Suggestion for the Japanese Communist Party

There's an election coming up on Sunday. My wife just came in to ask me... W - "Who should I vote for? Should I vote for the Communist?" Me - No (extra-perplexed expression) you can't vote for the Communist. W...
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The Rise of the Lesser Panda in Japan

Japan is experiencing a Lesser Panda boom. In case you didn't know, Lesser Pandas are also known as Bear Cats or Red Pandas. You've probably seen them before. Anyway, it's been in the news and all over the television. The...
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JibJab Video Makes the News

Tonight they played the newest video at JibJab.com during a Japanese TV news program (with sub titles). Doubtless another strange impression of life in America. In case you are one of the few people who haven't seen any of...
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Learn Japanese Kanji and Discover the World

I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test yesterday. I think I did well. It's a relief but not much to brag about, because I've been living here for more than two years and studied quite a bit. This year...
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Typhoon Ma-On Coming, River Rising

The biggest typhoon to hit Tokyo in the past 10 years is quickly making it's way toward us. We've been watching the news and waiting. I don't think we're in any danger here, but we're expecting some powerful weather....
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Japan Photography Email List Ends

The Japan Photography email list ended today when the list owner suddenly pulled the plug and left in a huff. The successful email list('s owner) started to unravel recently after putting down a newcomer for his apparent unwillingness to...
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Truth, Documentary and Moore in Japan

Today we went to Ueno Park with the kids, and I shot 187 pictures. Here are some images from our trip to the Hakone area that I wrote about recently. The lower images are of a pair of massive...
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A Time to Celebrate

Today, along with millions across Japan, I watched live coverage of a plane landing in Tokyo. It wasn't much of a show. The occupants came down a set of steps, looked overwehelmed, then went straight into a waiting bus...
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The Passion of the Christ in Japan

The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson's movie about the last 12 hours of Jesus' life, opened in Japan today. The movie was originally intended to open in just one theater (in Shibuya), but it opened in about 100...
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Tokyo Politics and a Green Party (er, Picnic)

Yesterday I was in Tokorozawa and saw this procession of Democratic Party campaigners coming down a narrow shopping street. They're having a special election for a congressional seat, because the LDP party member they elected the first time apparently...
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Thanks and a Tribute to Some Japanese Teachers

Today I took over a hundred pictures at my daughter's Nyuenshiki. That's the ceremony for new children entering Japanese pre-schools (or yochiens). It took me a long time to work on the best photos in Photoshop, and there's no time...
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Nikon D70 Impressions in Shinjuku

Today I went to Shinjuku to look at digital SLR cameras. I figured that since I live in Tokyo, Japan (possibly the camera capital of the world), then I shouldn't be sitting at home on the Internet searching for...
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Mercury Fish and Me

That's my reflection in the first picture, and the second picture is kind of reflective. Anyway, yesterday in Google News it said a Harvard study concluded that damage caused by mercury poisoning is irreversible. Infants in the womb and...
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