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This silkscreen painting is hung in the corridors, across from the teachers’ office. “A world where the stronger prey upon the weaker.”. In this setting, the words are true in so many ways. The third year students will graduate this coming December. Most of them have no idea what they want to do, other than … Continue reading »

Walking into work today, I saw this and felt envious of the guy cleaning the windows. This is a janatorial job, but who cares if you get to swing around on a rope on a tall building in downtown Namba? I’m sure that this job is not as romantic as it seems, but seeing him … Continue reading »

The quintessential Chink stereotype is so much more offensive over here than it is back in the States. This sign is overtly racist. It is strangely ironic that the Japanese image of Chinese is not too different from the ignorant, malignant image that non-Asian Americans developed of the Japanese right after Pearl Harbor was bombed. … Continue reading »

If you think about it, a classroom is kind of like a laboratory and the students are each little subjects in a huge experiment. Each student has a different mixture of natural ability, motivation, learning disabilities, potential, etc. Many things can affect these variables to increase or decrease, whether it be through encouragement or discouragement, … Continue reading »

Not for the faint of heart, the volcano is a very strong, very disgusting drink that Justin introduced me to at Bill’s Bar, when I visited him six years ago in Nara. It is a Spirytus vodka (150 proof) concoction with peach schnapps and Baileys (correct me if I’m wrong, or better yet post the … Continue reading »

Digging through the photo archive, I came across this picture of Justin and Nam, taken in front of the Akashi Bridge on Awaji Island on a beautiful day. I think it serves well as a tribute to these two who have been dating since I was in JHS, and who only recently got engaged in … Continue reading »

It would be cool to have access to one of these. Think of the possibilites in the classroom. Think of how the kids would be engaged in the lesson. Think of what you could achieve… Look kids, boobies! Seriously, I want one of these.

Ah, I always find strange things walking through the neighborhood of Juso. For those visiting Juso, the lively shotengai with its bustling mom and pop stores, or the abundance of strip clubs, snack bars, pr0n theatres, and assorted Soap Land affiliated businesses are the things that stick out and burn themselves into their synaptic impressions. … Continue reading »

Monkey-related posts always make for interesting reading: …Anyway suddenly her cell phone rings and I can tell by her tone and face that something not so good has happened. I was right, she hangs up and looks at me with the most serious of faces and says ‘I have to go, mountain monkeys have attacked … Continue reading »

A real Kyushu danshi would say, there’s no such thing as too much shochu. Well, Mark has written a post with a picture, that I didn’t know existed up until today, that makes a powerful case against downing a bottle of shochu as fast as you can, especially if you are attending a night time … Continue reading »