Today’s Question
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What’s life like in Japan during the coronavirus pandemic? We also investigate the cute sneeze conspiracy that is going on in Japan. This episode features special guest Kyle Broyles of the Tokyo Splosion podcast and Hard Officers YouTube channel.
Topics Discussed
- What it’s like living in central Tokyo during the coronavirus pandemic
- What it’s like living in Ishikawa Prefecture during the coronavirus pandemic
- Precautions supermarkets in Japan have taken during the coronavirus pandemic
- Whether there are have been any noticeable food shortages
- Making the switch to working from home
- The state of emergency declared by the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture
- Restrictions on bars/izakaya in Tokyo and whether they are being followed
- What the past few weeks have been like in Hawaii during the coronavirus pandemic
- How a robot cabal is promoting “cute sneezing” in order to further spread the coronavirus in Japan
- How to sneeze like a cute Japanese girl
- Fuku’s dinosaur museum
- Ishikawa’s famous carrots
- The solution to the “cute sneezing” problem
- The dirty handholds on Japanese trains
- And more!
Note: This episode was recorded on April 19, 2020 (JST)/April 18 (HST). On April 20 (JST) Ryan found out that the movie theater he mentions in the episode had closed on April 18 (one day before this episode was recorded).
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Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.
This episode features Kyle Broyles as a special guest. If you would like to follow him on Twitter, please use the link below.
Kyle is one of the hosts of the Tokyo Splosion podcast. If you would like to check his podcast out, you can look it up wherever you get your podcasts or use the links below.
The episode of Tokyo Splosion involving the “stinky buddies” that was mentioned at the beginning of this episode can be accessed via the link below.
Kyle also produces the YouTube series Hard Officers. Check out the channel via the link below.
Here’s an article about Ishikawa’s governor declaring a state of emergency.
When looking into whether people in Japan are taught to sneeze into their hands, I came across many interesting videos. Here are some of them.
Here’s a video of a girl trying to make herself sneeze in order to see if she can do it in a cute way. She is unsuccessful.
This video explains how to sneeze in a cute way. Basically, the video emphasizes that you should exhale once you feel the sneeze coming on. If you are able to do this, then you will expel less air and thus produce a much cuter sneeze.
Below is the video featuring the virtual YouTuber discussing how to sneeze in a cute way that was mentioned during this episode. In the video she provides several tips for those wishing to sneeze in a cute way. First, she says you should exhale all the air in your lungs and mouth. Second, you should clench your teeth (probably not that strongly) without sealing your lips. Them, cover your mouth and nose with both your hands. By covering yourself with your hands you’re able to obscure the not cute expression on your face while you sneeze. Lastly, after you’re done sneezing you can let out a cute sound, like “eh heh.” The virtual YouTuber tries to sneeze following her pointers but the video ends with her completely failing to do so.
The video below was put out by Tokyo’s Taito Ward. It explains the proper way to cough and sneeze. It starts by emphasizing the usage of a face mask. It then enplains that another acceptable way to cough and sneeze is to use a tissue to cover your face while you do so. After you are done coughing/sneezing into the tissue, you should throw away the tissue right away. Lastly, the video explains that you can also cough/sneeze into your arm/inside of your elbow.
Japanese Vocabulary List
Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here’s some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC.
- Kushami
- くしゃみ (n) sneeze
- Seki
- 咳 【せき】 (n) cough; coughing; tussis
- Yarikata
- やり方 【やりかた】 (n) manner of doing; way; method; means
We Want Your Questions
Is there something about Japan that confuses you? Is there something about Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about? Is there something in Japanese history that you would like us to explain? We’re always looking for new questions about Japan to answer, so if you have one, please send it to ichimon@japankyo.com.
Special Thanks
Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr)
Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R.
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Full Show Notes
