Large and Small Frustrations of Living in Japan
I like living in Japan, really I do, but there are some frustrations a poor gaijin must endure. Things you ...
Tag: cars
Park like a Rebel
Whenever I'm in the U.S., I find myself doing things in a slightly more Japanese way, just as I'm not ...
My Journey to San Diego, and Reverse Culture Shock
Well, I've made the big hop from Japan to San Diego, in preparation for the upcoming Anime Expo, which is ...
Japan and Auto Mechanics
For some reason, living in Japan robs a person of the ability to open the hood of their car. When ...
Shinyo (Trust) and the Japanese
One of the most important concepts in daily life in Japan is shinyo (SHIN-yo), which means "trust," and when Japanese ...
Election and Election News Coverage in Japan
There are some big differences between how elections work in Japan compared to the U.S. Because Japan uses a British-style ...
Japan is a Small Country
Japan is a small country, which has to fit about half the population of the U.S. into an area just ...
Image of Foreigners in Japan
When Japanese think of foreigners, they think of overly tall, blonde Americans or Europeans with huge feet, trying to find ...
Patriotism, Japan Style and Kimigayo
I've written before about how the question of "patriotism" in modern Japan is a tricky one. In the U.S. we ...
My Scary Yakuza Experience in Kyoto
I'll tell you about the scariest thing to happen to be since coming to Japan. I'm a big fan of ...
Robots in Japan and Lego MindStorms Soccer
The Japanese have a long history with robots, going all the way back to karakuri ningyo, mechanical dolls that mimic ...
On the Endless Road Construction in Japan
I went to the dentist the other day to get my teeth checked. Normally, it's a ten minute drive, but ...
History Lesson on the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu
One concept you get used to when living in Japan is the ubiquitity of certain famous companies in many different ...
Car Names: Naked, Every, Sunny Bluebird, and “That’s”
Although Japan is famous for its extensive rail network, allowing people living in large cities like Tokyo to get by ...
Sony Life Insurance? Panasonic Home? Kanebo Gum?
One thing you get used to when you live in Japan is companies selling products that are, well, unexpected from ...
Rising Divorce Culture in Japan?
It's often said that Japan's society follows a decade or so behind the U.S., and looking at such areas as ...
A big typhoon pummels Japan, thoughts on the concept of “standing out” and a fun word of Japanese for you
September is storm season in Japan, as we were reminded when Typhoon Fitow -- designated boringly as Typhoon No. 9 ...
Otakon wrap up, Japanese election results, and various thoughts about the “Founding Fathers” of modern Japan
Well, Otakon is over, and it was a real blast. As the premier anime convention on the East Coast, it's ...
The lack of patriotic songs in Japan, what happened in our prefecture during WWII, and a useful word for Atari fans
The Fourth of July celebration was a lot of fun, a rare treat for me since Anime Expo usually falls ...
Jet Lagging in the USA, ways that Japanese reflect total social harmony, and would you save your baby’s umbilical cord?
Well, once again I've made the hop from Japan to San Diego, which takes about 24 hours from door to ...
Shared experiences through anime and manga, on raising kids who are “half,” and understanding an aspect of Japan through Newsweek
Anime and comic books -- which are collectively referred with the term "manga" in Japanese -- are an inseparable part ...
Chinese New Year and Japan, what Japanese drivers’ put on their cars, and our faithful dog
Chinese New Year is going on right now, and throughout Asia people are celebrating the cultural holiday. Although Japan switched ...
Buying a new car in Japan, roundup of new 2006 features, and an anime fan’s first trip to Tokyo
We've been in "buy a car" mode for the past few weeks, driving around to various dealers to see their ...
