For the first time in two years since I moved to China I was struck down by a rather nasty case of food poisoning last Friday which scuppered any prior plans for the weekend. It did however leave me with plenty more time to waste surfing the www and I came across this hilarious set of videos about Japanese culture that I felt compelled to share.

They’re not new but timelessly wonderful:

(apologies to Chinese readers but you will need a VPN to view YouTube videos)

Sushi

While at a glance they could come across as serious instructional videos for naive foreigners it’s fairly clear who’s having the last laugh

Apologising

Mr Toyoda should probably pay close attention to this one since is recent bowing fiasco… Clearly the “Long Ojigi” would have been more appropriate!

Chopsticks

I personally prefer the “Shigoto-nin” technique for chopstick separation with a “Mount Fuji” grip. How do you use chopsticks?

Origami

This one is actually closer to reality than you might imagine

Tea

The humor is so dry you might almost think it’s British but credit for them goes to a group called Rahmenz (ラーメンズ), and released by Japan Culture Lab. They’re a great homage to all the over-used clichés and stereotypes about Japan which have been so convincingly put together with clearly a lot of effort.

Related posts you might like:

1. 5 Unique Japanese Artists
2. Japan – The Strange Country