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

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 nature calls, if you have to go, you have to go. Don't forget to bow when entering the bathroom! The Japanese have an architectural detail guaranteed to train even the numbest gaijin. Failure to adhere may leave you feeling scalped like Custer at the Little Bighorn. Just joking, you don’t really have to bow when entering the bathroom, just make yourself shorter! A lean to the left or right will suffice…..

Older Japanese beam houses and their architecture are rather unforgiving for the taller framed gaijin. The beautiful, handcut, hand drawn 100 year-old cedar beams leave quite a knot on the noggin! Waking in the middle of night and running to the bathroom can end with seeing stars that don't exist in any constellation seen in the night sky.

The dul... Read More

If you come to Japan with someone, a partner, a relative, a friend, you’re lucky. If you come to Japan alone its easy to become isolated and paranoid. If you don’t know Japanese, it’s all the worse. It’s like a classic nightmare. Suddenly you realize that you’re in a strange place. You open your mouth to speak but no one understands you. All the writing everywhere has dissolved into nonsense squiggles. Worst of all, if something bad happens to you, you don’t know how to tell anyone.

Homesickness, helplessness, and doubt can turn into depression, anxiety, and panic. Our cultures collide. Everyone around you seems to know exactly what to do and how to act. You become an outlier, a pariah, an unpredictable and uns... Read More

As typhoon season approaches in Japan, it is important for both expats and those from the country to prepare for potential storms which could result in any number of catastrophes. And while some areas including the Ryuku Islands and locations along the Pacific Ocean side are more at risk than mainland Japan, typhoons can strike anywhere in the country. Powerful tropical cyclones with hurricane-force winds can impact a number of areas, ranging from minimal disruptions to daily life to severe damage and devastation.

While typhoons can strike any month in Japan, the actual season may range from May to November and often peaks in August and September. Being a resident of Okinawa, we have already begun to notice heavier rains and stronger winds in the past couple of weeks.... Read More

See that picture beside this article? It may look like a trash to you, or just an ordinary paper, but it is a very important part of anyone's life here in Japan. That's a hokensyo or a Japanese health insurance card.

Here in Japan, it is really important to secure a hoken, no matter your sex, age, or race. If you haven't tried being sick, confined, or hospitalized here, I am telling you now - it cost too. It may even be more than your salary, especially if you have surgeries or you're really sick. Hokensyo is really needed in order to avoid the burden of paying for health risks and problems. A single CT scan with no hokensho can reach up to 70,000 yen and the doctor's fee can be 30,000 yen per visit, depends on what health condition you are consulting for. For hear... Read More

Ok, it was small and not even mentioned on any news programme I saw but I have experienced my first Japanese earthquake! Last Sunday while in church, just as the pastor was bringing his message to a close, the church roof started to shake, the window blinds went crazy and the floor felt like the deck of a boat for about one second. Then there was a pause followed by the whole thing repeating itself again this time slightly stronger and for about two seconds. While the people around me instantly knew what was going on, it didn’t occur to me to fully five seconds after the event what had actually happened. Even then it was only when I heard the muttered “Jishin” (Japanese for earthquake) coming from the congregation that it really hit me. ... Read More

My husband and I have been living in Tokyo for sometime now and it has been an experience in many different ways. We have been and still are totally impressed by the efficiency of the Japanese in general and that includes government services. What a luxury….

….however, this efficiency can sometimes be brought to new levels in a negative way. We live on a main street in Motoazabu, with a Fire Service station about 100 meters on our right and a renowned hospital across the street on the left. When we first got here, hearing the fire trucks storm out of the station and rush down the street to help desperate citizens was nothing out of the ordinary. What stunned us though was that some “overzealously efficient” fireman in one of these trucks... Read More