A lot of towns in Japan have mascots (my town’s are a pair of anthropomorphic firefly squid), and the police force in Toyama prefecture has one too.  Tateyama-kun is a literal mountain in a police uniform, so named after the area’s most sacred and important peak.

It’s been a little while since my last Japan Adventures post, and if you’re just joining in, I occasionally share random assortments of pics I take in Japan.  Most of them are from weekend excursions and longer vacations, but this month I’m featuring odd signage and items I’ve stumbled across on Japanese streets and store shelves.  Enjoy! Continue reading »

As many of you know, I love board games with a passion that far outweighs my skill at playing them, though sadly the board game craze hasn’t taken off in Japan like it has in the States. In the toy section at a bigger department store I found this Japanese version of Settlers of Catan with alternate cover art (the three Japanese characters in the title literally spell Katan), plus Japanese versions of Pandemic and Azul you can see on the left. I love the random black dude playing with the Japanese family in the lower right.

If you’re just joining in, Sometimes I Have Adventures in Japan is a monthly series where I post random pics from Japan (many of which are also on my Instagram) with commentary.  It’s easy to forget sometimes that I live in a cool foreign country with lots of amazing things to see, so I try to keep my eyes open and camera ready rather than staying in my apartment working ;-) Continue reading »

Yep, that’s a whole lot of snow.

Last April the Japanese Heisei emperor stepped down from the throne, the first time in over two hundred years a Japanese emperor has abdicated.  This was momentous for a few reasons, one of which was that it occurred during the Golden Week holiday season, with the extra holidays from the emperor’s abdication giving everyone in Japan ten consecutive days off.  Score!

I spent part of the vacation traversing the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route, a mountain route connecting Toyama prefecture (where I live) with Nagano prefecture in the southeast. Normally the only way to reach Nagano is by traveling north around the massive Hida Mountain range that separates the two, but the Tateyama Alpine Route connects them more directly via a series of cable cars, buses, electric trolleys, and a brief walking route, shown on the map below. Continue reading »

Cherry blossoms in Japan bloom at the beginning of April, and symbolize not only the coming of spring but the beginning of all things new.  It’s a time for the new school year to start, kids to go off to college, new fiscal years to begin, and new employees to be hired.  People feel refreshed, invigorated, and full of energy.

It’s also a time to stock up on booze and get drunk in public parks.

Hanami has been a Japanese tradition for a long time, as people bring blankets, food, and yes, plenty of alcohol out to wherever the cherry blossoms are and enjoy the spring weather.  I took this photo in Toyama City’s Kansui park on a weekday evening when only a few people were out, Continue reading »

I had a few days off for New Year’s and decided to take a trip somewhere off the beaten path.  One of the nice things about Japan is that every prefecture usually boosts something famous and/or unique that’s worth checking out.  Sometimes this thing is a castle, shrine, food, or animal, but in Tottori, it’s sand.

I don’t remember when I first heard about Tottori’s sand dunes, but my interest in them spiked after reading Kobo Abe’s 1962 novel The Woman in the Dunes, a grim existential novel reminiscent ofWaiting for Godot with more plot and way more sand.  Abe visited Tottori for inspiration before writing his novel, and the 1964 movie of the same name was filmed here also, which was enough to convince me to check it out.

The dunes are a natural phenomenon on the western Japan coast where sand was carried down from the mountains via the Sendai River into the ocean, and over time the currents carried the sediment back to shore, forming enormous dunes.  The dunes became well-known after the novelist Takeo Arishima wrote about them Continue reading »

こんにちは and welcome back—if you’re just joining in, welcome to Part 4 of my series of pics from around Japan.  You can start with Part 1 or browse the rest of the series here.

I take a LOT of pictures of Japanese English that’s just a little off—sometimes because the grammar itself is mangled like in this sentence, but more often because even though the grammar’s completely correct it’s a phrase no sane native English speaker would ever say aloud.  (Another sign at this same restaurant read “Take-outs are impossible.”) Continue reading »

I’m a sucker for old Japanese movie posters like these that you can find reproductions of outside trendy pubs, though originals are a lot harder to come by.  (Perhaps someone whose Japanese is better than mine can translate them for me???)  I find it striking that in Japan, most things are either REALLY old (like, hundreds of years old) or come from the last forty years; there’s very little remaining from the post-war period into the 1960s, though I occasionally stumble upon pockets of older buildings or advertisements in larger cities.  (If you’re interested in 1950s Japan, I highly recommend this Atlantic collection of cool period photos of daily life.)

(Also, if you’re just joining in, this is Part III of my own series of Japan photos, so you can start with Series 1 here.) Continue reading »

Yep, those are little octopi on sticks.

I took this photo at Nishiki Market in Kyoto, the first multiday trip I took after arriving in Japan.  Nishiki is a massive street market selling all sorts of seafood and Japanese goods, and it was also crawling with foreign tourists looking for exotic snacks.  (The “EAT NOW OK” sign is partly visible in the background, a note to those who might be confused about Japanese customs for eating outside.)

(Oh, and if you’re just joining in, this post is part of a larger series of cool adventures I’ve had since coming to Japan, so you can start with Series 1 for the full shebang.) Continue reading »

As you’ve probably figured out by reading this blog, I work a LOT.  One thing I don’t often talk about, though, is that I also do a lot of fun stuff.

I currently live in Japan (specifically, Toyama prefecture), and though I came here primarily because I got a sweet job as an ALT with the JET Program, a part of me also came because Japan is full of amazing, beautiful, weird, mesmerizing, and downright awesome stuff to check out.

I try to use my days off for creative work and other productive things I want to get done, but I also make time to visit places and experience the world around me.  Not only does visiting cool places serve as a solid happiness boost, it also helps me grow as a creative person in much the same way that reading books does by giving me more to think about and reflect on.  It’s hard to get new ideas when you’re stuck in your room Continue reading »