Like this post? Help us by sharing it! People see Japan as a country where there’s a great deal of pressure to conform to social norms. Although it’s something of a tired trope, the phrase ‘the nail that sticks up gets hammered down’ does have a degree of truth to it here. In my eleven […]
Only in Japan
Exploring the everyday in Shin-Maruko, Tokyo
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! People come to Japan and expect the unexpected, but it is funny how many unexpected things you associate with the ‘normal’ and ‘everyday’ after living in Japan. Behind all the famous sights and scenes, people’s daily life ticks along with a societal rhythm very different to our […]
The acceptance of impermanence
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Along with the rest of the world, Japan is still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. However, its islands and inhabitants are no strangers to dealing with times of crisis – not least from natural disasters. The country’s earthquake-resistant building technology and disaster response plans are held up […]
Salaryman vs. Kawaii
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! When I first started learning Japanese at high school, I was interested only peripherally in Japanese pop culture. This made me stand out from my classmates, who were strides ahead of me already because of their love of Japanese comics, animation, and movies. They could confidently introduce […]
Culture Shock every day in Japan
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! If you’ve spent any time in Japan, you know it can be quite a bewitching place. The delicious food. The quiet shrines. The peaceful gardens. For some, that is enough. Their time in Nippon goes by in a flash and they leave with cherished memories. For others, they […]
Hanko stamp being stamped out
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! For those of you have lived or been to Japan, you may have noticed the little red stamps called ‘hanko’. One of the first things I had to do when moving to Japan back in 1999 was to go and get myself an official ‘hanko’. For all […]
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! For those of you have lived or been to Japan, you may have noticed the little red stamps called ‘hanko’. One of the first things I had to do when moving to Japan back in 1999 was to go and get myself an official ‘hanko’. For all […]