Animal Crossing is made by Nintendo which, of course, is a Japanese company. I knew some of the items featured were from Japan specifically, but I didn't make the connection on all of them.
Some of the plants in Animal Crossing I had never seen where I have lived in the States. Olive Tea was one of them, but I found it here in Japan!
I knew the wall mounted air conditioners were common in Japan, but I also have them in each room of my house!
What I didn't know, though, was that there is a tube that goes through the wall and attaches the inside unit to the outdoor air conditioning unit. This is how it vents, rather than having to have it in a window, like is so common in the States.
Tom Nook as well as Timmy and Tommy are not raccoons as we know them in the States. A more accurate description is "raccoon dog," but the Japanese word for these is tanuki. It's a real animal in Japan and I saw one at one of the zoos I went to.
Here is the google lens translation. Sometimes they are a bit funky. This one is especially funky becasue of the furigana, which is the smaller writing (hiragana) about the kanji (Chinese characters). Children in Japan learn to read hiragana and katakana first, so when these are helps for younger people who may not know all of the kanji yet.
The reflection made it hard to get a good picture.
The in game item related to the tanuki is the the "raccoon figurine." This may not seem like a significant item to people not in Japan, but THEY ARE EVERYWHERE in Japan. Tanuki means lucky, so they are a good luck charm.
These can be seen outside of shrines, businesses and homes here in Japan. A fun fact that you can't tell from the in game item is those things hanging down between his legs are exactly what you think they are, and ALL the tanuki statues have them.
We ordered most of our furniture from a catalog provided by the relocation company before we got here. One option was the "gaming chair," which I didn't make the connection until I saw this item in my Nook's Cranny, but I HAVE THIS CHAIR SITTING IN MY HOME.
Here it is! No idea what the brand is, so please don't ask. 😆
Parks are found in abundance here. I believe the main reason is that is the place children are supposed to play, not in your yard where you may disturb others. A big thing in Japan is living so as not to inconvenience others, which is completely different from most people's attitudes in the States. We live across from a park and everyday I hear children laughing and playing, but that is to be expected because we are so close.
This isn't my local park, but I recognized this as the same shape from Animal Crossing right away!
As mentioned above, parks are everywhere. I can name where there are probably at least ten different parks that I can walk to. Every park has a park clock. I have no idea if this is accurate, but my guess is that they are there so that the children playing, or their parents can easily know when it's time to go home.
This is one of the things I remember seeing the first day we moved here in our local grocery store. It's made with white bread, fruit, and lightly sweetened whipped cream. Everything is lightly sweetened in Japan compared to the States, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Let's talk construction. As I mentioned before, a big part of Japanese culture is living so as not to inconvenience others. So when there is construction that may inconvenience someone else, they are very apologetic. We have received notes in our mailbox warning us of upcoming construction, and I have even heard of people in the area of construction receiving snacks as an apology!
This sign is very similar to an in game item. The construction worker is bowing in apology. Even without this sign, it is very common to have someone standing outside that will bow to you as you pass. When I leave to Japan, I am sure I will still be bowing to everyone and probably get weird looks. 😂
This may be a recurring post as I am sure I will see more things and make more connections!
