Minimalism - Online Income - ESL - Japan
My general observations from living in Japan.
Last year a I wrote a series about Japanese manners, each with a video of an AC commercial that broadcast nationwide, teaching Japan’s public to be a little more considerate to each other. I thought those commercials were brilliant, kind of like drink driving commercials back home, but these were about topics as frightening as eating hamburgers on a train. I Love CM I’m all for encouraging people to talk […]
Last autumn there was a good drama on TV called Abarenbo Mama. One of the key storylines was how the young stepmother, Ayu, would get along with the other mothers at her son’s kindergarten. Although it was a comedy, “mama groups” really do exist in Japan, and mothers go out of the way to fit into these groups. That means they have to share the same interests, opinions, fashion sense, […]
To help you understand the point of this post, I’ve recorded a little video of the view from my bedroom window. You’ll need to watch the video before I delve into the topic of “disaster prevention information” in Japan. My peaceful neighborhood in Japan If you can’t view the video, you can watch it here on YouTube. What was that and why should I care? What you just saw was, […]
There are lots of little things to talk about this week, so here’s another dose of Ramsay Ramblings! May 5th was Children’s Day Mami and I have a little boy, and this year was his first Children’s Day. Thomas wrote all about Koinobori, Japanese Carp Streamers, so I’ll skip the detail and get to the photos: Our Koinobori – Japanese Carp Streamers A Kintarou cake Kawashi-mochi – rice cakes wrapped […]
This post is an oldie, but I’m submitting it to Rocking in Hakata‘s February 2009 Japan Blog Matsuri about Foreign Food. Enjoy! With food prices soaring, and butter disappearing altogether, there is no doubt that Japan is suffering an unprecedented food crisis. Learning from the British At university, balancing the budget to accommodate both food and beer is a skill most Brits have mastered, but it wouldn’t be possible without […]
I opened up our fridge and found a carton of Chorus Water! Yippee! The new Japanese soft drink from Morinaga Milk is the best! I’d like to personally thank Chairman of Morinaga Milk, Mr. Ohno, and company president, Mr. Furukawa, for delivering such a tasty beverage. I just can’t stop singing its praises! If you can’t see the video, you can watch it here on YouTube. If you like, you […]
No matter how long you are in Japan, you will always be asked the same questions: Where are you from? Do you like Japanese food? Can you use chopsticks? The more adventurous Japanese will ask you questions about your home country: Is summer as hot as in Japan? Do you have cherry blossoms? Do you speak English in England? All these questions were recently asked of me by the dental […]
If you are in Japan, you have probably already seen the bright yellow notices plastered all over the country’s cigarette vending machines. At first, I thought it was some fancy advertising campaign, but instead, they are announcing the launch of “taspo”, an ID card embedded with an IC (integrated circuit) chip containing information proving the owner is at least 20 years old (the legal age for purchasing cigarettes). What does […]