I don't remember my first encounter with Hello Kitty. I have memories of being aware of her existence sometime in the late nineties, but there was no memorable first meeting. For me, Kitty-chan was neither here nor there. … [Read more...]
After people learn that I’ve spent a stretch of time in Japan, they will inevitably ask something along the lines of “What’s the craziest thing you saw over there?” or “What’s the craziest thing that happened to you over … [Read more...]
I am, as my name may suggest, Japanese. I was born to ordinary Japanese parents, and I grew up like any other Japanese girl would in the outskirts of Tokyo. I grew up drinking bottles of Yakult, eating things like natto, … [Read more...]
馬鹿 (Baka) means stupid in Japanese and came from the Sanskrit word "baka" which means for "ignorance" and "illusion." In Japan, the usage of "baka" started at the end of the Kamakura period (1185–1333). Nowadays we use … [Read more...]
Editor's Note: Since Austin wrote about what it's like being East Asian while living in Japan, I thought it was appropriate to follow it up with Lenna's experience joining a club at her university and what she had to go … [Read more...]
Being an ethnic Chinese person living in Japan, I don’t exactly stand out from the typical Japanese person. Sometimes, I get comments from some of my other gaijin friends that it should be easier for me – after all, in a … [Read more...]