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27 Apr 08
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Golden Week Plans? I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Plans Let’s face it, Golden Week in Japan is a terrible time to travel. Trains, planes and highways are overly crowded and the urge to reach out and touch someone (I’m thinking an open-handed slap here) can hardly be restrained. Last year, I took ... |
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22 Apr 08
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At Long Last, Justice Is Served I’ve been waiting and hoping this gentleman, Hiroshi Motomura, would see justice done and the man who robbed him of his wife and daughter face the death penalty. Well, it’s finally happened. As many of you may know, I haven’t had much... |
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02 Apr 08
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7:10 to Tokyo is Here! I have launched my new website. It’s a blog-a-zine with three regular contributors. I’ll be looking for more contributors soon, so please check your e-mail boxes. I’ll appreciate any help I get. It’s meant to be a highl... |
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31 Mar 08
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Chin Goo - Eeeew! I’m not sure if this place is a Chinese Restaurant or some place entirely different. Well, if it is a Chinese restaurant, I don’t think I’ll be trying the Chin Goo soup of the day. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll avoid this... |
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19 Mar 08
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Long Time, No Post As always, thanks for stopping by. If you’re a regular visitor, I don’t know how to fully express my gratitude, but please know that your readership is greatly appreciated.
The lack of posts on this site lately has nothing to do with a loss o... |
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03 Mar 08
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Online Suicide Club Many people have successfully found their life partners online. These days, however, some people are finding their death partners online. There have been several stories in the news this year and last year about people meeting up for group suicides. Upon... |
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22 Feb 08
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Mr. Ishiba, Can We Come Out And Play Now? Last year, I posted about the need for U.S. Armed Forces officials to do something to put a stop to constantly recurring major crimes committed by servicemen. I even went so far as to suggest that lower-ranking personnel be chaperoned when going off-base... |
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17 Feb 08
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A Winter’s Day in Kamakura Last weekend, I spent the afternoon in Kamakura. It’s a city filled with history and culture, and it should not be missed by anyone who visits, or is living in the Kanto area.
For more on my day trip to the ancient capital, click... |
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11 Feb 08
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Domestic Violence On A Whole New Level When I saw this news article, I knew it was headed straight for this blog. I mean, WTF? This isn’t serial killer shit; This is family life for some people here in Japan. Don’t believe it? Look up an article regarding the 16-year girl who... |
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10 Feb 08
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Chris’s English Conversation School - The Kids Are Alright Chris B has his own English conversation school here in Japan and prides himself on his ability to get big results from his students.
Now, on top of that, Chris B has his 10,000th blog hit. Way to go, buddy!
For what Chris’s school is all about,... |
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05 Feb 08
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Sapporo Snow Festival - Another One I Won’t Be Attending When I first made the decision to come live and work in Japan, I promised myself I would make it to the Sapporo snow festival (雪祭り - yuki matsuri). Well, I haven’t made it yet, and this year is no exception. It’s in the top-3 of my to-d... |
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27 Jan 08
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Maguro Ha Oishii Kedo… One of the best things about living in Japan is having access to the world’s best (of course) sushi. However, the following AP article makes me a little nervous, not only about high levels of mercury in tuna, but also about the attitude of you... |
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21 Jan 08
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The Daily J Interview Well, I’ve done it. I’ve given an interview to Daily J, a great site for bloggers living in Japan as well as others who have an interest in the country. I’ll try not to let my newly-attained celebrity status go to my head.
You can check... |
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17 Jan 08
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But… It Was Really Tasty! I’ve never tried fugu, and I may still some day. But, this newspiece has me thinking that it might not be worth it.
Woman in critical condition after eating poisonous puffer fish
12:39pm Thursday, January 17
HITACHINAKA, Ibaraki — A woman who... |
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01 Jan 08
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If I Had A Hammer… Happy New Year!
