Category Archives: Japan

Japanese and American food: big differences

Here’s a picture of a meal I enjoyed with my family at a local Starbuck’s in Japan. I ordered my usual: iced soy latte and a cinnamon roll. I can get the same thing in Seattle or anywhere in the … Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Travel | Tagged | 2 Comments

My (mis)adventures in Ajikan Meditation

Recently, I was invited by reader and fellow blogger “Johnl” to attend a class on the Shingon meditation technique called ajikan (阿字観). This is a meditation technique in Shingon Buddhism that seems pretty similar to other, more familiar, forms of … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Japan, Shingon, Travel | 2 Comments

This is Tokyo.

Hi all, Last week, I met fellow blogger and photographer, “Cocomino” for lunch (my wife and daughter came too). We had a great time, and Cocomino kindly took us over to the Tokyo Metropolitan Office or tochō (都庁) for short. … Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Photography, Travel | Tagged | 7 Comments

Fireworks Shows in Japan: Hanabi Taikai

Hi guys, A while back, I posted about fireworks shows in Japan, or hanabi taikai (花火大会), but I usually go to Japan in December/January, so I never get to see them. Since I visited Japan in August this year, I … Continue reading

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Space Brothers and other fun

As folks here may recall, I am a fan of a certain manga called Space Brothers in Japan. There’s no English translation, but I read in Japanese to help my own language learning. Anyhow, I was in the US when … Continue reading

Posted in Astronomy, Japan | 2 Comments

Dog Days of Summer… In Japan

Hi folks, I am here in Japan. We had a very crazy, stressful day leading up to the trip due to bad luck, plus some lack of preparation, but the flight over was quite good. We flew with ANA this … Continue reading

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Teaching Japanese Poetry to Kids

My daughter is now five years old and she attends a couple different preschools. One is American while the other is Japanese. Also, she attends a little “after school” Japanese class where she learns things like reading, culture and so … Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Literature | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Nuclear Weapons Are No Joke

Hi all, On a more serious matter, August 6th is the memorial for the Hiroshima atomic bombing, and August 8th is the memorial for the Nagasaki. Because of the timezone differences, my wife, daughter and I watched the memorial for … Continue reading

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KPop Saturdays: Brown-Eyed Girls “One Summer Night” 한 여름밤의 꿈

I really thought this was a great video by Brown Eyed Girls, and a touching summer story: Brown Eyed Girls is a more mature group, and most of their songs are fierce (Sixth Sense), heart-breaking, and/or risqué (e.g. Abracadabra), but … Continue reading

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Japanese Buddhism in the Community

I was inspired by a couple stories from the Japan Times about Buddhist priests in Japan from a few weeks ago. But first a brief explanation of Buddhist clergy in Japan. Usually, the term “monk” in Buddhism or bhikkhu implies … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Japan, Jodo Shu, Politics, Religion | 2 Comments