Tag: gaijin

June 20, 2016

Last night I went with Mrs. J-List to a nice restaurant over in Maebashi to celebrate my birthday. The restaurant ...

How Japanese Insults Work, plus Random Japanese TV Report

When studying a new language, one of the first things we want to do is learn the "naughty" words, which ...

Thoughts on Japan and Hiroshima, and “Sound” Words

The G7 meeting in Japan is currently under way, and while the Japanese news media gave extensive coverage of the ...

Amazing Things Japanese People Can Do, plus the “Social Feedback Method” of Learning Japanese

I'm interested in the way that the feedback we receive in life plays an important part in moving us in ...

Analyzing the “Genki Foreigner Meme” and Why the Japanese Aren’t Good at English

The latest meme from Japan continues as the Internet has fun sharing jokes and fanart about Ellen Baker-sensei, a fictional ...

Excitement about the Upcoming Olympics, plus a Sad Anniversary

As I write often, one of the things the Japanese love more than anything is receiving recognition from the International ...

“Bridge Foods” from Japan, and My Favorite Seasonal Beer

One subject I'm interested in is the way understanding between cultures is often brought about through "bridge foods." An example ...

How to date Japanese girls, and the history of ‘tsundere’

Anime characters are generally organized into basic archetypes, and whenever a new character is introduced, fans are able to categorize ...

Questions on housing in Japan, plus a new Gundam series in town

Some great news about the all-new J-List website: our English-translated visual novels and eroge are finally restored and ready for ...

The end of a terrible war, and what makes Japanese so hardworking?

This year has been an interesting one for history buffs as it's seen the 70th anniversaries of the events of ...

Getting used to toilets in Japan, and some of my obsessions.

I have some odd obsessions. One is that I love hunting down and watching the movies that were released in ...

Why Japanese confuse L and R, and fun Western foods in Japan.

The party that was the San Diego Comic-Con is over, and now it's time for the J-List staff to rest ...

Extending J-List’s big sale, and more random questions about Japan.

J-List will be at the San Diego Comic-Con this year in booth 4929, in the "Anime Alley" part of the ...

What is it to be “Japanese”? And other eternal questions.

Is Japan a racist nation? This is a very delicate question, but I wouldn't be worth much as a Japan ...

The biggest insult in Japanese (

baka), and becoming an adult in Japan. When you come to live in Japan, you get used to certain core ...

Questions about Japanese companies answered, and the last bombs of WWII.

Over the weekend I decided to visit Kiryu, a pleasant city near J-List that's known as "Little Kyoto" because of ...

Being tall in Japan, and J-List’s views on paradigm shifts.

There are certain difficulties Westerners face when coming to Japan. The language is a problem, of course, especially outside cities ...

The best stories in anime, and how do ‘gaijin’ accents work?

As I wrote in Friday's J-List post, the first anime that really called me into the welcome folds of Japanese ...

A day to celebrate twintail hair, and the psychology of

gaijin in Japan. Being a foreigner in Japan is a bit different from, say, Europe or the U.S., because Westerners ...

A dramatic and sad week for Japan, and the Japanese art of bowing.

One theme I write about a lot is how Japan is a peaceful country where you'll almost never encounter violence ...

One of my favorite Japanese Cities (Kobe), and Japanese Desserts You Should Try.

Greetings from J-List. We're rushing to finish this post early because today is the day of the J-List New Year ...

All about Japan’s Comic Market, and working gaijin in Japan.

We hope everyone is enjoying the rest of their holiday season. Just a reminder, J-List is still offering free shipping ...

Some good news for Japan’s tourism industry, and thoughts on Japanese words.