Konnichiwa everybody,
I hope you are as well as you can be in these times.
First, I want to thank all the students who have been so supportive. Most of you immediately shifted to online lessons once the Bay Area started practicing shelter in place. You have been dedicated to your studies during these difficult times. Moreover, thanks to our schedule, I get to stay focused on helping you improve in your language skills. Seeing your happy faces has been the highlight of my day, every day. So thank you so much!!
Unfortunately, not everybody has jobs that allow online work, and Japanese restaurants and stores are going through tough times. Many have started curbside pickup and gift card services, so I want to share some of my favorite places with you here below. Some also started a GoFundMe, so check them out!
BAY AREA ／ ベイエリア
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The restaurants and stores below are my favorites in the East Bay. (Menus and schedules may change so be sure to check their Instagram accounts.)
Japanese family food restaurant B-dama and sushiya Delage make daily bento boxes available in the café at Berkeley Bowl West. I’ve tried the miso salmon and chicken bento boxes, and they are really good. Their prices are reasonable, too!
Sobaichi sells fresh soba noodles and other side dishes, including my favorite tamagoyaki and homemade tofu. They also started a GoFundMe. On some weekends, the okonomiyaki pop-up store Okkon joins too, so check the schedule on their Instagram. Ippuku sells bento boxes and sake bottles at half price.
In San Francisco, the delicious izakaya restaurant Rintaro makes beautiful bento boxes, and you can purchase gift cards, too. Family Café, which specializes in Japanese comfort food, started a GoFundMe. They are planning to open a pick up service starting the week of May 5.
Not to be forgotten: Umamimart sells all their products online, from sake to snacks. Their glass ware is perfect for Skype parties at home. They provide gift cards, too.
If you can, let’s help them stay with us!
FASHION ／ ファッション
With all the gloomy news these days, we also need some sunshine: the new Gucci children collection’s collaboration with Japanese artist Higuchi Yuko (ヒグチユウコ) is a bright spot of delight. Higuchi paints and designs beautiful children’s books with whimsical fairy tale-like animal characters, which I love. They are so pretty and magical that I could look at them for hours! Check out her work with Gucci here.
If you don’t want to spend an outrageous amount of money, you can also download her coloring book here for free!
STATE OF EMERGENCY／緊急事態宣言
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As many countries all over the world are sheltering in place, Japan is very much behind on COVID-19 crisis response. After weeks of hesitation and criticism, Prime Minister Abe finally declared a state of emergency (緊急事態宣言) last week for seven prefectures in Japan, including Tokyo and Osaka, until May 6. Governors all over Japan have requested their citizens to practice jishuku (self-refraining 自粛), and to stay at home as much as possible. However, unlike France or California, for example, it is not a strict prohibition. The guidelines are vague, too. With the current Japanese law, politicians are not able to enforce a lockdown. Tokyo is practicing a partial shutdown. Karaoke boxes, bars, gyms, nightclubs, and internet cafes, for example, have been requested to close. However izakaya, restaurants, and barbers, among others, have been allowed to stay open (some only on certain times of the day). And the list goes on, it is so detailed and confusing that book stores are allowed to open, but not used book stores! As a result, many places are still open, and not all offices have shifted to work at home. One of the reasons for the partial shutdown is because Abe keeps avoiding offering compensating measures to workers and businesses. Instead, he proposed “meat tickets,” “fish tickets,” or even “go travel tickets” (travel discounts). This sparked wide criticism and funny comments such as “I’ll pay my 2019 taxes in rice then” on social media!
One of the biggest negative responses was in reaction to his announcement that the government would send out two washable masks per household. Many pointed out that households were often more than two people, and that the masks were too small too. This measure will cost about 424 million dollars, so a lot of people wish that the budget for this program was spent on producing more masks to buy instead. Along with mask memes, the hashtags #アベノマスク (“Abeno masuku,” Abe’s masks), a parody of his economic policy “Abe no mikusu,” and #安倍やめろ (Abe yamero – Abe resign) trended, the latter with more than 400,000 tweets. The federal government recently announced that it would give 300,000 yen to households in need due to COVID-19. However, the conditions for eligibility are pretty strict—economists say that only about 20 percent of people could apply. Also, while many schools all over the world quickly shifted to online classes, Japan hasn’t been able to organize them yet. Everything seems unorganized right now, lacking a clear vision and support from the government. That’s what most people are discontent about at the moment.
MOURNING ／ 訃報
Shimura Ken (志村けん), one of the most famous and beloved Japanese comedians for nearly 40 years, just died of coronavirus at the age of 70. Until his death, the reality of the virus felt far away in Japan, so this was a wake-up call for many citizens. I remember that the news Tom Hanks’s coronavirus diagnosis was a big shock in the US, so you can imagine how it has been for Japan. Shimura’s death happened just a few days after it was announced that he was in intensive care, so his fans were shocked to lose him so soon. The incredible speed with which Japan lost its icon blew people’s minds and revealed the seriousness of this pandemic. After him, many high profile celebrities have announced that they have the virus, including comedians Kurosawa Kazuko (黒沢かずこ) and Shiratori Kumiko (白鳥久美子), but their conditions seem stable.
INTERNET CAFE ／ ネットカフェ
Do you know the Japanese expression “ネットカフェ難民” (nettocafe nanmin)? It means “internet café refugees.” Internet cafés have been shelter for many people who lost their homes in Japan, since they are often open 24 hours a day and cost much less than hotels or apartments. The recent state of emergency declaration requested internet cafés to close, so their inhabitants are very worried. Some cities have offered a temporary shelter for them, since their lives rely on these places.
TRENDING ／ トレンド入り
A fun icon recently started to trend online: Amabie (アマビエ). It’s a yokai (妖怪) character, which are demons from Japanese folk tales. Amabie is a character who had predicted an abundant harvest and an epidemic before disappearing. In the story of Amabie, the creature delivered this prophecy: “If disease spreads, show a picture of me to those who fall ill and they will be cured. Japanese people started to draw Amabie and post it, making it a new online mascot.
Another fun trend on twitter has been #ギャグリレー (rally of gags), where comedians post a joke on twitter, and passes it on to another comedian.
That’s all for today—thank you for reading. Stay safe and looking forward to seeing you in person hopefully soon!
最後まで読んでいただき、どうもありがとうございます。くれぐれも身体に気を付けてください。皆さまにまたお会いできるのを楽しみにしています。よろしくお願いいたします！