Ok, ok. I'm totally guilty. I admit it. I leave stuff to the last minute. And as an ALT, this is a really easy trap to fall into. Most of my last minute lesson plans have actually gone pretty well, which only encourages my sloth. This is especially true at the elementary schools, where I am...

One of the English teachers approached me during a quiet moment in the teachers' lounge today. She asked if we had a dress code in the US. This little moment of international exchange had been prompted by a student flouting the school dress code. What had this juvenile offender done to rock the boat?...

Every semester, the teachers here are required to hold demonstration lessons. I'm not sure if the classes are being rigorously assessed, or if it's just a general structured exchange of ideas, but the teachers can get really nervous about these lessons. As a JET, I'm kind of exempt from promotions...

The sky is clear and brilliant, littered with stars. In this cloudy, waterlogged country, that in and of itself is a miracle. Though the sky is clear for now, early summer's rainy season is well underway. With it comes the humidity, and the insects (I had forgotten you), unobtrusively grotesque on...

I love conveyor belt sushi. It's great because it's a) fun and b) I can afford to eat it every week. It also happens to be at the only place in town where you can purchase a bottomless cup of soda (a proud American tradition whose absence I mourn in Japan). I've become such a regular that the veteran...

I've living here in Japan for 9+ months now, and there's only got so many quirky foreigner moments you can have before a formerly foreign place starts to seem normal. Allow me to catalogue for you a few of the smaller Japan Moments that have come my way:

The Steam Truck
For the longest time, I could...

The weather's been warming up, which means I can locomote by bike again! Biking to school is so much more enjoyable than driving. I pass all sorts of businesspeople, also on bikes, on the way to their jobs. We bow and smile and "Ohio gozaimasu" to each other. I see grandmas getting up to care for...

Only if you live in Tohoku are you lucky enough for cherry blossom season and Golden Week to intersect. Ever since I saw revellers sitting out in Kyoto, drinking sake under the blossoms and the stars, I've been awaiting my chance to do the same in Noshiro. While the blossoms are finally, finally...

Ok, Tohoku. Seriously. 4° Celcius in late April? Snow and cherry blossoms in full bloom? Why will you not just give me a spring I can understand and enjoy? What’s with all the mystery, the cold shoulder?

It was a beautiful afternoon, if a little chilly (see title), which inspired me to interact...

Kites. I was promised kites. And, in turn, I promised others kites. So it happened that four of us made the long 3 hour trek up to Aomori City, on the north tip of Honshu last Saturday with a song in our hearts and a gleam in our eyes. So what if the weather was grey and unambiguously wintery? Surely...

Spring here in Japan is an f’ing tease. The weather’s warmed slightly, but has refused to yield both a beautiful day and warmth at the same time. The cherry trees, early Spring bloomers which currently dictate all social engagements, are refusing to cooperate, and remain elusively free of flowers....