After working in South Korea as an English teacher for about 5 years, I picked up my things and made the not so long journey to the Tokyo Metro Region (for 4 years) and subsequently moved to wintry Sapporo, Hokkaido, where I am currently stationed. Now gathering yen credits any way I can while always looking with intensity at the world around me. I can’t be found without a book in hand, usually two. I am an avid follower of international cricket and collect hanafuda (Japanese Flower Cards). In my spare time I could also be found hiking, playing/learning igo, studying Japanese, writing, sketching, learning about Linux/web design, fly fishing, and desperately keeping up with world events.
about this Blog…
Taking my writings into a slightly different direction. Focusing on instances of life in Japan that are rarely captured in the guide books or travel channel specials because for whatever reason they lack that instantly gratifying “wow” factor. Sometimes humorous, at times seemingly mundane; I hope my observations shed a little more light on Japan as seen by the normal (albeit foreign) resident. By “normal” I mean someone who receives a decent, but not exorbitant salary. By “normal” I also mean someone who is truly living here for an unforeseeable amount of time, not a backpacker, tourist, or someone living here “for a wild and crazy year”. Someone whose wife(and in-laws) are Japanese and has to experience all the interesting trials and tribulations that situation can entail. Someone who lives within its social norms as much as possible and expects those visiting this land to attempt to do the same, but at the same time challenging Japanese society to awake from its often retrograde slumber . Most importantly, my writing (I hope) is not a rehashing of “off the beaten path” guidebooks that are so popular these days. If anything, I wish this to be an extremely “beaten path” look at Japan. The parts of Japan that have been so worn down and tread upon that they are often ignored by much of the literature…
Additionally, I will be frequently sharing some of my views on the books I am reading, as I am increasingly becoming more and more addicted to the written word. One thing that has always fascinated me is how people who live in locales isolated from their mother tongue (such as I am here in Japan) often are able to approach literature, art, and all media with far more intensity than if they had remained in a more comfortable (native) environment. Much of my working day is spent with only the musings of my own mind for company, as the Japanese workers around me, and myself for that matter, have trouble communicating in either English or Japanese. In time, as my Japanese improves, this is becoming less of a barrier. However, I often have feared, that breaking free of this isolation will impede my growth as a reader, writer, and observer. Sometimes being able to filter the world around us through linguistic ignorance has its strange advantages.