Culture & Society « GaijinPot Blog Network: Japan’s best blogs

Culture & Society

Do It at Home: Train Manners in Japan: November 11th, 2009By Japheth Worthy; I must say that I really enjoy the rail system in Japan. Coming from Motor City (Detroit, MI) that statement can be seen as a form of heresy. When I first came to Japan though, I would use trains to venture out into the city almost every weekend, but ever since I moved an hour » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

Kiyosu Castle: November 11th, 2009By Iain Maloney; While the Sixties bring to mind images of hippies, Woodstock, students on the street, The Beatles on a rooftop and Jimi’s guitar on fire, the decade wasn’t all colour and light. In Japan, from the late Fifties through the Sixties, while campuses became battlegrounds, a government project to rebuild national pride was underway. Only four » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

Is Chivalry Dead in Tokyo?: November 9th, 2009By Jessica Korteman; Often people comment on the civility of Japanese train stations: people queuing on the platform in two lines before splitting down the middle into single file when the train arrives to allow room for those disembarking. The platform is marked to indicate precisely where the doors will open on a three or four door train » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

A drink with a difference: November 9th, 2009By robinsuke; On a recent night out at house party in Denenchofu, one GaijinPot Blogger encountered Momiji Umeshu. Umeshu is, for the unfamiliar, a Japanese liqueur made from Ume (prunes) drenched in alcohol for a period of time and distributed in striking bottles. The taste of umeshu is somewhere in between sweet and sour and for those that » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

The exotic erotic bijin poetess, Ono no Komachi: November 6th, 2009By Malcolm Ernst; Hey all, it’s me, Akie your Akita bijin in one of my funky moods. I am lying here on my futon after my ofuro (bath) thinking about one of my favorite historical figures, the legendary Ono no Komachi. Now, if you look back at my past blogs, you’ll notice that I mentioned her and told you » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

The Okinawan Rain Kami-sama: November 5th, 2009By Keith Graff; My good friend Mike, who’s lived on Okinawa for decades, has a theory! It goes that whenever the Okinawan’s plan a party, the weather will hold off for as long as the event is scheduled for. Now by party, I mean festivals. Okinawa could easily be described as the island of festivals cause no matter » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

Art to look down on!: November 4th, 2009By Ryan Solberg; 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 » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

The flavor of fall-Akita fruit: October 30th, 2009By Malcolm Ernst; Welcome back friends, neighbors, and anyone with an Internet connection! By now you should know my name, but if this is your first time popping in, I’m Akie. I live here in Akita Prefecture, and this blog is all about Akita, what makes it great, and occasionally, if you are nice, I will » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

GaijinPot Video: Behind the scenes of Japan Fashion Week: October 30th, 2009By George Stobart; Japan Fashion Week wrapped up last week in Tokyo Midtown, the event passed a lot of people in the international press by, but Tokyo still remains the place where H&M, Forever 21 and a host of other major brands battle for every last millimeter of retail space. We took the chance to find out what one of the professionals attending the » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

Rules of Hostessing: October 28th, 2009By Roxy; As a hostess (and the only foreigner) at one very highly respected club in Kitashinchi, Osaka’s hostess club hotspot in Umeda, I am fortunate to meet a lot of interesting people in my work. Some are nice and some are not but I have come to look at what I do as a chance to » Continue Reading; CommentsComments