Travel

About half a week before going to Kobe, I asked around what people in my laboratory and dormitory suggested. After giving me a “why are you going there” look, all people could suggest was Kobe beef and Nankinmachi, Kobe Chinatown. Taking these suggestions, and a thorough google search, I realized it might only be an […]

A coworker recommended Monter au Plus Patisserie for my next outing, and so when sightseeing had lulled I decided to treat myself to a fancy afternoon. My coworker warned me it would be expensive, and right she was with small cakes starting at $5. After weighing whether the experience was worth the price, I forged […]

Last time I was in Tokyo, I was hoping I had seen more of the craziness Tokyo is known for, and my goodness did I find more than I could ever dream of on my next trip! This time, I went to Harajuku district, Shibuya district and Yoyogi park. I began in Yoyogi park, expecting […]

Embracing being the classic Osaka tourist, I headed out to explore Osaka’s Aquarium: Kaiyukan. The aquarium borders the ocean and a shopping mall. Kaiyukan is famous for its whale sharks, and so there are countless pictures and statues displayed of these enormous creatures. The aquarium did a great job with the wow factor. Almost as […]

You know that communication will be difficult when going to a different country, but it is a whole new dimension of difficulty that I found myself in after moving to Japan. You think everyone will be able to understand your English? Wrong. You think enough research beforehand will prepare you not to make any cultural […]

My company apparently really likes parties, and so we went out one night for chicken sashimi. I didn’t know what chicken sashimi meant, but I like chicken and thought this would be a great opportunity to get to know my coworkers outside of work. The restaurant was very traditional; we had to take our shoes […]

This weekend was my first time in Tokyo, and I thought plane would be the best way to go. Tokyo is only one hour away from Osaka by plane, or three hours by shinkansen (bullet train). In retrospect, I think taking the plane was a big mistake. Unlike America, trains are significantly cheaper than planes […]

I have never been an adventurous eater. In fact, some might call me a relatively picky eater, almost exclusively sticking to the Italian cuisine (pasta and pizza). If you haven’t read my other blog posts about food yet, most of them begin in a similar fashion of “I have never tried this before” or “I […]

In rural Wisconsin, you hunt and eat deer; in urban Minnesota, you scare deer; in Nara, you feed and pet deer. My lab director, Ray-san, invited me to his hometown of Nara to show me around and have dinner at his house. Thinking it must be close to Osaka because Ray-san commutes to and from […]

During my stay in Japan, I am living in a women’s dormitory provided for by work. When I was first told I would be staying in the dormitory, from my Western background, I was under the impression it would be one of two things: a university dormitory or similar to a women’s convent. I am […]

I’ve never been fond of beef. I never understood why someone would want to eat an almost raw cow, with jokes such as “I want it so raw that I will be able to hear it moo.” But when I was offered to go to a Kobe beef dinner as a welcome party for me […]

Behind the endless skyscrapers of Tokyo and Osaka, Japan portrays her culture and heritage in every aspect of Japanese life. None of this holds more true than in Japan’s old capital of Kyoto. On a day trip from Osaka, I arrived to Kyoto early in the morning with vain hopes to see everything in one […]

When I first arrived at the dormitory I was about to spend the next half of the year in, and had dragged all my suitcases upstairs, I was unsure how to react to my new room. Before landing in Japan, I was told close to nothing about my living conditions other than it was an […]

Most people like barbecue and most people like chicken, including myself, so I thought nothing could go amiss when I agreed to go to a Japanese barbecue grilled chicken restaurant for dinner. This was my first dinner experience out not accompanied by someone fluent in Japanese, as it was just me and Anna, the other […]

Japanese pop culture has many unusual quirks such as J-Pop (Japanese pop music), slapstick game shows and anime cosplay. But one facet of Japanese pop culture I was not expecting is this real, and some might call extreme, love of all things Hello Kitty. I first began noticing little pictures of a white cat and […]

Japanese pop culture has many unusual quirks such as J-Pop (Japanese pop music), slapstick game shows and anime cosplay. But one facet of Japanese pop culture I was not expecting is this real, and some might call extreme, love of all things Hello Kitty. I first began noticing little pictures of a white cat and […]