Tag Archives: japan

On Demonic Umbrellas and Japanese Banking

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Eryk Salvaggio

In Japan, many ATMs work from 9 to 5 and get weekends and holidays off. That’s better than most humans get. And the reason, I suspect, has more to do with ghosts than any bank is willing to admit.

Posted in Culture Shock, Shinto, Shrines, Thinking, Tradition, Weird | Tagged banking, ghosts, halloween, japan, monsters, travel | 8 Comments

On Seasons, or: On Poets Taking Over the Japanese Meteorological Service

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Eryk Salvaggio

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” – The Great Gatsby There’s a central body in Japan that declares the coming and going of rain. That means that there is a weather bureaucracy, and someone stamps … Continue reading →

Posted in Thinking, Tradition, Uncategorized, Zen | Tagged haiku, japan, poetry, seasons, weather, zen | 6 Comments

Ongakuyōbi: Guitar Wolf

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Eryk Salvaggio

This video is terrible sound quality, but it really doesn’t matter with Guitar Wolf.

Posted in Music, Uncategorized | Tagged garage rock, guitar wolf, japan, jon spencer blues explosion, music, wild zero | 1 Comment

On Japanese Probability

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Eryk Salvaggio

“I think the students might be busy after school, so perhaps they won’t come to our meeting. I’m not sure. But if that’s the case, we’ll have to cancel the meeting for today.” In English, this sentence means nobody really … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture Shock, language, Uncategorized | Tagged communication, japan, japanese language | 21 Comments

Elvis in Nakasu

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Eryk Salvaggio

So this year I went back to catch a night of the Nakasu Festival. The festival is held in Fukuoka’s red-light district, full of host and hostess clubs and worse. During the festival, women from the community get together and … Continue reading →