Japanese Rule of 7 Blog Posts

• The Real Japanese Learners
  on Jun 2, 2013 in Learning Japanese All Japanese all the time alljapaneseallthetime Fluent in 3 months Remembering the Kanji
  Making the Jump from Intermediate to Advanced Japanese Recently, a reader posed an interesting question: I’ve done the entire Pimsleur system, gone half way through Rosetta Stone, through RTK1, taken up an SRS, spent countless hours listening to Ja...
• The Japanese Festival I Never Saw
  on May 26, 2013 in Living in Japan Hostess Club Japanese Festival Japanese girls
  I love Skype, if only because my brother can still drunk-dial me from the U.S., where it’s apparently nighttime, even it’s 5 a.m. in Japan and I’m fast asleep in my futon. I answered Skype in the customary fashion. “Yo, nigga,” I said. “M...
• Renewing a Japanese Visa, More Fun Every Year
  on May 16, 2013 in Living in Japan Japanese visa renewal Japanese work visa new Japanese residence card
  Ah, May.  What a wonderful month.  The seasonal rains wash away winter, it’s finally warm enough to sleep without a hat, and I get to enjoy renewing my Japanese visa.  That’s how I know spring has come. Unfortunately, unlike going to the Japan...
• Japan, After the Love
  on May 7, 2013 in Living in Japan japanese racism Racism in Japan reading kanji
  And then somehow I ended up in Fukuoka for Golden Week, eating at this yatai along the river.  It all had something to do with a Japanese girl and way too much sake, as I recall.  I mean, assuming I could recall, which actually I can’t.  But...
• Why You Shouldn’t Learn Japanese
  on May 1, 2013 in Learning Japanese
  Anyone with an interest in Japan should learn a little Japanese, I really believe.  Daily life is much better when you know a few key phrases:  Hello.  My name is.  Please.  May I?  No really, please.  Why not?  Oh come on, please.  You sure...
• What to Bring to Japan: An 8-Item Checkist
  on Apr 28, 2013 in Living in Japan
  If you’re planning to visit Japan, there are definitely some things you should and should not bring.  And moving to Japan?  Wow, then you really need to consider what to pack.  But not to worry!  As always, Ken Seeroi is here for you, doing all...
• How to Start Learning Japanese
  on Apr 24, 2013 in Learning Japanese how to learn Japanese Japanese in 30 days Learn Japanese fast
  Someone on Facebook recently asked me:  What’s the best way to begin learning Japanese, for someone starting from zero?  Never one to shirk authorial duties, I did the responsible thing by jumping up, slamming my laptop closed, and running to the...
• Sakura Ka-Boom
  on Mar 31, 2013 in Living in Japan Cherry blossoms hanami sakura
  Another year, and already sakura season’s almost over, thank God.  So exhausting, all that relaxing under the cherry blossom trees, for real. Sakura season isn’t just great.  It’s better than great, whatever that is, since everyon...
• Smog Time in Japan
  on Mar 14, 2013 in Living in Japan Beijing smog Japanese masks laundry sakura season spring in Japan Yellow sand
  Ah, springtime in Japan; there’s nothing like it.  The world is once again alive with color as the ume trees bring forth their red blossoms, sakura bloom with pink, and half the nation is covered in a delicate, yellow smog from China.  It is, as...
• Learn Japanese Quickly – in 7 Easy Steps
  on Mar 6, 2013 in Learning Japanese alljapaneseallthetime Fluent Japanese Heisig method how to learn Japanese Learn Japanese Easy Learn Japanese fast
  So you want to learn Japanese fast?  Great—you can!—in just seven easy steps.  Just like the pros. Now don’t deny it, you want to believe those guys on the internet claiming to have “learned Japanese” in like a year or two.  For...
• On the Run from the Japanese Police
  on Feb 25, 2013 in Living in Japan arrested in Japan Japanese motorcycle license Japanese police
  So last Wednesday I taught at this Japanese middle school.  And as I was riding home on my midget little scooter, I caught a glimpse of a Japanese motorcycle cop off to my left.  I was cresting a small hill, and he was just kind of sitting there wh...
• 7 “Features” of Working in a Japanese Office
  on Jan 31, 2013 in Living in Japan Teaching in Japan Japanese office Japanese overtime Working in Japan
  Somehow, things never work out like you think they’re gonna.  Take for example, my plan, if you could call it that.  I was working an office job in the U.S., and I concocted this great escape by which I’d run off to Japan and teach Engl...
• The Night My Building Exploded
  on Jan 13, 2013 in Living in Japan Japanese fire department Kerosene heater explosion
  So I was laying on the floor last night, actually trying to study Japanese, which is increasingly rare, since eating sashimi and drinking shochu with Japanese geezers at the local bar has replaced more formal study as of late.  But, seeing as it’s...
• Winter in Japan
  on Jan 7, 2013 in Living in Japan Asahiyama zoo Hokkaido Japanese winter New Year's in Japan Sapporo
  Wow, is it 2013 already?  When did that happen?  I’m still getting prepared for the world to end on New Year’s 2000 by backing up all my WordStar docs onto 5-1/4″ floppies.  I kind of have this thing about time in Japan, where it...
• Winter in Japan? Balls, it’s Cold
  on Jan 7, 2013 in Living in Japan Asahiyama zoo Hokkaido Japanese winter New Year's in Japan Sapporo
  Wow, is it 2013 already?  When did that happen?  I’m still getting prepared for the world to end on New Year’s 2000 by backing up all my WordStar docs onto 5-1/4″ floppies and stockpiling canned yakitori.  You know, I kind of hav...
• How the Japanese Police Stole my Bicycle
  on Dec 22, 2012 in Living in Japan arrested in Japan Japanese bicycle Japanese police writing a Japanese resume
  It was just a matter of time before I got arrested in Japan. Well, I mean “arrested” is a pretty vague term, don’t you think?  I think so.  You know, like if you’re stopped for, let’s say, um, stealing a bicycle, that’s not really arres...
• How the Japanese Police Stole my Bike
  on Dec 22, 2012 in Living in Japan arrested in Japan Japanese bicycle Japanese police writing a Japanese resume
  It was just a matter of time before I got arrested in Japan. Well, I mean “arrested” is a pretty vague term, don’t you think?  I think so.  You know, like if you’re stopped for, let’s say, um, stealing a bicycle, that’s not really arres...
• How to Use Chopsticks
  on Nov 19, 2012 in Living in Japan Japanese customs Japanese etiquette Japanese politeness manners in Japan using chopsticks
  I’d been in Japan for almost a year before somebody finally gave me an honest answer. Now going back in time, funny story, I started using chopsticks when I was just a kid.  I don’t know why.  It’s not like my parents are secret ninjas or som...
• Why do Classes Suck?
  on Nov 12, 2012 in Learning Japanese autodidact Classes suck Language learning
  Well the excellent folks at The Language Dojo were kind enough to ask me to write an article for their site, on one condition. “Anything you want to write about is fine,” they said, “but could you not mention Mama, or trains, or tru...
• Who’s Really Japanese?
  on Oct 23, 2012 in Living in Japan Are Japanese Racist? gaijin Japanese New Half japanese racism Japanese Transvesites Nihonjinron Racism in Japan 純日本人
  When I first came to Japan, things were so much simpler.  Men were men, Japanese were Japanese, and foreigners were gaijin.  Now everything’s gone to pieces, nuanced to the point that when somebody talks about “the Japanese,” I don’...