I'm sorry for the very, VERY late post! I have been busy these past few weeks, so I haven't had the chance to write a blog. I am planning to write about 4 things today in this blog.
1) NENGAJO Nengajo (年賀状) are the postcards that the Japanese send during new year's. They usually write things like 今年もよろしくお願いします。(Please treat me well this year). Some nengajo are blank so that if you want, you can write or draw whatever you want. There are also nengajo with picture and a message. Usually, the picture in front is the chineze zodiac of the coming year; in this year's case, it is the tiger. They also use cartoon characters like hello kitty (wearing a tiger costume), mickey, and minnie mouse for the nengajo.
2) Movie Theaters in Japan Movie theaters in Japan are different than American Theaters. Although both countries give discounts to children, students, and the elderly, they have ladies' (Wednesday) and gentlemen's (Thursday) day in Japan. The movie theater that I went to gave us a 500 yen discount since we went there on Wednesday (ladie's day). In Japan, they have the typical movie theater food: popcorn and hotdog; however, they also have french fries and chicken nuggets. They also sell a ice-blended coffee and believe it or not, beer! They also have many souvenirs for the movies that they are showing and in fact, they have a corner in the theater specifically for the souvenirs. Another interesting thing about the Japanese cinema is that they give you seat numbers. I guess that's a good way to keep your seat :) 
3) Uniqlo Man Like in the United States, the lines get longer as the time the store opens gets closer. I was amazed at how long the line got when it was time for Uniqlo to open. When the store did open, it was shocking to see that the people were patient and they were following the rules. In America, the people waiting in line are impatient and they would complain about how long the line is getting. When I got inside the store, people were all over the place, trying to get the best deals, buying clothes and shoes for less. What surprised me was the calm way that the store clerks were dealing with the chaotic store. The store clerks on the floor were patiently helping the customers look for the things that they are searching for while the clerks on the registers use “keigo” (formal language) with the customers. Another thing that surprised me was the guy who patiently waits for the customers in front of the register line. He helps the customers by carrying their purchases for them. We do not have that kind of customer service back in the United States, and I think it would be a good thing to have that because it leaves a good feeling to the customers, making each one of us special.
4)弓道 (Kyudo)
弓道 (kyudo) is the Japanese archery.I was fortunate enough to be able try it at least once :) The bow was long unlike the bow for the regular archery.There are many things that you need to do before you actually get to try to use the bow and arrow. I used a three fingered glove called "mitsugake". The bow is called "yumi" and the arrow "ya". Although I was only able to try it one time, I still had a lot of fun.
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