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- Yokohama and Steamed Dumplings
- September 26th, 2012Category: Food & Dining, Shopping, Travel
- Yokohama smelled good, like steamed dumplings and ramen. Of course, I was standing in the middle of Yokohama’s Chinatown, the largest in both Japan and Asia, so that might have had something to do with it. Located at Motomachi Chukagai station, it is about a forty-minut ... » Continue Reading
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- Harajuku: Fashion Lovers’ Playground
- September 12th, 2012Category: Shopping
- Stepping off the platform at Harajuku station on the Yamanote line in Tokyo, I surveyed the chaos unfolding around me. Fashion-conscious Japanese girls with hair extensions, stilettos, and brightly-colored shopping bags pushed past me. A group of gothic lolitas ming ... » Continue Reading
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- Off The Beaten Tokyo Trail
- September 11th, 2012Category: Travel
- I re-checked my guidebook and confirmed where I was going. It wasn’t my first time to Tokyo, more like my fifth and I had decided that this time; I was going to do things a bit differently. On my previous four trips to Japan’s capital, I had pounded the pavement ... » Continue Reading
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- The Mystical World of Koya Mountain
- May 10th, 2010Category: Travel
- I immediately noticed a different feeling about the place. The fresh alpine air filled my lungs as I took in a deep breath and a strange sense of peace and reverence washed over me. Koyasan, a sacred site on the top of a peak in the Kii Mountain Range (Wakayama Prefec ... » Continue Reading
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- Find Your Own Forest in Nara
- May 6th, 2010Category: Travel
- When foreigners living in Kansai think of Nara, most people think of deer and Todaiji temple. When there are more than 1,000 deer running around the largest wooden structure in the world, it’s hard to think of much else. Of course, these are the two most famous things ... » Continue Reading
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- Trailing Around Toba
- April 26th, 2010Category: Travel
- Stepping off the limited express Kintetsu train onto the platform in Toba, Mie Prefecture, I took a deep breath. The air was fresh, with a tinge of tangy salt from the restless sea that I had glimpsed from the train window. The locals strolled about, looking as though t ... » Continue Reading
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- Japan Resident Cards for Dogs
- March 10th, 2010Category: Uncategorized
- When a Japanese friend from Tokyo recently told me that her dog has its own resident card, I thought she was joking. “Like this one?” I had asked her, pulling out my alien registration card for foreigners. “Yes, like that one,” she had replied, laughing. But alas, sh ... » Continue Reading
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- Learning Japanese: What I Learned From Eight-Year-Olds
- March 9th, 2010Category: Teaching in Japan
- I teach eight-year-old Japanese kids English. Or at least I attempt to. Most of the time, I am learning something from them instead of vice-versa. They are my little Japanese teachers and I’ve picked up a lot of language skills from them. Although I might sound like a ... » Continue Reading
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- Fathers in Japan: A School for Dads
- February 12th, 2010Category: Uncategorized
- According to a recent poll conducted by Mitsubishi UFJ Consulting Company, fifty-eight percent of male company employees say they “want to strike a balance between work, housework, and child rearing.” As a male dominated society, Japanese society stresses clear roles fo ... » Continue Reading
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- Sushi-Yeah!
- January 22nd, 2010Category: Uncategorized
- It’s popular all over the world. It’s the quintessential Japanese food and could be considered the earliest “fast food” in Japan. It’s a dish that consists of raw fish, vinegar-rice, and a smear of wasabi. If you haven’t guessed it already, it’s SUSHI! But what is this ... » Continue Reading
