Victory Manual

Sakai Junko’s essay 電車の中で若者に注意 got me to thinking about “generation gaps” as “foreign culture”.
In the essay, Ms. Sakai rants about a few episodes where young people should have been admonished for their inconsiderate behavior. In one example, she highlights two young men riding a bullet train watching TV on a cell phone sans headphones. [...]

As a foreigner in Japan who currently teaches English, it’s impossible to avoid having an opinion on a policy of mandatory second-language education. Deas from rockinginhakata.com commented on bilingualism (particularly of English and Spanish in the States), but I want to take one step back, towards second-language education in a general scope.
In terms of [...]

The audacity of hope a foreigner trying to apply for a credit card in Japan, whose hope is ultimately shattered by a rejection letter!
I want to buy a house in Japan; maybe not tomorrow, but someday. In order to buy a house I need credit. It can’t be any credit, though. No [...]

I was about to hop in the shower about 30 minutes ago when the ground began to quake again. Once again, the telltale alarm of the wine glasses clinking together started up.
It was a pretty big shake, so I turned on the news as soon as it stopped (I had my daughter in my [...]

Dear Pacific-right-siders and others interested in our humble existence,
We recently acquired a tool that enables us to document images and sound. We’ve put the mechanism through a series of tests and would like to share a few of the results with you here.

I created a new dish this evening: Sun-dried tomato and gnocchi [...]

I know all of our family and friends out there are in dire need of some LL (Lani Lee) pictures and videos. But here’s the thing - Our cameras have been exceptionally nonfunctional since our big international move.
We’re going to get a new one. I’m not just saying that. We’ve been down [...]

Who’s making news in Japan?
Rockinginhakata.com’s Deas hit a little bit on the issue of balanced coverage in Japanese media of the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election a couple of weeks ago, and it sparked my curiosity.
I ran each name of the three major candidates through Japanese news sites to see how many hits they came out [...]

The first tremors began to hit around 12:30 am, just as I was about to go to sleep last night. The clinking sound of wine glasses was the first sign, then the rolling sensation. The first round lasted about 20 seconds.
Five minutes later came some more shaking. Not as big as the [...]

A protest to protest a protest.
Torch protests could hurt Japan’s ties with China
I might need to begin a protest of my own. A protest to protest the protest of a protest. All I would ask of you, dear readers, is that you kindly protest me afterwards. A protest to protest the protest [...]

Got my Japanese license. It took 3 hours of paperwork and explanations of my driving history in California and Korea, an eye exam, a picture, and ￥4000 (about $40 USD). There were no written or driving tests because of the exchange agreement between Korea and Japan, and I was lucky enough to have [...]