Name: 25 Weird Things about Japan | TRUE or FALSE?
Uploaded: 2018-05-28T07:26:59.000Z
Duration: 13 min 56 s

Hi guys! We got a question from Christoph on Twitter.

今回はクリストフさんからの質問です

.. who linked an article on 9gag called, "25 Weird Things About Japan That Make You Say, " 'But Why?' ..

あるサイト記事に「日本に関する25の変な事」とあったので、検証して欲しいとのことでした

So, we're going to go through these things with you and let you know if they are in fact true.

では早速、見ていこうと思います

Fruits really expensive here.. 
Yeah. 
but it's really good.

フルーツは基本高いですが、美味しいです

You might spend extra on strawberries but they're always going to be good strawberries..

苺とはかはちょっと高くても美味しいから買っちゃうよね

..and none of the like completely watered down no-flavor strawberries you might get sometimes in America.

アメリカのとはけっこう違います

スーパーのメロンはいくら位？

It really depends, but the cheap one would be around ten bucks..  to twenty?

ものによるけど、1玉1000円以下のも見たことあるよ

Japan imports approximately 85% of  Jamaica's annual coffee  production.

ジャマイカのコーヒー年間生産量の85%を輸入している

Actually, I don't know but it sounds like it's true and I like coffee. Who doesn't like coffee?

これは知らないけど、本当っぽいね

The fact is that everyone likes coffee. I would in fact import 85% of Jamaica's coffee production myself.

個人的にコーヒーは好きだけど

Because that's how much coffee I need to survive.

でも、どの国もコーヒー好きでしょ

個人的にも85%のジャマイカ産コーヒーを輸入したいわ

Yeah. Is that true? I think it's close to 100%

Do Japanese.. Is that like something common that Japanese know?

They're like, "Yeah, come visit us in Japan out literacy rate is a hundred percent!"

その知識は日本では常識なの？

I don't know how I know. I think I learned it in school.

我々の識字率はほぼ100％です！

Part Two: Japanese are incredibly disciplined and devoted to education.

詳しくは覚えてないけど、学校で習ったと思う

Is your education super important to you? Are kids like, "I really want to learn."

日本人は超規律正しく、教育に超熱心である

Some people are really like that but I wasn't.

I don't think it's that they're like devoted to education. I think it the way the system is set up here.

You have to study a lot, because you have to compete with other students to get into high school..

.. and then you have to compete to get into a good university, and to some people a good university makes or breaks your entire life.

So.. It's not that Japanese kids are like, "I really care about my education."

I think the majority of us go to school and study kind of hard because we had to.
Yeah, I think they just have to.

日本人学生が勉強熱心というか、

You have to wear special shoes in the bathroom.
 Special shoes? 
You go to someones house they might have bathroom slippers.

受験システム上、勉強しないといけないって感じだと思います

高校受験、大学受験で他の学生と競い合って入学しないといけないので

We actually do have these slippers no one actually uses. My parents have one of these too and I've never used it.

学歴は非常に大事だと考える人も少なくないです

You'll go to places that have them. You do not have to use the bathroom slippers.

学生に聞いて「僕は勉強が大好きです」って回答は少ないと思う

Part Two: Many Japanese bathrooms don't have a separate area for the sower meaning the floor is often wet.

大部分は受験の為に仕方なく勉強してると思う

00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,480
Floors? Yeah? Isn't it.. what's weird about it?

Okay so, if you come to Japan. The first time you're here. You're probably going to be in a cheap little apartment..

トイレでは専用の履物を履かなくてはならない

..because you're studying abroad or you're an English teacher or something.

Which means that your toilet, shower, and sink, may all be in the same room.

You be like, "Oh, isn't that normal? That's what we do in America."

何故か、誰も使わないのにあります

We DO do that in America but in Japan you shower outside of the bathtub.

So the floor of the room with the bathtub is supposed to get wet.

Because that's where you shower and the actual bathtub itself is for clean bodies, to soak in a tub and just relax; like a hot tub.

別にわざわざ履かなくても大丈夫です

So, if you live in a cheap apartment, where they can't afford the space to separate the toilet and a sink from that room,

then everything might get wet. But otherwise in normal houses and halfway decent sized apartments,

like our apartment is small but we still have a separate toilet room. That's how it normally is.

日本に来て、安い賃貸アパートなんかに住むと

Our sink is in a separate room as well. And the bathroom is just a room by itself.

トイレとシャワーとシンクが一緒かもしれません

With the bathtub and the shower outside of the bathtub and the whole thing is supposed to get wet.

アメリカではこれが一般的です

でも、日本では浴槽の外で身体を洗います

Young Japanese are increasingly interested in uneven or "snaggle" teeth, known as "yaeba."

ですから、浴室の床は濡れても大丈夫な構造になっています

Okay, from the first place. Yaeba is not uneven teeth. It's the specific. What was it called? Canine?

