Friendship Friday: What Japan

Wow, I haven't done one of these in a while. Time to remedy that, I suppose.

Today I'd like to introduce a Facebook page that was recently started by a friend and former student of mine. Actually she was one of my best students and was already pretty fluent in English when I met her. Now she's working to further her career as a translator, and she created this page, WHAT JAPAN, to inform about Japan (and to keep up her English, I wager).

Despite being relatively new, WJ already has a good variety of posts and some very interesting links, including a story about a "sake arcade" in Nigata and a list of kanji that Japanese elementary school students learn.

She also posts some amusing anecdotes and cute pictures.

Another attractive element is that she will reply to comments in Japanese if you'd like to give it a go - a great opportunity if you don't have any chances to use your nihongo and would like to practice.

On a personal note, although I can't really claim any part in how good her English is or how she's improved over the years, it's always deeply satisfying to see a (former) student grow and succeed.

In conclusion, if you're rocking them facebooks, definitely check it out. If not...well. 残念, I guess.

頑張れ、WHAT JAPAN!

Friendship Friday: East Meets West Blog

I haven't done one of these in a while, but recently I've come across some blogs that have caught my interest. Today I'm highlighting East Meets West Blog!

What?

About a year ago, Makoto, the blog's author, dropped an answer to a J-Word Play in my inbox. She had her website in her signature, and for some reason I only recently came back across it and checked it out. And I have to say, I really like her style.

Makoto is a Nagasaki native who has lived in several countries and is currently settled in the U.S. with her American husband and children. Her blog is about her experience living abroad and reflections on life.

Why I like it

Makoto writes with an impressive degree of openness, and going through her entries I could tell how passionate she is about life and her family. The way she writes about her marriage, in particular...well, I hope I can achieve that kind of union someday.

Here's a blurb from a simple post in which she talks about her husband trying to make her happy and help her when she wasn't feeling well:

“Let me help you with forks”, my husband came in the kitchen while I was setting the table for dinner. I saw him opening a drawer and starting taking forks. He worried about me a bit because I came down with cold yesterday and I have not been feeling well. I have to admit my sickness has made me cranky yesterday and today. Without knowing why I was feeling this way until I realized that the cold virus was affecting me today, I was feeling guilty, too, for my crabby behaviors. [...]

[...] I looked at him in the kitchen and I loved the way he was picking forks. I truly appreciated his unconditional love to me. I went up to him and hugged him from behind. It was my way to show him my appreciation. We didn’t need words; I just wanted him to feel my love. I can picture our life together like this 10, 20, or 30 years from now. I will be wrapped by his love and so will he.

The warmth of her posts is refreshing. I've read a lot of blogs about frustrations, amusing anecdotes, and drama; that's fine. That's part of life. A lot of my posts have been of those varieties! But I haven't come across many bloggers writing about their love and their happy, successful relationships.

Here are another couple of posts that I especially liked and I recommend:

Losing an identity by living in a foreign country?

My love with my husband - there is always something that I can learn from

I think I also enjoy her blog because I haven't come across many Japanese women blogging in English from abroad (especially living in the U.S.). It's a unique perspective that I enjoy reading.

So happy Friday, and once again be sure to check out East Meets West Blog!

Friendship Friday: Surviving in Japan (without much Japanese)

This week's FF is Surviving in Japan (without much Japanese)! Full disclosure: I have written a guest post for this one, but beyond that have no affiliation.

What?

Ashley's Surviving in Japan (without much Japanese), henceforth "Surviving," is an aptly named blog that compiles resources and how-to guides aimed at helping foreign residents in Japan. From the about page:

"This is not a blog about etiquette, where to find a job or apartment, or a list of how to prepare for life here (though, there are some ideas concerning that scattered throughout these pages - see the how-to archives for more). Most of that information can be found on the internet, or in books about living in Japan (which I've highlighted in the "resources" section and various posts). I had to learn how to do a lot of things on my own during my first years here - things that weren't reiterated in the various websites and books I read before arriving. And now I'm compiling the knowledge that has helped me "survive" in Japan in this blog for you."

Surviving has been around for well over a year now and has a large amount of guides and information to peruse.

Why I like it

Quite simply, Ashley manages to deliver on her blog's description. While I've become pretty able at handling most tasks I need to accomplish here, Surviving's advice and guides are especially newbie friendly and designed to help both veterans and newcomers alike, with minimal Japanese ability required. I've discovered some useful resources through her site.

Here are some sample posts:

8 ways to winterize your Japanese apartment (or house)
How to get a library card
What to do if your alien registration card is lost or stolen
How to find ibuprofen
Words to know when ordering online

Anything pique your interest? You can find these and many more guides and how-to's here.

Once again, I heartily recommend having a look, especially if you're new to living in Japan: Surviving in Japan. Happy Friendship Friday!

