The Beginner's Guide to Japan

• The Perceptions of a Geisha 2 years ago The perceptions of the countries of the world are always interesting to encounter. The British food is solely fish and chips, all Americans carry guns, New Zealand is full of hobbits and all Spaniards dance The Flamenco. Etc. Obviously the stereotypes not only differ by country under review but...
• The Olympics of Kano Jigoro 2 years ago On a sunny 4th of August, the Japanese athlete, Naoto Tajima, leapt 7.74m into the history books of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Triple jumper by speciality, he was more than a half decent long jumper too. He came third that day and stood on the pantheon taking his place and laurels into history....
• Standing in the rain at Hachiko 2 years ago No one under the age of twenty five has known the world without the internet. And before I receive a blizzard of comments bellow, that doesn't necessarily mean "have used the internet" however it is so pervasive in our lives the influence is genuinely global. School students today receive more...
• That Soylent Green Moment 2 years ago One of the pleasures of living in Japan as a non-Japanese passport carrier is to be able to use the "Re-Entry Permit" line inbound at the airport. Usually both people ahead in the queue are processed and through in a matter of minutes whereas the (and you'll notice I qualified the passport point...
• So Exactly When Is It In Japan? 2 years ago I have an interesting dilemma, though if push ever came to shove, I'm fairly sure the local constabulary probably wouldn't agree with me. The issue is, my driving license, a document that is managed under the Japanese system of defining year by the reign of the Emperor, expires in Heisei 35 as...

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