If you live in Japan or planning to visit, make sure you occasionally look down otherwise you might miss something beautiful. Japan is big on art and you can find several paintings and sculptures in every city. There is one form of art that a lot of people miss, gaijin and Japanese alike.

I’ve lived in japan for almost 5 years and visited about 10 times in the last 13 years and until recently I always missed it. I’ve talked to several Japanese who’ve also never noticed. So what is this form of art that many people miss? (more…)

YouTube has become a great way for people to learn about life in Japan. There are channels dedicated to every aspect of Japan, from train-spotting to beer reviews. Vlogs have become a popular forum for people living here to talk about their experiences. Vloggers have created a great community with any information you ever wanted to know about life, jobs, and travel in Japan.

ElevenColors is a Japan vlogger who has both an English and Japanese channel. He makes a variety of videos including footage of his band’s performances and stories about his experiences in Japan. He was kind enough to participate in a quick interview on what brought him to Japan and YouTube. (more…)

YouTube has become a great way for people to learn about life in Japan. There are channels dedicated to every aspect of Japan, from train-spotting to beer reviews. Vlogs have become a popular forum for people living here to talk about their experiences. Vloggers have created a great community with any information you ever wanted to know about life, jobs, and travel in Japan. (more…)

My interest in this album started back in Scotland in 2007 during the Triptych festival. Indie senpai The Pastels were joined onstage by Saya and Takashi from Tenniscoats and the music they played captivated the audience until an amplifier blew and stopped the show. I stocked up on Tenniscoats albums – of which there are many, under various guises – and became a firm fan. Periodically tantalising comments would appear online about a proposed record collaboration between the two bands. Indie otaku waited with baited breath and increasing impatience until suddenly, this summer, Geographic and Domino Records announced the release of Two Sunsets, preceded by the single Vivid Youth. (more…)

Games To Dust

A Weekly Look Into Video Game Culture From A Casual Point Of View

By: Bren Inou

Dancing The Night Away…

My name is Bren Inou. I’am the creater,producer and head writer on Games To Dust. A weekly blog about the casual life of a casual gamer. I don’t play a ton of video games. I wish I did,but life and responsibility has made sure I spend everyday working. I’am a former resident of Japan and very much enjoyed the time I spent there. I do plan to move back when everything is settled here. But for now I continue to write these blogs and I will continue to do so when I return to Japan. (more…)

Any foreigner who’s been in Japan for a while can tell you that there’s a lot of ups and downs to living life out here. As a country, Japan seems to prize itself on it’s homogeny, and as such, one sees everything from  the Japanese government’s 1986 proud announcement of it’s ‘mono-ethnicity’ (despite having a multitude of indigenous ethnic minorities, populations of people who migrated from southeast and far east Asia over the centuries, and a continuingly growing population of people with mixed nationalities)  to the fact that when asked for their personal opinion on a matter, locals will often respond, “Well, we Japanese think…”. As a foreigner out here this translates into living an existence where both all of your strengths and all of your weaknesses stem from the fact that you are blistering different, and few books I’ve read have so eloquently and honestly portrayed that fact as Wayne Aponte’s ‘The Year of No Money in Tokyo”. (more…)

Hi, Everyone! It’s me Akie, your favorite Akita Bijin! Today I have another treat for you! We at Akita Bijin Inc. interviewed this welcomed addition to Akita; I want to tell you about my new friend Ayumi. She’s a lovely person and I had a lot of fun talking about all things bijin. I’m sure you’ll love reading about her as much as I did.

Ayumi is a dancer, and from looking at her I can tell she definitely keeps herself in shape. I mean, she has limbs that would make a tree jealous! Me too! Dancing must be a great way to keep oneself healthy and beautiful. Ayumi says that exercise is the key to anyone wanting to be …Bijin! She does a nightly stretching routine, Yoga classes twice a week, and of course dancing. Ayumi told me, “being a dancer, I am always concerned about my body and it’s overall condition…And yes, I am concerned about weight control.” Well, I can tell you she has nothing to be concerned about! (more…)

Hollywood’s infamous dark knight took its inspiration from none other than Samurai legend, Date Masamune. While many people may have assumed Darth Vader’s ultimate evil persona was based on Dick Cheney, according to the City of Sendai homepage, it was its own larger than life shadowy ruler.

Before the 1977 release of Star Wars, which became a legend in its own right, director, George Lucas, called up the curator of the Sendai City Museum, and requested photos of Masamune’s helmet and armor. Indeed, the jet black suits, facemask, and curvature of the helmets, show a striking resemblance. The famed light sabre could also be compared to the swords of samurai.
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