I'm that guy who writes JapaneseRuleof7, bringing knowledge to your brain straight from Japan. My writings are mostly humor mixed with social commentary, plus an occasional foray into language education.
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- Japanese Fireworks: Better in every way but one
- August 30th, 2013Category: Culture
- A couple of weekends ago I went to a Japanese fireworks festival and suffice to say that watching fireworks in Japan is just like watching fireworks in the U.S., except better in, uh, every single way. To start out with, you don’t have to drive. You just put on ... » Continue Reading
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- Renewing a Japanese Visa, More Fun Every Year
- June 11th, 2013Category: Uncategorized
- Ah, May. What a wonderful month. The seasonal rains wash away winter, it’s finally warm enough to sleep without a hat, and I get to enjoy renewing my Japanese visa. That’s how I know spring has come. Unfortunately, unlike going to the Japanese doctor, or being ... » Continue Reading
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- What to Bring to Japan: An 8-Item Checklist
- May 10th, 2013Category: Uncategorized
- If you’re planning to visit Japan, there’s definitely some stuff you should and should not bring. And moving to Japan? Whoa, then you really need to consider what to stuff into your gym bag. But not to worry! As always, Ken Seeroi is here for you, doing all tha ... » Continue Reading
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- Why Do Classes Suck?
- January 23rd, 2013Category: Culture
- If you are: a) learning a language, and b) not being raised by wolves in a cave somewhere, then you’ve heard it time and again: classes suck. Everyone knows it. You can learn a language faster and more enjoyably on your own. Yeah well, everyone knows a l ... » Continue Reading
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- Who’s Really Japanese?
- January 18th, 2013Category: Culture
- When I first came to Japan, things were so much simpler. Men were men, Japanese were Japanese, and foreigners were gaijin. Now everything’s gone to pieces, nuanced to the point that when somebody talks about “the Japanese,” I don’t even know who they mean. That ... » Continue Reading
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- Two Japanese Life Skills You Must Master
- November 16th, 2012Category: Culture
- If you want to be a success in Japan, there are only two things you really need to nail. The unfortunate small problem is, they’re opposites. But perhaps a colorful story will help to illustrate. So I was in a “standing bar” a couple of weeks ago, which is like ... » Continue Reading
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- How to Bow Like a Japanese
- November 14th, 2012Category: Culture
- What could be more typically Japanese than bowing? Every other book about Japan has something to say on the subject, so it must be important, right? Certainly a lot of foreigners come to Japan and start bowing like crazy, so maybe they all read the same book. I ... » Continue Reading
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- What Do You Think of Japan?
- November 9th, 2012Category: Teaching in Japan
- It’s interview season in Japan. The weather is getting warmer, the ume buds are starting to appear, and maybe you could even see a bird. Yeah, like maybe in a zoo. But anyway, about this time every year I pick my two-sizes-too-small Japanese suit up from the floo ... » Continue Reading
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- A Japanese Suicide
- October 30th, 2012Category: Culture
- They say that no one goes through life unscathed. But you know Ken Seeroi ain’t trying to hear that. I figured hey, move to a nice safe country with pretty girls and amazing food and just avoid that whole scathing thing altogether. Well, you can’t say I didn’t ... » Continue Reading
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- Does Fluency Matter?
- October 24th, 2012Category: Uncategorized
- I had a dream . . . that one day I would rise up from my nori-thin futon and speak fluent Japanese. I had a dream . . . that I would one day live in a nation where little children would judge me not by the color of my skin, but by the breadth of my vocabulary and f ... » Continue Reading