Friendship Friday: Loco in Yokohama

This week I'm going to talk a little bit about Loco in Yokohama.

What?

Loco in Yokohama is a personal blog written by a fellow New Yorker living in Yokohama, Japan. According to him, the blog was created with three things in mind: to "share some of the things I have experienced in Japan, to get back into writing regularly, and to showcase my writing." He's been writing since 2008, so there are a great many high-quality posts waiting to be read.

Why I like It

Despite being an American male in Japan, Loco writes about a lot of things that are outside my frame of reference. While every person who comes to this country will have a different range of experiences, his experiences as a black man are often pretty different from my own.

Though his time in Japan does account for a good amount of his content, he also sometimes writes about things that happened in the past and have affected his life in some way. Reading about his youth in New York and his time in the military have been particularly interesting for me, and I've been impressed not only with how many fascinating stories Loco has to tell, but with how good he is at telling them.

I have been following his site for a long while now and I particularly enjoy reading about his conversations and interactions with his students. Of all his work, though, what impressed and interested me the most was his "My name is Loco..." series, where he wrote about his experiences on both ends of racism and his struggles with his own inner demons. His writing is very honest and very human, and it really show through in those posts.

(For all you aspiring bloggers out there) I also really admire his industriousness. Loco is one of the rising stars in the J-blogosphere, and he has managed to grow a large readership through his devotion to his content, smart self-marketing, and personal charisma. In other words, he's a self-made man.

So if you haven't yet been to his site, I definitely recommend checking it out. He's also a really nice (though busy) guy if you want to approach him. I've emailed him in the past for some blogging advice and he went so far as to post on his blog to try and help me out.

Once more, Loco in Yokohama.

Friendship Friday: This Japanese Life

Edit: This was scheduled for yesterday, but looks like Blogger had some trouble...

This week's feature is This Japanese Life, a blog about (you guessed it) life in Japan.

What?

This Japanese Life, founded and maintained by fellow JET member and American Eryk, presents a variety of experiences and elements of life in Japan that may not be so widely known outside the expat community. The blog has been up and running for almost a year now, so there are a number of articles ready for your perusal.

Why I like it

The first TJL post that I happened upon a few months ago was about an unlikely Japanese Arcade game, Flip the Dinner Table. If there's any one trick for getting me hooked on your blog, take note of this - Japan? Weird video games?! All right, I'm there! Been following TLJ ever since.

Although new posts are not always frequent, articles are well thought out and written, and combine interesting tidbits and analyses with a good sense of humor.

Here are a few sample posts:

How to Bow in Japan

The Gaijin Nod

On Japanese Convenience Stores

So once again, I recommend checking out This Japanese Life. Happy Friendship Friday!

Friendship Friday: Daily Bento

This week's FF features a website (blog?) called Daily Bento.

What?

From Daily Bento's About section:

Daily Bento – A bento is a traditional Japanese lunch box that the majority of Japanese people will bring to their schools or companies. These convenient and tasty bento boxes can also be found in convenience stores throughout Japan. We all need our daily fill of whatever it is we need whether it’s watching our favorite TV show, having our daily coffee, etc. We want to fill your daily bento need which can vary from news, recent electronics, culture, entertainment, new products, and anything random to entertain YOU. We hope you’ll join us!

Why I like it

Daily Bento is good for little amusing tidbits and bite-sized entertainment. With few exceptions, DB doesn't post essays or long articles. It's mostly a collection of amusing pictures and videos, often (but not always) related to Japan.

Honestly I don't know much about DB. I'm not sure if it's run by one person or a group. Comments seem infrequent and there isn't really much of a community as far as I can tell. Still, it has its purpose and is a nice place to kill a few minutes and maybe have a chuckle, especially if you've never been there before.

So once again, please feel free to check out Daily Bento.

Friendship Friday: 1000 Things About Japan

This week's FF is another blog that I've followed for quite some time: 1000 Things About Japan.

What?

1000 Things, a blog by Orchid, whom you may have seen in the comments section of this blog, is about the daily life of an expatriot woman living in Tokyo. More specifically, it's about the things that she will and won't miss when she eventually leaves Japan to return. Here's a little about her from her About section:

I was born in 1964 and I have lived steadily in Japan since 1989. I spent the bulk of my 20+ years in Japan working in a Japanese office for a small Japanese company that created and sold correspondence lessons. I consider my experiences in Japan rather unique compared to most foreigners for a variety of reasons.

Those reasons are here.

Why I like it

Although she is the first to admit that all of her views are subjective, I find myself agreeing with her observations quite often. Many times I'll read her posts and think to myself "Wow, that's exactly how I feel!" Though there have been a few times I've strongly disagreed. I suppose the one grumble I have is that her posts are sometimes so engaging that I wish 1000 Things allowed comments. But her decision is intention, probably to avoid the kind of heated arguments that would no doubt ensue.

