjoy my childhood memories and practice my Japanese.

Check the video below..

Watching this video as a grown up, I could see the big mistakes regarding the arabic or the islamic culture. 

For example, on the first episode, people are shown praying and bending over on their knees for the king. This is neither an islamic nor an arabic behaviour because bending over is only for god.

The director of this cartoon made some effort in reading and reflecting the arabic environment, but it was not the best he could do since he could simply just avoid such simple mistakes.

Anyhow, sindbad is my favourite cartoon. Its best of the best and if you watch it you will be amazed how the story builds up.