Frangipani

It seems a great many people who arrive in Japan wind up trying to reinvent themselves, even if that wasn’t their intention at all when they set out.  I can’t say for sure why this is.  Perhaps the relative scarcity of opportunities allows some of us to look into possibilities we wouldn’t have taken as [...]

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Sushicam

In addition to the many wonderful photoblogs maintained by Japanese bloggers, there are a growing number of excellent offerings from foreign residents in Japan.  One of the best of these is Sushicam, an eight-year old blog started by Jeff Laitila.  Jeff is an American living in Yokosuka, and the blog consists of both his writing [...]

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Laughing Knees

Here’s a blog that leaves Japan’s city streets behind in favor of a walk in the hills. “Laughing Knees” is a Japanese term for the shaky feeling in your legs after a long, steep descent. The blog’s writer calls himself Butuki, and describes himself like this:
A German/ Filipino/ African-American who grew up in [...]

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Tokyo Tsure Zure Gusa

Tsure Zure Gusa is the title of an old Japanese novel, translated into English as Essays in Idleness.   The only idle thing about this blog is the rate of postings.  Written by Tokyo’s Quinlan Faris, the blog combines interesting (if infrequent) entries about daily life in Tokyo, local politics, learning Japanese and other subjects [...]

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Alive in Kyoto

Alive in Kyoto is the blog of Nils Ferry, an American father living and writing in Kyoto.  On the blog, he documents daily life in Kyoto both through writing and his excellent photographs.  Recent posts include video from the Kurama Fire Festival in October and the January Ebisu Festival, both quite good.  And with posts going back more [...]

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