Where Are They Now:  Bumper Edition!
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Where Are They Now: Bumper Edition!

With the recontracting deadline looming ahead, I had a very good long chat with three of my closest friends from JET who left the programme last summer and are settling into their new lives back home. I think their respective experiences are important to share because they cover the main three situations those returning will…

December 2013
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December 2013

Season’s Greetings!   Well, a short but sweet koyo season is rapidly fading as the chill of winter takes hold. Kotatsus and electric blankets across the region are being dusted off and plugged in, and those without shiver with cold and poorly concealed envy. Thanks to the sudden switch from Halloween to Christmas decorations in…

Special Feature: The Osaka European Film Festival: Jîn and The Robber
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Special Feature: The Osaka European Film Festival: Jîn and The Robber

Taking my own good advice from the November issue, I took myself off to Osaka to indulge in some European culture at the 20th anniversary of the Osaka European Film Festival. Over the festival’s final weekend I enjoyed two films at the Hotel Elséreine. Although on very different topics, both were well-executed examples of Europe’s…

November 2013
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November 2013

Ahoy there! Forgive the nautical greeting; I’ve spent a lot of time on boats recently, and may have caught cabin fever whilst navigating the high seas between Honshu and Shikoku on a voyage around the participating islands of the Setouchi Triennale. If you miss out on the art festival itself (finishing on November 4th), I still…

The 20th Osaka European Film Festival
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The 20th Osaka European Film Festival

In 1994 Osaka, despite being a cosmopolitan hub of international business, offered no opportunity to celebrate European film culture. Fortunately, all that has changed thanks to the ongoing hard work of film aficionado Patrice Boiteau, chairman and founder of the Osaka European Film Festival. This November the Osaka European Film Festival celebrates its 20th year….

Travel Japan: The Sand Museum, a Photo Story
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Travel Japan: The Sand Museum, a Photo Story

For undulating sand dunes straight out of Arabian Nights look no further than Japan’s least populated prefecture, our very near neighbour, Tottori. That’s right, just to our north west you can live out your Ali Baba fantasies, complete with camels and hundreds of other tourists. The Tottori Sand Dunes are Japan’s only dune system, and…