Cool Japan - Season 8 / Year 2013

"Cool Japan" makes its debut on NHK General TV! 50 foreigners come together in the studio to discuss the different and strange behaviors and habits of the Japanese. "Why do Japanese people sleep everywhere?", "Why do Japanese cry in public?", "Why don't Japanese talk in elevators?" Through foreigners' reports from real Japanese peoples' daily lives and heated discussions, we rediscover the appeal the Japanese and their culture have to offer. Singer Kumiko Mori will join as a guest.

Foreigner's questions towards the behaviors and habits of the Japanese can't be answered in only one night. The fun in the studio continues for a Part 2. "Why are Japanese so particular about the time?" "Why donft Japanese women show cleavage?" Through a passionate discussion, differences are highlighted between different countries cultures, daily habits, communication, and ways of thinking. Will Japanese behavior be understood by foreigners? We re-examine the Japanese through the fresh viewpoint and sensibility of foreigner's pers.

Everyone carries tissues around with them, and houses use papers in "Shoji" and "Fusuma". In cooking, the techniques of the "Paper Hot Pot" and "Kamijio" use Japanese paper. Our foreign guests are surprised at the abundant use of paper in Japanese people's lives. Soft, "hoshitsu" tissue is gentle on the skin when blowing one's nose. This was the result of honest, hard work. Origami has taken off from Japan to the world. A group of students rearrange origami into modern art. Our foreign guests see the Japanese culture of papers.

special shooting was taking place at Kanagawa University. Foreigners often say that Japanese universities have lots of surprising aspects. There are "Physical Education," classes where many sports can be enjoyed. In the "Cafeteria," students can eat cheap and delicious food. At the "School Festivals," local residents can join in the fun at these grand scale events. We also shine light on the development of cutting edge humanoid robots, and the impeccable assistance the university provides to help students find jobs after graduation. International students of Kanagawa University participate as well. MCs are Shoji Kokami and Rie Uozumi.

This is the second public shooting special at Kanagawa University and 200th anniversary for "Cool Japan"! The theme is "Television" which started broadcasting 60 years ago. Our foreign guests find out how much Japanese love TV as they even own several of them at home. Take a close look at the Japanese "Announcer" who is in charge of variety programs to News or even music programs. Discover the secret of the NHK morning dramas which have been on for more than 50 years. What is the difference between Japanese Television and the rest of the world? MCs are Shoji Kokami and Rie Uozumi.

Japanese manufacturing has been supported by craftsmen. Our foreign guests visited the Edo Shitamachi Crafts Museum where over 50 kinds of products such as woodcarvings or silverware are displayed. You can even see the craftsmanfs demonstration there. The shipyard which has been operating over 200 years since the Edo period is introduced and the ship carpenter is full of wood knowledge and is now challenging to build wooden bicycles. A Canadian lives in a old folk house in the mountains and is raising silkworms to make thread which is dyed indigo and then weaves cloth. How will our foreign guests see the remarkable Japanese craftsmanfs skills?

Salt Ramen and Salt Yakisoba are popular in Japan. Our foreign guests seem to be mystified because they don't have any dish named after Salt. And they use salt only as an ingredient. They are surprised by sprinkling salt over watermelon or even knowing salty sweets. The madam of the traditional Koji(Malt) shop has produced a new style of Shio-Koji which became a big hit. They promoted it by sharing the recipes and having seminars. Our foreign guest went to Izumo City in Shimane prefecture to explore the root of purifying salt and experienced "Drawing Seawater". These features relate the unique relationship between Japanese and salt.

Tempura donburi (Ten-don), Katsu-don, and Gyu-don are just a few of the well-known types of, "Donburi," a rice bowl dish. Recently, newcomers such as the famous Turkish kebab have even been transformed into "Kebab don". Because of its ease to make and voluminous portions, it is also enjoyed at many homes. Toki City in Gifu Prefecture is Japan's number one producer of donburi dishware. There, we can see the wisdom and techniques of Japan's craftsmanship. At Atsumi Peninsula in Aichi prefecture, over 40 restaurants come together for "Donburi Road", which has become popular. How will foreigners respond to the appeal of Donburi?

Foreigners sometimes say that Japanese are stylish regardless of age or gender. Our foreign guests explored the town to see what makes Japanese stylish. It seems like featuring tips of 'Mix-and-Match' on fashion magazines are very unique to Japan and we take a close look at the magazine production. And we met a group of people who enjoy being stylish and wearing Kimonos. They gather once a month in Ginza. Let's explore the world's attention on Japanese sense of style.

The first episode of "COOL JAPAN'" as we move into its 8th year! We are introducing a variety of "Best of Cool" chosen in its previous year and the coolest one will be announced as "THE COOLEST OF THE COOL 2012". Also video letters from our former foreign guests will be shown to introduce their favorite Japanese items that they had brought to their homes. The top five from the feature, "The moment I felt I became Japanese," on Cool Japan's Facebook page which earned over 17,000 likes will also be announced. An episode with a year's worth of highlights packed!