Things are startin’ off right here in the land ‘o wa. To quote Tommy Lee Jones’ character Ed Tom Bell from the movie ‘No Country For Old Men’, “You just can’t make this stuff up. I dare you to even... |
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25 Dec 07
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Japan and Whaling - What’s the Deal? There’s a lot of bad press out there concerning Japan’s whaling efforts. Japan says its main purpose is scientific research, but others say that’s a cover for the real objective; to package and sell whale meat commercially. Many accuse... |
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16 Dec 07
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Journalism in Japan - In A Word, Irresponsible Some nut went on a shooting rampage in Nagasaki the other day and shot 8 people, killing 2. While the gunman had still not been apprehended, most major news sources, including the Mainichi Shinbun, were stating that sources at the sports club (where the... |
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12 Dec 07
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U.S. Embassy In Japan - Paying The Rent I’ve read several comments from people, not just Americans, about how the U.S. shouldn’t have to pay rent for the embassy since Japan would not likely exist in its current state without America’s efforts during the occupation and... |
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10 Dec 07
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Armed Citizens - A Bad Idea In Any Country I will be the first to admit that gun availability isn’t the only cause of crime in the United States. Violence is glorified in music, movies, and TV shows. It’s everywhere in the U.S. But, without the guns, it’s difficult for someone to... |
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03 Dec 07
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Shore Leave For Servicemen In Japan - A Necessary Evil? Whether or not you believe the U.S. military presence here in Japan should be reduced, it’s clear that servicemen cause more trouble off base than the Japanese would like. What should be done? I mean, it’s a double-edged sword, right? Many... |
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08 Nov 07
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Teaching English In Japan - The Shape Of Things To Come Are you considering coming to Japan to teach? Are you excited by the idea of living in foreign country where the culture and language are far different from those in your own home country? If so, things are going to be more difficult for you now than they... |
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29 Oct 07
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NOVA Is Finished… Or Is It? Eikaiwa giant NOVA shut down all of its remaining schools on Friday the 26th. The closure is said to be a temporary one while sponsors to help bail out the company are recruited. If nothing can be decided in a month’s time, the firm will be... |
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22 Oct 07
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Japan - Obsessed With Safety And Children George Carlin: You Are all Diseased - 1999 (Part 4 of 7)
The following made the national headlines in Japan today, October 22nd. Is there another country in the world where such stories make national headlines? Other national headlines today in Japa... |
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17 Oct 07
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What’s With All The Random Street Slashings? - The Final Straw This is it. I can’t take it anymore. It seems like every day there’s a new story. It never ends. There is something seriously wrong here and I’m starting to think it’s either cultural or the result of some sort of societal... |
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04 Oct 07
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Dissatisfied Kids Give Parents The Axe Literally.
Before, I wrote about how family dismemberment murders were more popular than J-pop and Doraemon. These days it seems that the appeal of giving one’s mother or father ... |
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01 Oct 07
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Kenji Nagai’s Death Is An Outrage This week journalist Kenji Nagai of Japan was murdered by a soldier in Myanmar during an episode of civil unrest. Video documenting Nagai’s murder shows him being shot at nearly point-blank range. Many have, and will continue to argue that Mr. Nagai... |
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28 Sep 07
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Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss… or so they say. In case you didn’t know, Japan has a new Prime Minister this week. Here’s a piece from AP:
Fukuda wins LDP vote, assured of becoming next prime minister
Moderate veteran Yasuo Fukuda easily won election as president ... |
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14 Sep 07
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More Writing On The Wall - NOVA Is A Sinking Ship I posted earlier this year that I thought NOVA could ride out its current wave of problems, but it seems that maybe this isn’t the case. I’m sorry to see that a lot of experienced teachers as well as newbies may be pounding the pavement very... |
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13 Sep 07
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What’s With All The Random Street Slashings? People being knifed on the street or in other public places at random is seemingly quite common here in Japan. Most of the time the victims’ wounds aren’t fatal, but occasionally they are. It’s usually some middle-aged guy who... |
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12 Sep 07
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The Writing Was All Over The Wall - Abe Steps Down With all of the scandals involving his cabinet ministers, it’s no shock to anyone (except some crusty Old Boys) that Prime Minister Abe has resigned. While it’s not easy to point out where he has clearly failed big time during his year-long... |
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06 Sep 07
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Support Your Local Sheriff I’m glad to see people showing their support where it’s needed. I hope this officer has a good record and that it will keep him on the force. Of course, if his work performance was sub-par from the beginning, I guess he’s going... |
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31 Aug 07
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Dan Harrington Takes All In ‘Legends of Poker’ - 2007 Just want to say ‘Congrats!’ to my man Harrington for winning this huge tourney. He may be an old man, but he still rocks! This guy is my favorite poker pro. A class act.
Dan Harrington Wins the 2007 Legends of Poker
8/30/07
Harrington Wins... |
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27 Aug 07
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Crazy From The Heat? I’ve been living here in Japan for several years and It really does seem that the murder rate is dramatically increasing here. Those who’ve lived here longer than myself may wish to educate me on past problems here, but when I first start... |
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16 Aug 07
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Hotter Than… Well, It’s Friggin Hot! Japan is not a comfortable place to be during summer due to it’s high humidity. But this week, high temperatures are making it even worse. Today, the high temperature is expected to be around 40C or 104F. I’ll tell you, that’s brutal.... |
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15 Aug 07
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Aren’t You Forgetting Something? I could think of few things more horrible than losing a body part while participating in some kind of everyday activity. I hope the guy in the news story below will be alright. Maybe it’s a good lesson for all of us to learn from. We should all b... |
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