I saw the TV program about Japanese enterprise
going out to the market abroad the other day.
Calbee, the potato snack company
which has more than 50% share in Japanese market,
has now an ambition to sell their snacks in the United States,
where the sales for snacks are estimated in twice to five times more than in Japan.
The result of the monitoring test came out as an disaster
that they have to add more flavor and salt
so they can be accepted there.
Some snack lovers described Calbee's iconic snack Ebisen,
shrimp flavored cracker, as a dog poop, and for Jagabee,
which had a huge hit in Japan,
as Mac Fries in the state of 3 days after cooking
with additional comment it smells too strong like potato.
Ironically, these are the reasons why many Japanese snack lovers love Jagabee,
the crispness and the potato flavor coming from its origin.
And this Jagabee is the snack Calbee wants to push out to the American market.
Japanese are known for consuming more sodium in everyday life,
which resulted to higher risk of heart attack and many other diseases
since we use a lot of soy bean fermented products for cooking and eating.
I often felt, however, the snacks in the States
are much saltier than Japanese snacks.
Sometimes I felt like I was eating with bouillon cubes in BBQ flavor snacks.
The Calbee researcher added stronger seasoning
and more salt on regular Jagabees and tried the test again.
Chile and Wasabi, Black pepper and more salt, Cheese and more salt, etc...
They received a good response and reactions from the tasters
at the monitoring test in a store this time.
It's quite a disappointment for me to find only BBQ or Chile flavor
instead of lightly salted chips.
Some might say it's because you eat a whole pack of it by yourself,
then be able to feel enough saltiness.
If you eat just a couple of pieces, you wouldn't feel any taste at all.
I agree and disagree, too.
Some of the snacks and sweets in Japan taste very subtle
to feel its saltiness and sweetness,
but those American type of snacks has a strong impact from the first bite
which makes me wonder if it's all right.
I do not want to be accustomed to those stronger flavor and taste by snacks.
It stings my tongue and makes me sweat,
getting some strange chemical reactions from my body.
Calbee learned to add more salt in snacks for the States,
and start selling under the name of their biggest snack company Fritolay.
It can turn out to be good for surviving as a global corporation
but I am kind of afraid of being supplied much saltier snacks in future,
More people might get used to the stronger flavor and salt,
then it might make them dull for tasting and smelling.
It can lead you to lose some sense for the difference of each snack,
the quality of ingredients, and healthy diet.
If the taste is too subtle, you can add salt for yourself,
but if it's already too salty, there's no way of making less.
since you can't wash it out in water....
I want to expect Calbee to educate snack lovers
for coming to prefer subtle taste gradually.
I received many interesting comments
on the article I wrote on Saturday,
Japanese who doesn't like Japanese.
It reminded me of the book I read before,
which explains why people dislike and hate others,
and how to get rid of this mental mechanism.
LOVE IS LETTING GO OF FEAR
This is translated in much funnier Japanese
" forward force down ", the name of Sumo technique.
Hatred is another face of fear.
This book tells how to say goodbye to the bad memory
which is a source of the fear,
and move forward in your life.
There may be some people, things, and foods you don't like.
They appear to endanger your life and identity.
A human brain works to dislike and avoid these things.
So you wouldn't hate it if you don't fear it any more.
To do that, you need love.
In Japanese, it's called Omoiyari, caring spirit.
Caring not only others and things but yourself.
There was already a great song in 60s before this book came out.
All you need is love by beatles.
I believe John Lennon was a missionary man
who kept sending us a message of love.
Unfortunately, there are some people
who seem like fighting against this with own bullet proof glass.
The message never penetrates their mind.
People always fear and hate different kind of people,
use bluff and attack others are who I think very primitive.
Wild animals are like this and mentally immature people, too.
When you were a child, there must have been so many things you didn't like.
If I blame grownups who stay in the same as childhood,
it would be immature, so I should just feel sorry for them instead,
though I think they are not really good influence for others.
I said people dislike different kind of people,
but people also dislike someone who is a lot alike themselves.
He or she who shows you something you don't want to see in yourself.
It's one of the defense mechaisms that you avoid facing your shortcomings,
but this will be solved by accepting yourself, e.g. loving yourself.
Though people often misunderstand love as just spoiling oneself,
people who raised children and pets knows the difference very well.
Getting over fear is difficult by self deception instead of self loving.
Fear makes you stay inside of yourself and lose interest in others.
It leads you to hatred and friendlessness.
It means you start lacking to gain stimulations and knowledge from outside .
Very inconvenient cycle in your life.
