Culture natsubate
Summer in Japan is incredibly muggy (蒸し暑い for Japanese readers) and that leads to what Japanese call natsubate (夏バテ) w...
Roger Jones
Culture 
Culture Obon
We've just finished the Obon holidays here in Japan. The word "Obon" is an abbreviation of the word "urabon" which comes...
Culture Fireworks
I guess everyone knows fireworks were invented in China and are said to have been meant to ward off evil spirits. They a...
Culture No Ninjas Needed
Like countries everywhere, there has long been a migration of people in Japan from the rural areas to the big cities. Es...
Food and Drinks Japanese Himono (salted, dried fish)
Nearly every country with a coastline has dried fish, most often salted and dried. For most of our history as humans sal...
Culture Things You Can Do In Japan
... that you wouldn't do in North America.
There are things you can do in Japan that you can't do in North America. It n...
Amusements Fukuoka’s Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival
The Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival is held between the 1st and 15th of July in the district around Hakata station and cul...
Traditional Crafts crafted in Japan
If, like me, you were raised in North America during the sixties,someone in your gang of buddies probably had a cheap, J...
Arts Aroma Bottle Lamps
A darkened room with mood lighting and a pleasant aroma is a good setting for many things, and this time it was perfect ...
Culture Fortune
It’s always hard to separate suspicion from religion and ritual and to know how seriously people take them. In Japan, it...