Due to the history of Japan the main form of English spoken here is American English. Since I have lived here I have been exposed to many new examples of American English and I find it stranger and stranger the more I discover. Yet it still seeps into my brain, for a while I started to refer to bank notes as bills until I managed to beat it out of myself.

One piece of American English I constantly correct my students on is the pronunciation of tomato. In British English and Japanese the pronunciation of tomato is the same but our American brothers say to-may-to, which always freaks me out a bit.

I recently discovered that when saying numbers Americans don’t say ‘and’ between the hundred and the ten ( “one hundred twelve” compared to “one hundred and twelve”). It is very hard for me to say numbers without the ‘and’ and just sounds wrong,  British people reading this, give it a try, you will be surprised how difficult it is to say. I pity my poor kid classes, have one thing drummed into them at school only for me to constantly be prompting ‘and’, ‘and’, ‘and’ at them when they are in my lessons.

Here English is on many signs and labels, but obviously they are in American type English. Which has lead to my imagination arriving a weird and wonderful destinations. Recently I was on the look out for a new pair of work trousers. When I found a nice cheap pair I had a look at the label, which gave them the title “Men’s Business Pants”. This led me to think of a man, naked except for a pair of underpants, confidently striding into an important meeting, slamming his briefcase upon the table and declaring that he won’t take any shit from anybody (he means business after all).

Living in Tokyo, as I have for the last one and a half years, you get used to certain things. So it was good to get out of the city and go to another, Osaka.

Osaka has a reputation for being very different to Tokyo. For me the most striking difference was with those riding bikes. One ring and you were expected to get out of the way, collisions were few but only due to quick reflexes.

Speak to people from Tokyo and they will probably mention two things about Osaka, that the food is good and people are kind of rude.

Apparently in Osaka people are a lot less formal than in Tokyo. I noticed this myself, ask for help in a shop in Tokyo and if the clerk doesn’t know the answer many sorrys will be said and a flurry of action takes place as the clerk runs to find a map of the local area and photocopy it or to find another member of staff who may know the answer to your question. In Osaka I’m met with a simple “Sorry, I don’t know” reply. Which is more like in the UK I guess but I’ve been in Tokyo long enough now to consider such a short reply odd.

The food in Osaka, such as takoyaki and okonomiyaki is indeed very tasty. It is cheep too and freely available. In fact, I would go as far as to say that takoyaki stands are on more street corners than Combinis. Which I am sure, for anyone who has ever been to Japan, is quite a shocking thing to say.

While Tokyo people consider Osakans rude, to me Osakans can be much more approachable and less distant, I met many colourful people during my short stay there. My favourite was perhaps the group of people taking their rooster for a walk. When asked why they would do this, I was given the simple reply of “Sampo!”  which simply means “Walking!”.

For a long time I have loved the films of Studio Ghibli. Over the years they have made some great films; From the epic, to the emotional, to the swashbuckling, to the just plan wonderful.

However it was with some sense of trepidation that I went to see their latest, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. You see, there is a song that was written for the film. Which, while cute, is not something which I can hear over and over again.  Unfortunately the children I teach disagree and insist on singing it at every possible opportunity.

Due to this I didn’t expect to enjoy this film as much as I did. I have also found that recent Ghibli films have been a bit disappointing, at least compared to the lofty standards of their films from the eighties and nineties.

This new film however, was a delight. It was simply gorgeous from beginning to end. Hayao Miyazaki, who directed the it, has the ability to create the most heart-warming movies. Not just that, he is able to transport you back to your childhood. Watching his greatest films reminds you how you thought as a child and your feelings to the people and things around you. With Ponyo he has done it again.

Ultimately Ponyo is a film about love, the love between friends, the love between husband and wife, the love between parent and child and the love for those in your care. It’s not that simple though, Miyazaki’s films are unlike any other directors, he cuts though all the bullshit and watching his films make you feel good for simply being alive. Perhaps it is because while his films are full of fantastic events and unexpected things, it is how he makes the mundane scenes, such as making instant noodles, seem whimsical and full of wonder.

I implore everyone who reads this to seek out a copy and watch it, preferably with a loved one (which unfortunately was not possible for me to do).

I still hate that song though.