The Seven People Who Come to Your Door in Japan
Door-to-door visits are relatively uncommon in Japan. Most Japanese are hesitant to invite people into their homes or to visit other homes, except in formal situations (such as aying …
White Day Guide for Foreigners
There are a lot of confusing holidays for foreigners in Japan. What exactly do we do on Respect the Aged Day? Ocean Day? Why is Green Day a day …
Gion Matsuri 2013: Joining the Yamaboko Junko
Earlier this week, I had a chance to participate in the Gion Matsuri, one of Japan’s three largest festivals, by pulling a large “Yama” called the “Iwato Yama” through …
Taste of Home: Barbecue Sauce in Japan
I love Japanese food, but every once in a while, I miss some of the tastes of home. It can be challenging to get some of the right ingredients …
Onomatopoeia in Japanese
When I started studying Japanese, I never paid much attention to the language’s onomatopoeia, but reading children’s books in Japanese has taught me that there is a spelling for …
Greenery Day: A Perfect Reason for a Day Off
Unlike some people in my home country, I’m not the kind of guy to ever question a paid vacation day. You can argue all you want about whether Columbus’ …
Japanese Children’s Books: A Language of Their Own
One of our 1-year-old daughter’s favorite activities is to read with us. We have a collection of Japanese, English, and bilingual children’s books, and both of us read in …
Japanese Maps: Getting Lost in Rotation
Following a map in a different country can be a huge challenge. Unless you’ve brought your own with you, you may be stuck using those cartoony tourist maps that …
It’s Tourney Time: Sports Followership in Japan
Ahh, March At least this much is comforting and familiar: Every year, about this time, work productivity plummets as employees spend an inordinate amount of time checking updating sports …
On Envelopes – Just when you think you have that culture shock thing down…
I am a creature of habit, so despite having lived in Japan for two years now, there are still a few customs that trip me up every time. It’s …
