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OK, some things aren't correct so I want to clarify.

The Japanese Kanji is adopted from the Chinese but the average number used in daily life (writing, newspaper, etc) is a lot less than in China. Japanese year 6 is supposed to have learnt 1056 or something about that number of Kanji, but it requires triple that amount to read a newspaper. The before WW2 generation used a more complex writing style, more traditional Chinese, but the current Kanji is simplified (This it true in China, too). My dad would write Kanji and use the following Hiragana differently than I learnt at school.

As for the meaning it is similar. In high school, we had a subject called Kan-Bun (meaning Kanji- sentence, or more correctly, Kan ( as a period China was called in the past) -literature) and we read original Chinese text, assisted by little 1,2,return symbols written in so we can read it in orderly Japanese. We have no idea how it is pronounced correctly in Chinese, (and it is pronounced differently in different parts of China) but it could be read in Japanese and meaning understood. So, if I want to read a 5000 year old text Chinese medicine text or poetry, there is no major problem. That would have been what was done in the past in Japan. We have adopted the character that has meaning - only the sound is different.

As for the Kanji we do not have and use in Japan, we have to learn them.

Hiragana is Japanese ladies invention- coming from the relaxed writing form of the woman's hand. Artistic in it's own right.

Katakana is part of the kanji.

Both have no meaning associated with, and are used to describe sound. Like the alphabet.

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Originally Posted By: Ryoma
Difference between Chinese and Japanese is similar to English and French. It's possible to grasp the general meaning in the written language but it's bothersome.


While it is true that an English-speaker can often get a general idea of what is being conveyed in many other European languages just from the cognates, it can be hard to understand detailed instructions such as, "No parking between hours of X and Y on weekdays." I have been told the same is true for Chinese visitors to Japan, which can lead to unnecessary problems and frictions.

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While it's more considerate to write signs in Chinese, I haven't really met any non-Japanese guests who don't speak even a little English.


I suspect that is likely to change if a wider spectrum of visitors starts coming to Japan.

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I think English is a convenient middle ground.


Well, I just thought that if they are going to go to the trouble of redoing all the signage, it seems a small effort to add that extra bit of thoughtfulness. Also creates a more international atmosphere, which they seem to be aiming for.
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Yes they are.

Curious that accommodation doesn't seem to have caught up in that respect. I'm trying to find somewhere now and finding somewhere that does something other than a very traditional Japanese style evening meal is difficult!

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Originally Posted By: muikabochi
Yes they are.
Curious that accommodation doesn't seem to have caught up in that respect. I'm trying to find somewhere now and finding somewhere that does something other than a very traditional Japanese style evening meal is difficult!


Actually, some of the best Japanese minshuku/ryokan meals I have eaten have been at Zao...
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I don't want shabushabu.

 

Anyway pick away at my comments all you want dyna, still doesn't get away from the fact that there is a lack of choice for someone who doesn't like a Japanese style set meal in whatever form. Certainly compared to everywhere else I have been. That's all. wave

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Sorry, wasn't picking, but trying to find someplace good for you!

 

Minshuku that I stay at frequently in Izu will make steak upon request instead of their sashimi and traditional Japanese food.

 

Bye, then!!!

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Ryoma, thanks for all the info about Nozawa Onsen.

 

Nozawa Onsen might not have the best snow (compared to Hokkaido), but overall, my friends and I unanimously agree that it's the best resort in all of Japan. Keep up the good work and we hope to keep supporting the local economy in the years to come.

 

Let the ski patrol staff know that it's the forbidden areas that keep us coming back year after year. wink

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