Minimalism - Online Income - ESL - Japan
My general observations from living in Japan.
After reading Thomas’ post about finding Christmas Trees in Japan on NihonHacks.com, I decided to get one for myself. Unlike Thomas, who treated himself to a real “Golden Crest” tree from a home center, I wanted a fake Christmas tree that I could use every year. Get your Christmas tree now for half-price! Christmas in Japan is a funny affair. It usually ends on Christmas Eve to give the shops […]
Japan is facing a crisis. The population is aging and by 2050, one in three people will be past retirement age. Meanwhile, the birth rate is currently at 1.25 babies per woman, much lower than the 2.1 needed to keep the population stable. The result is a workforce too small to support the huge number of retirees. Who will do all the work? Will there be enough tax money to pay […]
I love cheese, so it came as quite a shock to hear that from March next year the price of cheese in Japan will rise by up to 25%. As if cheese here wasn’t expensive enough, it’s likely to become a delicacy afforded only by the wealthy. What happened to the cows? Good question. You might wonder what would cause such a dramatic increase. Are there too many cheese eaters? Will there […]
It wasn’t so long ago I looked at the possibilities for teaching English online, but never considered using my webcam and mic to learn Japanese online. Actually, I’ve always thought study materials for learning Japanese were far behind those for learning English. I remember being frustrated at how most English textbooks came with CDs, whereas books for learning Japanese still came with cassette tapes, even though tape players had long disappeared […]
Like everyone else in Japan, I was completely oblivious to the war mongering coming from Australia. Yes, it seems that the new Labor Government have been urged to send warships, but thankfully “Australia won’t go to war with Japan” [link removed, Google it]. War? There’s been no talk of war! Australia’s Ambassador to Japan, Murray McLean, said starting a war with Japan was “absurd” and an option he “wouldn’t even contemplate”. “The reason that […]
Anger among Japan’s foreign community at the new immigraion laws continues to grow. Nearly all foreigners, including permanent residents, are now being fingerprinted every time they enter Japan, and can be denied entry for any reason the Ministry of Justice pleases. Isn’t the point of fingerprinting to stop terrorists entering Japan? That’s what I first thought. I even wrote a comparison between fingerprinting in Japan and the UK, showing that Japan couldn’t justify fingerprinting foreigners under the “War on Terror” banner because unlike the […]
There’s an awful lot of talk, and rightly so, about Japan’s implementation of biometric fingerprinting at international airports this month. As I understand it, any foreigner over the age of 16 who doesn’t have diplomatic status or a “special” permanent residency visa will be photographed and fingerprinted on entry to the country. Here’s a poster and more official information on the new entry procedures. Foreigners outraged by new security measures […]
One of my students was telling me about a magazine article she read on the topic of sleep. Apparently, a famous doctor claims that if you sleep on a hard floor, you only need two hours of sleep each night! How much sleep do you get? It seems most people agree on the need for 7-8 hours sleep. My typical sleeping hours are 3am-11am. Not ordinary, but that’s what happens when you’re an […]