Ranryo Onsen Resort

What a great holiday! It seems as though everywhere there is more optimism for the next year. We had such a wonderful, relaxing time over our winter break.


One of the highlights was a trip to a 300+ year old resort hotel Ranryo in the Nikko mountains. It's the second year in a row we've come here and it's just a glorious place to relax and really zen out.


The meal was awesome but hard to cook with a squirmy one year old.

Dos and Don'ts In Japan

I was just in an expat forum and someone was asking about the dos and don'ts in Japanese culture. I wrote this entry and thought, "Hey this could be a blog..."

If you have anything to add please do so!

I think that as a foreigner you are allowed to get away with a lot for a reasonable amount of time but if you are conscientious you will pick up what other people are doing.

In no particular order:

1. Take your shoes off when entering a house you will get slippers. To be really polite turn your shoes to face the door after taking them off.

2. When you enter a house say OJAMASHIMASU! I think it means "I'm being intrusive!" - for the life of me I can't remember what you say when you leave! I think it is OJAMASHIMASHITA which means "I was intrusive" but I'm not sure....

3. Do not wear slippers onto the tatami floor of the house

4. Change house slippers for toilet slippers - Don't wear toilet slippers out of the toilet!!!

5. Wait to eat at the dinner table everyone will say ITADAKIMASU (let's eat!) together then you can begin. At the end of the meal say "Gochisosamadeshita" which means "That was delicious!"

6. If you are a guest your drink will be continuously topped up by the host if you serve yourself it's not too bad but then you must pour someone else a drink. This works at drinking parties also.
7. Try not to be too loud out in public.

8.Don't stand your chopsticks in food it is reminiscent of the death ceremony.

9. Wipe you hand with the moist towelette before eating and fold it nicely to the side of your setting.

10. Don't lick your chopsticks.

11. When complimented seem shy/embarrased and say "No it's not so!" or "You are being kind!" It's rude to be egotistical or brag.

12.When you see someone in the morning say "Ohayogozaimasu"
afternoon "Konnichiwa" and evening "Kombanwa" before you go to sleep say "Oyasuminasai!

13. When someone gives you a gift give profuse thanks, next time you see them say thank you again. This works for apologies also.

14. Business cards/name cards mark your "rank". Accept the other business person's card with both hands and a slight bow, look at it and make comments about the style or remark on the position at a seated meeting leave the card in front of you until the end of the meeting. When you hand over your card do so with both hands and a slight bow. They will do the same with your card. Respect the other persons business card, don't pick your teeth with it, don't fold it and don't forget it.

15. If your chopsticks come in a paper sleeve when you are finished eating put them back in the sleeve and fold over the end then lay them on your plate.

That's just off the top of my head. For business there are many more complicated social mores to keep in mind. The way of entering an elevator, the seating arrangement in a car and the seating arrangement at a meeting are all very different from western perceptions.

A Cabin In The Woods

We are back from our relaxing and incredibly cool week in Kirifuri, Nikko Japan. The hardest part is not getting back to work but re-adjusting to the incredible temperature difference between the highlands and Utsunomiya. I know it's selfish but I pray for rain everyday.

We stayed in a really cute cabin, spent most of our time reading and relaxing did some archery and just chilled. The absolute highlights were a huge deer in the neighbours yard that seemingly was oblivious to people and fireflies whose season is supposed to be June but I guess no one told these guys.

Our friends Jiorji and Harue, who own Seibu Net Home in Saitama, came to visit for a night and we had a wonderful time with them. They are great to hook up with because we can always bounce our business ideas off them or vent about the latest hurdles we are facing. They also were kind enough to bring a real Japanese treat, "Wagyu" - incredibly tender and delicious steaks that probably cost close to ¥7500 each.

Golden Week

We had a beautiful Golden Week this year. Golden Week is between the first week of May and the last week of April in Japan; it is a time when many companies give their employees a holiday and domestic and international travel is very popular.

"Many Japanese take paid time off on the intervening work days, but some companies also closed down completely and give their employees time off. Golden week is the longest vacation period of the year for many Japanese jobs. Two other holidays may also be observed for most or all of a week: Oshōgatsu in January and Obon in August. Golden Week is an extremely popular time to travel. Flights, trains, and hotels are often fully booked despite significantly higher rates at this time. Popular foreign destinations in Asia, Guam, Saipan, Hawaii, and major cities on the west coast of the U.S., such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco, as well as in Europe, are affected during these seasons by huge numbers of Japanese tourists." Wikipedia

We went to a cabin in Kirifuri, Nikko and spent the days relaxing, reading books and doing exercise videos. Sunday morning we were lucky enough to see 13 monkeys climbing all over our cabin and in the forest. A mother and a baby monkey took a nap on our deck. We didn't take any photos as to not disturb them.

Reluctantly we left the cabin, met a mild traffic jam but made it home to enjoy delicious Butter Chicken and hot buttered nan for dinner.