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ctbaars

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2009
1,565
160
106
Are you officially a Japanese citizen or an American citizen? Are you proud to be an American? Does the pride you see in Japan also apply to Japanese in America for America?
 

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
15,007
795
126
Are you officially a Japanese citizen or an American citizen? Are you proud to be an American? Does the pride you see in Japan also apply to Japanese in America for America?
I'm a legal resident alien (green card holder) so I'm not an American but a Japanese citizen.

I appreciate both countries for what they offer in terms of culture; however, both have their pros and cons. I don't plan on living in Japan nor working there (unless it's like a business trip but [currently] not for an extended period of time). I do plan on getting my US citizenship but not until my grandparents have passed since currently it's a breeze to go to and from there.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,952
16,210
126
I'm a legal resident alien (green card holder) so I'm not an American but a Japanese citizen.

I appreciate both countries for what they offer in terms of culture; however, both have their pros and cons. I don't plan on living in Japan nor working there (unless it's like a business trip but [currently] not for an extended period of time). I do plan on getting my US citizenship but not until my grandparents have passed since currently it's a breeze to go to and from there.



You are so going to interment camp
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Giant had some I thought looked reasonable. They're a slightly upscale grocery chain.

I think that might be the first time that I've heard Giant called upscale. :p

So, was it kinda awkward when they taught you about World War II in US history class?

Most places tend to whitewash what students are taught to make the originating country look better. In some cases, it's worse than others, but we're certainly no peach about it. I think that if you look at the history of the United States and Japan, it isn't too hard to see why Japan didn't like us much. From my understanding, historically, Asian cultures have usually had a high sense of pride, zenophobia, and a culture of transgressions. In other words, they weren't likely to forget if you screwed them over, and the last thing they wanted was someone who wasn't Japanese telling them what to do.

Now, it's worthwhile to take a dive into history, and read about Commodore Perry and his visits to Japan. Based upon what I said earlier, it should be pretty easy to understand why Japan didn't like us. Frankly, I think most would agree that Japan opening trade was actually good for them; however, they didn't want to be told to do it by outsiders and especially didn't want to be coerced through threat of military force to do it.

It's worth noting that I used the word "historically" earlier, because Japan and other Asian nations aren't like that as much anymore. Of course, these things still exist. For example, the idea of the "culture of transgressions" exists in business as a basic agreement between companies was considered "morally binding" without a legal basis. This is how the infamous situation between Nintendo, Sony and Philips went down with the SNES CD add-on. It was preposterous that Nintendo would break a deal, because you just didn't do that. Zenophobia still exists in some facets as there are shops in Japan that are closed off to non-Japanese.

There are also some other interesting things to consider about US history. For example, Hawaii's introduction into the Union was highly contested mostly due to the whole thing being forced through an American military coup of the Hawaiian monarchy. There's also a ton of awkwardness around Texas's introduction into the Union and the following Mexican-American War, which gave us the south-east United States. (We actually wanted to buy parts of northern California prior to the war.) Of course, as was common in the 1700s and 1800s, a lot of the western expansion was based on the continuation of slavery. :eek::oops:
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,981
8,220
126
I think that might be the first time that I've heard Giant called upscale. :p
I'm not completely comfortable with it, but it's close I think. The ones around me are a bit better than most of the big grocery chains, but definitely below Wegmans. Here's my rough hierarchy...

inner city ghetto store

Sav-A-Lot, not well cared for indies

Safeway, Acme, Weis... Reasonable stores, but nothing fancy

Giant, Redners, Martins... Reasonable store+ Mostly normal things, but have some interesting premium items and foreign foods.

Wegmans. Kind of in a category of it's own. Like a Whole Foods lite. Can get out of there without spending a ton of money, but lots of interesting foods you can spend a fortune on.

Whole Foods, boutique natural stores. Premium, but probably not worth the added cost.

Trader Joes, Aldi. Wild cards. Not sure where to place them due the unusual nature of business. Faaar better than Sav-A-Lot(They have a similar business plan), but hard to call them premium, or ghetto really. Solid interesting stores, with a cheap price.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I'm not completely comfortable with it, but it's close I think. The ones around me are a bit better than most of the big grocery chains, but definitely below Wegmans. Here's my rough hierarchy...

