Will Japan finally open in March 2022?

Feb 16 | Evan | No Comments |

When the pandemic broke out two plus years ago, nobody expected it to last this long. While the US is slowly getting back to some level of normalcy, Japan has been extremely strict when it comes to opening its borders to the outside world. As of Jan 23rd 2022, Japan is completely closed to foreigners. The country only allows its citizens and residents to travel internationally with strict monitoring once they enter the country. What can we expect from Japan in the coming months and when will we be able to plan a photo tour of Japan? Let’s find out what’s happening in Japan today and what may happen in the upcoming months.

Japan’s current situation with the pandemic

Of course this could change anytime….

Japan is currently not open to any foreigners regardless of the purpose of the trip (okay, there are a very few exceptions). The only people who can travel to and from Japan are Japanese citizens or residents. It was though once opened up to foreigners when the Olympics was held in the summer of 2021 to those who were athletes or a part of the Olympics and further Japan decided to open its borders to business people and international students in November of 2021, but it was quickly shut down a month later with the rise of Omicron.

Although the 14 days quarantine recently changed to 10 days quarantine on Jan 15th 2022, overall measures Japan is proposing such as not allowing any foreigners to enter the country does not seem to change at least till the beginning of March 2022. However, there is a movement by foreign nationals such as American researchers petitioning to open Japan’s borders as the President Biden and the new Japanese Prime Minister Kishida’s meeting is approaching (Kaori, Yoshida 2022, “Requesting Japan to relax its borders” a petition by American researchers ,Nihon Keizai Shimbun, accessed Jan 23rd 2022. Also, two hours before publishing this post, some positive news came out: Japan to cut 7-day quarantine period to 3, allow in more foreigners.

COVID Vaccines in Japan

Japanese people’s vaccination rate is extremely high in comparison to the world wide average of 52.4%. As of January 23rd 2022, 79.2% of Japanese people, which is equivalent to 99.6 million people, are fully vaccinated. However, the booster shot is taking a while for the Japanese to get started. In December 2021, finally those in the medical fields started to receive a booster shot while the everyday citizen has not had a chance to receive a booster shot. It is only recently, the elderlies are given priorities to get the booster shot in January 2022.

Besides the issues of delayed booster shots, Japanese children aged between 5 to 11 are finally approved to get COVID vaccines as of Jan 21st 2022, thus there are still large groups of vulnerable populations that are at risk of COVID, thus Japan seems to be extra cautious with opening its borders.

14 days quarantine to 10 days quarantine

The length of quarantine just recently changed from 14 days to 10 days when entering Japan. There was a movement for 7 days quarantine instead of 10 days, but at the end, 10 days quarantine was chosen as Japan is still very cautious with the rise of the Omicron variant and people’s movement from abroad.

This change took place on Jan 15th 2022. Though this quarantine is not so simple. Most travelers cannot choose the place of quarantine for the first 3, 6, or the whole 10 days. What this means is that depending on where the travelers come from, they are sent to the government specified quarantine hotels to monitor their health condition for the 3 days, 6 days, or 10 days after their arrival with day 1 starting from the next day of the arrival. Apparently, It is so strict that only one person can stay in a room with the exception of a young child. Otherwise, even families cannot stay in the same room in a hotel to quarantine.

Traveling from the US as of Jan 2022

So what’s happening to those who are traveling from the States? For those who can travel to Japan from the U.S., there is currently a 6 days or 3 days quarantine period at the government specified hotel before they can move to their own home to finish up the 10 days quarantine. People who travel from below states have to quarantine for 6 days at a government specified hotel to monitor their condition with day 3 and day 6 PCR tests as these states experience high omicron outbreaks.

Illinois

California

Texas

New York

Hawaii

Florida

Massachusetts

People traveling from any other states only need to quarantine for 3 days at a government specified location before they move onto their homes to finish up the 10 days quarantine.

So what’s next?

Despite other countries’ pressures, Japan’s new prime minister and his team seems to be pretty clear on how they want to handle the pandemic and it doesn’t look so bright for any foreigners to be able to freely visit Japan any time soon. Even though there seems to be a change in the beginning of March 2022, it would be certain groups of people such as business people and international students who will be prioritized before any American travelers for pressure can visit Japan.

