Although Sapporo is a relatively symmetrical city, laid out in mathematical blocks like an igo board and rather flat despite being surrounded by mountains, there are some architectural anomalies that have caught my eye since moving here. They aren’t the famous spots like the Tokeidai or the Former Hokkaido Government Office, both well maintained western […]
Sapporo’s Street Car system (tram, 市電) is getting a bit of an overhaul. This past Sunday saw the debut of a new street car with expanded seating and streamlined features. The old street cars are still in full operation as only one new car has been put into circulation(for now). Below you can see a […]
Moving to a new place also gets my creative juices flowing. While the unpacking has been tedious, and the Japanese red-tape involved mind numbing, we have finally gotten completely settled into our new apartment (after two weeks of early breakfasts camping out at my in-laws). My bookshelf was successfully hauled up through the 5th story […]
Many moons ago I wrote of my strange fetish for the Man Cave and how the condensed nature of Japanese life led me to create the next best thing in the form of the Micro-Man Cave, an elaborately arranged series of shelves that represented all that is good and decent in my own “dudeness”. Sadly, […]
You may have noticed that my blog output hasn’t been up to snuff recently. Indeed, kanagawacement is going through a bit of a sea change, quite literally. In the last few days I have seen every possession in our apartment packed into more than 50 boxes, our furniture hauled with ropes down the second story […]
The Kappa is one of the most well known cryptics in Japan and stories of this unverified humanoid-reptilian creature have wound their way throughout Japanese history for centuries. Often interpreted as being a kind of water imp, renderings of the Kappa have ranged from a humanoid-turtle to merman and everything in-between. Most commonly its skin […]
Japan often gets ripped for its astronomical restaurant prices. Sometimes this is unwarranted, more often there is rightful cause. This usually isn’t the case with Japanese foods(soba, ramen,ect), but when it comes to western dishes consumers tend to get the short end of the stick. Amazingly, many Japanese people remain blithely unaware of how long […]
February 3rd was Setsubun in Japan, marking the seasonal division according to the lunar calendar. Setsubun incorporates elements of Mardi Gras, Halloween, Groundhog day, and culinary geomancy. While there is ample info about this great traditional holiday available on the web, I’d thought I share some of my experiences from the day. Being that this […]
I am not a trained visual artist. I took only one Survey of Western Art class as a freshman during my undergrad, and that I struggled to get a B in. Even when I was very young I was not prone to doodle in the margins of my textbooks. So sketching, in the form of art […]
Sumo: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Japan’s National Sport by David Benjamin My rating: 3 of 5 stars Sumo, as a sport, too often gets deified and lost in the Shinto ceremonies that are blatantly evident to all who watch, from the throwing of salt to the traditional mawashi(loincloth) the wrestlers wear. David Benjamin does […]