Japan loves mascots. I suspect that it might be Disney where the phenomenon started, but I have nothing to back that up. The only places that I see mascots where I’m from, Boston, Mass., is for sports teams and Disney. You take pictures with the mascot because you want to remember your association with the…
I’m starting to think that I should have taken these leveling tests a long time ago. The monthly grind is good, but progress is gradual. Then I take this test and Bam! 2 levels, or 3. Kana has been my strong suit all along, much to my surprise, and this time is no exception. I…
I haven’t written about how Japan is weird for a while. My experience last week was one of the better ones. I’d just finished doing my taxes, an ordeal that no human should be subjected to in any country in any language. I’d expected to be done around mid-morning. But the line– which curved and…
From my hotel to the Japan Writers Conference at Tokushima University last month. Shot on a DJI Osmo. The section through the trees is the best. The frame rate dropped to about one sixth of a second, which made it blur. I think that’s the secret.
I spent the day in Shizuoka today. Despite having lived in the country for 18 years or so, I’d never really spent much time here. One time I visited a friend in Hamamatsu, but I never got outside the city. This time I drove. A lot of it highway, but then I got off the…
Leveled up in kana and kanji, both. Still giving the pen a break. Below is the kana that the powers that be liked. Lots of pre-hiragana, semi-kanji letters. Now 4-kyu, which means I ranked up 6 times. I need about 7 more to reach a dan. Here is my kanji that leveled up. It’s…
Went away last weekend to Nagano with the fam. I asked them where they’d like to go if they had a weekend and this is what they picked. They picked it because of a TV show, Taiga Drama. It is a period drama, usually with lots of swords, horses, armor, and the like. This one…
