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May 02, 2024
 

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Alice Gordenker

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Alice Gordenker
Alice Gordenker writes the "So, What the Heck is That?" column, providing in-depth, carefully researched explanations of the things foreigners find so puzzling about Japan. Her work has been modified as a textbook for Japanese university students called "Surprising Japan" (Shohakusha, 2012).
For Alice Gordenker's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Feb 21, 2012
Miso's moya moya
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jan 17, 2012
Platform doors
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 5, 2012
Exposing new spins on old-school photography
For a truly fresh outlook on Tokyo, run, don't walk, to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography to see Sohei Nishino's exciting photo-collages of Tokyo and nine other cities, on display through Jan. 29 along with works by other up-and-coming Japanese photographers.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 5, 2012
Exposing new spins on old-school photography
For a truly fresh outlook on Tokyo, run, don't walk, to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography to see Sohei Nishino's exciting photo-collages of Tokyo and nine other cities, on display through Jan. 29 along with works by other up-and-coming Japanese photographers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 1, 2012
New window on how Europe viewed Japan
UNDER EAGLE EYES: Lithographs, Drawings and Photographs From the Prussian Expedition to Japan, 1860-61, edited by Sebastian Dobson & Sven Saaler. Iudicium, 2011, 392 pp., €49 (hardcover) Even casual students of Japan are likely to know something about Commodore Matthew Perry and his role in pressuring Japan to open up to American trade in the middle of the 19th century. But how many will have heard of Count Friedrich zu Eulenburg, who led a similar expedition from the Kingdom of Prussia in 1860-61?
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Dec 20, 2011
Yomawari
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Nov 15, 2011
Nipple fruit
Dear Alice,I have lived in Japan for almost a decade. Every fall I see in flower shops the most unusual and fantastic plant, and I would like to finally know what the heck it is. It is sold as cut branches that are laden with a totally implausible fruit in the brightest of yellows. To be honest, those fruits look like the breasts of a cow. I have never seen this plant in any other country, yet it is hard to imagine something so flashy being native to Japan.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Oct 18, 2011
Annoying TV pop-ups
Dear Alice,I want to ask about something that has bugged me the entire 17 years I have lived in Japan. It irritates me so much I am tempted to replace the "heck" in "what the heck" with something considerably stronger but I will be a lady and restrain myself. Anyway, what the heck are those little video bubbles that pop up on almost every quiz and variety show on Japanese TV, the ones that show a celebrity guest reacting to what's going on in the show? I want to view the video clip and experience it for myself, not follow the overdone emotions of some TV personality!
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Sep 20, 2011
Anzan kigan
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 28, 2011
Growing up with photography and picturing youth
You know how difficult it is to get good photos of children. They fidget. They cry. And just when you think you've got the perfect shot, they turn the other way. Now try to imagine how challenging it must have been for early photographers, who had to contend with exposure times of minutes rather than fractions of a second.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jul 19, 2011
Japan's incompatible power grids
Dear Alice,As Japan sweats through this summer of inadequate power, many more people now know that there are different electrical supply systems in eastern and western Japan, and that the two systems are incompatible. This is such a crazy situation that I'd really be interested to know the history behind it. Can you find out how the heck it came about? Scott H., Tokyo
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jun 21, 2011
Kinpū
Dear Alice,I am fascinated by the elaborately decorated envelopes offered for sale in Japan. I know they are used for giving money, because the first time I came to Japan to study martial arts a friend taught me to put my lesson fees into an envelope, rather than just hand bills to my teacher. I'd like to use fancy envelopes on my next visit but I've heard some are only for weddings or funerals and I'm afraid I'll make a mistake. Can you explain the differences? Actually, can you explain why the heck money has to go into envelopes in the first place? Daniel A., Lisbon, Portugal
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
May 17, 2011
Bridges with names
Dear Alice, I've noticed something that no one has ever been able to explain to me: It seems that absolutely every bridge in Japan has a name! Size, length and location don't seem to have anything to do with it: I once saw two tiny bridges out in the middle of nowhere, one after the other, and each had its own name on a sign nearby. Even bridges that span highways almost always have a name. If living in Japan has taught me anything, it's that there's probably a reason for this. The problem is that no one knows what the heck it is! Would you be able to help?Rosalind C., Hokkaido
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Apr 21, 2011
Setsuden
Dear Alice, Everywhere I go now I see signs for setsuden (conserving electricity). There's a notice at my local convenience store explaining that the lights are down for setsuden. My post office has shortened its hours for setsuden. And the subway is running with fewer trains — you guessed it — for setsuden. So, what the heck is setsuden, really? Is this different from run-of-the-mill energy conservation? What should I be doing to help? Deborah N., Tokyo
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Mar 17, 2011
Yokobue
Dear Alice, Last November, I went to Kyushu to see the Karatsu Kunchi festival. It was a wonderful spectacle, with huge, flamboyant floats pulled through crowded streets to the rhythmic accompaniment of drums, music and shouts of "Enya! Enya!" I loved it all, but if I had to designate one aspect as my favorite, it would be the handsome young men on every float who were playing some kind of flute with a high pitch. So, what the heck is that instrument? Philippa J., Hyogo Prefecture
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Feb 17, 2011
Bloomers
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jan 20, 2011
Wagashi
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Dec 16, 2010
Kiribi
Dear Alice
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Nov 18, 2010
Shrine tags
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Oct 21, 2010
Nature's air freshener
Dear Alice,
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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