浴槽内では普通、湯に浸かるだけです

It's your canine. It's only the canine teeth. 
Canine teeth.
Yeah.

There's the misconception that Japanese people think that crooked teeth are cute, but it's not.

ですから、手狭な賃貸アパートでは、トイレも床が濡れるかもしれませんが

Like, you can't go to Japan with like super messed up teeth and people will be like. "Kawaii!!"

そうでない場合、大抵トイレは別室です

Alright, it's just your canines.
Yeah.
Just the little fang teeth.

私達のアパートも狭いですが、トイレは別です

If those stick out then that could be considered cute.

If you watch anime and you see the characters that have the little fangs. They're not fangs, that's yaeba by the way.

浴室も、浴槽と身体を洗う床が別々で

00:04:07,700 --> 00:04:09,600
The more you know.

全て濡れる構造になっています

Slurping is a good thing in Japan. It means the food is delicious and it's a compliment to the chef.

若者の間では不規則な歯、または八重歯が流行っている

I wouldn't say it's a good thing. We just do it because that's how we grew up with.

I don't know. I've never even heard of it. I don't think we slurp to show our appreciation to the chef.

八重歯で、特に犬歯（K9）が可愛いと思われています。

00:04:30,660 --> 00:04:33,020
When we eat, we just eat it like that.

何故か「不規則な歯が日本では可愛い」と誤解されていますが

So slurping noodles is something that just; It's never been negative in Japan.

So they're..
Or, some people say they slurp because it tastes better.
There's.. yeah.

不規則な歯を威張っても、可愛いとは言われません

There's no issue with slurping noodles. So no one tries to stop themselves. So a lot of people do it just because that's tradition. Right?

Yeah.. yeah.
Um, some people do it because they say it aerates the noodles and broth in your mouth.

（尖った）歯が少し見えるのが可愛いと思われていています

Just like wine tasting.
Like wine tasting, yeah. So it tastes better. So they say you should.

因みにアニメ等で強調されることもありますが、牙ではなく、八重歯（又は犬歯）です

And you're supposed to eat noodles like ramen right away when you get it. When it's still hot. Before the noodles become soggy.

「日本で音を立ててすするのは良い事であり、シェフへの賛辞である」

良い事というか、ただの習慣で

So if you're trying to eat super hot ramen. You kinda can't help but slurp it a little bit.

It's not a compliment to the chef. That is.. I don't know why this is so wide spread.

シェフへ賛辞を表す為にわざと音を立ててはすすらないかな

I've looked this up in Japanese. Jun has looked this up in Japanese before.

音を立ててすするのはただの習慣の1つで

There is nothing on the Japanese side of the internet. Where any Japanese person has ever said, "It's a compliment to the chef."

その方が美味しいからって言う人もいるね

The only thing you will find if you look it up in Japanese is Japanese people responding to foreigners saying it's a compliment to the chef.

周りがすすって食べるから、自然と身につくし

And they're like, "What are you talking about? No it's not."

If I want to say it's good. I just say it's good to the chef and that's how I always do.

空気と撹拌した方が美味しく食べられるという人もいます

It was oishikatta desu. That's what I just say.

ワインのテイスティングと同じだそうです

Gochiso sama deshita!
Gochisousama oishikatta desu.

ラーメンみたいな熱い料理だと麺が伸びる前に食べるので

KFC is the Christmas food of choice.
Kentucky fried chicken?

単純にすすらないと食べにくいという理由もあります

Is that the Christmas food of choice?
[Laughs] It is.

Like, around Christmas season when you turn on the TV. You see the KFC advertising all the time.

シェフへの賛辞の為ではないと思います

どうやって賛辞説が広がったかは分からなかったので

Sticking your finger in someone's butt is a pretty normal thing to do. It's called kancho and kids do it on the playground.

日・英で色々調べてみましたが

Have you been kancho'd Jun? 
I actually have and it's freakin painful! Please don't do it! Please people.. don't.

日本語では、賛辞であるという説は見当たりませんでした

The term kar·a·o·ke or karaoke means "empty orchestra."

Cuddle cafes are a thing.
What? What cafe? 
Soineya 
[Laughs]

Did you guys know we have cuddle cafes in America too?
Really?

というコメントが多くありました

個人的には、美味しかった時はいつも口で言っています

It's not like.. People say this about Japan. So they can be like, "Japan's so weird! Look what's normal over there!"

This is not normal. It's just a thing you can find. You can find it in America too.

Have you ever heard of anyone even mentioning cuddle cafes?

クリスマス料理にKFCで買う人がいる

I've never heard of the word Soineya. 
[Laughs] 
I don't even know that existed.

ケンタッキー・フライド・チキン？

There are no janitors in Japan's schools. Instead the kids clean up after themselves.

I'm sure some schools have janitors and some students don't have to clean up after themselves.

When I was in school I had to. Elementary school, junior high school, high school. I had to.

クリスマスシーズンにはTVで宣伝してるよ

Do you have to clean everything? Are there no janitors to do any of it?