We never anticipated that the photo tours of Japan, and just traveling to Japan in general, wouldn’t be an option for this long but hopefully things will improve in March and we’ll hear some exciting news in the coming spring to summer to visit Japan during cherry blossom season!

Useful expressions when you want to ask someone out in Japanese

Feb 01 | Evan | No Comments |

Have you ever thought about asking a Japanese girl or guy out? Well, if you ever thought about it, this is going to be a very useful article as there will be some useful expressions you can use to ask a Japanese girl or guy out! Of course, you can try these in Japan when you are on a photo tour of Japan or if you have a love interest in your country who is Japanese, why don’t you impress her/him with these Japanese phrases!!

Give compliments in Japanese

Just like any language/culture, giving compliments is what you want to do to get your girl/guy’s attention in Japan. More compliments you know, it’ll be better as they can often be used as an opening to get to know the person more or simply to start a conversation.

Below are some of the useful phrases to give compliments in Japanese.

That’s a lovely name.

Suteki na namae desu ne.

すてき　な　なまえ　です　ね。

素敵な名前ですね。

It’s really lovely.

Sugoku suteki desu.

すごく　すてき　です。

すごく素敵です。

That suits you so well.

Totemo niattsute imasu.

とても　にあって　います。

とても似合っています。

Your nails are so cute.

Nail kawaii desu ne.

ネイル　かわいい　です　ね。

ネイル可愛いですね。

Today’s clothes are lovely.

Kyou no fuku kawaii desu ne.

きょうの　ふく　かわいい　です　ね。

今日の服可愛いですね。

Of course, some of these may not be useful to ask a guy out, but if you know more Japanese, get inspired to tweek here or there so that you can use these compliments in Japanese to be more suitable to your love interests. For example, instead of the word “kawaii(cute)”, you can use “katsukoii(cool)” if you want to give compliments when something is cool.

anonymous guy giving sweet candies to girlfriend on street

Time to ask out a Japanese girl/guy!

Now you have given a compliment or two, it’s time to ask out the girl/guy you are interested in. Of course, if you know more Japanese, play with your words, have a conversation, but these are some common ways for Japanese to ask someone out.

Can we go out to eat together?

Issho ni gohan ni ikimasen ka?

いっしょ　に　ごはん　に　いきません　か？

一緒にご飯に行きませんか？

It was fun today. I’d love to play again.

Kyou wa tanoshikatta desu. Mata asobitai na.

きょう　は　たのしかった　です。また　あそびたい　な。

今日は楽しかったです。また遊びたいな。

I fell for you at first sight.

Hitomebore shimashita

ひとめぼれ　しました。

一目惚れ　しました。

Do you have a BF/GF?

Koibito ha imasu ka? (*In Japanese it is written ha, but you pronounce “wa.”)

こいびと　は　います　か？

恋人はいますか？

To tell you the truth, a lot of times Japanese people do not like to give out their phone numbers to total strangers nowadays. Thus, making it more casual and more approachable, ask for his/her Line, Instagram or some forms of social media or communication tools instead of the phone number first. That will increase your likelihood of getting her/his communication.

Can we exchange Line?

Line wo koukan shimasen ka?

Line　を　こうかん　しません　か？

Lineを交換しませんか？

Do you have Instagram?

Insta yattsute imasu ka?

インスタ　やって　います　か？

インスタやっていますか？

Of course, there are many different ways to give compliments and also ask someone out in Japanese. These are just starters. If your love interests know English, you may not need to try so hard in Japanese, but every effort counts, right? If you know more Japanese, play with these phrases with the words you know. You can switch nouns and adjectives so that they fit your case. Also, just like the rest of the world, more Japanese are becoming online dependent when meeting new people so you can use these when communicating online, but if you are more old school and want to ask her/him out, you can also use these in person. Choose your battle and hope you can be successful at asking your love interests out. Good luck!

