In Japan's long history, there are lots of instances of foreign culture unexpectedly seeping into Japanese culture. It's why a stapler is called a “Hotchkiss” in Japanese, and why a lot of Japanese choirs have a Croatian … [Read more...]
Japanese curry or kare (カレー) is one of Japan’s most beloved dishes: 92% of Japanese give it the thumbs up, and on average eat it more than once a week. It’s no surprise considering it’s a regular fixture … [Read more...]
One of my top recommended places for those of you planning a trip to Japan, Mt. Koya (AKA Koyasan) is a must see and must go-to in my book. Whether you're looking to get away from it all, relax, or just be amazed, Mt. Koya … [Read more...]
Today we're going to explore how kimono pockets evolved into the popular phone charms that the Japanese people seem to be so fond of. I know, seems like a pretty unlikely progression, right? Kimono pockets to phone charms? … [Read more...]
This year has been a good year for spy movies; both the American The Bourne Legacy and the British Skyfall were released in 2012 to generally good reviews and earned oodles and oodles of cash. But these movies got me … [Read more...]
The first geisha were men. No they weren't cross-dressers, and no they weren't gigolos either. The taikomochi (also known as houkan), were the original geisha of Japan and they were manly man men. I bet you didn't know … [Read more...]