Japanese Me

Japan is nothing if not full of wonderous sights and sounds.  I’m lucky and get to experience them every time I walk out my front door, so for my friends around the world I present Uniqlo’s “calendar”.  Click and watch all the wonder that is Japan float before your very eyes.  Your screensaver will turn [...]

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Today’s school was short on glassware so I received my morning tea in a paper cup.  I turned it to find this grammatically correct English waiting for me: WHICH TASTES BETTER? The morning coffee that gets you going or the evening coffee that sends you home? I still can’t decide.

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Yet another job you’ll never find me doing–that thing was bouncing around every time someone moved. Shin-kawasaki, Kawasaki.

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Yokohama seems to be a mecca for street performers–every weekend you can find guys (I’ve only seen guys) doing their special brand of entertainment.  Some do magic tricks.  Some juggle with fire.  But all seem to pull out a diabolo at some point and do a ridiculously high toss.  I looked on youtube to see [...]

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Ken and I went to Yokohama today and had a great time visiting Minato Mirai and Chinatown.  At one point we were sitting in an area with loudspeakers and heard an announcement in Japanese reminding everyone to be careful about swine flu.  Then the announcement was read in English. It was nice of them to [...]

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They’re everywhere. Yes, those are power lines running between two buildings of an apartment complex.  No, I don’t want that for a view, either.

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When I introduce myself to students I open the floor to questions.  Here are the toughest ones I’ve gotten so far. What is your favorite anime? “Escaflowne!  Oh right, that came out before you were born.  Fruits Basket!  Oh geez, that’s too old, too.” “Dragonball?  Doraemon?  Sazae-san?” “Not really.  Uhhhh…. Inuyasha?” What’s your favorite book? [...]

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(Note:  Ann is my dentist.  I know she’s in San Francisco and I’m not, but she’s the best dentist EVER.  I mean look, I’m writing a blog post just for her.  If you’re in SF and have teeth you should see Ann.) Dear Ann, It was a long flight but I’m finally here in Japan.  [...]

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It’s called blip.fm and it’s fun.  Think of a song you like, any song.  Even international music–I’ve found a ton of Japanese stuff.  Punch it in, maybe write a comment, and blip (≈tweet) it to the world.  If listeners like it they’ll give you props.  Find other people (“DJs”) whose music you like and have [...]

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Sometimes the result isn’t so great.  Some of you may not know this but I’m a big hockey fan.  I was an Albany River Rats season ticket holder from the time I was 15 or so all the way through college.  It’s a minor league team but the fans show major league devotion for the [...]

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