Birthday Suit Loincloths: Okayama Prefecture
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Birthday Suit Loincloths: Okayama Prefecture

Who are you? Where are from originally? What year are you on JET? Where do you teach? What level? My name is Nicole Finch, and I’m from the hockey loving, maple syrup drinking country of Canada. I’m a 3rd year JET in Okayama City, Okayama, where I teach at two academic high schools, one academic…

Stamp Rallies: Not Just for Kids
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Stamp Rallies: Not Just for Kids

  Naha             The capital (actually the prefectural seat, but that’s beside the point) of Okinawa has been an important center for the island from the time it was still the Ryukyu Kingdom. This kingdom had strong ties to both China and Japan until it was annexed by the latter in 1879. During World War…

Augmenting Capital: the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
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Augmenting Capital: the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

It’s been hard to miss the growing attention given to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) over the past few months, but like so many things out there in the news related world, we may come to recognize the name without really having a clear idea of what it is or its purpose. Below are…

Broccoli with Japanese-style Peanut Dressing
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Broccoli with Japanese-style Peanut Dressing

 “ ~ae”(~ 和え)is a popular type of vegetable dish in Japan that consists of blanched vegetables with a slightly sweet and nutty savoury dressing. The most popular version of this dish is probably 白和え (shiroae) which is a tofu and sesame dressing, usually mixed with blanched spinach. Other common combinations include green beans with sesame, and…

The Durants Part X
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The Durants Part X

  Katie’s violent swearing ripped her traveling companions from their slumber. “Rakowsky’s gone and cut himself a new one!” Frustration cut through her voice. “We can’t infiltrate the guilds by ourselves, Orsin.” The large man rose gracefully and padded over to his comrade’s corpse. The sword was still pinning it to the earth. He glanced…