ひどい風邪をひいている。。。I've catch cold...and it is the worst one among several series of influenza I've had before in my life...Seems like my body is still in the stage of adapting to the winter condition..cold and dry...I still managed to attend my everyday routine to the kenkyuushitsu but with less experimental activity and more to surfing and reading journals..

My bad influenza starts with only a few cough but it get worst day by day..By recommendation from a lab friend, I bought Benzablock, self-remedy lozenges (24　in a box) for cough and flu with natural herbs costing 900Yen at the Coop's pharmacy. They even bought me some kairo カイロ, sticky patches like koyok in Malaysia but you stick it outside your inner (not directly on skin) and it wil... Read More

When uninitiated people think of Japan they generally think of the centuries old history and rich culture however these things have nothing to do with the daily experience of life in Tokyo. Well my life anyway. Having lived in a guest house in Maruyamacho, the 'dirty' part of Shibuya I have seen and heard a lot of things. Being a young, blonde, white woman in Tokyo you can get yourself into some very strange situations, very easily. It's not that I purposely go out of my way to get into these situations I guess I'm just a general freak magnet.

While living in the 'dirty' part of Shibuya last time I regularly walked through pink town to get to the station in the morning. One such morning I was approached by a reasonably normal looking Japanese man w... Read More

?1000 says you have never heard of them. Their name is Psychic Lover (サイキックラバー), and I spent ample time during my two weeks in the anime division at Columbia Music hanging out with them. The guy on the left is Yoffy (pronounced yoh-fee) and the guy on the right is Jo (pronounced Jo). Both guys are 29, though like every Japanese person, they certainly don’t look that old. Yoffy is responsible for the band’s name, and is the composer and lead vocalist for all the duo’s songs. Jo works on lyrics, provides backup vocals, and shreds through wicked guitar solos.

Psychic Lover is one of the biggest names in Japanese anime music. They have written theme songs or supporting music for Power Rangers, Witchblade, Gaiking, and Transformers (among many others)... Read More

Since the transplanting has now reached it's seventh month, I have begun to truly miss some things. These things, would have gone unnoticed, and un-missed, for the most part. A decent slice of pizza and a normal jar of peanut butter, bottoming out this list. Being from the south, however, I had began missing something that I was sure I would be unable to find in the land of the corn, mayo, egg, potato pizza. It was a weekend tradition among my friends that persisted for many a year. I speak, of course, of the flea market. Most of my friends were devout thrifters and loved the flea market for its endless mountains of cheap vintage clothing. Not to mention the hours afforded observing the colorful cross section of drowning victims in the human gen... Read More

Our adventures in Japan started off on a difficult and tumultuous journey. My name is Lance Lasheras, and alongside my best friend Justin Kim, we decided to journey to Japan in order to pursue our dream of becoming world famous DJ's. The reason why we would choose to go to a country in which we know nothing about the culture, language, or industry is simply because our genre of music is very popular there. Our stories will chronicle our adventures in the country, in hopes to entertain others as well as possibly make some contacts while over here.

Our first real adventure in Japan came in the form of picking up our equipment. Anyone who has Dj'ed before is aware of the sheer volume of electronic equipment necessary for the craft. While we moved into a home in Noborito,... Read More

What a wonder it is to witness another country's music industry. Surely, I thought to myself Japan with it's Manga anime and crazy films and game shows would indeed be a melting pot of creativity and flair.

I spent the last five years in England floating from band to band and eventually to acoustic night playing my way around drunken venues. Always with a key message in my head about my belief in music and how I would never "sell out" or "be an ego" when it came to becoming famous. On arrival in Japan I thought "f#ck it". I decided that this was a great place to "make it" in the music business so that in the future after i at least break the market I could start to record what I enjoy. I auditioned for a few western bands around tokyo but eventually found solace in an al... Read More

I once commented to my host father that Asahi Superdry is the king of Japanese beers in my mind. Last Monday marked an adventure in alcoholism one month in the making since that very comment. My host dad Kazuhiko and I hopped a bus and headed downtown to the Asahi Beer Restaurant to drink like there was no tomorrow. My host dad was dressed in a really interesting brownish-yellow suit that made him look like Colonel Mustard from Clue. In the sea of black suits I would soon be swimming in, my jeans and pink polo shirt had gaijin written all over them.

The Asahi building houses a regular brewery style restaurant on the bottom floor and a larger banquet room for special events on the second floor. Since the doorman knew my host dad by name, I figured correctly that we... Read More

Hostess and Host bars/clubs etc...

Really, what is more symbolic of Japan's world renowned strangeness than the MIZUSHOUBAI culture?

