Anime and Japanese Pop Culture Are Everywhere
One thing I really like about being so involved with Japanese popular culture is the global nature of it, how ...
Tag: culture
Karaoke Update: The Age of the Singing Otaku
The J-List staff had fun at our New Year's Party on Friday, and afterwards we engaged in that famous Japanese ...
Off to the J-List New Year’s Party now
I'm rushing to finish this update a little early since tonight we're having the J-List Shin-nen Kai, or New Year's ...
Happy New Year from J-List, observations on culture and gaijin, a dearth of new adults in Japan, and Japan as “supplier heaven”
Akemashite omedetou to all J-List readers! We had a nice, quiet New Year's Day, relaxing in the morning and watching ...
The interesting status of voice actors in Japan, shortening foreign words in English and Japanese, and ways that the Japanese aren’t so polite
Anime has really gotten big in the U.S. in recent years, changing the face of popular culture as people are ...
My hop to New York, narrowly dodging staying in the city’s worst hotel, and comparing it to the Star Wars Cantina
I've made the long hop from Japan to New York, and I'm now enjoying the 19 degree (with wind chill) ...
A big scandal in the Japanese Pentagon, fine dining in Tokyo, and Japan and its Beverly Hills 90210 connection.
Maybe my post on Wednesday about the Japanese not seeming to care about government waste was read by someone important. ...
The joy of “onigiri” rice balls, observations on cooperative elements of Japanese language, and man, that’s a really Nice Boat!
If you were to plan a picnic, you might pack a basket containing things like sandwiches, potato salad or maybe ...
Thoughts on Japan and group culture in anime, hard and difficult areas of Japanese, English etc., and various mysteries of life in Japan
Japan is famous for its cooperative group culture, and you can see this in many places, from clubs in schools ...
Foreigners’ relationship with Japanese slippers, International Pocky Day, and reading my wife’s English homework from 20 years ago
I'm often asked how I can come with so many observations about Japan, to which I usually respond that it's ...
Finding the geographic center of American English, adventures in New Zealand with plenty of sheep, and getting complimented on chopstick use
One question I've been asked by my ESL students in Japan is, just where is "standard" American English located geographically? ...
A useful Japanese slang word, changing in the Japanese savings rate, and one “key” to understanding Japan and America (?)…
Recently we took our daughter to a resort hotel in Kusatsu, a hot springs town in the mountains with more ...
Thoughts on biculturalism and Halloween, types of ramen you should try, and my fascination with Japanese females
Happy Halloween from J-List. Halloween is one of those "American" holidays (although originally Irish and Scottish) that has a way ...
NOVA goes “nova,” the latest trends in women dressed up as men, and little “incompatibilities” between Japan and the U.S.
Well, what everyone feared has come to pass: the chain of English schools called NOVA has gone, well, nova, officially ...
All about the Japanese and shoes, the benefits of living in another time zone, and understanding the world through its taxis…?
You probably know that the Japanese take their shoes off when they enter a house. Shoes are considered to be ...
Little differences between Japan and America like sandwiches, crime and honesty in Japan, and vending machine costumes?
Sometimes it's fun to notice the little differences between Japan and the U.S., like the way packaging of products is ...
Internalizing a foreign culture through gestures, the current state of English conversation in Japan, and guess what day to day is?
Living in a foreign country means more than just learning that country's language. It also means subtly taking the local ...
Linguistic foibles in Japanese, “made-in-Japan” English words for people who like mayonnaise, and questions about inflation
The other day my wife asked me what a "window-breaker" was. I assumed she was asking about a type of ...
“Respect for the Aged Day” in Japan, various ideas about the grammar of Japanese, and the joy of shared popular culture
Today is a holiday in Japan: Keiro no Hi, or Respect for the Aged Day. Celebrated nationally since 1966 -- ...
The possibility of Japan’s first “otaku” Prime Minister, various thoughts on bilingualism, and all about Japanese health drinks (and other potions)
The rush is on to choose a successor to Prime Minister Abe after his sudden resignation on Wednesday. I saw ...
Masi Oka of Heroes visiting Japan, contemplating Japanese culture through its food, and more dogs in Japan than babies
I knew it would happen: Heroes is starting to get popular in Japan. This morning I turned on the TV ...
My weekend trip to Akiba, times when Japanese do or don’t apologize, and the history of the stapler in Japan
I took the train into Tokyo on Sunday to meet a friend in Akihabara, the area of Tokyo famous as ...
Large and small forms of taste-related culture shock, why do the Japanese live so long, and how you can come live in Japan
There are naturally many large and small forms of culture shock a person experiences when they go go live in ...