I think the biggest thing for me is that my experience has mostly been in older Giant grocery stores. They were often very bright (that awkward pale yellow color) and sort of just... dull at the same time, which probably sounds pretty weird. Although, thinking about it now, what's interesting is that even though I always thought of Giant as a "lesser grocery store", I think even the worst Giant that I've been in is better than the worst Kroger. At least at Giant the carts weren't absolute garbage. Unless you visit a new Kroger or a Kroger in an area with high house prices, the carts tend to screech and jerk every which way.

Now that I don't live up north, whenever people ask me "What's Wegman's?", I just say, "Oh, poor child.... This. Is. Wegman's."

IMG_8370.jpg


Safeway, Acme, Weis... Reasonable stores, but nothing fancy

I haven't seen a Safeway in ages, but I do remember Acme and Weis. Acme was always the local grocer that seemed to exist in smaller communities. We had one back where I grew up, but looking at Google Maps, it appears to now be a Shur Save. They also built a Price Chopper across the street from it.

Speaking of Price Chopper, they were probably the worst grocery store. The stores were nice, but they always felt too expensive compared to everything else. It's pretty much the same opinion that I have of Publix. The stores are nice, but so overpriced.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,407
39
91
How and why did you end up in the US? Did you retain any of your Japanese work ethic?
I have a Japanese friend who escaped Japan because of the insane work demands there but he still has insanely good work ethic overseas.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
Why come Japanese restaurants are mostly run by Chinese?

Why do you guys not value education like Koreans and Chinese (and Indians) do? My school district has a ton of those and hardly any Japanese.
 

eng2d2

Golden Member
Nov 7, 2013
1,007
38
91
Why come Japanese restaurants are mostly run by Chinese?

Why do you guys not value education like Koreans and Chinese (and ) do? My school district has a ton of those and hardly any Japanese.

Same reason chinese restaurant cooks are mexican.
 

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
15,007
795
126
How and why did you end up in the US? Did you retain any of your Japanese work ethic?
I have a Japanese friend who escaped Japan because of the insane work demands there but he still has insanely good work ethic overseas.
Dad transferred from the Japanese division of a company to the US division (he was given the opportunity), thus us (the fam) getting green cards.
Why come Japanese restaurants are mostly run by Chinese?

Why do you guys not value education like Koreans and Chinese (and Indians) do? My school district has a ton of those and hardly any Japanese.
Japanese people don't really open restaurants that aren't 100% authentic (thus usually its pricey). And all the "Japanese" restaurants are just the same as the chinese restaurants (americanized food)

I don't understand what the second question entails. Japanese value education as much as other Asian countries. Getting into high school requires testing (kind of like the SAT) then your high school choice usually determines what college/uni you end up at.
 

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
21,995
854
126
Where can I get REAL wasabi and not the bastardized radish american crap? I live in NYC and even the Japanese markets don't carry it.
 

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
15,007
795
126
As an asian-American (OP), who was the American? Mom or dad?
I'm not an Asian American, I lied. Just a legal alien living in America.
Where can I get REAL wasabi and not the bastardized radish american crap? I live in NYC and even the Japanese markets don't carry it.
Our family buys S&B Wasabi (and hot mustard)

They sell it on Amazon, Japanese markets SHOULD be carrying this since it's pretty popular.
 
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ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,810
126
Where can I get REAL wasabi and not the bastardized radish american crap? I live in NYC and even the Japanese markets don't carry it.
I've seen wasabi plant for sale at Sprouts in GA. Maybe Whole Foods might have it as well? I don't know since I don't shop at Whole Foods.

Fake wasabi made from horseradish is good enough for me. Fake stuff lasts really long time in the fridge. I've had real wasabi at fancy sushi place and while I appreciated it, I like the fake stuff just fine.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,136
30,086
146
Do you have to mail-order those used panties, or do you still have family in Japan that can get them out of the machines and send them to you?