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If you’ve never used chopsticks before coming to Japan, this may take a little bit of practice. I’ve been using them since I was a little kid (maybe around seven)*. If you take the “I’m just having fun” approach to using chopsticks, you’ll save yourself a ton of frustration. If you’ve never used them before, […]

If you were trying to get your Pasmo or Suica card to help you get around a little bit more easily in Japan, I hope tutorial articles were easy enough to follow, and I hope you have your new Pasmo or Suica Card in hand. Now that you have it, what exactly can you do […]

Now let’s look at how to get a Suica Card. Essentially the processes to get a Pasmo and a Suica are exactly the same. Even the names of the buttons you have to touch in order to complete the process are nearly identical. What’s going to be different about this particular post is that I’m […]

If you had a chance to check out the last post, you now know what a Pasmo Card is and what a Suica card is. If you didn’t have a chance to look at the previous post, no worries: you can click right here to go straight to it. Even if you’re just visiting Japan, […]

I have a short, money-matter post for your today. But why would it be short when it’s a finance-related post? Well, the reason this a shorter money-matters post is because it’s SUPER EASY to pay your bills in Japan. From Japanese utility bills to internet to tax payments, taking care of those recurring Japanese bills […]

This is just is follow-up to How to Play Kendama, Part 1.” I guess I needed to prove that I’m not all talk 😀 . You’ll see from the video that I’m not an expert at this game, just a mere beginner actually. But this will show you the basics in action. Enjoy! Thanks for […]

Looks like it’s that time again. It’s time to register for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. In this tutorial, we’ll cover, step-by-step, how to register for the JLPT online (here in Japan).The JLPT is the standard many foreigners use to measure their Japanese chops. This exam tests your vocabulary, kanji, grammar, listening and reading knowlege. […]

Rice in Japan/Asia is as popular and as ubiquitous as bread is in to America. Odds are if you’re going to be living in Japan, you’re going to be eating more rice than you were accustomed to in the United States or your respective country. Rice is great because it’s incredibly easy to make, and […]

Your bank account is the crux of nearly all of your day-to-day financial dealings, regardless of the country you live in. Let’s look at how to open a Japanese bank account – specifically how to open a Japan Post bank account.We’ll examine three different parts of opening your Japan Post bank account:Where to goWhat you […]

I had no prior experience with Japanese before coming here (save a few Japanese CDs a month or two in advance). I came knowing absolutely nothing about how the language worked. But, once here, I went to my local bookstore and got my hands on a few books that taught me the basic rules. This […]

Washing your clothes is a pretty important, basic skill, one that you might often take for granted.  Honestly, wouldn’t it suck so bad to have to wear dirty clothes all the time?  Eventually the smells from your clothing’s everyday use would get so bad that you’d offend everyone around you.  You’d be ousted from social […]

The Japanese writing system is an interesting one indeed. Learning hiragana (the most basic of the Japanese system), learning katakana (used for loan words or foreign words) and learning kanji are the three essentials of being able to read and write. Japanese is perhaps one of the more complex writing systems of the modern world. I […]

Japanese Ramune (日本のラムネ), Fun in a Bottle This week I tried Ramune for the very first time. I was watching this Japanese comedy over the weekend and there was this man who had to pretend to be afraid of everything. When he’d open the refrigerator…he’s scream, when he’d turn on the television…he’d scream and when […]

A little while back my friend Regina sent me an email because she had questions about visa status changes. Honestly I couldn’t remember the exact procedures that I followed. Not right off the bat, anyway. The search for info was on… I scrounged around my apartment and was able to dig up everything that I […]

I was so happy to get a free washing machine!! Okay, well I won’t say free because I paid a family 2000 yen to get the washing machine to my place. But let’s say it was nearly free. Anyhow the washer has been sitting in my bathroom for the last few days. I took a […]

A common question I get here at the Japan Guy Blog is how to get started learning Japanese. It’s a HUGE question and it’s part of the reason I’ve been a bit absent lately (sorry to all the Japan Guy readers out there). But this is the book that got me started and I hope […]

Mochi is probably one of the chewiest Japanese foods you can possibly eat. In its hot, ground, raw form, I think someone could replace Spiderman’s web cartridges with mochi, and Spidey wouldn’t even be able to tell the difference. What is Mochi? Some dictionaries define mochi as a “Japanese rice cake,” but after seeing how […]

In a previous post I mentioned to you that there have been some pretty significant changes to Japan’s Immigration System, many of which are changes for the better. For example, those with a valid Japan work visa, unless you’re staying out of the country for longer than a year, you reentry will be as simple […]