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• Japanese iPhone Apps
  on Jul 5, 2012 in LearningJapanese
  In addition allowing you to instantly Facebook your friends about that great sandwich you just ate launching angry birds at green pigs, smart phones are also wonderful study tools. If you happen to have a long commute or are just too lazy to get out...
• 5 Types of... Japanese Spider
  on Jul 3, 2012 in Daily Life Horror-stories Weird Japan Pets
    Here's a nasty collection of scary 8-legged insects for you to think about tonight. You're welcome.  Huntsman spider アシダカグモ (ashidakagumo) Specifically the heteropoda venatoria. Pictured above. A pretty large a...
• Counterfeit "Won" in Place of Yen
  on Jul 1, 2012 in Money Shopping Weird Japan Humor
  Here is the exciting conclusion to our article about why vending machines in Japan have little stickers on them telling you that your old 500 yen coins aren't welcome for use: This is a 500 won coin that has been altered by a counterfeiter. Th...
• The Japan Traffic Safety Association
  on Jun 28, 2012 in Daily Life Driving
  If you have operated a vehicle in Japan, there is a good chance that you have had some dealings with the Japan Traffic Safety Association (zenkoku kotsu anzen kyokai 全国交通安全協会) or some of its member groups. Since there aren't many Engl...
• Why Vending Machines Don't Accept Old 500 Yen Coins
  on Jun 26, 2012 in Money Shopping Weird Japan Humor
  You have probably seen this sticker or some variant of it--though you may not have properly noticed it or read what it said--on a vending machine in Japan. It is almost ubiquitous these days. It tells you that the vending machine will accept new 5...
• Internet Downloading Laws in Japan
  on Jun 24, 2012 in Hobbies Legal Internet
  Not long ago, Dan shared an awesomely detailed article about being careful about bandwidth usage on your super high speed fiber optic Internet line in Japan. Although Internet providers in Japan have for several years kept an eye out for excessive...
• Local Brews: Umeshu
  on Jun 21, 2012 in Alcohol
  Along with sake and shochu, Japanese plum wine, or umeshu (梅酒) is one of Japan's iconic liquors. Now that we have covered local beers, local sake, and local shochu, lets take a look at how to find a quality bottle of umeshu. What is Umesh...
• Japanese Money: Coins
  on Jun 19, 2012 in Money
  All you ever wanted to know (and probably a little more) about Japanese coins currently in use. One Yen Coin Here it is, the 1円. Incredibly light. Feels like a waste of time. Design is some kind of sapling. Material: Pure Aluminum Wei...
• Invitation to Guest Post
  on Jun 18, 2012
  We're always looking for new material for our growing archives. Think you've got what it takes? Got something interesting to write about? Had a difficult experience and what to share the process to help others? Then write for us! Contact us with a...
• 5 Salad Dressings to Try in Japan
  on Jun 17, 2012 in Food
  Cutting the crap and going straight to the list: 5. Baisen Goma (Roasted Sesame) by Kewpie, etc. A number of companies put out creamy roasted sesame dressings in Japan. I like all of them quite a bit, and usually the store's generic brand just...
• Find Your Local Fireworks Displays
  on Jun 14, 2012 in Hobbies Travel Culture
  We're in the midst of summer now, and any long-term visitor of Japan knows what summer here means: Weekend after weekend of crepuscular booming in your neighborhood! Event news and entertainment site WalkerPlus just listed its annual Fireworks Dis...
• Local Brews: Sochu
  on Jun 14, 2012 in Alcohol Drinking
  Spend enough time in Japan and you will likely develop a healthy love-hate relation with shochu (焼酎). As any seasoned ex-pat knows, when the sochu bottle comes out, you are almost certainly on a one way trip to Hangoverville, population: you and...
• The Japanese Giant Hornet - Look Out
  on Jun 12, 2012 in Medical Daily Life
  大スズメバチ (oosuzumebachi) Perhaps the most terrifying (and statistically the most lethal) insect here is the Japanese Giant Hornet. This enormous bee (sometimes more than 4cm long) likes to hang around the pre-school where my better half...
• Kanji Mixup? Natto and Tofu
  on Jun 10, 2012 in LearningJapanese Food Weird Japan Culture
  Ever looked closely at the kanji for natto (納豆) and tofu (豆腐)? Both appropriately use the kanji 豆 (mame), which means "beans." And the other two kanji in question here are 腐, which is used in words like "to spoil" (腐る, kusa...
• WS: Alphabet Maze 1st G JHS
  on Jun 9, 2012 in Worksheet Sunday Teaching English
  Here is a nice activity for 中1 students (or even elementary students) once they've finished learning their minuscules and majuscules. The alphabet letters are laid out in a grid pattern. Each student begins with his or her pencil at "START" an...
• Local Brews: Sake
  on Jun 7, 2012 in Alcohol Sake Drinking
  Now that we have covered finding local beer in Japan, it is only appropriate that we pay some attention to Japan's iconic alcohol, sake (酒). Even if you know next to nothing about Japan, its a safe bet to say that you have come across or a...
• 5 Types of Poisonous Japanese Wild Mushroom
  on Jun 5, 2012 in Hobbies Health Daily Life Drugs Food
  A short while ago I wrote about 5 delicious edible mushrooms in Japan. Predictably, not all mushrooms are quite so delicious, or even safe to eat. Here are 5 baddies. ベニテングタケ (benitengu take) More commonly known as fly...
• Hard or Soft Tofu: Momen and Kinu
  on Jun 3, 2012 in Health Daily Life Food
  At your local supermarket in Japan, tofu is divided up into two main categories, called もめん (momen) and きぬ (kinu). In Western grocery stores, the same distinction is made as "hard" tofu and "soft" tofu, although the actual difference goes a...
• Local Brews: Beer
  on May 31, 2012 in Beer Alcohol Drinking
  Japan is not what most experts would call a beer lover's paradise. If you are the type who frequents after-hours work parties or simply spends enough time at the local watering hole, you will learn to loathe Asahi Super Dry or one of its few equally...
• Why Are The Japanese So Lean?
  on May 30, 2012 in Medical Hobbies Health Daily Life Onsen Weird Japan Culture
  Okay, so not all of them are. But the Japanese have and somewhat deserve the reputation of being skinny, despite eating huge amounts of white rice. Japan has just over 10% of the obesity rate of the USA, and sits at the bottom of this table of rankin...

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