Tag: otaku

Tokyo is the sprawling capital of Japan, so large that it's more like a prefecture than a unified entity, made ...

My son is in the second year of junior high, so it's time for us to start thinking about what ...

Before I came to Japan, I thought I knew pretty much what kinds of people I'd find here: lots of ...

The most common word for "foreigner" in Japanese is gaijin, written with the characters for outside + person, although since ...

There are many things that American houses have which their Japanese counterparts lack, and vice-versa. A Japanese home will generally ...

Words carry different meanings to different people. For example, the most common word for steamed white rice in Japanese is ...

The most interesting kickboxer in Japan would have to be Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima, an avid anime fan and cosplayer who ...

The word moe (mo-eh) is written with a kanji that means "sprout," but it's meaning is a bit difficult to ...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is making her international debut right now, having chosen Japan for her first official visit. ...

Japan started its history more or less as a blank slate, with most of its architecture, religion and even written ...

Big changes may be coming to Japan's online world with the announcement that Hiroyuki Nishimura, founder of the infamous BBS ...

Japanese films (houga) are a unique genre of cinema that I'm fascinated with, and whenever I watch one I'm captivated ...

Tokyo is a large and complex place. Many areas of the city are famous for different things, like Akihabara for ...

An era has come to an end in Japan: the "0-Series" Bullet Train, first launched back in 1964, has made ...

In Japanese politics, as elsewhere, certain words or phrases get permanently attached to politicians. When Shinzo Abe came into office ...

The other day my son and I were watching an NHK documentary on penguins and elephant seals living on King ...

You never know what's going to become popular in Japan next. It could be a new variation on the Maid ...

Sometimes I think my family would make the basis for an interesting anime series, along the lines of Darling wa ...

The Japanese, they take their gift-giving seriously, a fact that I was reminded of while in Tokyo yesterday. I was ...

Japan's next Prime Minister has been decided, and as expected, it's to be Taro Aso, who received more than 95% ...

Happy Wedding! To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Fist of the North Star, the popular manga and anime set in ...

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda surprised everyone by suddenly announcing his resignation on Monday. He's stepping down, he says, to ...

My wife is hooked on Kandora, short for Kankoku dorama or South Korean soap operas, and it seems every time ...

If you ever come to Japan, be sure and visit Kamakura, a charming city located about 50 km south of ...