Japan it UP!

Question: Luwyn writes in: Hi, I hope you can help direct me to some Chihuahua breeders in Japan as their websites are incredibly difficult to find online! Is there a Japanese Kennel Club, or a national Chihuahua Club? Thanks very much! Answer: Hi Luwyn. Sorry but I lost contact with the breeder that gave us [...]

Walking downtown I saw a vendor selling Takoyaki on a stick for 200 yen. I thought wow! I could really use some takoyaki right about now! And I decided to grab some of these tasty octopus treats at a great value! It’s strange to have a piece of wood go through the takoyaki because there’s [...]

The Q&A section of my blog is kind of new. People like my “contact me” link on the blog! Every month I get asked some questions and many tend to be similar so I thought I’d share a few along with my answers. Note: I don’t teach English and I don’t work for a Japanese [...]

Here are some links I found pretty cool and wanted to pass along. Here’s some cool rice paddy art. Way better than crop circles! Some advice on studying Japanese. In the end, it’s all about what works best for you. JPop group Perfume appeared live the other day, but what’s cool is they have a [...]

Question: Leah writes in – Am writing a short piece for Telegraph Expat on the new skype iphone/ipod app and wondered if you’d be interested in commenting on it, as an expat user? Would be good to know whether it’s been useful for you and your expat friends, and what you think of it! Answer: [...]

The other day a huge tuna was caught off Japan and was sold for 3.2 million yen (36,700 dollars). That’s a hefty price tag, running around 7200 yen per kg. It was caught near the Nagasaki prefecture which is below Fukuoka and Saga prefectures. Here’s a quote (and picture) from the article (Google News). A [...]

How do you get a job in Japan besides teaching English? What are wages and working conditions like for Americans and other foreigners living and working in Japan? These are a few questions I’m often asked. To help people out on their journey to living and working in Japan, Cornelius from Life in Japanimation wrote [...]

I’ve been following a blog called Channel-Ai for a quite some time. It has a lot of great information about the latest Jpop releases, translated interviews, news, and reviews. If you’re interested in learning more about Japanese Pop you should check out the site!

The first time I fell asleep on the train I was surrounded by mountains! There are no mountains on the train line near where I live so I knew I fell asleep. The good thing is I can hop off at a stop, cross over, and catch the train back at no extra charge because [...]

People like my “contact me” link on the blog! Every month I get asked some questions. A lot tend to be the same questions so I thought I’d share a few along with my answers. Here’s the first one. If you have more to add, feel free to do so in the comment section. Question: [...]

A friend of mine created a site that teachers can use in the classroom, it’s basically web-based quizzes and surveys for students. Looks like it’s great for iPhones. It’s called MOARS (Mobile Audience Response System). moars is designed to be used with students. This is not an iPhone app — the students use mobile web-based [...]

For those that don’t know, “sakura” are the cherry blossoms that grace Japan every year. “Hanami” is a “flower viewing” which can be romantic but usually turns into a huge drunken party under the cherry blossoms far into the evening. And “Kyoto” is just some city in Japan. Alright, alright, Kyoto is a beautiful city [...]

Wow, I haven’t posted for quite some time! I’ve been traveling SE Asia for the last 9 months and haven’t been back to Japan since. I do have some interesting things to still share, and I’ve answered questions I’ve been emailed every 2 weeks so I hope to post some answers because I’ve been getting [...]

It’s not as hard as it looks. When I first came to Japan almost 2 years ago I didn’t know anything and Japanese culture never interested me that. Wow have things changed! Asia is great, and Japan is pretty sweet. Everybody learns differently and some may learn faster or slower than other people, but here’s [...]

I remember the beatbox thing being so cool when I was a  kid, but as I got older nobody was that impressive… until now. This 18 year old Japanese guy is awesome. I thought the whistling part was sweet, but then he started doing the scratch effect… whoa! He made this video to try and [...]

I’ve been using U.S. based (I think) services on my Google homepage to check the weather in Japan for over a year and the results have been just ok. Sometimes the Fukuoka weather forecast is accurate, but a lot of times it’s off. For example WeatherUnderground or Google’s weather widget will say it’s going to [...]

Are you visiting Japan for just a short time? Here’s a quick list of things that I think are important to bring to make your stay less worrisome and more enjoyable. If you have any suggestions that I didn’t mention, feel free to leave them in the comments section. Debit Card and $100 - Many [...]

When you’re living abroad, keeping in touch with your friends and family doesn’t have to be expensive. Instead of using calling cards, I recommend Skype for calling international from Japan, it’s a life saver! It’s cheap, light weight, and works on any PC with a mic and headphones or headset. This is a great service [...]

Monthly fee? About $65 or 6200 Yen. Until the end of May, Softbank is running a campaign where you can get a free 8GB iPhone or a cheap 16GB iPhone. The Internet plan has been reduced in price during the campaign too. I thought about getting one. I currently have a Samsung 709SC and I’m [...]

I started my blog when I first moved to Japan for a number of reasons. I wanted to document my experiences first hand so I could look back on my life, I wanted to share some experiences with some friends and family (especially my brother), and I wanted to prevent boredom or feeling isolated. Things [...]

I went hiking with a friend of mine recently. We rode our bikes about an hour to the east side of Fukuoka and hiked to the top of a mountain. I took just a few pictures, but recorded a lot more (which I don’t have online). It’s called Tachibanaiyama or Touchybunny or something, I don’t [...]

Took a picture of this bag at a department store. An animal and relations will become good. Animals are alive with nature. It is a friend wholly. Add a “Booyah!” and you’ve got an awesome bag!

Fish, chicken, eggs, salad, rice, miso soup, delicious, healthy, variety, bright, perfect.

Sounds like a name from the Sopranos! I don’t know who Tony Tanaka is, but he looks serious and I’m assuming his beauty school kicks major ass. It has to, he’s right there in your face saying he’s Tony Tanaka and this is his school! I pass by this sign every day so it deserves [...]

Cold noodles are awesome. You take them out of the cold water, dip it in the sauce, and enjoy. Add  perfectly boiled egg, fruit, and vegetables, and you’ve got an energizing meal! I’d say cold noodles are in the top 10 of my favorite Japanese foods.