Back in Tokyo! Yoroshiko Onegaishimasu!

After postponing my flight 2 times (due to "Acts of God"... yup! The typhoon Ondoy, aka Ketsana left me stranded in the second floor of my own home for almost a week), I have finally made it to my second home.

I rode Philippine Airlines and was pleasantly surprised to see that they have upgraded some of their planes! Now, not only business class passengers get their own personal TV! YUP, if you're lucky enough, you get the same feature with fiesta class! Not only can you choose your own movies on demand, they also feature games such as Bejeweled, Tetris, etc... (Long gone are those free deck of cards!). There's also radio stations and a number of good CDs you can choose from. You can even create your own playlist. Pretty cool, huh? I dont recall Singapore Airlines having this in economy? Hmmmm... :)

The plane to look for is a Boeing 747-400. 4 hours can go by so quickly... :)




P.S. The practical application of "Yoroshiko Onegaishimasu"

The first few days of this trip has been meeting new co-workers. Thank goodness I brought a new set of business cards. Man do they go fast. A typical business introduction goes like this...

1. There is fumbling (each party awkwardly fumbles for their business card, sometimes it takes so long that Im just standing there waiting...)
2. The awkward stance (you and the person being introduced stand face to face for a few seconds)
3. The speech (he/she introduces himself while holding his/her business card facing you and with two finders of each hand, you dont have to understand it. Basically they say where they are from and their name. Most business cards have an English translation anyway.)
4. The bow (self-eplanatory)
5. The do over (I do the exact same thing he/she did. If Im brave, I try it in Japanese -- "Watashi wa Hahn Regina des". Although I havent been brave this trip yet)
6. And... the final words (this is when they and/or you say either, "Hajimemashte" - "Nice to meet you" or... "Yoroshiko Onegaishimasu" - "Please be nice to me", honestly... I find this statement a little strange, dont you think? Who says "Please be nice to me" after an introduction? Another one of those Japanese things I dont think I'll ever get.)

Yes Tokyo, I am back... Yoroshiko Onegaishimasu.

More than "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto"...

I figured, Tokyo would be a much cooler experience If I knew more Japanese then arigato gozaimasu! As promised, here's a few more Japanese phrases Ive learned during my time here.

Disclaimer: Dont take the translation too seriously, Im not 100% confident that its accurate. And forgive my spelling, but it helps me to spell as it sounds. Im trying... Im trying.... sheesh :)

Restaurant / Food Stuff:

1. Oishi - "yummy"! Or "tastes good". If you wanna sound cute (this is according to Tomo), you can say Oishi ne. Or if its really good, then you can say Sugoi Oishi!

2. Mama - its quite a negative term. You say it when you think the food tastes "so-so"

3. Itadakimasu - This is said when you receive the food... it means something like "I will receive", but in context it is a polite thing to say before you eat.

4. Goitchisosama Desu / Goitchisosama - This is usually said before you leave the restaurant to the waiters or chef. Its sorta like a compliment to them letting them know that you had a good meal.

5. Kampai - "Cheers!!!" - nuf said.

6. Osusume onegaishemasu - A lot of restaurants do not have English menus, some dont even have pictures. So if you have no idea what to order, just say this. It means, "your recommendation please"?

7. Idashaimuse - This is said when you enter places of business. It means "welcome". To welcome someone to your home, you can say Idashai.

8. Okaike onegaishemasu - means, "check/bill please"! Note though that for a lot of Japanese restaurants, then give you the receipt as you order. Then when youre done, you take the receipt with you to the cashier by the entrance and pay there. It is quite common to go Dutch, even with just one bill, you can just pay for your own meal.

9. Dame - This is also quite negative, and means "No" or "I dont want to accept". Its usually said when someone offers you something to eat and you dont want it.