Here are a few sample posts (see if any of these titles pique your curiosity):

Will Miss:
A Culture of Gaman
"Alien" Seafood
Neighborhood Freebies

Won't Miss:
Blaming Foreigners for Drug Sales
Blocked Videos
Dry Muffins and Cakes

Another nice draw is that all of her posts are intentionally bite-sized. They're easy to read and digest, even if you only have a few minutes to spare.

I also respect the fact that although her time is limited (she also works and runs another blog called Japanese Snack Reviews), she also finds time to comment on other blogs now and then, and at least on this site her comments are always well thought out and articulate, and great contributions to the topic at hand. She has also provided me with some much-appreciated encouragement and advice in the past.

So once again, if 1000 Things sounds like something that might catch your fancy, it bears the JADJ seal of approval. Check it out here.

Friendship Friday: How to Japonese

This week's FF features one of the first Japanese language blogs I've followed: How to Japonese.

What?

How to Japonese is a J-blog authored by writer and translator Daniel Morales, who apparently resembles Lupin III (Yes, a shady fellow, indeed!). Mostly featured are tips for studying, using, and translating Japanese, though Daniel also blogs occasionally about daily life. From the site's About page:

How to Japonese is a collection of the things I wish people had told me at different points in my Japanese studying career. Some posts are aimed at beginners, others at intermediate students, and occasionally I even come up with something for advanced students. I also end up writing a lot about Japan in general.

Why I like it

As I mentioned, How to Japonese was one of the first blogs about studying/using Japanese that I started reading regularly. If you haven't checked it out yet, there's about three-years worth of quality content waiting to be browsed. I especially enjoyed his posts on video game Japanese and Japanese word play.

As a sample, here's one from a while ago about using special icons with Japanese input. He writes:

----

I wrote previously about how こめ can be switched to ※ with Japanese input systems. Well, I’ve discovered through a friend at work that there are a number of other tricks you can do with 変換.

Arrows – Type in やじるし and you can get these: →, ←, ↑, ↓.

Circles – Type in まる and you can make these: ○, ●, ◎, ◯, ◉. (The third is called a にじゅうまる, maybe the fifth as well.)

Triangles – Type in さんかく and you can get: △, ▲, ▽, ▼.

Squares – Type in しかく and you can get: □, ■, ◇, ◆.

----

Additionally, I give him kudos for engaging his readers and some other members of the community. He does reference other blogs or websites from time to time, and has linked JADJ on one or two occasions (half the time to point out errors, which is great! Making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn!).

How to Japonese was one of my early inspirations for blogging, and I continue to enjoy its posts and articles about Japanese. Thanks, Daniel!

Once again, you can visit How to Japonese here, and follow Daniel on Twitter here.

Friendship Friday: Super Happy Awesome Fun Time

This is the first post in a new series that I've decided to start writing. If you're a Twitter user, you may have seen the hash tag #FF floating around on Fridays, along with what seems like a tweetful of spam. The #FF stands for "Follow Friday" and is a trend that entails choosing a bunch of your friends and/or followers and tweeting their names in the hope that some of your other followers may start following them. I think it's a nice gesture but ultimately a little too spammy for me.

But in the spirit of #FF, I'd like to begin highlighting blogs or websites that I enjoy reading. They may or may not actually be friends to me or JADJ, but they are, in my opinion, deserving of some additional attention. Not all of these blogs will come from my blogroll, as that mysterious amalgamation of links doesn't 100% reflect my like or dislike of a site; there are other top secret criteria that are applied during the consideration process. 

Our inaugural FF features a relative newcomer to the Japanese blogosphere; one that I've been following for a little while now and have enjoyed reading: Supper Happy Awesome Fun Time.

What?

Supper Happy Awesome Fun Time is a blog run by former presidents of Otakorp Alice (who is a fellow JET) and Sean. Its stated goal is to "explore all the cool/crazy/awesome there is to see and do here in Japan!"

Why I like it

It's the only website I know that can be acronym-ized as "SHAFT." One of these days I have to ask if that was intentional.

SHAFT has a nice blend of tales from daily life, pictures, thoughts about interesting products, and tips about Japanese language and culture. The blog is still a little young (as of this posting SHAFT has been around for about 4 months and change) so it doesn't yet have an overabundance of content, but I've enjoyed reading Sean and Alice's content and can honestly say that I look forward to Super Happy updates. A good sense of humor goes a long way.

Additionally, though I haven't interacted with Sean much to my knowledge, Alice is very friendly both on Twitter and in comments, so I encourage you to engage her if you see a post or tweet that strikes you. 

So if you have a few minutes, I recommend clicking over and checking them out.