Becoming a part of Ibaraki

A lot of people, especially those in Tōkyō, like to make fun of their country Ibaraki cousins up north. It is often joked that Ibaraki is not even part of Kanto (central Japan), but actually in Tōhoku (northern Japan). There are lots of sterotypes about the inaka-jin of Ibaraki and here are a few that I have discovered during my time here. If you want to ass one, drop us a line in the contact us section.

You know you have gotten used to life in Ibaraki when . . .

• You have climbed Mt. Tsukuba
• You have swam at Ōarai
• You have a bank account at Joyo or Ibargin

Very sexy agricultural attire

• You have a JA (Japan Agriculture) hat (or maybe one from an agricultural machinery company like Kubota)
• Your toilet is outside
• You have one car for every member of your family, not just one car per family
• You buy your clothing at Shimamura
• You don't know how to get on a train or even change trains
• You eat and drink on the train
• You believe that a yellow traffic light means "go faster" not "caution"

How fast do you drive?

• Your average driving speed is 60
• You use your blinkers when you should use your hazard lights
• You drive to the pub. Pubs have big car parks

How cool is your "mamachari"?

• You wear your PE shorts under your school dress
• You have remodeled and added improvements to your "Mamachari" bicycle
• You wear sweat pants everywhere
• You wear the PE uniform of your children's school
• When you think convenience stores, you think "Hot Spar" and "Save On"
• The only family restaurant you eat at is Coco's
• You do your food shopping at Kasumi
• You worry about the degradation of the Kasumi Group
• To you, Terashima and Kawachi are bigger than Matsumotokiyoshi Drug Stores
• On days off, you go as a family to Joyful Honda
• You call Joyful Honda, "Joy Hon"
• You call Joyful Yamashin, "Joy Yama"
• You think all Tsutaya DVD Rental shops are called "Book Ace"
• You add the name "Tsukuba" to everything
• You add the name "Hitachi" to everything

Hitachi Construction Equipment

• You sometimes see rabbits and raccoons around your house
• You have been out hunting for insects
• You can sing your town song
• You work for Hitachi

Everyone's favorite, nattō

• All your home electrics are from Hitachi
• You cant pronounce the word "express", i.e. Tsukuba Express, properly
• You know exactly what time music will play over the loud speakers
• You buy too many souvenirs when you go on holiday
• You like nattō

Can you add to the list?