My secret to surviving the Tokyo marathon last year was not finding the perfect pair of shoes, fuel, or training plan. All of these were important, as were proper hyd ...
If you’re coming to Tokyo, you’re going to shop. It’s part of the Tokyo experience. I recently stepped out to film a Tokyo Minute segment on vintage shopping in Haraj ...
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This week’s GaijinPot podcast is a nice wrap up on the Modeling in Japan series. The articles go in ...
The Wind Rises will be the last feature length movie directed by the living legend, Hayao Miyazaki, a man who has enjoyed a rich, full and long career, famous for his complex and engaging animated universes, we thought it best to honor the works of this amazing man, ...
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While it may seem as though the kind of training we do in martial arts is limited to the immediate proximity of where we live, in actuality, there are a multitude of ways to continue to learn and improve; even when we do not have a regular teacher or training partner to ...
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Shopping for most of us, can be pretty fun, especially in Japan. But for foreign girls who just want to quickly buy what they need and leave, shopping in Tokyo is a living nightmare. The crowds, the nightclub music cranked to 11, the repeated, echoing screams of いらっ ...
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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 ...
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When people talk about visiting Akita, I am often torn about what it is I should be suggesting they do. See some rice fields? Senshu Park? If Akita is not in festival season, my first thoughts are often that there is little to do or see to impress a first-timer, esp ...
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When it comes to eating and drinking in Japan, it can actually be very cheap to eat outside, depending on where you go. There are several chains and franchises that make decent food for just a few dollars. I can totally recommend Handaya, Yoshinoya, Sukiya and so on ...
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If you’re reading this, there’s a 87.6% chance you’ve taught English in Japan at some point. You want your students to like you, but not REALLY like you. Japanese culture is couched in shyness and indirect communication, so here are a few indicators that your private mi ...
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It sounds exotic but aizuchi is the Japanese name for something very common, namely the polite noises in conversations which demonstrate attention and understanding: the 'yeah's and 'uh huh's we use to show another person that we're on the same wavelength as them.
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Former GaijinPot scribe Andrez Bergen, a resident in Tokyo over the past 12 years, is about to publish his third novel through Perfect Edge Books in the UK.
Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? Is, as the title infers, a paired homage to 1940s detective noir ...
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Hey Girl, confused about what to buy in the beauty aisle? Yeah I was too.
For those of us new to Japan, something as simple as buying hair spray is a confusing experience. Even if you studied Japanese back home, understanding which product does what specifically, an ...
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Hey you guys: remember the time Anthony and I did that video in Yokohama? It was super fun, and a great opportunity to get to know both him and the ACTV crew . It was a long shoot, but an uber professional one—the conversation didn’t get much steamier than, “Oh hey, my ...
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"Finally, we are in Japan..." is what you might think! But before we board the plane I have some more hints for you. There already has been an article about what to bring to Japan. Let us look at that topic again under the light of our small budget.
When people g ...
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