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Author Archives: owwls
The DNA of a Japanese Suburb
“In many new office buildings the windows don’t open. In especially bad buildings, like the average Wal-Mart, windows are dispensed with nearly altogether. This process of disconnection from the past and the future, and from the organic patterns of weather … Continue reading
Posted in Fukuoka, Uncategorized
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On Christmas in Japan | メリクリスマス！
I am not spending Christmas on a date at Kentucky Fried Chicken. But hey, I’m a foreigner. Christmas in Japan In the war on Christmas, we know what side Japan is on: The country is not inclined to celebrate the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
15 Comments
On Sumo | すもう
You could say that Sumo is “Japanese Wrestling.” But this would only be right if wrestling involved a Catholic Mass and the pretext that the cage match was to entertain Jesus. The Sumo Ceremony Like much of Japanese life, Sumo … Continue reading
Posted in Shinto, Tradition
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On Being Illiterate in Japan | 馬鹿外人
There are incomprehensible signs, everywhere, and every sign is made of smaller signs I can’t read. I can’t read a map or follow directions. I am educated and illiterate, wealthy and incapable of communicating anything to anyone. But, I have … Continue reading
Posted in Culture Shock, Kanji, Uncategorized
7 Comments
On Watching “Mad Men” in Japan | セクハラ
Every guy in Japan wears a suit and smokes. They take trains from the suburbs into an office with a formal dress code and work until 10 p.m. every day. On their breaks, they’re going to convenience stores in suits … Continue reading
Posted in Culture Shock, Uncategorized
17 Comments
On Abandoned Ski Resorts in Japan | 逃散
I spent Halloween on top of a mountain in Oita Prefecture at a 3-star resort hotel in an otherwise abandoned resort complex surrounded by rice paddies, a ski slope overrun by weeds, two empty minimalls, a locked-up bowling alley and … Continue reading
Posted in Fun, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized, Weird
10 Comments
