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Miso is one of the most common soup broths here in Japan, if you take a look at my Ramen article, some of the others include Tonkotsu (pork bones), shio (salt), and shoyu (soy sauce). What is Miso exactly? Well, it really seems that in Japanese cooking employs many soybean derivatives…miso is no different. Though […]

Many a foreigner will confess that Japan can be a super easy place to live. For those who have been here for maybe two years or longer, you may start to experience that cycle. You told your family and friends that Japan was temporary, that you’d just be here for a year. One year becomes […]

This is a retro post that I did on Setsubun. Before I put the video in it’s proper place, I’ll let everyone see it first. ENJOY 🙂 It’s that time again. It’s time for the bright red and bright blue oni (demons) to rear their evil heads only to be relentlessly attacked with roasted beans! […]

The other day I got an INCREDIBLY funny video from my friend Kouichi (bro, you’re always sending me cool stuff, thanks!). This Funny or Die Sketch was probably was about Captain Planet. Does anybody remember that cartoon? There were the five teenagers (I assume they were teenagers anyway) from different parts of the world who […]

For some reason I have a case of Japanese Folklore on the brain. Ever since I did that post about “The Ten Japanese Folktales You Should Know,” I’ve been a bit more sensitive to Japanese story references. I rented three anime DVDs from Tsutaya (my local, Japanese video rental shop) of some of Japan’s better […]

You know what I noticed about ice-cream in Japan? Some of the flavors are REALLY different, just things I wouldn’t have thought of making into ice cream. When I first came to Japan, one of the the things that struck me as interesting was how much smaller the containers of ice cream were in Japan. […]

Okay, so it’s on the the next set. ENJOY! 46.子- The Japanese symbol for child. Also the rat in the Chinese zodiac. On-yomi: シ shi、スsu Kun-yomi:　こ ko Sentence:　子どものとこ、たくさんえいがいをみました。Kodomo no toki, takusan eiga wo mimashita. When I was a child, I watched a lot of movies. 47.京- The kanji for capital. On-yomi: N/A Kun-yomi: キョウ kyou、ケイkei […]

As you may or may not know, there are two types of Japanese toilets. One type, the western style toilet, is very near and dear to my heart because I been using it since I was just a little lad. The other type of toilet, the eastern style, is very different from what I’m used […]

…read Part 1 of this article… Wait, are you supposed to start with the bad news first? Damn it! Ah well, I won’t say anything if you don’t. Let’s take a look at some of the downsides of my first year as an ALT in Japan. THE NOT SO GOOD I’ll try to say these […]

I had an awesome birthday! It was one of the most relaxing birthdays that I’ve ever had. I can’t say it was the best birthday because back home I remember having a couple of small get-togethers with family and friends that were quite cool. But this one definitely ranks up there somewhere, but for different […]

If you’ve been living in Japan for a while you’ve probably had to set up a bank account, apply for a phone, sign a job contract…something that requires your signature. If you’ve ever signed for something, have you ever wondered why that signing space for most Japanese documents is so freakin’ small? Well, the reason […]

I’ll be honest with you, I AM a Disney fan and I have been since I was just a little guy. I mean how can I not like a studio who has a duck named “Donald” as one of their most beloved characters? I used to hate that connection in elementary school, though. Everybody thought […]

You know, all this time I thought the giant Gundam in Odaiba was just that…a statue. Did you know it was battle-ready??? NO JOKE!! I was standing there taking pictures when this music came on and the Gundam machine started moving its head. The Gundam’s eyes lit up, and some steamed from the robot. I […]

As you probably know, earthquakes are quite common in Japan, maybe more so than any country in the world. If you’ve ever experienced an earthquake, it can be a bit unsettling (especially for foreigners). But when the bigger ones happen, the same idea runs through everyone’s mind…that panic, that fear, that “What Should I Do?” […]

It’s official…Japan is now creating functional, humanoid robot war machines!! Ahhhhh! Not really, but over the weekend I did see Japan’s giant Gundam statue in Odaiba City, Japan. I have wanted to see this statue ever since I got here, but have never been lucky enough to catch it. When I first came to Japan, […]

Visiting forums about the Japanese language, or any language for that matter, can provide some great insight into people’s presumptions about learning languages. There is always one common tiff as to whether an adult who starts learning English can ever truly be fluent. There is that age-old adage you have to start learning a language […]

Is anybody out there a Nickelodeon fan? No, I mean a REAL Nickelodeon fan! I want you to rewind the clock…Snick!? Oh man, that would be an awesome place to stop because it was the first time I ever saw Doug, Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy, and Are You Afraid of the Dark…but keep going. I’m […]

I just got back to Japan yesterday evening. I lugged my bags into my ride, and napped on the way home. I got my things into my apartment and got a good night’s rest. This morning, I woke up, unpacked some things and took a nice, hot shower and got dressed. I was a nice […]

Video Transcript Hey this is Donald with thejapanguy.com and this is Japan talk Session 2. In our last discussion we were talking about whether or not there was a pecking order among foreigners when it comes to workplace. This was gonna be a two-part series So with the second part I wanted to see: “Is […]