Housekeeping

Posted on August 16, 2011 by

Hey! I’ve just finished a two-week jaunt on an international scale – including a hike up Mt. Aso, (pictured above) – so here’s some blog housekeeping.

1. The Bridges podcast, which features a different J-blogger every week, turned his smooth voice to cover This Japanese Life. If you’re a regular reader of this site and want to dive into more Japanese blogs, I highly recommend starting with his podcasts.

2. I participated in my first Japan Blog Matsuri over at NihongoUp. The topic this month is drinks in Japan. Again, if you’re looking for more Japanese blogs, there’s another great place to start.

3. Finally, if you haven’t already, please consider following This Japanese Life over at its Facebook page.

There’ll be a new post on Wednesday, right on schedule. See you then.

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Posted in Photography, Travel | 1 Comment

On Obon: Japan’s Homecoming Game, with Ghosts.

Posted on August 10, 2011 by

There’s an old Buddhist story about a monk named Mahamaudgalyayana – let’s call him Mokuren, for short – who was doing alright, as monks go, and had finally developed the skill of peering into the world of the dead. Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Shrines, Thinking, Tradition, Uncategorized, Zen | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

On Bowling in Japan

Posted on August 3, 2011 by

If you don’t play a sport, you’ve run out of possible conversations with about 90 percent of Japanese men. So I started lying: “I’m a bowler.”

At first it was a genius move. I would never be asked to talk about the careers of obscure Japanese baseball players. I wouldn’t have to explain the rules of “American Football.” I’d just say I bowled.

Talk to one person in an office as a new foreigner and watch what happens. My Japanese persona was quickly settled: I was a very passionate bowler. 

Continue reading →

Posted in Culture Shock, Fun, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Is Japan a “Racist Monoculture”? On Anders Breivik’s Japan

Posted on July 27, 2011 by

As I was leaving the train station, I heard the Japanese national anthem. People were waving flags. Some guy was shouting about “gaikokujin” (“foreigners”) through a loud-speaker. I stopped and stared until a young flag-waving woman raised her bullhorn, looked directly at us and shouted, “GET OUT OF JAPAN!”

Her English was really good. Continue reading →

Posted in Culture Shock, Fukuoka, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 30 Comments

On Climbing Mount Fuji (With a Fear of Heights)

Posted on July 20, 2011 by

About 300,000 people a year climb Mt. Fuji. A handful of them die. Very few of them get panic attacks from standing on porches.

I’m acrophobic: Seven feet high and I’m nervous. Higher up I get dizzy; at 30 feet my heart races and beyond that I get sparks in my eyes. My body spikes with adrenalin and I can’t stand or speak coherently. If I go higher, I might black out.

It’s like being drunk, if you replace easy laughter with vertigo. Reasonably speaking, I had no business climbing the side of a 12,400-foot mountain. Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

On Being the Fattest

Posted on July 13, 2011 by

Not every kid in Japan cares about learning English, and so they use class time to work toward other life goals: Homework from other classes, arm wrestling contests or listening to their talking dictionaries pronounce various euphemisms for sex.

Recently, one of the kids shouted to another, “You are fat pig.” The accused pig proudly shouted, “Yes we can!” then stuck his nose up like a snout and made oinking sounds. Continue reading →

Posted in Culture Shock, Food, Uncategorized, Weird | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments