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Sunday, 27 May 2018

Do Japanese have a Sense of Humour? Laughter, Comedy, and Jokes in Japan

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Click to preview The other day I went to a comedy charity night in Shibuya which featured seven comedians from various countries, inclu...
Sunday, 20 May 2018

Gotta Catch 'em all: Hikikomori Support through Pokemon

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The franchise and monsters known as Pokemon (Pocket Monsters) boast a worldwide following, and few characters are more universally recogni...
Sunday, 13 May 2018

Italy and Japan, Italy in Japan: L'Italia più vicina (Part 2)

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Still no closer to unravelling the mystery of my Italian fan-base (do drop me a line!), but I'll continue with part 2 and more on Itali...
Friday, 4 May 2018

Italy and Japan, Italy in Japan: L'Italia più vicina (Part 1)

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One of the fun things about writing a blog is seeing how many hits the various posts get and which countries the viewers are in. In my 100th...
Saturday, 28 April 2018

Enoshima for Lunch: The Perfect Golden Week Day-Trip

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As mentioned in an earlier post , despite "hard-working" ( kinben =勤勉) being the dominant image of the Japanese, both inside an...
Sunday, 22 April 2018

Guardian Lion-dogs: The Beginning and End of all Things

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Komainu pair with torii gate and fox pair in background One of the ideas behind the blog is to observe the everyday, to stroll the stree...
Saturday, 14 April 2018

Disneyland, Kawaii Culture, and the Rejection of Adulthood

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This Sunday (April 15th) marks the 35th anniversary of the opening of Tokyo Disneyland in 1983. The popularity of Disneyland (and DisneySe...
Sunday, 8 April 2018

Octopus Balls Bridging the East/West Divide

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Takoyaki Pringles - only in Kansai In a previous post I mentioned that in contrast to the UK north/south divide, in Japan the division ...
Saturday, 31 March 2018

Amazing Japanese Bakeries: English Bread, Bean Paste Bread, and Curry Bread

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When once thinks of everyday food in Japan, rice is the first thing that comes to mind. However, bread is also hugely popular; indeed, your ...
Sunday, 25 March 2018

Flying Visit to the Old Capital: Kyoto Travel Tips (Part 2)

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Main sanctuary at Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto Once you've arrived in Kyoto, found a place to stay, and rented a kimono, you're a...