The cell phone industry in Japan, ways that language reflects culture, and buying a “mansion”
The local cell phone industry has been turned on its ear by the news that Europe's Vodafone was quitting the ...
Tag: culture
Our love of Japanese hot springs, thoughts on government and the private sector, and the most beautiful Pocky box ever
As part of my son's homework, he keeps a diary about the past day's events, alternating entries between Japanese and ...
Funny things you may see in Japan, strategies for taking tests, and an important difference between Japanese and American schools
Hello again from Japan where getting your hair colored is known as a "hair manicure."For some reason, one of the ...
The Japanese fear of making mistakes, the end of the Japanese blood type myth, and panty shots in anime you didn’t expect to see
Although the Japanese generally study six years of English (or up to ten if they take it in college), they're ...
Japan’s latest shining baseball star, fun space-saving innovations, and Japan is wasted on the Japanese
Japan takes its baseball seriously, and right now the whole country is closely watching Daisuke Matsuzaka as he starts his ...
Thoughts on television in Japan, April and “newly harvested rice,” and that cultural question, what color is the sun?
Television (which turns 80 today) in Japan can be quite entertaining, and sometimes its fun to sit back on the ...
Differences in “maid culture” between Japan and Malaysia, thoughts on technology, and what makes a jar a jar?
First of all, we experienced some server trouble Sunday night for about an hour or so. I'd think of some ...
The most-quoted phrase by pop Japanologists, the reason for Japanese innovation, and stupid Japanese money tricks
No consideration of Japan is complete without the often-quoted-by-gaijin- who-are-experts-on-Japan phrase deru kui wa utareru (DE-ru KOO-ee wa oo-TAH-reh-ru), which ...
A magic Japanese phrase for you, home ownership Japan-style, and Japan as “producer heaven”
Last time I mentioned the magic words that may be responsible for much of the wa or harmony that Japan ...
What we can learn about culture and Star Wars from Japanese comedians, some reverse sexual discrimination, and all about “What is your Hobby?”
"What is your hobby?" This is one of the first phrases of English conversation that Japanese students learn, along with ...
The man who created the Yamato theme song, all about the traditional game Karuta, and thoughts on corn soup
I've written before about how the meinichi (命日), the anniversary of a person's death, is very important in a Buddhist ...
An expected bit of Irish in Japan, thoughts on Japan’s slow-changing educational system, and all about the concept of “kakko ii”
Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, a celebration of all things Irish in the U.S. and, presumeably, Ireland. As you might ...
How to sub-divide Japanese groups into “zoku” (tribes), all about Japanese rice, and what’s that blue spot on Taro’s butt?
Words always reflect the people that use them, and vice-versa. In American English our notions about individualism and not going ...
How Cup Ramen became a part of our food culture, a new trend in vending machines, and my thoughts on the enigma of the “Japanese Female”
You may have seen that Momofuku Ando, the Father of Instant Ramen, died recently. Momofuku, whose name meant "one hundred ...
All about Mt. Fuji, how taking responsibility can lead to cleaner bathrooms, and thoughts on bathing and how the brain works
You can't think of Japan without also thinking of the country's tallest and most famous mountain, Mt. Fuji. An active ...
The Japanese concept of “joshiki” (common sense), why there are rice fields everywhere in Japan, and would you pay $3500 to meet Michael Jackson?
One concept that's always interested me is joshiki (JOH-sh'kee) the Japanese "universal common sense" or knowledge that all reasonable people ...
The needless tragedy of ‘ijime,’ what’s easy and hard about learning Japanese, and the Japanese as the most expressive people on the planet
The other day I went to my son's school to watch the various end-of-year performances the students had prepared for ...
All about trains and fuzzy blue rabbits from London, linguistic quirks of the Japanese language, and finding someone’s “secret talent”
One thing I like about living in Japan is the rail culture here, so very different from the freeway- and ...
The origins of Japan’s cult of “studying,” more warm weather for Tokyo, and the latest in Otaku Culture from Japan
Japan is a very seasonal place, with specific things done only during the appropriate times of year. August is when ...
Japan as the land of the middle class, thoghts on Japan and Krispy Kreme, and fun Japanese things you can put on your car
Japan is nothing if not the land of contradictions. On the one hand, society has been organized in a vertical ...
The “Princess Di” of Japan, about Japan as a “vertical” society, and I can see the Sphinx from my house
There's a minor hullabaloo going on between Japan and Australia right now after the publication of a controversial book on ...
Understanding Japanese society through business cards, some fun Japanese words that are pregnant with meaning, and all about Shinjuku
I was making up some Japanese business cards for one of my employees yesterday, trying different layouts and fonts to ...
A new appreciation for American medicine, all about the word ‘baka’ and a really annoying girl in a yellow dress who I can’t stop listening to…
It was Thomas Paine -- a possible ancestor of mine, although I somehow doubt it -- who uttered the words, ...
The warmest winter ever in Japan, all about the Japanese kanji character ‘ki’ and excitement at my son’s school
We've been watching the extra-cold winter dumping lots of snow on the U.S. this year and feeling more than a ...
