jdlawrence
United States
26 years in Japan
I came to Japan from the United States in April 1988 on a one-year scholarship. I intended to stay in Japan for 12 months. That one year became two, which became three, which became four, which became...you know...well, now, 26 years on, I'm still here. You know why? Because it's fun and I like it.
Cruise through the pages of Deep Japan, and you'll find tons of advice on how to ride the trains and get to where you're going. But, did you ever stop to think about *how* and *why* the train system in Japan became like it is? There are way too many train lines to count, and each line has its o…(968 words)
jdlawrence
Tokyo Train Japan History Shibuya Shinjuku Ueno
Ghosts and spirits hold a place in the folklore of many cultures around the world. In the western world, Halloween, observed on October 31st, is a time for scary, spooky tales, while Latin America will celebrate the deceased on the following day, November 1st, in a holiday called “Dia de Muertos…(1369 words)
jdlawrence
Japan Bon Festival History Yurei Yokai Obake Kabuki
For a long time, the ubiquitous sinus medicine Vicks Inhaler was the butt of jokes among resident foreigners in Japan. Signs used to grace airport terminals with the familiar cream-and-green device with a big red "X" imposed over it. The reason, though was rational. Over-the-counter Inhalers so…(1300 words)
jdlawrence
Prescription Drugs Medications English Japan Medicine Cosmetics Guide health Airport
Make no mistake. If you love coffee, Tokyo is one of the best cities in the world. As it is with so many other types of food and drink, you can find just about anything your caffeine-craving soul could want here. Tokyo's love affair with coffee started after the end of World War II, when the G…(808 words)
jdlawrence
Coffee Tokyo City Food Drink Convenience store Shop Cafe
Many people think of France, Spain, Italy, California or, more recently, Australia and Chile, when thinking about wine, and Japan is often thought of as a place where you make Japanese sake or beer. But, did you know that Japan has a winery in the Nakaizu area of Shizuoka prefecture? Nakaizu …(907 words)
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Trip Visit Wine Tokyo Drink Hotel Building Sake (Rice wine)
Japanese pop culture, particularly anime (short for “animation”) has become one of the country’s iconic exports in recent years and many people globally have become acquainted not only with internationally famous anime as Pokemon, but also more eclectic characters as well. An entire subgenre has…(1100 words)
jdlawrence
Anime Tokyo Visit Event Art Music English Fashion Otaku
Certain things go with Japan in summer: fireworks, matsuri (festivals), cold beer on a rooftop and, of course, baseball. Between the months of April through October, you can flip through TV channels and, somewhere, odds are better than even that a game will be shown somewhere. Known as Yakyu (…(586 words)
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Play Baseball Tokyo Summer Yokohama Shinjuku Osaka Game Koshien
In the middle of Tokyo Bay, there sits a handsome, white, 5-story structure remarkable as much for its awkward location as it is for its raw engineering. The artificial island stands there, surrounded by ocean, an unexpected accompaniment to the fishing boats and cargo ships which normally cruis…(776 words)
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Trip Sea Tokyo Restaurant Shopping Highway Chiba Travel
It would be fair to call Japan at once a country blessed by natural beauty and cursed by natural disasters. Sitting on the famed “Ring of Fire”, the country hosts some spectacular and dangerous volcanoes, as well as the all-too-infamous and frequent earthquakes, some of which can wreak unimagin…(1210 words)
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Rain Tokyo Sea Osaka Okinawa Kyushu Typhoon Weather Summer
In our last installment, we discussed the upcoming Smart Cities Week 2014 (SCW 2014) which will be held in Yokohama, Japan this coming October 29-31 at the Pacifico Yokohama Hotel and Convention Center. While the event itself is looking to attract in the area of 50,000 attendees, the concept is …(1500 words)
jdlawrence
Smart Cities Tokyo Train Yokohama Hotel Event Osaka Hospital SCW Wearable Tech
The 4th Smart Cities Week 2014 (SCW 2014) will be held in Yokohama this coming October 29-31 at the Pacifico Yokohama Hotel and Convention Center in the Minato Mirai area of the city and, with it, will come a dizzying array of programs, conferences and exhibits designed to show how the application …(1368 words)
jdlawrence
Smart Cities Tokyo City Yokohama Hotel Event Kyoto Nagoya May SCW
Mt. Fuji, as most of us know, is the highest peak in Japan, standing at 3,776 m (12,388 ft) and it is a very popular tourist destination, with an estimated 320,000 climbers scaling the mountain during the two month summer season (from July 1st to August 31st) annually. The mountain's new new statu…(547 words)
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English Mount Fuji Mountain Mt Fuji 5th Station Shizuoka Summer Tera (Temple) Trip World Heritage Site Yamanashi
To people new to Japan, the Tokyo subway system, stylishly called "Tokyo Metro" is a confusing labyrinth of lines going every which way. Orderly thought and planning, it would appear, seem to be the main ingredients neglected when designing the subway subway system.Once you live here a bit, you …(375 words)
jdlawrence
Tokyo Metro Subway Internet Play Spaghetti Shibuya Train station Smartphone Apps
So, you logged on and were able to touch base with home. Great. Now, you’re ready to leave the airport. What do you do? Well, keep your device in airplane mode. Remember, you will still be hit for international roaming charges if you go over the Japanese networks. So, to answer the last que…(314 words)
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Wi-Fi Hotel Airport Internet Mobile Transportation Subway Shopping
With the ubiquity of smartphones nowadays, the first thing many travelers want to do when reaching their destination is turn on and check in. Whether it is a mail to a loved one or boss, a check in with Facebook or Foursquare or a quick look at the news, flipping on your device and logging on is a…(422 words)
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Airport Internet Mobile Narita International Airport Wi-Fi Kansai Airplane Hotel Region![Nutritious Japanese snacks [a work in progress] images](/content/images/.design/adviceImg.jpg)
The Japanese diet is superior to the western diet in many ways and, although western snacks such as cookies, potato chips and other sweets are easy to find, low cal and nutrition dense foods are easy to find.Let me define my terms here. Low cal are foods that are less than 150 kcal/serving. N…(236 words)
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Tokyo Shopping Convenience store Department store Fruits Rice cracker
Refusing an offer isn't always easy, especially if the offer is for a fun night out at an izakaya. However, if you can't make it, here are some techniques I use to bow out gracefully. Usually, I go for the easy let-down. I feel a too-direct, "Thanks, but I'm not interested," may be too straight-…(165 words)
jdlawrence
Izakaya Zone
True - Happoshu (imitation beer, or, as I call it, "near beer") is a low-malt mixture and sells for less than regular beer. I feel happoshu tends to have a sharper taste.However, if you are looking for a crisp beer taste and are on a budget, then nobody will think the less of you for trying a ha…(92 words)
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Beer Summer
The best way, I feel, to enjoy the Enoden is also the most expensive way - get out at every stop and explore the area. Every stop on the curved route from Fujisawa to Kamakura has little local areas just waiting to be discovered.You can easily make a full day of it, and I highly suggest that you…(101 words)
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Train Kamakura Summer
The Tōkaidō Main Line is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group, connecting Tokyo and Kōbe stations. It is 589.5 km long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. It runs 713.6 km including branch and feeder lines. It is run in cooperation with three railway…(313 words)
jdlawrence
Your best bet is either at a bookstore in your home country before you leave or using resources on the Internet.If you get to Japan without a guide, there are several other options: The airports (Narita and/or Haneda) have English language book stores and there are a number of stores in the city …(122 words)
jdlawrence
Tokyo City Yokohama Shinjuku