Category Archives: being Gaijin/I live in Japan

Drums.  This morning I awoke to the sound of beating drums and the loud and high-pitched voices of children.  The leader shouted something and the group shouted back, in unison.  What were they saying?  I don’t know.  Maybe… “What time … Continue reading →

These past couple of weeks it seems as though there have been few things on my mind, mainly anything and everything pertaining to when I’m leaving this country, the countries I might visit before I do and the visa status … Continue reading →

Yesterday I was eating my lunch/dinner outside of McDonalds and I noticed a small group of old people sitting nearby, eyeing me: 2 old women with small dogs and 1 stooped and stubbly old man. The old man got up … Continue reading →

My Japanese work visa expires on 9/13. After the 13th I’m not allowed to work in Japan, and without a visa I’m not actually allowed to stay here either. If I overstayed my visa they wouldn’t necessarily deport me, but … Continue reading →

To non-Japanese speakers I ‘speak’ Japanese. To non-native Japanese speakers I don’t speak Japanese. To a great deal of Japanese people my “nihongo wa jouzu desu!” Japanese is good. Here is an example: one time I was ordering food at … Continue reading →

On Monday following the typhoon, a Japanese national holiday, an earthquake struck at about 10:15 am off the coast of Niigata prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. Pictures in the media showed families sitting outside observing the wreckage of their collapsed wooden … Continue reading →

These past few days in Tokyo have been very prominent for Mother Earth. Over the weekend typhoon #4 came through. It’s been cool and rainy for a couple of weeks now, but at some point the rainy season morphed into … Continue reading →