During the first week of April you can witness something in Japan that you probably won’t see anywhere else in the world. April is the new school year. It is also the beginning of the fiscal year for businesses. All of the recent college grads who landed a job with the company that chose them enter the workforce together, as a giant team.

I was roaming around Shinjuku during the first few days of April and happened to spot several groups of these brand new salarymen (サラリーマン) and office ladies (OL). They all looked a little nervous and very green. They all had on the exact same outfits, and when I say exact same I don’t just mean that they all had on suits. They all had the exact same colors and brands. Even their briefcases and hairstyles looked identical. No one was breaking from the group either. They were a pack that was not going have anyone stand out for any reason.

I took this photo in the lobby of one of Shinjuku’s skyscrapers. I was there for the view (and lunch) at the top, not to stalk the new initiates (aka lemmings).

Posted on May 17th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: people, shinjuku. Comments Off on New employee training (新入社員研修)

Last night was the 15th Annual Ho’opa’a Hawaii Club of Southern Oregon University Luau. The hula dancers weren’t all from Hawaii. There were several students from Japan who participated (some in this photo). I’ll post some more photos from the luau, over the next few days, here.

Posted on May 1st, 2011 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: ashland oregon, people. Comments Off on Japanese Hula Dancers

Last night I went to the annual SOU International Show. Takumi, from Waseda University, performed a traditional Japanese fan dance. He wanted to perform a ping pong demonstration but couldn’t find anyone who could return any of the balls he hit.

Posted on April 22nd, 2011 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: people, waseda university. Comments Off on Japanese fan dance

Thanks to bout fixing, the March Grand Sumo Tournament was cancelled, and the May Tournament is now going to be free. Numerous sumo wrestlers who were linked to the match fixing have been forced to retire.

Today’s photo is of Kyokutenho (旭天鵬), who was not one of those found guilty. Many of the sumo rikishi, like nearly everyone else in Japan, travel by train. You can watch them walk from the train station to Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo simply by waiting outside on tournament days.

Posted on April 9th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: people, sumo. Comments: 1

Another time-machine photo, courtesy of Nikko Edo Wonderland… These guys were in a comical play of sorts. They were using an old Edo dialectic, which I’m sure was very funny for the Japanese in attendance. However, it made it very difficult for me to understand much.

Posted on April 1st, 2011 under Japan. Tags: edo wonderland, people. Comments: 1