Despite being internationally recognized as merely a territory or province of the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan has many traits which distinguish its culture and people. Having heard nothing but good things from friends who have traveled and/or lived there, it easily earned a spot on my must-visit list. Thus, with two companions,…
The weather may stay warmer, my school will have Taco Rice Tuesdays, and Golden Week insanity is upon us! May also brings a more settled schedule for many of us following the holidays at its start. My first year, Golden Week was split into two, with the first half devoted to a solo trip…
On the 2nd and 3rd floors of San Center Plaza lies a stretch of shops catering to the geekiest of shoppers in Kobe. I’ve taken to affectionately calling this sweet haven Nerd Lane. Here, you can find many nerdy things to get your fix. If you tend to be weak of will when encountering…
While the most famous of the UNESCO status gashou-zukuri villages is Shirakawa-go, nearby is Gokayama, which houses several intriguing locations. Of these, I recently traveled to Ainokura and Suganuma with two companions. As befits their World Heritage status, the houses have been remarkably preserved and there are seasonal celebrations at various points throughout…
The peak of the sakura is upon us, as is the beginning of a new school year, with new teachers, students, and seating arrangements. April is here! My first ever hanami was preluded by a night of making yakisoba and peanut butter cookies (sorry Sarah!). My friend and I were not the greatest…
As many fellow nerds may know, the Snow Troupe of the all-female theater troupe of Hyogo has been performing a musical version of the manga Rurouni Kenshin. The aforementioned is the story of a samurai with a bloody past, wandering during the first several years of the Meiji Era to atone for his many…
A bay city with a nearby volcano, Kagoshima is a beautiful and rather unique Japanese city. The volcano, Sakurajima, is still active and thus erupts rather frequently. 1914 was perhaps its largest recorded eruption and covered the city in ash, including a torii on the volcano’s island. Its remarkable landscapes make Kagoshima City a…
On January the 31st (or 31th, as many of my students would have it), the Hyogo Book Club met to discuss David Mitchell’s Slade House. It was published on October 27th, 2015, mere days after the 12th book club meeting (for which we read Natsuo Kirino’s Real World) and of some significance to the…
As we march forward toward hanami and the end of the school year, let us not forget to be grateful for the advantages life in Japan offers us (see what I did there?). So far, every March I’ve spent in Japan has included at least one weekend full of cosplay and nerdiness at…