Ultimate Crumpet

It’s been a few days since last post but forecasters are predicting whole waves of new content this week for you to read this week and are issuing severe posting warnings. Ermmm enough with the weather related nonsense me thinks…

Many may of you are probably well aware that Japan is quite prone to making some rather interesting use (read: complete incorrect or insanely baffling use) of the English language often referred to as Engrish.

Today whilst at work I received an email from the International Centre that sends periodic emails to all foreign residents in the city with information they deem important/essential to inform us. I usually get these emails once every 2 weeks or so but I sincerely wish that I would get them more often as they are often a source of a good giggle.

Below is today’s email, completely unedited for your reading pleasure.

Hello!

[Information from tap water in Matsue]Tap water in Matsue is taste good!

・The water is met standard of water-purity for tap water that Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry sets up.

・It is also purified by slow filtration process using animate beings.

Live economically with drinking tap water

・Converting tap water to yen, you can buy 477-liter tap water by 100yen. That corresponds to buy nine-hundred-fifty-four 500-mililiter bottle of water.

Attempt to drink it taste good.

・When you feel it is smelling chlorine, boil it for five minutes, and also when you feel it isn’t taste good, put it in refrigerator.

I’ve been drinking water that has been slowly filtrated with ANIMATE BEINGS?! I dread to think what these beings may be doing to my insides.
I have been following their tip about placing water in my fridge when the water hasn’t been at its tastiest and now I have a fridge FULL with water and I have no idea what I should do next! AHHH!

It sounds like I am being rather harsh on the International Centre but I must say now that I feel they do provide a great service to everyone here in the city and am really thankful for that. I have also been fortunate enough in my job to have had a number of opportunities to work with different members of staff from the International Centre and they have been a real pleasure to work with. I have even been challenged to a game of Go by the Centre manager. However, this doesn’t change the fact they produce some pretty weird and wonderful English notifications!

[Japanese useful word]

We call December “jyuni-gatsu 12月” in Japanese or, “shiwasu　師走” as another expression. There are also other same expression for January ～ November, too. But Shiwasu is more popular than other months’. It means in old days a Buddhist monk ran this way and that in December to prey for every house. We don’t use the word, Shiwasu as a date, like Shiwasu 1st, 2nd…

When Japanese people realize Shiwasu, they feel something sorrow at the close of a year and get busy to do house cleaning and to arrange for a new year.

I can guarantee that there will be a further posts in the future relating to quirky English you may spot out and about in Japan but for now I will leave you with this t-shirt which is currently on sale in the small department store next to my house.