While the Tofugu team was in Japan, we were hanging out with some graduates of Kyoto University, one of Japan’s finest schools. We asked them about their alma mater, and they showed us a YouTube video of Kyodai’s graduation ceremony. It wasn’t what I was expecting. Students from this prestigious school were cosplaying at their [...]
If you went to public school in America like me, then you probably don’t have very fond memories of school lunches. Bland chicken-fried steak with overcooked green beans, pizza cut into greasy squares, and tacos of questionable quality filled my childhood years and, in retrospect, I’m not sure how I survived it all. These kind [...]
I’ve noticed something, recently. It’s quiet. Gone are the joyful screams of children. Gone is the pitter-patter of their little feet as they run past the office window. Gone is me yelling at them to get off the lawn, dangnabbit! All the kids are back in school, and that includes old kids going to college [...]
College! The time in your life when you meet new people, try new things, and party! Oh, and I guess you’re supposed to learn a thing or two while you’re at it. For better or worse, college is undoubtedly an important part of a lot of people’s lives. But in Japan, some people question if [...]
Many of you may heard of 棒倒し (botaoshi, literal: knocking-over pole), one of many fine activities to come out of Japan. Is it as awesome as yukigassen or as dangerous as onbashira? How about a little of both? The best way to describe the sport is its mix of capture the flag, rugby, and king of [...]
This article was written by Caitlin O’Mara, who has worked for three years in the Tohoku revion of Japan as an assistant English Teacher. She studies Japanese in her free time and works as a contract web geek, providing that a BA in East Asian Studies is not entirely worthless. She can be found at [...]