Then there are various groups and ornizations
which come to canvass you in this cycle.
Their target is someone who has no family and friends but fear and hatred.
Some newly developped religeon, or some lobbying organizations,
or so called "patriotic" right wings and nationalits.
Many of them say they offer you a self awareness,
but actually it is only the feel of belonging.
Your lonliness and fear vanish by belonging to the organization.
You might say they fulfill needs and supplies.
I find many of their lobbying and attacking others are socially harmful.
Their wish for peace often turns out to be another conflict.
There is a war memorial day coming in Japan soon.
Not only pray for victims, step forward to learn this mechanism.
Understand others and love them even with their shortcomings.
That's what I was reminded and what I want to remind you of, too.
They try hard enough to blend in the local people.
They feel embarrassed by other Japanese tourists,
behaving and speaking in different way.
Some try to pretend they are not Japanese.
I'd say they are too harsh for their own people.
I guess they have some great complex being Japanese
and it mortivates them to go on at the same time, too.
I see the same type of people among people
who write about learning English in their blog.
Native speaker does this, does not say that,
it's true because I heard it from native speakers, etc...
These words come from who are not native in the language.
with a great admiration to the native speakers of English.
Since Japan does not accept many immigrants,
we are not used to see different kind of people in general,
so some create their own ideal image about so called native English speakers.
A little isolated image from reality, which are often fantasized with few information.
It happens to the observations, too.
Ideal image of how they look, for their fashion and food,
how they behave and talk, and for their culture and politics,, etc..
Some have very biased image for both Westerners and Japanese,
though they would complain Americans are such, french are such, too,
whenever the trouble comes onto them.
This can be also seen in some women who are married to foreiners.
Is it because she adore her husband so much,
or her husband is the result of her admiration of Westerners?
I don't know which comes first, but to me they seem to look down
the pople from their origin.
I guess this comes from their low self esteem,
and they are easily affected and influenced by whom has less complex
like water goes down to a lower place.
Some are very tough in action and speech, too,
maybe because they had to survive in different culture and different pople?
"Oh, Italians are always like this. I am not any special nor different."
It could be their excuse, but I think they were already tough from the beginning,
tough enough to be called self centered and impatient.
Women and gay men are usually more social crimbers in my opinion.
Their upward mobility goes with marriage and love, too.
This crimbing spirit makes them stay away from the people in poor English skill.
People I just mentioned are a little old fashioned, I think.
I'm not talking about the age though.
I see very little pride and great myth of this "native speakers" in younger generation.
I think it's natural for them and it's not only for English,
because they have little experience and learning in the life yet.
It's been 30 years since air fare dramatically dropped,
and about 15 years? sice internet became common.
Meeting and communicating with foreign people is not special occation any more,
Some people befriend each other
without the myth that Native English Speaker is always right.
More people are aware of the value of their own culture and origin,
and keep active in abroad, introducing Japan and advocating other people about Japan.
They have a pride and confidence in their origin while learning others to combine with it.
Instead of trying to be like native speakers, expressing their origin among them.
Biased pespective and prejudice for the people from their origin
are only coming from their low self esteem.
Distinction can be sometimes necessary but discrimination is not.
I'd say it's more like monkey society if you do,
and it would make evolution backwards.
Instead of crimbing it's only pushing down other people.
Though it's a pitty if one socialize only with Japanese,
Japanese who try to stay away from their origin would be even more so.
It shows their habit to keep privacy and distant
among so many people in a small land of Japan.
I think it's very Japanese and and interesting irony they have.
If one was born in Japan and studied English in Japan,
no need to be embarrassed with its Japanese accent and mistakes in English grammar.
Make friends and communicate with them without fear and learn from them.
We are equal as human beings with pride and respect.
I think it is the most important thing we learn from Western culture,
and that's what we should keep in our mind.
Inside the house was very dark
everything was blurred until my eyes got used to.
Burnt by the strong sunlight,
I felt slightly cool air on my skin.
Afterimage of the sun behind my eyes
still making it hard to focus everything
Unloading the baggage from the shoulder
I walked into the long corridor.
Mother popped out from the kitchen
said in a surprised tone with her eyes wide open.
Oh, you are back !
Yes, I'm home.
Repeated the phrase,
with showing a smile this time.
I walked to the fridge and opened the door.
Though I put hand on a can of beer,
took out the bottle of barley tea.
After quenching my thirst by emptying the glass
I asked mother
How have you been?
Not much going on here.
Oh, that's good to hear.
Outside streets are busy and a heat wave of midsummer stays.
