The rainy season has come and gone, replaced by the blazingly hot, humid, and repressive summer. The days are now averaging around 35º C, sufficient enough heat to render yours truly into a lifeless piece of flesh lounging about in her underwear in front of two electric fans. Cold showers provide temporary relief from the oppressive heat, as does a trip to the local combini, where we can bask in the coolness of regulated temperatures while browsing for chocolates and canned oxygen. For extended relief we head to the river, whose cooling waters have an undisputed and rejuvenating effect on tired summer bodies. As it’s too hot to continue typing, the narrative will henceforth be strictly visual. » Continue Reading…
The West has always lagged behind Japan when it comes to technological innovation, especially in the realm of robots and heated toilet seats. » Continue Reading…
Japanese-English, or Engrish, adorns every other physical object in Japan, from clothing to billboards to candy. It’s near impossible to avoid the omnipresent poetic flourishes painted on the side of pachinko parlours and gas stations, and has even inspired several websites dedicated to documenting the phenomenon, including an online store that sells various items emblazoned with reproduced Engrish phrases. » Continue Reading…
Are you the sort that has difficulty aquiring languages? Years of study but still miles from fluency? Chances are you’ve been missing one key component: aerobics! » Continue Reading…
I’ve never been a fan of shopping, unless it’s for electronics or the occasional thrift store foray, so you can imagine how happy I am that the three pairs of pants I brought to Japan are falling apart. » Continue Reading…
Golden Week has come and gone (and gone), underscored by the incessant rain dismally signaling a return to work after seven blissful days of vacation. This is the exact same thing I said last year, except with perhaps a little less rain. Golden Week is a springtime blessing, a weeklong national holiday (more accurately, several individual holidays in series) that’s even better in Hamamatsu owing to the three-day revelry known as the Hamamatsu Matsuri (festival). Last year we had a lot of fun as spectators, but this year passively watching wasn’t enough; we participated. » Continue Reading…
Hamamatsu is a fairly small city, the kind of city that is absent from guidebooks and is sometimes coupled with the pejorative “armpit” to descibe its more industrial aspects. » Continue Reading…