Author Archives: Joel

I’d intended to write a kind of summary of my trip about a week after my return, with the kind of profound-thoughts-and-lessons-learnt format from my last trip. Trouble is, a week passed without any profound thoughts occurring to me, and … Continue reading →

Japanese has three different character sets – hiragana, katakana, and kanji… and also romaji, which is just the Latin alphabet (i.e. Roma-ji). Katakana is primarily used for transcribing foreign loanwords, and writing onomatopoeia and scientific terminology, while hiragana and kanji … Continue reading →

I think I’ve discovered a new appreciation on this trip as to the difference between a line on a map and the actual walking path in the real world. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I already knew there was … Continue reading →

So, the time has come at last. Let’s have a little chat about Japanese toilets. I’m sure everyone already knows how fancy and shiny they are, with built in bidets and whatnot. Or, as they call them here, washlets – … Continue reading →

It’s tradition in Shinto shrines to give five-yen coins in offering. The reason for this is that “five yen” in Japanese is “go-en” (yes, Japanese for “yen” is “en” – the reason we say “yen” is due to a combination … Continue reading →