Tiny pants, the garbage police, and the more friends you have, the lonelier you might be There are some things that nobody who moves to Japan wants to learn. But sometimes it’s these unwelcome lessons that unlock all kinds of other mysteries… Is it me, or are these pants just laughably small? The first time IContinueContinue reading “Unexpected drawbacks of being a foreigner in Japan”
Category Archives: Why Japan Why?
Tall noses, small faces & big feet
Japan beauty goals “Your nose is so tall!” No foreigner lives in Japan for long without encountering this strangest of comments, delivered with an inexplicable tone of admiration. But having a big nose is not the only Japanese compliment that sounds like anything but. Here are five Japanese beauty standards that will have you checkingContinueContinue reading “Tall noses, small faces & big feet”
In Japan you can be “Honorably Alone”
How Japan has perfected the experience of eating, drinking and traveling by yourself We’ve all had that awkward experience of having to dine alone in a restaurant—the meek acceptance of the mingey table nearest the swinging kitchen door and the studious attention to an open book so people don’t think we were stood up. InContinueContinue reading “In Japan you can be “Honorably Alone””
Why are Oreos more Japanese than sumo wrestlers?
A classic foreign cookie becomes seriously Japanese In last month’s Japanagram, we talked about turning foreign things Japanese, but I bet you never thought that the most extreme example of that might be…sumo. Foreigners have dominated this most sacred of Japanese sports since 1990. This photo, for example, is Asashoryu, the Mongolian who introduced revolutionary – and, forContinueContinue reading “Why are Oreos more Japanese than sumo wrestlers?”
In Japan, be careful what you wish for
Because you might not get what you had in mind These characters read “ganbaru,” which is usually translated as “good luck.” What they literally mean? “Try hard.” Which explains Japanese culture better than almost anything I know. You think you’re saying one thing, but what someone hears in Japanese can be quite different. For example,ContinueContinue reading “In Japan, be careful what you wish for”
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