After I wrote my previous post about if I didn’t go to hanami I would have to deal with everyone telling me もったいない, I was reminded of the mottainai obake （もったいないオバケ） which is basically the “ghost that will haunt you if you waste something like food, water, electricity etc.” もったいない translates to “what a shame” or “what a waste” and オバケ means “ghost”. Parents often threaten children with the mottainai obake, saying that it will haunt them if they don’t finish their meal. Kind of like the boogie man. I wonder if I will be visited my the mottainai obake tomorrow if I decide to go for a long drive and waste lots of gas?
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