My So-Called Japanese Life

On a daily basis, I hear my upstairs neighbors going about the business of their daily life. I hear them dropping things, slamming doors, an...

The day before yesterday, a cable T.V. representative came to our apartment to look at our configuration and decide whether or not they coul...

Several things have put cleaning at the forefront of my mind as of late. For one thing, every time I pay the rent, I think about cleaning. O...

This morning while I was groggily making coffee, I heard something get pushed through the mail slot and saw the note pictured above (click o...

After having lived in Japan for 17+ years, Japanese people still confuse me. I try very hard to figure out their take on things and see thin...

Beautiful wood-look linoleum Starting from 9:00 am yesterday, workmen installed a much-needed new floor in my kitchen. The day before, I had...

I've often been told that the Japanese don't expect foreigners to understand or display Japanese manners while they in Japan. For in...

the full comic and original picture are at Coal's blog This morning I ran into my landlord and had a curious discussion. As I posted yes...

no matter how clean it is, it still looks ugly This morning I stumbled out into the kitchen to make the elixir of wakefulness (aka coffee) a...