10. Some food translation: Tako - "Octopus", Uni - "Sea Urchin", Maguro - "Tuna", Enggawa - "Halibut", Anago - "Eel"

Hi-Hello-Goodbye Stuff:

1. Konichiwa - "Hi!"
2. Ohaiyo Gozaimasu - "Good morning!"
3. Watashi wa, Hahn Regina desu. - "My name is Regina Hahn"
4. Hajimemashte - "Nice to meet you"
5. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu - "Please be nice to me." Ok, I dont know why Id ever say this... must be a Japanese culture thing. But apparently you say it after you meet someone.
6. O genki deska? - "How are you?"
7. Hai, genki des yo. - "Im doing good"
8. Hai, ze ko cho desu. - "Im doing amazing!"
9. Batchiri desu! - "Everything is perfect!" This is to be said in a casual situation / among friends.
10. Hai. - "Yes"
11. Iie - "No"
12. Otskare sama desu - This ones quite hard to translate. At first I thought its just used at work. We usually say this to our officemates before we leave, it means "Thank you for your hard work today." But then as I became familiar with the phrase, I noticed that people say it in all sorts of situations -- trains, stores, even among friends. So now Im confused. hehe.
13. Dai jo bu? - "Are you ok?"
14. Dai jo bu. - "Im alright."
15. Matane - "See you later!"
16. Mataraishu - "See you next week!"

More Stuff:

1. Kudesai - "Please". But this is hardly ever used in itself - usually it is prefixed with a verb? Im guessing ofcourse. hehe.
2. Kawai - "Cute!!!" Another favorite Japanese word. Everything seems to be Kawai!
3. Kirei - "Beautiful"
4. Ichi, Ni, San, Shi, Go, Roku, Shichi, Hachi, Kyu, Ju - 1-10 in Japanese, if you want to say 11, its Ju Ichi. Twelve is Ju Ni. 20 is Ni-Ju. 21 is Ni-Juichi. And so on.... pretty easy, huh?
5. Gomenasai - This means "Im Sorry". Its said when you've wronged someone and you really want to apologize. More casually, you can also say Gome.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto... 5 Nihonggo survival phrases

With my new found Japanese friends :)

My first few weeks in Japan was quite intimidating. Everyone seemed to be talking gibberish in high-pitched tones. But -- here's the secret! I figured you dont actually have to understand everything to know whats going on! Japanese are quite repetitive (sorta like they are living a script!). You go in any restaurant, any store, taxi... chances are they will all say the same thing. And, if it seems as if they are muttering some looooooooooong speech, dont be alarmed. One English word translates to 30 seconds of Nihonggo! So just stand there, give a simple polite bow and smile. It usually works. If all fails, say... Nihonggo wakarimasen (Im a Gaijin and I dont understand what the heck you are saying!)

But.... if you wanna be cool but you're brain can only take 5 words, I recommend the following:

1. Domo - This is the ultimate survival phrase, and the funny thing is that it doesnt really have a direct translation. Domo can mean "Hi", or "Thank You", or "Excuse Me"... Its like an all around phrase.

2. Sumimasen - This is another ambiguous word. It tends to mean "excuse me", or a really casual "Im sorry". Its not the Im sorry I made you cry type, more of the Im sorry I accidentally nudged your shoulder on the train. Or Im sorry, can I squeeze through? Most useful application is to call a waiter at a restaurant. Note that you've gotta scream it loud or they wont pay attention. It takes some getting used to. hehe.

3. Onegaishimasu - This means "please". So... if you wanna order food, just point to the picture and say Onegaishemasu (note the last letter "u" is not pronounced).

4. Sugoi - Directly translated, it means "amazing". I was never really taught this as a survival phrase, but what I learned what it meant - its like my eyes were opened to a whole new world! Maybe cuz Japanese seem to find every little thing amazing!!! hahaha! I noticed that they use it a lot in casual conversation.

5. Arigato Gozaimasu - Im sure you know what this means... "Thank you very much!" You'll hear it in restaurants often. (note again that the last letter "u" is not really pronounced).

I'll give you more words in my next blog in case youre interested...