I think in the West there is a general misconception that Japan’s geisha are rather sordid, like high-class hookers, or at least that was the case until the film version of Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of A Geisha was released in 2005 (in which, interestingly, all the main female characters were played by Chinese actresses). Both [...]
Tag Archive > Japan
Mazeophobia
Getting lost while travelling is arguably part of the fun. When you’ve got time on your hands, getting lost in an unknown city can be a form of impromptu sightseeing: you can find yourself ‘off the beaten track’, stumbling upon weird and wonderful things that you might otherwise never have discovered had you stuck to [...]
Things I shall miss about Japan
After practically complaining about Japan in my previous post listing Japanese oddities, I decided I should remind myself of the things that left a positive impression on me. I encountered a lot of cool and interesting stuff during my stay in Japan and while there was a lot that I found weird and alien, there [...]
Ganbaru!
So I’ve been in Tokyo now for a month. Today is my last Japanese class and then I’m free to be a bum and travel round the country. It’s going to be a very different experience from the last four weeks. It’s been pretty tough and there have been many times when I really didn’t [...]
Things I find weird about Japan
1. Birdsong in tube stations (heard in Ikebukuro on the Yurakucho line). When I first heard it I thought there was actually a bird somewhere up above the platform but of course it’s underground. No birdies down there. So they have a recording of birds singing. Why? A Japanese friend told me the singing is [...]
Nihon wa dou desu ka?
Since arriving in Tokyo, several people have asked me this question: Nihon wa dou desu ka? How do I find Japan? A simple question, but one that until recently had been quite tricky to answer. At first I was excited to be here, of course: this is my first time travelling solo. Actually it’s my [...]
There’s more to Japan than raw fish
The mere mention of Japanese food can evoke such diverse reactions as, “yuck, raw fish” to “mmm, I love sushi”, but the association with sushi is always the common factor. However, sashimi and sushi are not the only Japanese dishes out there and, although these days more restaurants are cropping up in London serving cuisine [...]
Me and my not-so-Japanese face
お 早うございます O-hayo gozaimasu!This morning on my way to work I remembered it was my mum’s birthday and for some reason this got me to thinking about me being half-Japanese. Being a halvsey in the past twenty or so years has ceased to be such a rare thing. There are so many different races living [...]
Samurai 7
Japanimation is a series of talks and screenings of anime taking place at the Barbican centre as part of the City of London Festival. Last night’s seminar was about the anime series Samurai 7 – based on Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. The speaker looked in detail at the significance of Kurosawa’s work and the impact [...]
Pachinko & Paddy Fields
Something of an enigma to the uninitiated, Japan was no less of a mystery to me despite this being my third visit. It felt more like my first, since my previous visits were made when I was less than seven years old. This time I was old enough to appreciate the history and culture of [...]