A Link For Hungry Japanese Learners…

Anyone who has ever watched me “talk” to Japanese people may find this shocking, but I’m honored to have a guest post over at Zonjineko, one of the best Japanese-language-learning sites on the web.

Because I haven’t starved to death in Japan, I wrote a post on ordering food in a Japanese restaurant aimed at total newbies to lower-mid-level Japanese speakers who enjoy eating.

If you are starting out in Japanese, check it out. And if you want to read more about restaurants in Japan, you can check out my old posts on dining out in Japan or on Japanese food culture.

いただきます!

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Posted in Food, language, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

On the Death of Japan

Everywhere you look, people say Japan is dying. The Economist says Japan is dying. Curators say Japan is dying. The numbers say Japan is dying.

There is no dispute that the Japanese get older as the children get scarcer: Ten people die for every 7 babies born.

And Japan is dying in a particularly heartbreaking way: A nation that has done everything right and yet seems to be dying of loneliness.
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Posted in Fukuoka, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

On Using a Japanese Toilet

I still don’t know what “standby mode” means for a toilet.

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Posted in Culture Shock, Tradition, Uncategorized, Weird | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

J-Blogger Roundup

It’s been a while since I gave an appreciative heads up to some awesome J-bloggers, so here are some fellow writers who’ve caught my eye:

Kaley in Japan surveyed the J-Blogosphere for some advice on where to go in Japan. The series includes yours truly – a short blurb about tropical Miyazaki, part of this post. A cool read and a lot of good introductions to other J-blogs.

Just Another Day in Japan has been writing up a storm lately. Most recently, his post on Japanese rudeness was a good read, but I also loved an older article that I’d forgotten to mention, about Japan’s obsession with high school.

Bucked by the Star (here) is a surprisingly awesome blog dedicated entirely to Starbucks Coffee in Japan. She’s also a great Twitter user: @BuckedByTheStar

Finally, for fans of Japanese Cinema, I’ve created a Japanese Cinema Reddit for links and discussions about Japanese film. It joins another community I started on Reddit for Toy Cameras (I’m an enthusiast. The picture at the top of this post is from an infrared roll I shot in Hiroshima on a plastic Holga camera…)

There are plenty more bloggers I haven’t mentioned – please check out the sidebar, and if you have any recommendations, please let me know.

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J-Cin Sundays: “Achilles and the Tortoise” and the Contemporary Japanese Art World

Title: Achilles and the Tortoise
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Year: 2008
Notes: Though the clip is animated, this is a live-action film.
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Posted in Movies, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

On School Sports Festivals, or: On Catching Small Boys Falling From The Sky in Japan

My job this week consisted of watching for shirtless boys to fall from the sky.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments