Category: Culture

There is a holiday period called “winter vacation” in Japan.

The winter vacation of many schools is generally December 25 – January 7. It may be longer in the northern region. Many companies will have a winter vacation from December 29 – January 3.

The homecoming rush will occur during this period every year. Because many of the people working in the city go home town, the air ticket price rises, the Shinkansen train is also full, and highways can not avoid long traffic congestion.

Well, the international air tickets going to the Philippines will rise from the middle of December when Christmas is near. It is similar

Apple’s iPhone may be expensive for people living in the Philippines. But in Japan we can buy at a reasonable price.

Japanese major carriers docomo, au, Softbank have discounted more than 40% of the main body price and sell the remainder 24 times a monthly installment. Yes, in Japan it is common to pay smart phone usage fees on a monthly basis. The user does not feel a psychological burden if the fixed price includes model fee. Moreover, it is greatly discounted already.

Then the user can change the contract plan two years later, because the payment for iPhone will pay off. Most people continue the same contract for two years, because when users abandon contracts in less than two years they need to pay the iPhone price balance at once.

In addition, carriers can discount the price of iPhone,
Since each user can surely pay the usage fee for two years.

That’s why the share of iPhone in Japan is higher than in other countries.

In the Philippines, we prepay the load for the mobile phone. We can charge the load everywhere in the city, and each one can decide the amount.

In Japan, fixed monthly payment is common. The monthly load volume is decided according to the contract type, and the surplus amount is carried forward to the next month.

On the other hand, if you run out of it you can add for a fee. But it is expensive. So it would be better to wait for the month to change if the end of the month is close.  You can use e-mails and SNS, since communication at low speed is possible, even after you run out of the load.

Mobile phone carriers in the Philippines are Globe, SMART, SUN CELLULAR.

In Japan it is docomo, au, Softbank. Previously, the biggest docomo was considered to be the most influential in the range of support and voice quality. But now such differences are no longer being talked about.

In recent years, a business style called MVNO has become popular. They borrow communication lines from the three companies and offer their own services. Although we can not expect as much service as major carrier, we can use it cheaply.

One of the traditional Japanese heating equipment is the Kotatsu. Perhaps, You may have seen it with anime or manga.

The kotatsu is a low table with a quilt and table top. There is an electric heater in the kotatsu, so if you put your feet into it, your body will warm up. Moreover, you can eat while sitting.

By the way, many cats seems to like a kotatsu.

However, if you sleep in a kotatsu, you will catch a cold easily, because you sweat.

Humidifier is a necessity of winter in Japan. In winter in Japan, the air is dry. And when you using heating, the humidity further decreases.

Drying may cause skin roughness or skin cracks. Also, when temperature and humidity are low, you will catch a cold easily.

If you are using a stove, please put the kettle with water on the stove. It will be a substitute for a humidifier, as hot water evaporates.

Tokyo also entered the winter.

One of the traditional Japanese heating equipment is a hottie. It’s calld “Yutampo（湯たんぽ）” in Japanese. Yutampo is a water bottle to put hot water. We use it when we go to bed. On cold winter nights, when you go to bed with a Yutampo, the heated blood circulates and you can rest comfortably.

However, be careful, if you touch the same part of your body for a long time, you will get cold burns.

There are the following types of Yutampo’s materials.

Metal

The thermal conductivity is good. It is very warm but be careful, because it is easy to burn.

plastic

The thermal conductivity is poor, the warmth is mild, so it is hard to burn.

Rubber

It feels nice. It is hard to burn.

Pottery

Warmth lasts long. It is easy to break when dropped.

There is a demon in Japan. His name is Damon-kakka.

He says, “This is not a makeup, it is a true face.”

This demon’s role in the human world is a singer and sumo critic.

I repeat. He is a demon, not a man disguised as a demon. So he is getting into a human being, in his usual life.

Incidentally, His age is 100,054 years old now. Next year will be 100,055 years old. He will be in the human world until 100,80 years old.