Japanese Learning Today – Ru-verbs, U-verb, Irregulars

Jul 01 | Evan | No Comments |

Learn three kinds of verbs in Japanese

In the previous Japanese learning blog, we learned what to say when you want something and when you want to do something. Furthermore, we also talked about Japanese verbs, ru-verbs in particular. In Japanese, there are two main verb types called “ru-verbs” and ‘u-verbs.” In this article, we are going to learn about how these two verb types behave in casual and polite forms in positive and negative sentences. Additionally, there are also two irregular verbs, which behave differently so we will spend a little time looking at them too. Let’s learn different kinds of Japanese verbs to be ready for your next adventure on a photo tour of Japan!

Ru-verbs

In short, “ru-verbs” are the verbs, which end in “ru.” For example, taberu/たべる(to eat), miru/みる(to see/to look/to watch), neru/ねる(to sleep), and akeru/あける(to open) are all ru-verbs. Let’s pick two of these ru-verbs to see how they conjugate.

たべる = to eat

	Casual Form	Polite Form
Positive	たべる = taberu	たべます = tabemasu
Negative	たべない = tabenai	たべません = tabemasen

みる = to see/look/watch

	Casual Form	Polite Form
Positive	みる = miru	みます = mimasu
Negative	みない = minai	みません = minasen

As you see above, from the casual form to the polite form, “ru” changes to “masu” in a positive tense. For a negative tense, “ru” is replaced by “nai” and “nai” changes to “masen” in a polite form.

Let’s form a simple sentence using these ru-verbs.

Base: I eat an onigiri.

おにぎり　を　たべる。

おにぎり　を　たべない。

おにぎり　を　たべます。

おにぎり　を　たべません。

Base: I watch a movie.

えいが　を　みる。

えいが　を　みない。

えいが　を　みます。

えいが　を　みません。

U-verbs

As you expect, “u-verbs” are the verbs, which end in “u.” These u-verbs include hanasu/はなす(to speak), kaku/かく（to write), nomu/のむ（to drink), and matsu/まつ（to wait.) Let’s pick two of these verbs to see how they conjugate.

はなす = to speak

	Casual Form	Polite Form
Positive	はなす = hanasu	はなします = hanashimasu
Negative	はなさない = hanasanai	はなしません = hanashimasen

かく = to write

	Casual Form	Polite Form
Positive	かく = kaku	かきます = kakimasu
Negative	かかない =kakanai	かきません = kakimasen

Let’s form a simple sentence using these u-verbs.

Base: I speak Japanese.

にほんご　を　はなす。

にほんご　を　はなさない。

にほんご　を　はなします。

にほんご　を　はなしません。

Base: I write Japanese.

にほんご　を　かく。

にほんご　を　かかない。

にほんご　を　かきます。

にほんご　を　かきません。

2 Irregular verbs

There are two exceptions, which do not fit in either ru-verbs or u-verbs. These are kuru/くる(to come) and suru/する(to do). Take a look at how these irregular verbs behave in casual and polite forms.

くる = to come

	Casual Form	Polite Form
Positive	くる＝　kuru	きます＝kimasu
Negative	こない＝konai	きません＝kimasen

する= to do

	Casual Form	Polite Form
Positive	する = suru	します = shimasu
Negative	しない = shinai	しません =shimasen

Let’s form a simple sentence using these irregular verbs.

Base: I come to play tomorrow.

あした　あそび　に　くる。

あした　あそび　に　こない。

あした　あそび　に　きます。

あした　あそび　に　きません。

Base: I study Japanese.

にほんご　を　べんきょう　する。

にほんご　を　べんきょう　しない。

にほんご　を　べんきょう　します。

にほんご　を　べんきょう　しません。

Yes, learning verbs and how to conjugate them is not easy. Though the good thing is that there are only two main verb groups in Japanese so once you get a feel for these “ru-verbs” and ‘u-verbs,” it’s not too bad. In addition, there are only two irregular verbs so as long as you remember how “kuru” and “suru” behave, you are a Japanese master!

This is just an intro to learn Japanese verbs so we will certainly work more on verb conjugations in the coming Japanese articles. Don’t worry, we still have time till you join the photo tour of Japan!

Let’s eat at a Kaiten Sushi!