"Harajuku" now has much global attention with its continuously born new fashion trends from Gothic & Lolita and Girly at Takeshita Street to young designers' one-and-only styles at Ura-Harajuku. In February, the local merchants' association with 500 shops as its member organized "Tokyo Fan Week", an event to attract more foreign tourists. Here, guided tours and culture experience programs were much enjoyed by the participants. Introducing the newly built shared apartment where work and living space coincides creating business chances and opportunities to meet others. How will our foreign guests react?

Tokyo station building has everything you could imagine from famous confections and goods from across the country to even an art museum and a hotel. You also find condominiums and hot springs facilitated to station buildings in various areas. Today, we'll look at the Kichijoji station building's behind-the-scenes. The operational staff work hard to provide customers with a comfortable experience by their everyday guiding services and occasional events. Toyama's Etchu-Funahashi station has a library inside with a rich content of children's picture books, books on child raising and cook books for mothers. It is very busy with families. How will our foreign guests' react to convenient Japanese station buildings?

Foreigners wonder,‘Why do Japanese people apologize easily?' From our on-the-street interview, we found many apologizing for not living up to others' expectations, on behalf of the mistakes made by people working under you, and some even for the mistakes made by others. Closely following a day of a businessman, we found him making apologies one after the other. Workers at a customer center also apologized repeatedly, and we even found elementary school children learning about apologizing in class. How will our foreign guests respond to such Japanese culture of making considerate apologies?

Japanese home cooking enjoys a variety of styles such as Japanese, Western, Chinese, and more. Supermarkets here have an excellent selection of products from vegetables/fish packed in small quantity for single use, some even precooked, to various choices of delis. They even have a section introducing how to cook with seasonal ingredients. There also is an extremely popular website where users could post their original recipes. And we also encountered a home cooking class at an elementary school. By comparing to their own countries, our foreign guests will take on a hot debate over Japanese home cooking!

In the previous episode "Karaoke", many Japanese people sang when they were asked to sing at the pedestrian paradise in Ginza. How do Japanese people react when they are asked to dance? Not only singing but also dancing is important for Japanese Idols.We took a close look at a choreographer to see how popular choreography is born."Dance" became compulsory class in PE at Japanese Jr. High schools. Our foreign guest went to see how the dance class is like. Will foreigners receive Cool on Japanese dance?

Japanese buses have a high reputation among foreigners. Route buses are praised by for their punctuality, clean interior, and politeness of the drivers. Our foreign guests visited a training course for the newly employed drivers and participated in a bus tour exclusive to foreigners visiting highlights of Tokyo. How will this tour where English-speaking guide provides a thorough guide be received? In Tamaki-cho, Mie pref., an on-demand bus system was playing an outstanding role for the elderly. In the program, an update on Japanese buses will be examined through the eyes of foreigners.

The program will clarify why Japanese people are stress tolerant. It will compare Japan and other countries looking at circumstances people feel stress and how they evaluate stress. It will also search for and have our foreign guests experience some of the popular ways of relieving stress. One such way is participating in a meet-up event for. male fans of an idol group and jogging home from work together. Are Japanese people stress tolerant? Or are they simply good at relieving them? Let's find out where our guests' discussion will lead us!

Foreigners are amazed to find Japanese parents so enthusiastic about education. In town, we found many young children engaging in activities such as swimming, gymnastics, piano, ballet, English, etc... Children at kindergarten learn to act in groups through numerous curriculums such as exercising, singing, and studying Japanese hiragana characters. Our foreign guest visited a company popular for producing and delivering to homes picture books, educational toys, and DVDs all-in-one. And we explored its developmental stage. How will our foreign guests see Japanese children and their parents' learning efforts?

Foreigners too have a hard time with the hot humid Japanese summer. However, Japan's traditional ideas and latest technologies help beat the heat. Strolling down the downtown area, you'll find things like water sprinkling, bamboo blinds, gold fish, wind chimes, and agar noodles to help cool down through one's five senses. We'll also explore how yukata (Japanese summer kimono) keeps you cool at the studio of Ojiya-chijimi in Ojiya city, Niigata, as well as the developmental stage of the new paint to prevent temperature rise on roads developed as part of the urban heat-island countermeasures.

Cool Japan's facebook attracts a huge number of visitors worldwide whenever it uploads pictures of Japanese castles which tells how much interest foreigners have on them. Found at Hikone castle under its beautiful curvaceous ornamental roof were numerous measures taken for military purposes. Kumamoto castle was using traditional methods for the currently undertaking reconstruction to commemorate its 400th anniversary. The program will also introduce an American captivated by the appeals of Japanese castles who visits castles in Japan and posts information of its history and characteristics with photos on his blog.

