Living in Japan

Hungry for roasted sweet potato? Need a new laundry pole? Not to worry, someone will come around and sell you one. Just listen for the music...

If you've ever had trouble finding an address in the US or other Western country, at least you can be glad you didn't have to look for an address in Japan!

You can do just about anything, at a Japanese convenience store!

Tokyo is not a city! Read to find out why.

Japanese, while shocked by the recent terrorist attacks in the U.S., seem to be comforting themselves with an "it can't happen here" attitude. But it has, and easily could again--and Japan's disaster management plans are " a sick joke."

A look at some of the interesting things about the English school I teach at.

My first job in Tokyo was teaching English at a medium-sized English conversation school. I only stayed a week; here's why.

If you were learning English and your teacher couldn't speak the language any better than you, wouldn't that bother you? In Japan, where "English class" often means studying fine points of grammer so you can pass your university entrance exam, it's a pretty common situation.

If you're American and have more knowledge about Japan than will fit in a thimble, you're certainly in the minority! Why are Americans so confused and unknowledgable about Japan? (You won't be if you keep reading this column!)

Why did I come to Japan? Why am I still here? What's it like to live here for so long? More questions than answers at this point; hey, it's just the first article of the series!,Why did I come to Japan? Why am I still here? What's it like to live ...