Living In Japan - A Foreigner's Guide to Life in Japan

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Survival - (15 articles)

Clean Panties and Dirty Pantyhose

Posted on December 6, 2007 by little lora

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 v... Read More

Music & Art - (9 articles)

This is a pen!

Posted on October 30, 2007 by Ben Whaley

?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 responsi... Read More

Shopping - (14 articles)

Where to go if you have both time and money to burn.

Posted on October 2, 2007 by Hanuman Welch

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, po... Read More

Holidays - (4 articles)

New Year's Pigeon-Toed Walk in a Kimono

Posted on June 22, 2007 by Nene

Ever since I met my husband, it had been my desire to wear a kimono. I wanted to know the feeling of wearing a kimono. Fortunately, last New Year my mother-in-law gave me a kimono. After we ate ‘osechi ryori’ or 'festive food' (which is served every New Year in Japan) she helped me put the kimono on. It was not easy to put on because it has many layers and accessories. It's a full-length ga... Read More

Education - (2 articles)

Groping in the Dark

Posted on June 20, 2007 by Nene

When I first arrived in Japan, the thing that made me worried was the language. We had to travel from Narita Airport to Sagamihara which was almost 2 hours travel by train and bus. Because of the long travel, I couldn’t help but had to use toilet at the train station. I was surprised when I finished using the toilet I couldn’t flush it, because I couldn't find the lever. Since I studied some... Read More

Family - (5 articles)

“Here I am, Nippon”

Posted on June 21, 2007 by Nene

One week after we were married in the Philippines, my Japanese husband came back to Japan, because his 2-year contract as a JICA volunteer was already finished. I took up Basic Nihongo classes in Manila and stayed in a dormitory for 3 months. I was expecting him after 3 months but I received an e-mail from him that he couldn't make it because he did not receive the papers yet from Japanese immigr... Read More

Health & Safety - (8 articles)

良薬口に苦し　Ryouyaku kuchi ni nigashi

Posted on February 4, 2008

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 wit... Read More