#CCBC is taking the #PPAP
We’ve all seen ‘Pen Pineapple Apple Pen’ by now, yeah? This song’s been permanently on the lips of every Japanese schoolkid for weeks. I heard it on repeat in the changing rooms at the pool, in the park, on the bus, at karaoke… My summer’s been fun, suffice to say. I’ve even had the occasional […]
Too much of a good thing
This week, I moved from Kansai (western Japan) to Kanto (eastern Japan). Osaka and the rest of Kansai has been really good to me. In the way grandmothers are good to you because they constantly ask you to eat more cake. I stuffed my face with all of the fried, baked, generally not-all-that-healthy things the […]
Staying warm from the bottom up
When it gets cold – and it does, rather quickly once October’s over – Japan’s many drugstores, department stores and variety shops have plenty on hand to keep you cosy. Heated carpet? We’ve got that. Microwaveable foot blanket? Step right up. One thing you’ll see everywhere is kairo, bundles of little heat packs you can […]
It’s tea, Jim, but not as we know it
I’ve been inspired to write this because I’ve been chosen to do a reading at the upcoming launch of Kamihikouki Magazine’s seventh issue. (I guess it’s unlikely I’ll see many/any of you there, but come if you can.) The theme of the issue is ‘tea’. So, the theme of this post is ‘tea’ too. A […]
It looked better on paper
So yours truly ended up taking part in a paper plane throwing contest. I’m going to be cheeky and suggest it was ‘sort of’ a Japanese thing to do. There was some origami involved, after all. Nothing like folding bits of paper on a wobbly craft table to make you feel more like a local. […]
Out-of-home advertising? It’s a bre(e)ze
The Dotonbori river is a body of water I wander alongside quite often. There’s usually something going on along the riverside – something you can hear before you get to it. Like, we’ve had Hawaiian dancing, samurai sword demos… an idol group dancing on one side of the river while fans with glowsticks dance like […]