Everything is melted in mirage,
but mother and father still seem to be in shape.
I wonder if she shrank a bit,
or lost some weight?
Coming back to the country I was born,
everything appears to be downsized.
so I get confused by my own volume.
Sitting down on the sofa in livingroom
I hear the wind chime ring.
It induces me to sleepiness.
Hearing mother's talking as a background music
I come to feel like taking a nap.
Will you wake me up when dinner is ready?
...... so I had a pleasant dream as above
at dusk of midsummer near Bon festival..
vocabularies
blur かすむ、ぼやける
get used to ～に慣れる
slightly ほんの少し
Afterimage 残像
focus 焦点を合わせる
Unload 荷物などを降ろす
corridor 廊下、通路
pop out ひょいと出てくる
phrase フレーズ、言葉
fridge = refridgerator 冷蔵庫
quench my thirst 喉の渇きを癒す、湿らせる
empty 空にする
mirage 陽炎、蜃気楼
in shape もとのまま、しっかりしている
shrank = shrink の過去形 縮まる
lose some weight いくらか体重を落とす
confused 戸惑って
appears to be ～のようにみえる
downsize 縮小する
volume 容積、サイズ
wind chime カリヨン、風鈴
induce ～を誘う
come to ～するようになる
feel like ing = want to ～したい
nap 昼寝
dusk 夕暮れ
This song was written about 35 years ago.
Now it's brought back once again on the screen
as the theme song for "From Kokuriko Hill"
brought by the famous team that made " Spirited Away ".
I introduce the original song in this blog,
with a translation in English.
Hope you'd try to sing this in karaoke !
The Summer of Goodbye
lyric translation by terrysun
In sparkling ocean light,
there goes the blurring ship
leaving the sound behind the hull
the whistle of Goodbye.
Walking down from the hill,
that slopes down to the beach,
there is a breeze of summertime
remind me of you.
Let sing of my love,
in sweet melodies
singing high and singing low
the sound of my heart.
Let go of my love,
just like the seagull flies
flying high and flying low
above the sea.
And when the sun goes down,
and if I call your name,
will it bring back my memories
of you with the smile?
Walking down on a street,
I hear the trembling trees
they cast a shadow on the road
the veil of Goodbye.
There is a weathercock
on the old chapel roof
will it show me the town below
in light of summertime?
Let go of my love
in tears of yesterdays'
drying up and soaring high
as the wind blows.
Let come of my love
tomorrow for refrain
forever and endlessly
in my heart.
And when the sun goes down
and once again we meet
I wonder if you hold me tight
and love starts again.
Yes, Japan has been once again beaten.
Tohoku disaster left cruel mark by its humongous claws.
Yet we are not standing still just to watch the damage,
but keep moving forward to rebuild the broad area.
I heard so many people overseas hesitating to visit Japan
because they'd feel guilty for having fun while we were struggling,
but it would be changed once you arrived in this country.
There are so much fun left in Japan.
So many places to walk around,
and we have a lot to offer once you get here.
Our welcoming spirit never die.
Especially in time like this.
There are uncountable cancellations in hotels,
and almost always empty shops since the wrong rumour,
people are losing their jobs in tourism from and above Tokyo area.
Restraining yourself from travelling Japan
is not only missing the opportunity to see the places to remember,
but also the chance to see the people who await you from the heart.
The Lady Gaga visited Japan,
just to show the world Japan is safe to be.
Japanese products are still in its shape and special care.
Food in Japan is even going through the toughest safety inspections,
for its traditinal and creative recipes.
The famous hospitality and its spirit will be showering over you.
Travelling should be fun, and it will be guaranteed.
while it can also be informative and educational in your life.
See and feel for yourself what the great nature can do and can't do.
It can make everything nada, but it can not wipe away our spirit.
From zero or negative, we start again to be reborn.
Witness yourself how we are doing after the tremendous loss.
Just like ants on the ground, even the nest was swallowed by rain water,
they'll survive and start working again as if nothing happened
but with a new wisdom.
Then please advocate your friends and family and neighbors,
that Japan is fun to watch with its toughness and broadness.
Your travel plan will be the support for Tohoku.
Your fun will be a help for Japan and cheers for the people.
Come and see the devastation they are in,
and notice the people who are accepting and still smiling.
They need your help and smile more than ever.
For Japanese bloggers,
I urge you to write your blog or tweet in English or Chinese or Korean
or any other language to let people overseas know we are doing fine,
so people can read how things are in Japan.
If the government can not do this,
we should be the one to do it...