Jun 14 | Evan | No Comments |

What you should expect when eating sushi at a kaiten sushi, converter belt sushi.

Do you like sushi? Who is excited to go to Japan to eat fresh sushi?

Well, sushi has become an internationally well recognized Japanese food in the 20th century. However, not everyone has been to kaiten sushi, the sushi that comes around on a converter belt! Today, let’s learn about kaiten sushi and what you should know before going to one so that you can prepare yourself for the photo tour of Japan, especially when you have an opportunity to venture out to eat!

What is “kaiten sushi?” Is it different from regular sushi?

So what is kaiten sushi? You all know what sushi is so what does “kaiten” mean? Kaiten in Japanese means “rotaining.” Thus, kaiten sushi is a particular sushi that comes on a converter belt, which rotates around the restaurant.

Sushi comes in many different forms in Japan, which also varies in prices. In general, you can consider “kaiten sushi” to be a cheap option. In comparison to sushi where you eat at a counter seat, kaiten sushi is much more relaxed, casual, and accessible to everyone. The matter of fact, because of such nature, it is popular among families to go to kanten sushi. Of course it is a sushi restaurant, so you will have a lot of different sushi, but at kaiten sushi, many other options such as sides, soup, and desserts can also be ordered at an accessible cost as well.

Make sure to pay attention to the colors of the sushi plates!

One thing you might like to be aware of is the color of plates. Yes, kaiten sushi is much cheaper than other options, but depending on the colors of plates, some are more expensive than others so make sure you are aware of the colors of plates, thus prices. Otherwise, you could be eating all expensive options, thus at the end of the day, you will be paying a lot more than you were originally planning.

In general, at kaiten sushi, the different colors of plates indicate different prices. It is usually 3,4 different colors of plates that are rotating so it’s not that hard to keep a track of the price. You also keep all your plates at your table where you eat so that staff can count the number of plates at the end to calculate the cost.

This clear identification of price is so crucial and why kaiten sushi became so popular. For example, some or all of the items are market price so you may not know the price till the end at high-end sushi places like eating at a counter table. Kaiten sushi is created for its accessible/cheap cost and clear identification of price so different colors of plates is one of the key features of this venue.

History of kaiten sushi

So how did kaiten sushi come to life? Originally, sushi was an expensive food, which was not for everyone. However, everyone wanted to eat sushi and the idea of kaiten sushi came to life. At the beginning, it was more like “all 100 yen ($1),” but later on, different colors of plates, thus different prices of sushi, automatic tea dispensers, and sushi robots were introduced.

Interestingly, the idea of kaiten sushi was born in Osaka at a beer factory in 1948. 10 years passed since the idea emerged, the first ever kaiten sushi opened in Osaka in 1958, called “Mawaru Genroku Sushi 1st Store.” Since then, the first franchise opened in Sendai city in Miyagi Prefecture in 1968, followed by the creation and placement of automatic tea dispensers in 1973. From 1975 to 1985, the kaiten sushi boom came to Japan with the introduction of sushi robots, major chains entering the competition of the industry.

By 2007, kaiten sushi became a 500 billion yen industry and now it is becoming international. If you are around the Los Angeles area, you might have seen “KULA,” Japanese kaiten sushi chains. There are around 10 KULA stores around the LA area and is popular among American people. As well as KULA, another major chain “Sushiro” is focusing its international market expansion in Asia, opening stores in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong in recent years. In 2018, there were 12 stores internationally and in 2019, there were 13 more additional stores opened, a total of 25 international stores operating outside of Japan. Currently the international market is expanding more than Japanese market in that each international store produces more revenue per year than a store in Japan.

Conclusion

So who is hungry for sushi after reading this article? As you learned, there are different chains of kaiten sushi in Japan so if you are so keen, you can try different chains of kaiten sushi when you are on the photography tour of Japan to see, which one suits you the best. Each kaiten sushi has unique features that are different from one another so try a few and let me know what you like about each kaiten sushi! Of course, with COVID19, kanten sushi is most likely not the same today, but let’s hope that in 2021 when we are on a photo tour of Japan, we can go to a kanten sushi to enjoy fresh fish together!