By and large, an American expat living in Japan has two choices when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving: completely forget ...
Coming to Japan meant adjusting to many new things, from vending machines that accept the equivalent of $100 bills then ...
I'm often asked what the Japanese think of foreigners who go out of their way to learn the language. I ...
One social problem that's being talked about more and more in Japan is hikikomori (hee-kee-KOH-MOH-ree, 引きこもり), a Japanese term that ...
Many people first experience Japan through its animation, which has been a staple of entertainment here since Astro Boy was ...
I talked last time about the invisible lines drawn between the three social groups in a Japanese school or organization, ...
Japan is buzzing about North Korea's reported underground nuclear test, which took place a few hours ago. The news comes ...
It's always interesting to observe the large and small differences between schools here and back in the States. Both my ...
One way to compare Japan's more structured society with the U.S. and Europe is to look at the standardized Japanese ...
The San Diego Comic Con is underway, and although it's just gotten started, we're tired already, however it's the good ...
Once again, Anime Expo has come to a close, and we're all going home, tired but feeling very energized. The ...
The first Japanese person to visit America was Manjiro Nakahama, a 14-year-old fisherman who was rescued in 1841 by an ...
More signs of spring all around us in Japan, with warmer weather and lots of windy days, which are known ...
One of the coolest images of Japan, to me, are the Daruma, the unique red, roundish dolls that are quite ...
It's funny how how tenuous the meanings of seemingly basic words can be. In English, the word "friend" is pretty ...
(It looks like Wednesday's update had some trouble going out to everyone. If you missed it, please go to the ...
The Japanese flag, with its red circle against a white background, has got to be one of the most recognizable ...
There are two types of universities in Japan, public (operated on a national or prefectural level) and private, and as ...
Hello all. Finishing a busy week, and am looking forward to taking the kids to the onsen, that is, hot ...
Before I started J-List I was an English teacher, and taught ESL to a wide range of Japanese students, from ...
Hello again from Japan, where the law that governs private ownership of weapons is known as the Swords and Firearms ...
During my time here in Japan, I've had the pleasure of meeting a wide range of Japanese people, from children ...
Japan can sure be a perplexing place. When you buy a can of beer for 200 yen, it's a given ...
"You've been in Japan too long when you appear for your first skiing lesson with brand new Rossignol high performance ...
