Curse of the Japanese Salaryman

Who wants to work in Japan? The Japanese have a reputation for being one of the world’s hardest workers. They even have a word in Japanese “karoshi” which means “death by overwork”. The Japanese Salaryman often works under sustained stress that involves unpaid overtime and long hours with many of them working themselves to death.

Death is usually caused by a heart attack or stroke. In classic karoshi cases, victims drop at their desks. You might think that this is Only in Japan and classify it as just another culture quirk of the Japanese, but this is now happening beyond Japan. Karoshi exists in Korea, Taiwan, and China. Karoshi emerged in Japan after the country rose from the ashes of the post war slump and edged towards prosperity. As the country’s star rose, so did the number of hours Japanese citizens worked. They became workhorses, clocking in 12 hour days seven days a week.

Why does karoshi still exist today? It still exists today because the culture is stocked by two key dynamics. First is the economic decline, which has fuelled cuts and the second is the exacting practice of Japanese production management or “lean production”. Karoshi looks unlikely to loosen its grip on the Japanese Salaryman any time soon with increased job insecurity, traditions of discipline and devotion to the company still running deep.

Inspired by an article in MyCareer in THE AGE 2011

TripAdvisor World’s Best Destinations

The list is in for the World’s Best Destination in the annual TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Awards


The Top 12 World Destinations are:

1. Cape Town, South Africa
2. Sydney, Australia
3. Machu Picchu, Peru
4. Paris, France
5. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6. New York City, US
7. Rome, Italy
8. London, UK
9. Barcelona, Spain
10. Hong Kong, China
11. Kyoto, Japan
12. Queenstown, New Zealand

Congratulations to Sydney for 2nd position and my favourite place in Japan, Kyoto for 11th.

What do you think of this list? Do you Agree or Disagree with the choices?

You can view the full list of the Top 25 World’s Best Destinations with the link below

TripAdvisor World’s Best Destinations

Cat Time Café in Osaka

In Gifu, there is a famous chain restaurant called Cat’s Café that specialises in cheap affordable food and the restaurants are famous for their atmosphere that features a lot of cat decorations scattered all over the restaurant. The Cat Time Café in Osaka goes one better with real cats roaming the café which patrons pay to play with the feline friends.

The Cat Time café, which opened in 2009 has 21 cats residing at the café and specialises in “cat relaxation”. Customers pay at least 850 yen ($9.80) just to step In the door and enjoy the pleasure of sipping their coffee and admiring the assortment of cats that make their way around the café. Customers have one hour of so called “cat time” to enjoy. The café has various beverages available as well as cakes and a limited number of cat treats. Cat toys can be hired in 10 minute blocks from 210 yen.

These types of café have been on the rise in Japan due to the tiny apartments which are extremely commonplace in large cities and pets are often forbidden by landlords.

Osaka currently has 10 such cafes and the new phenomenon has already spread to Tokyo and Seoul.

How does it all work?

Upon arrival at Cat Time Café, guests must remove their shoes, pay their money and then have their hands sprayed with hand cleaner. They are then free to enjoy their coffee and cake and to interact with the cats. There are a few simple rules such as no shouting, do not disturb any sleeping cats, no outside toys are to be brought in and no smoking is allowed.

The typical customer at Cat Time Café usually only stays for an hour and spend their time moving between various cats, occasionally stopping to pat one of the cats or to take a photo with their mobile phone. Most customers come to the café to relax and enjoy the assortment of cats.

Cat Time Café
8-8 4 Chome
Kita-ku
Osaka Tenjinbashi

This is my submission to the November 2011 J-Festa Dining in Japan

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Bid

Tokyo on Saturday formally announced its bid to host the 2020 Olympics. Japan’s Olympic Committee sees the bid as a symbol of Japan’s determination to recover from the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Tokyo, which hosted Asia’s first Olympics in 1964, lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the race to host the 2016 Olympics. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics was where Japan was able to show the world how much Japan had recovered from the disaster of the second World War. The Olympic Committee wants to make the 2020 games a similar symbol of recovery from the major disasters Japan has recently suffered.

What do you think? Is this games bid a vital component to Japan road to recovery?

The Real Ninja, Amazing Facts about the Ninja

Virtual Dinner in Tokyo’s A.R.T Gallery

Australian artist SHAN is hosting a virtual dinner party in Tokyo’s A.R.T Gallery, with the aim of exploring possibilities for Japan’s future in light of the recent devastating earthquake and tsunami. Twenty Japanese guests will sit down to a three-course dinner prepared by Maggie Beer as we look on through a live internet feed. Though we won’t be able to taste the food at the party, we can join in on the conversation; a live Twitter feed will allow participants to ask the guests questions. The guests will range from Governor Ishihara, the Governor of Tokyo to Ms. Rio, a night club dancer. You can view the full Guest List at the link below.

The live event will take place on Sunday July 17th at 6pm AET, at shan.net.au

Image from shan.net.au

Other ways you can help the disaster relief effort in Japan

Songs for Japan

2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake

Movie-oke

Japan has long been known as the home of Karaoke, the most popular form of entertainment for young Japanese, but move over Karaoke as there is a brand new party craze for 2011 called Movie-oke.

Recently launched in the video game, Yoostar 2: In the Movies, the game allows you to insert yourself into famous movies scenes courtesy of sensor technology. It allows you to “act” opposite or in place of, your favourite actors. The game includes scenes from more than 50 films including classics like The Godfather and Apollo 13 to The Blues Brothers and The Karate Kid. It is available now for Kinect for Xbox 360 and Playstation Eye for PS3.

Image from The Karate Kid Part II (Columbia Picture Corporation)

Amusement in Japan

Uniqlo

Uniqlo is a new style Japanese clothing company that makes good causal clothing available for all to wear. Uniqlo clothing is simple, really affordable and offers high end quality. Uniqlo is Japan’s leading clothing retail chain in terms of both sales and profit. They have also spread their wings overseas and operate throughout Asia, the UK, France, and US. Good news for Australia is Uniqlo is looking to set up shop in Australia and are reportedly set to open in 2012.

Here is a look at some of Uniqlo's Summer Dry Polo shirts in Japan

from Uniqlo website http://www.uniqlo.com/jp/

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently