Culture & Society « GaijinPot In Japan Blogs

Culture & Society

Learning Japanese: What I Learned From Eight-Year-Olds: March 9th, 2010By Jamie Rockers; I teach eight-year-old Japanese kids English. Or at least I attempt to. Most of the time, I am learning something from them instead of vice-versa. They are my little Japanese teachers and I’ve picked up a lot of language skills from them. Although I might sound like an eight-year-old when I speak Japanese, I think » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments

Autumn in Aoyama: December 5th, 2009By shibuya246; Autumn is a great time of year in Japan. The weather has turned away from the muggy hot summer and the leaves on the trees are turning yellow and reddish colors, then falling to the ground below. Winter might be just around the corner, but walking the streets of Tokyo in Autumn, you hardly even » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments

Pop a (pretty difficult) squat: October 21st, 2009By Sylvia Saracino; Here is a challenge for you: try to squat just like the little boy in the picture. He was tired of walking all over the zoo and decided to just rest for a second. Notice how his knees are touching and his feet are perfectly flat, yet he had no problem balancing his weight for » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments

Heaven on a stick! Kiritampo in the fall in Akita: October 16th, 2009By Malcolm Ernst; » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments

First Impressions: August 31st, 2009By Christina Bell; When my parents visited Japan a few summers ago, we spent two weeks taking in every major attraction in Tokyo. We made the complete rounds, from Harajuku to Asakusa. In addition to the usual observations about the many startling differences in culture, one statement was repeatedly uttered by my jetlagged, overheated mother. She would stop » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments

My first day of work: August 10th, 2009By eggsbenn; When I came to Japan, I had no job, no place to stay, and only a landing visa which gave me about 90 days to stay in the country. Luckily, my brother’s ex-girlfriend who lived in Sendai allowed me to crash at her apartment and helped me find a job. I » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments

A day at Nebuta: August 6th, 2009By eggsbenn; Sunday, August 2nd 2009, was the opening of another year of the Nebuta festival. Held in Aomori city, Aomori prefecture (http://www.nebuta.or.jp/english/index_e.htm), this festival hosts over 3, 5 million people over a 7 day span. It’s one of the biggest festivals in the Tohoku area and, I would argue, one of the » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments

My first time: August 3rd, 2009By Bxtacular; On my very first visit to Japan, we met up with some friends of friends who also happened to be traveling in Japan at the time. After a sushi dinner we headed to Club Yellow, in Roppongi (which is now closed) and tried to figure out plans for the next few days. » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments

Street Dancing Battle: July 30th, 2009By Lieske Leynen; I’ve never been good at dancing, but that has never stopped me from trying before. Usually my dancing is done in the privacy of my home or the in the confines of a karaoke booth where my friends admire my complete lack of rhythm and hand-eye coordination, the combination of which is quite fantastic. It » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments

The Reincarnated Jesus Christ in Japan: July 30th, 2009By Roxy; “I hope you will come. The temple is such a wonderful place and there are so many nice people there. All your stress will go away if you visit there,” my friend Akiko said to me one day, as we were eating lunch together. Akiko was my language-exchange partner and we often studied together » Continue Reading; CommentsView Comments