When people back in the Unites States ask me what it’s like to live in Japan, I usually say, “It’s just like living in the U.S., except everything is different.” Most people get the drift, but it’s sometimes hard to explain the differences unless you’re actually here to see for yourself and breathe the local air, so to speak.

Today I ran across several items about aspects of life here that long-time foreign residents (and the Japanese themselves) wouldn’t think twice about, but people outside the country might need some time to get their heads around.

For example, the print edition of the Nishinippon Shimbun ran an article today about the Fruit Advisor Certification Test. The Japan Fruit Advisor Association of Osaka recently held its fifth certification test for Fruit Advisors, and it was the first time the test was held in Kyushu. Prospective Fruit Advisors gathered at the Central Wholesale Market in Fukuoka City to take the exam.

The association says it wants to develop “fruit missionaries” (that’s the word they used) among produce shop personnel and supermarket buyers by establishing a set of standards that will enable successful candidates to spread their knowledge about fruit among consumers. Thirty people took the test in Fukuoka City in the hope of joining the nearly 200 people nationwide who already have been certified.

Other veterans of Japan will vouch for me when I say that organizations such as the Japan Fruit Advisor Association (or ones for even more arcane specialties) are commonplace in Japan, it’s not unusual for these organizations to have certification tests, and the organizations and their tests are often given coverage in large-circulation dailies. In fact, some Japanese make a hobby of taking certification tests.

The next items come from the WaiWai column in the English language version of the Daily Mainichi. Columnist Ryan O’Connell’s usual focus on Japan’s notorious weekly magazines is the salacious side of Japan, but during the past week he ventured into other fields.

In the first, he presents a report from the magazine Josei Sebun (which means seven) explaining the origin of the English names of Japanese pop groups. Click on the link to find out how such groups as Glay, Bump of Chicken, Orange Range, Yellow Monkeys, Homemade Kazoku, No Plan, RIP Slyme (see album cover at left), and w-inds. (sic) came up with their names.

It’s a short article, so it doesn’t include explanations for the names of such groups as Mr. Children, BOφWY, Jackie and the Cedrics, Melt-Banana, Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her, Mad Capsule Markets, OOIOO, Do As Infinity, Boogie Citrus, SONS OF ALL PUSSIES, advantage Lucy, Orange Plankton, Gackt, Malice Mizer, Vanilla Soap, Guniw Tools, Dir en grey, I Am The Trigger, or even the name of the magazine Josei Sebun itself. (And because it’s about pop groups, the article doesn’t include the story of the financial institution that renamed itself the Tomato Bank to create a more consumer-friendly image.)

What’s unusual about this is that no one in Japan seems to think it’s unusual. Imagine if there were a decades-long fad in the U.S. or Europe to give pop groups strange names in Japanese–or any other foreign language, for that matter. The American media couldn’t get over it when Prince changed his name to a symbol. Imagine the turmoil in American society some of those English names would create. Right-wing radio talk show hosts getting hot and bothered and left-wing university professors defending them as art and writing unreadable academic papers about the phenomenon. (And left-wing university professors of gender studies would combine the worst of both worlds–they’d get hot and bothered and write academic papers that were even more unreadable.)

The second article in WaiWai passes on a report in the Shukan Taishu about the passion some Japanese have developed for playing the air guitar. Of course, this isn’t an exclusively Japanese pastime, and it was the Finns who organized the Annual Air Guitar World Championship.

But leave it to the Japanese to put their own distinctive stamp on the hobby and organize the Miss Air Guitar Japan Contest. At stake was the right to become the official campaign girl for air guitar hobbyists.

As this is Japan, it should come as no surprise that the winner was 17-year-old high school student Shizuka Matsubara, who performed in her high school uniform. Here’s what Shizuka said about participating in the event:

Since seeing the air guitar championships on TV a couple of years ago, my family and I have become really big fans. What I really like about air guitar playing is that it lets me express myself in a way I like while listening to music I like. I knew people were going to be looking up my dress to see my undies, but I didn’t worry about that and just gave it my all.

Shizuka may have gotten her panties in a bunch while performing, but that would be nothing compared to the response of some folks overseas—particularly if they found out her family approved.

And here’s one I almost missed. Let’s call it a bonus featurette.

This is the Waiwai report on Josei Jishin’s story about a new pachinko machine model undergoing a trial in Nagoya, Japan’s third-largest city. (Check Japundit’s post on pachinko in Japan).

We’ve also reported on the popularity in Japan of the South Korean television show Winter Sonata, and how mostly middle-aged and elderly women have swooned over the star, Bae Yong-Joon, or Yon-sama, as he is known here.

Well, the Nagoya-based pachinko machine manufacturer Kyoraku Sangyo put two and two together and has been conducting a trial of a Winter Sonata-themed pachinko game. When players perform well, the pachinko machine shows important scenes from the program. According to Josei Jishin, Yon-sama’s fans among the blue-haired set in Nagoya have been flocking to play the machines, which were slated to be distributed nationwide on March 13.

Take my word for it–living in Japan is the same as living anywhere else, but different.