MIZUSHOUBAI as a term covers quite a few bases in that it is a blanket expression under which you will find your Hostess and Host clubs, ringky dink "snacks" and even the acclaimed and often glorified (nonsensically) Geisha "houses" or clubs or whatever. Essentially it's any place that one can go and drink and the girls (or boys) that you are flirting with are paid to do just that, flirt with you.

In addition to flirting with you they are generally trying to get you and your party to buy more drinks both for yourselves and for THEM and to buy more expensive drinks as you become progressively more drunk! S... Read More

Let me tell you about my neighborhood here on the outskirts of Tokyo.

It may surprise you to know that there are still a number of small (under an acre) farms where locals grow fruit and vegetables. They often have a table set up where you can buy a few of the pickings before they go to market.

There is a tofu shop, where beans are pressure cooked and made into fresh tofu and aburage daily. Three generations can be seen working there. Even on Sunday I often see the shop master cleaning, adjusting his equipment, or just hanging out. Clearly it’s a labor of love.

There is also a delicious bakery run by a young couple. They are friendly, and promote organic and other healthy products. On holidays they always bake up seasonal goodies: German ‘st... Read More

Upon arrival in Japan I was impressed with the train system. As a New Yorker I have been used to the nuances of a disorganized transportation system. Allow me to compare. The first thing you notice in the NY subway is the smell or rather the stench. The repulsive odor consists of rat droppings, trash, urine and the homeless. There is no such thing as ventilation. So imagine getting dressed going to work smelling fresh and clean then having to subject your fine wardrobe to the stench of this underworld. By the time you get to work you will feel as dirty as the less fortunate that make it their home. In the Japanese system the setup is familiar. The suica is reminiscent of the NYC metrocard. The automated purchasing machine is more prevalent and reliant. However, once y... Read More

It's said that Japan is one of the safest places to live in the world. Ask any foreigner who stepped off the plane three months ago and they’ll tell you about the time they collapsed in an alcoholic stupor on the steps of a train station and woke up four hours later with the contents of their bags ? wallet, phone, keys, iPod ? strewn around them untouched.

One the other hand, ask a Japanese person and they’ll tell you about the time they were “attacked” by a man on a train who actually just coughed on them.

And perhaps a female colleague will tell you about being chased down the road by a man cycling a bike, holding an umbrella and masturbating at the same time. And about how her underpants go missing when she dries them on her first floor b... Read More

When you decided to live in a foreign land for good, you understood that you had to learn its language and culture. You knew that homesickness would surely linger in your lonesome moments．You had feared of what will be your life in that land. You were worried to be alone and forsaken by your only companion upon whom you depend so much. You had no idea how the people would treat you. You were not confident that you could adjust to the new atmosphere. However, you managed to pretend to become strong and held on to your decision.

When you first stepped on Japan’s ground, you felt a mix of excitement and fear. Excitement for doing new things and fear of being treated as an alien. At first, you were introduced to many acquaintances, brought to many beautiful places and exposed to ... Read More

When I was in my country I used to watch Korean dramas that were broadcast on television. I became so absorbed with them that even though the drama was broadcast late at night I still watched it regularly. However, my husband is even more absorbed than me with Korean drama. At that time that he had no job yet, he used to watch Korean drama almost everyday and even now in his free time he watches Korean drama. He rents DVDs from Tsutaya Discas, a DVD rental shop. Because there are no English subtitles or caption in the DVD, I can’t watch them.

There was a time that I became angry with my husband because of Korean drama. I was talking to him about something but he did not say any word. I realized he was watching the drama, “All In” starr... Read More

I have learned some things about Japanese culture that really surprised me because they are completely different from my culture.

Food

Unlike in my country, slurping while eating is considered good table manners in Japan. In fact, it signifies that you have a strong personality. But if you don’t do the slurping they will consider you weak and shy. The slurping is also their way of telling that the food is delicious.

Bathing

There are many ‘onsen’ or hot springs around Japan. Japanese like to soak in a hot spring all naked, without any piece of clothing. They put a small towel on top of their head which can be used to cover their genitals when getting out of the water. Commonly, public hot springs ar... Read More

The progress of one’s country depends on its culture. In my 7 months of stay in Japan, I have already witnessed some very impressive things about Japanese culture:

Business:

In business, when Japanese meet for the first time in business meeting, they usually give each other a ‘meishi’ or business card. The card tells your name, your job title, the organization you work for, your address and telephone, etc. By looking at the card, they will know who must use more polite words. Do not put it in your bag or keep it as soon as you received it, and if there is table you have to put it on the table in front of you.

After work, they usually say “Otsukaresamadeshita”, and bow to each other many times. While I was at... Read More