Minimalism - Online Income - ESL - Japan
My general observations from living in Japan.
This is the question I was pondering over while driving home from work tonight. With a population of 128 million, more than double that of the U.K, I find it surprising that you can go for days on end without seeing a disabled person. There’s no doubt that Japan is equipped for disabled people; there’s wheelchair access all over the place, tactile paving for the visually impaired, and designated parking […]
When I first came to Japan, I was told that Kentucky Fried Chicken, or simply ‘Kentucky’ as it’s known in Japan, is a Christmas tradition. I was told that people flock to KFC for their annual Christmas Eve dinner. I didn’t really take it seriously until I saw people lining up for three blocks one Christmas Eve, just to get their dose of chicken! Although it exists, turkey isn’t common […]
Okay, so I was just about to write something intelligent when out of the corner of my eye I noticed three near-naked men on TV, eating yakiniku (Korean barbeque) and rubbing each other with the smoke from the BBQ. Of course, this kind of activity is quite normal for Japanese TV, and it doesn’t get much better than this… literally. Sadly, or maybe fortunately, I was too slow to get […]
According to weather forecasts across Japan this evening, tomorrow there will be a 50% chance of rain. Whoopie-do! What’s that supposed to mean? Should I take an umbrella? Should I hang out my laundry? I don’t know, and neither do the students I asked. Believe it or not, I was once asked to leave a bar in Nagoya because I got into a ‘heated debate’ about how meaningless the Japanese […]
The Japanese have historically been known for copying things and making them better, call it reverse-engineering if you like. In fact, one of the main reasons they started learning English was to understand scientific journals for this very purpose. This trend extends to fashion in which brands such as Louis Vuitton are so popular, it seems everybody here owns an LV bag or purse. No-one seems to mind having the […]
Well, I’m still a bit hungover and definitely still full after last night’s dinner with Mr. H and his staff. Mr. H is the student of mine that introduced us to ballroom dancing. Despite having turned 70, he still knows how to party! He picked us up in a taxi and took us all the way to Seki city. My wife was relieved when Mr. H turned down my offer […]
Japan’s agriculture ministry said it plans to certify the quality of Japanese food abroad in an attempt to promote “authentic Japanese food”. Does this mean that all Japanese restaurants abroad will have to conform to the standards set by the government here? If so, I don’t think it’s going to work. I heard that London is experiencing a sushi boom right now, but also that most of the chefs are […]
I love this video of a popular Japanese double-act Tetsu & Tomo. The music is from the variety show ‘Shouten’. Watch and laugh, and if you can’t view the video, you can see it here at youtube.com. I’ve become a fan of Japanese TV now that I’m married and live with the TV on permanently. While many people think that the Japanese are expression-less, everything on TV is really exagerrated. […]