Blog

Mexican Food FINALLY (kind of…) Comes to Nagasaki City!

So if you’re anything like me, one of the only things that seems to make life in Japan seem to drag a bit at times is the distinct lack of Mexican Food available for consumption. I like many of my fellow American compatriots crave a good burrito/taco/quesadilla more than probably any other food stuff on the planet. There’s Mike’s, and Chango’s in Sasebo which I make sure to hit up when I’m in that hood, but since I spend a… Continue reading »

Lecture on the Amazon Rainforest in Higashisonogi on 6/20 2PM-3:30

For those of you who don’t have the benefit of understanding the assemblage of lines known as “Kanji”, the above is a poster for a FREE lecture that will be taking place in Higashisonogi this coming June 20th. The lecture will be given by Ms. Minami Kenko of the Rainforest Foundation Japan based in Tokyo. The lecture will cover such topics as, what we can learn from the native peoples of the Amazon (Ms. Kenko lived with them for many… Continue reading »

List Me Tender

Oh the syntactical sweetness of a list. Books to read and things to do lists, places to see and foods to eat lists. The list goes on. In the months to come, the space of this here page will overflow with your creatively conceptualized lists.

So send me your lists, whatever they may be. 6 Japanese fashion enigmas? The 3 weirdest textured foods you’ve encountered? Top 4 misconceptions about gaijin? 7 things you’d rather be doing than compiling lists?

Alas,… Continue reading »

Nagasaki Hotspots Map

This is a fantastic maleable Google Map created by Mr. Colin Pattison. Check out some of the great places in Nagasaki prefecture that you may not have known about and add your own! This could be an even more valuable tool if we all add together our collective knowledge of this area.

View Nagasaki Hotspots in a larger map

It’s the Little Things

Last December right before winter break, a couple of the 3rd-year girls at the junior high school I work at started writing little notes to me, which they would pass to me discretely after class and in the hallway. These notes soon evolved into short letters, and I was delighted to see the girls develop an interest in using English outside of their class assignments. It was a nice change of pace, considering I got to play the role of… Continue reading »

Boris, The Nihilistic Existentialist’s Metal Band

“Face melting” is kind of a strange musical descriptor right? Well, go and read some Internet reviews of Metal genre devouring trio, Boris’, albums or their live shows and you’ll become well acquainted with the term. Continue reading →

X Japan – Because You Love It

X Japan were and are a rather interesting Japanese phenomenon. As a costumed speed metal band with a penchant for 10 minute balladry they grew to become literally the biggest rock band in the nation. To this day they maintain a somewhat mythic status here in Japan, and have achieved levels frightening devotion unprecedented in the Japanese music universe. They also pretty much single handedly made the visual-kei style of music into a legitimate format for all the other costumed… Continue reading »