Christmas vs. Buddhism in Japan, all about New Year’s, and a Japanese math problem for you to solve
The Christmas holiday means different things to different people, and each country has its own way of observing it. By ...
Tag: food
The challenge of the Japanese toilet, how place names work in Japan, and words for “I”
There are many challenges for foreigners who come to Japan: learning the unwritten social rules (which probably don't apply to ...
All about dogs and dog names in Japan, and many way to say “I like you” in Japanese
Yesterday was November 1, designated as Inu no Hi (ee-NOO-no-HEE), or Dog Day, the official day for dog owners and ...
The Japanese and movies, learning Japanese through songs, and the famous food of Kyoto
The Japanese love movies, and watch a lot of them. Happily for gaijin like myself, they usually prefer watching U.S. ...
Community spirit, Japan style, and what to do with old schools you don’t need anymore
J-List is based in a small city in central Japan, about 100 km north of Tokyo, and it has a ...
Problems in Japan’s business world, boneheaded moves by Seven-Eleven Japan, and all about futons
There's a fight brewing in Japan's business world, as investment fund Murakami Asset Management, the largest shareholder of the popular ...
What ordering a “tako” in Japan will get you, fun ways to learn Japanese, and our new kanji T-shirts
There are many interesting foods in Japan. One of our favorite treats is takoyaki, especially popular in the Osaka region. ...
What ordering a “tako” in Japan will get you, fun ways to learn Japanese, and our new kanji T-shirts
There are many interesting foods in Japan. One of our favorite treats is takoyaki, especially popular in the Osaka region. ...
On the inability of people living in Japan to fix their own cars, and days of the week in Japanese
For some reason, living in Japan robs a person of the ability to open the hood of their car. When ...
Japan’s addiction to construction, and why this sometimes is a Good Thing
Japan is a highly developed nation, almost a case study in what happens when industrialization is taken too far. Asphalt ...
About Japanese hot springs, shoes and the Japanese concept of cleanliness
Hello again from Japan. First, sorry for some confusion over the iTunes Music Cards we posted last time -- due ...
Japan’s population peaks, immigration, and all about Japanese car names
Hello again from Japan. I've made the 6760 miles (10,879 km) hop from Baltimore to Japan, and have slipped into ...
Japanese food for the summer including delicious eel, and a little on the nature of fame in Japan
The Japanese can be very seasonal people, going out of their way to enjoy each season for what it has ...
On different regions of Tokyo, sources of Japanese drama, and funny Japanese English usage
I've written before about how different regions of Japan go out of their way to establish meibutsu (famous local speciality), ...
On uniformity of public works, fast food in Japan, and a cool blending of old and new
I wrote last time about Japan's use of uniforms for many professions, which can sometimes look odd when seen through ...
All about guns in Japan, tatami mats, and the tyranny of the majority
One of the preconceptions I had before coming to Japan was that there were no guns here at all, so ...
Various surprises that were waiting for me when I went to live in Japan
Before I moved to Japan, I had a lot of preconceptions about what life would be like here, based on ...
$70 for a Captain Santa T-shirt, and parent’s day at my son’s new English school
You've been in Japan too long when you pay over $70 for a Captain Santa T-shirt and realize a few ...
Four four K’s that my prefecture is famous for, and all about pollen in Japan
Last week a woman looked out her window and saw smoke rising in some nearby mountains. She promptly called the ...
Weird Japanese food, and my collected wisdom from living in Japan
Japanese food is famous for containing things not usually eaten by Westerners, something which I was reminded of when my ...
How Japan and America are different from each other, and Japanese government employees
My mother and nephew have gone back to San Diego after a nice visit. It was fun having them here, ...
Ah, my days as a single man in Japan
Hello again from Japan! Today is a holiday here, Shunbun no Hi, or the first day of spring. It's nice ...
Japanese dentists and the food people in Japan eat
We woke up to a world of white this morning, as the Kanto area (the flat plain where Tokyo is ...
Bullying in Japanese schools, and the giving of gifts
One of the biggest problems facing Japanese schools is ijime (EE-gee-may), or bullying, when a group of kids gangs up ...