Many foreigners would agree wabi-sabi to be the king of Japanese cool! In what things do foreigners sense wabi-sabi? Some mentioned a stone garden and pottery, and some even the most unexpected things! The wabi-sabis our foreign guest discovered through strolling down Yanaka were things like protruded trees and stone statues on the roadside. The German temple master of a Zen temple was pursuing ascetic training with his disciples aiming to reach the height of wabi-sabi. This program will feature wabi-sabi anew through the eyes of foreigners.

Japan is now a big advertisement power next to U.S. with its market exceeding 5 trillion yen. You find advertising signs aligned in town, on escalators' handrails, inside restrooms stalls, and even in the most unexpected places such as on dried seaweed inside ramen noodles and on the backside of copy paper. We will also cover, up close with a salesperson in search for new advertisement spots. And, some of the rapidly growing digital signage system which allows one to communicate with the characters being displayed. The program will search for Japanese cools in advertisements through the eyes of foreigners.

Many ride bicycles regularly considering them to be "healthy", "economical", and "ecological". Our foreign guests discovered in town a Mamachari easy to ride with small children on. Child seats and baskets were installed on bikes in bicycle shops and they were amazed at the extremely convenient underground bicycle parking. The program will feature the behind-the-scenes development of "power-assisted bicycles" popular among women for allowing them an easier ride. And also cover the Children's bicycle safety competition of Fukushima's prefectural tournament where elementary school children compete.

Foreigners are amazed to find so many restaurants in Japanese towns, many of them specializing in particular dishes such as Tonkatsu, Eels, Buckwheat noodles, etc. They also find self-cooking restaurants like Okonomiyaki and as well as restaurants where the chef cooks in front of the customers like Teppanyaki and Sushi, very curious. Our foreign guests will visit a chain restaurant for Champon noodles to discover the secrets of equalizing the taste for all its stores. We explore behind the scenes of publishing a restaurant guidebook. We will show you the restaurants selection process which involves legwork and the unique ways for shooting its dishes

Classical martial arts are considered cool among foreigners. Being a necessary set of skills mastered by samurais for fighting purposes, it is quite different from Budo such as Kendo and Judo established as types of sports in the Meiji period. We found many foreigners working hard to acquire the skills of classical martial arts at the training hall which carries on its tradition even to this day. Our foreign guest visited a high school basketball team who made it to the national championships by incorporating its movements. And we will introduce a man from New Zealand fascinated by the art of Naginata. What's the secret behind the magnetic appeals that classical martial arts have on foreigners?

It's amazing to find through our interviews in town so many people actually use Otoriyose. A system to have local specialties delivered to your home. Fruits and sweet treats seem to be popular among women and alcohol beverages and seafood products, for men. It's also often used as gifts. An established restaurant in Kamaishi city, Iwate, has survived through the crisis of the great earthquake disaster with the sales of their Otoriyose seafood products. Package delivery companies support Otoriyose through their efficient cool delivery system of frozen and refrigerated products. How will foreigners value Japanese Otoriyose culture?

Japanese pickles are indispensable in Japanese cuisine. There are pickles and sauerkrauts in the West, too, but Japanese pickles come out on top when it comes to abundance in variety having different ingredients pickled in the rice bran and soybean pastes, sake lees, and many more. More than 100 types of pickles were being displayed at a department store's food section. "Just cut, pickle and knead." Introducing behind-the-scenes of how an epoch-making idea lead to creating a smash hit for vegetable pickle marinade. Also our foreign guest visited a household where rice bran paste is being handed down from parents to children for over 130 years. How will this appeal to our foreign guests?

"Expressing gratitude," a Japanese culture of sending gifts and appreciation letters in recognition to the care received. Through on-the-street interviews, our foreign guests discovered Japanese politely reciprocate gifts when receiving gifts for a wedding, baby's birth and in hospital. At a department store, our foreign guest found rules related to sending gifts in return for a funeral offering or in appreciation to the kindness received while one is ill. Also, students in search for jobs were sending appreciation letters to companies after an interview. By comparing to other cultures of the world, the program will explore the Japanese culture of "expressing gratitude".

This is a special episode with our foreign guests stepping out of the studio to explore Mt. Fuji, a recently designated world heritage site.　The host and our guests will visit appealing places recommended by foreigners who've been mesmerized by the beauty and riches of Mt. Fuji. These places such as; Oshino Hakkai, clear spring water ponds made of snow and rain water filtered from the mountain, Aokigahara Sea of Trees, a young forest created after the Jogan Eruption in 9th century, as well as an American resident enjoying his life at the foot of Mt. Fuji. You will experience the appeals of Mt. Fuji along with our foreign guests.