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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 […]

(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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

(updating…) Hopefully, you’ve had chance to look at Let’s Practice Writing Your Kana (Part 1) Hiragana. Let’s move on to kataka, also an important part of the Japanese writing system. For me, learning katakana was a bit more challenging than hiragana because there were so more characters that resemble one another, especially tsu & shi, […]

Let’s continue our list of 100 Japanese verbs you should know. I wanted to break this list down into manageable pieces, so if you haven’t read Part 1 of this article, please do so. I hope you find these verbs useful. In a later article series I will delve into the basics of how to […]

Having a chance to visit the U.S., even though it was just a week, really made me think about how different my life is here in Japan. Different doesn’t necessarily mean better or worse…just different. This spawned the idea to create an article series showing some of the differences between being in Japan and being […]

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 […]