This weeks quote evokes a feeling of tranquility and mystery that I have been experiencing lately and is very appropriate given the misty/hazy mornings that we have been having in Tokyo. This morning I awoke and stepped outside only to be reminded of camping trips where you wake up in the morning and step […]

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This article from the Daily Yomiuri discusses wa or social harmony in Japan. I found the following excerpt to be very interesting:
The researchers found that the Japanese were more than twice as likely as the Americans to opt for the ambiguous response … One of the question topics with the highest rate of ambiguous […]

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2008 Preview from the Daily Yomiuri is an interesting story about events that will be happening in Japan this year. Of particular interest to me is the listing of major art exhibitions that include several exhibits of national treasures and a retrospective of Renoir.
A video via Japan Probe showing you how to make spaghetti, […]

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An otaku is defined as a geek, nerd or enthusiast by Freedict.com. It is a relatively new use of the world and relates primarily to those obsessed with manga (Japanese comic books) and anime (Janapese cartoons, usually derived from manga) and is often used as an insult. The Japan Times had a […]

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In Japan one of the traditional activities of the new year celebration is the pounding of mochi. We also pound mochi here in Hawaii to celebrate the new year and if you click on the picture to the left you can view more photos and a video on mochi pounding in action (via […]

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If you are in Japan, there is no official Christmas holiday and you are probably working like any other day. You probably just assumed that Christmas would be a day off and it must have come as a bit of a shock when you moved to Japan and found out that it isn’t a […]

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This has been a busy week for me but I did come across some interesting items that I wanted to share.
An article fro the Japan Times noted an exhibition that I will not be able to see in person titled Culture Filters. The artist, Osorio Zapata created the fabulous work to the right and […]

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This week I read a really cool article from the Daily Yomiuri on yokai or supernatural beings. Yokai stem from the Shinto belief system in which all things, living or inanimate, have a spirit and can turn into a supernatural being with mystical powers. Some yokai are simply mischievous and some are downright […]

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I am a big fan of arts & crafts in general and I have a special admiration for the Japanese approach of making an art form out of things that they use in daily life. The furoshiki is a great example - it is basically a square of fabric that can range in size from […]

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