Japan’s latest “boom” is Tae Bo, all about the Three Great Unifiers of Japan, and managing by studying Japanese history
Japan is the land of the boom, and you never know what will be popular next. Right now the country ...
Tag: history
Our plan to “reform” our home in Japan, the joys of getting citizenship, and times when Japan just throws you for a loop
Our plan to "reform" (remodel) our house in Japan is continuing apace, as we prepare to redo our bath area, ...
All about “castle towns,” the use of euphsmisms in daily life in Japan, and funny English you can try at home
As with Europe, Japan has had a long history which has left its mark on cities and towns today. Most ...
The Japanese fascination with movies about New York and Audrey Hepburn, thoughts on home-owning in Japan, and the Japanese take on “Kamikaze”
The Japanese are fascinated with the enigma of New York City, and there are hundreds of books written about the ...
The challenge of raising kids in a foreign country, more on the shrine China and Korea love to hate, and a Shinto ceremony in my living room
First of all, a minor computer problem here in Japan caused some delays in processing orders on Friday. We're very ...
What a difference an elongated vowel makes, Jamestown vs. Sekigahara, and other cultural observations from a cunning linguist
What a difference an elongated vowel can make. Japanese is quite different from English, having had a totally unique developmental ...
Weird new products in the U.S., getting Japanese onomatopoeia on the brain, and what to the Japanese think of us?
Whenever I come back to the U.S., I like to cruise the grocery stores to see what new products have ...
All about the Japanese attention to “kakko” (style), feelings about Japanese who make the country look good (and bad), and “Vegas, baby, Vegas.”
Hello again from J-List. This time I've hopped over to sunny Las Vegas for a few days of much-needed relaxation ...
Gaijin battling to be the “King of Akihabara,” silly thoughts on Japanese company names, and life sometimes being fair in your favor
One Japanese TV show that never fails to please is TV Champion, which pits exceptional people against each other in ...
The history of family names in Japanese, why there are so many last names in use here, and the Japanese connection with Auld Lang Syne
Names in Japanese are quite different from what we're usually used to in the West. Right off the bat, the ...
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 ...
Bizarre urban legends of Japan, funny English words the Japanese invent, and where are all the pregnant women?
Urban legends are funny things, sometimes leading millions of people to believe something that just isn't true. When Gerber started ...
American brands in Japan, video games for girls, and
One of the more amazing aspects of the Japanese is how aware they are of popular American brands. When my ...
Embarrassments of being a foreigner in Japan, Japan’s latest “rose boom” and words that feature a unique kanji
Hello again from Japan, where the zipper in your pants is known as the "window of society" (shakai no mado).As ...
All about the word “banzai,” a giant love hotel in my city, and more on differences between languages
The word banzai is one of the most well-known Japanese phrases in the West, up there with geisha, samurai, ninja ...
Japan’s shock over Virginia Tech, how Japanese names work, and on the psychology of foreigners in Japan
Japan is numbly watching the aftermath of the sad events at Virginia Tech as they unfold. Much like Europe, it's ...
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 ...
Elections in Japan, a run-down of what politics are like here, and using Japanese “honorific” markers for fun and profit
It's my least favorite time of year in Japan right now: election season, when dozens of politicians drive around in ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
On the relationship of foreigners and the Japanese, the “gaijin samurai” and an unexpected crime wave in Japan
All countries have foreigners living in their midst, whether its a Swedish college student working for a season at a ...
