Search Results for: how to

Anybody ever have “Career Day” in elementary school? If not, Career Day was a chance for guest speakers to come to a school to talk about what they do for a living.  This would give kids an idea of the possibilities, of what they could be, what they could do with their lives.  I always […]

Mmm, mmm, mmm! I will be the first one to tell you that a McDonald’s chicken sandwich with a large order of crispy, lightly salted, golden fries followed by the sweet frothiness of Triple Thick Strawberry Milkshake* can be pure taste bud bliss! The effect is intensified when I’m stoically focused on training and eating […]

(updating…) Hopefully you’ve read Part 1 of “How to Use a Japanese ATM” as it shows the essential kanji we’ll be dealing with when using the ATM.  Now, I will show how to do each of the procedures step by step.  First, let’s examine how to do a basic withdrawal: 1. WITHDRAWAL When withdrawing money, […]

Using money is a daily routine for most people, so knowing how to handle basic transactions on an ATM is an essential skill.  Often in Japan you can access machines, at convenience stores & the post office for example, that have an English language option.  If you have access to those kinds of ATMs, that’s […]

I was sitting next to one of my Japanese coworkers today and we were talking about ropeways, cable cars, and just some differences between English and Japanese. For some reason or another, I was flipping through a Japanese textbook of mine, and tucked away index were some Japanese notes I had scribbled to myself. On […]

In a whispered voice…“Yakuza…”. Just saying the word makes me want to look around and make sure nobody’s standing behind me. Yakuza or やくざ is the Japanese term for the Japanese syndicate or for a Japanese mafia member. It’s a subject I have yet to discuss* on this blog, but it’s one that I can’t […]

Hopefully you’ve done the following things from our Part 1 of this article: 1)    Downloaded the application form from the GoLloyd’s website. 2)    Mailed your application & copies of your passport and address card. 3)    Received your GoLloyds welcome materials Let’s take a look at your welcome packet.  Inside you should have received the following […]

Update: Hey Gang! This is a quick note to let you know that GoLloyd’s is now GoRemit a service owned by Shinesei Bank. To register you can go to the English version of the site here: http://www.goremit.jp/index/en. Looks like some more updates are in order 😉 When people consider moving to Japan, one of the […]

I don’t hate winter, but let’s just say it’s my least favorite of the four seasons. Even during Japan’s summer heat and extreme humidity, I would always say “Yeah, it’s really hot out here, but at least being too hot, isn’t as bad as being too cold.” To me, being the Georgia boy that I […]

With the new school year starting and all, I felt compelled to write an article about the best ways to deal with a child that’s misbehaving. If you’re a teacher in America you can communicate to fully, in English, to those students when they are cutting up. Albeit if they’re really bad kids, they’re probably […]

In our Japan Post Bank Account article, we looked at the form you need to fill out in order to get your bank account all squared away. During this process, there was one particular field that was asking for your birthday in imperial years. I never could really remember so with a little calculation, I […]

This is short post that I meant to put up last year, but since my taxes are broken into payments, I think it’s still relevant. When you live in Japan, so many of the things you see and do will be different from back home. However, some things don’t change. If you’re earning income here […]

“Mastering Manga” by Mark Crilley is a book that really enjoyed using! For those of you who want to skip the review and get your own copy, you can click here.  For everyone else, let’s take a closer look at all of the ins and outs of this manga instruction guide. This is the Ultimate […]

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself I’m just this guy, you know? THE TOFUGU BLOG 2.  When exactly did Tofugu start?  In University I ran out of Japanese classes to take, so I somehow convinced one of the teachers to let me set up an independent study where I wrote a blog […]

Yamanote. Hibiya. TX. Keihin-Tohoku. Chuo. Sobu. What do all of these words have in common? Are they the names of the newest hottest anime series from Shonen Jump? Nope, guess again. Are they the Japanese names of Donald’s six illegitimate Japanese children? NO! See?!? that’s how rumors get started! You know what, just forget it. […]

Since coming here in 2008, I’ve gotten to have some downright fascinating discussions about Japanese culture and why certain aspects of the culture are the way they are. A subject that’s been discussed and rehashed, time and time again, is Japanese beauty. Before you call me a chauvinist and put my head on a spike, please […]

You know what? We should have a little bit of fun today. For some reason I have had video games on the brain lately, so I have an incredibly important question to all you. What is your favorite video game franchise? I know it’s a bit random, but I was thinking about this the other […]

When living in Japan, or any other country for that matter, communication is often the primary barrier separates natives from foreigners.  Communication can also make the difference between a great vacation and “hell no, I’m not going there again.”   My first time in a Family Mart (a popular convenience store in Japan) was kind of […]