Sometimes I Have Adventures in Japan – Series 4

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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 »

Life Update: I’m Swamped With Work and Things Are Crazy

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All right, gang—this is going to be quick, because as the title implies, it has to be.

I’ve had a lot going on spread across multiple fronts the past few weeks—Day Job work, creative work, daily life maintenance, and just about everything else you can think of.  On top of all that I had some friends visiting from the States last month, and while it was all kinds of awesome to see them again and take a sweet trip, taking two weeks off from creative work hit me hard.

To give you a better idea of what I’m dealing with this month, here’s a snapshot of the most pressing items: Continue reading »

Sometimes I Have Adventures in Japan – Series 3

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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 »

Sometimes I Have Adventures in Japan – Series 2

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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 »

Sometimes I Have Adventures in Japan – Series 1

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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 »

Daily Creative Work Schedule in Japan!

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(This one took a couple of tries to iron out…)

After I got to Japan, I had trouble sorting out the best way to schedule my creative work time—like, a lot of trouble.  I finish work at 4:00 every day and get home soon after that, so it seemed pretty simple to walk in the door, throw down my bag, and get right to work on the novel, right?

Negative.

Looking back, I wasted a lot of time when I first got here, especially in the afternoons between 4:00 and 5:30, when I’d come home, plop down on my bed, and scroll through my phone or listen to a podcast for longer than I intended.  I was also losing a lot of time after dinner to inactivity Continue reading »

A Kind of Sappy Post About Why You Should Keep Your Space Clean

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This is my Japanese-style shower.

It’s a separate room from both the sink and the toilet, with stone walls, a stone floor, and a sliding plastic door.  The bathtub is deep enough so you can sit with your knees hugging your chest with the water up to your neck, and it’s surprisingly comfortable.  The shower head detaches and can be held in your hand, fastened up high (my preferred style), or clipped at waist-height so you can wash yourself while sitting down.  Because the walls, door, and window are all watertight you can spray water anywhere you want, and it all runs down that big drain in the lower left-hand corner.

I’m showing you this because 1) It’s a pretty cool way to take a shower, and 2) It’s a bitch to clean. Continue reading »

I Got SICK (But I’m All Better Now)

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The title says it all—last week I got hit by a nasty case of strep throat that had me writhing in tonsil-pinched agony for three nights and coughing in a runny-nosed mess for four days, plus some lingering coughing and sneezing I just couldn’t shake.  (That’s the most graphic I’m going to get in this post—promise!)

We’ve all been sick before and know what it’s like (no fun, except for the staying home and watching movies part), but this week I want to share three illness-related observations you might not have thought about: Japanese health care, taking days off, and falling behind on creative work. Continue reading »

Bad Habits I’ve Fallen Into in Japan

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Opportunities aside, a big disadvantage with packing up all your stuff and moving halfway around the world is that it screws up your rhythm big time.  Back home I had a set work schedule, a familiar desk where I could write, and ingrained habits for how to get my shit done.  In Japan, not so much.

Part of why I love schedules is that they help me develop better work habits: by doing my work at similar times of the day in similar ways in a similar place, the process becomes more familiar and less intimidating, thus helping me ward off procrastination and save time by getting down to work faster.

This is the same reason I do things like make my bed every morning and eat a similar breakfast (eggs over easy with toast if I have the time, cereal with milk if I don’t) so that instead of having to think about how to get my day going I can just do it, like a kind of reflex or muscle memory.  Get enough of these little routines Continue reading »

The Economics of Living in Japan (For Me, Anyway): Part II

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Last week I shared how much I’m paying for rent, health insurance, and transportation in Japan, and it turns out that I’m saving quite a bit!  In the second half, let’s see how my other expenses measure up…

 

Food

 

Groceries Back Home: $150 ~ $250/month

Groceries in Japan: ¥15,000 ~ ¥25,000 ($150 ~ $250, estimated)

Winner: Tie

 

Back home I cooked almost every night (though some nights I loosely defined “cooking” as prepping a box of mac and cheese) as part of my regular routine, and that’s mostly been the case in Japan now that I’m more settled.  During my first few weeks here I found myself relying more on convenience store lunches (which are excellent) and pre-prepared foods from the grocery store, which actually worked pretty well since there’s a lot of sushi, noodle, and meat dishes Continue reading »

The Economics of Living in Japan (For Me, Anyway): Part I

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Here’s how much it costs to live in Japan.

One of the reasons I came here was purely economical: things in Japan are just plain designed so one person living on their own can live more cheaply and efficiently.  This means that for most people, compared to living in the States the same amount of salary will cover more necessities and leave you with more money to save and spend how you want (!!!).

To demonstrate, here’s a rundown of how much I make and how much I’ve been spending living alone in Japan versus living alone in the States.  Obviously this is just intended for reference, since everyone moving to Japan, whether you’re working for JET or for a private company, is going to have a different situation.

So, let’s do some numbers… Continue reading »

Eikaiwa Bums Chapbooks Now Available! (Plus Thoughts on Webstore Mechanics and Why Personal Touches Matter)

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The big moment’s here!!!!!!!!!!111

The actual, printed copies of my chapbook, Eikaiwa Bums, got to Japan this week and are ready to order.  I’m not going to lie—opening that envelope and seeing them stacked up was all kinds of exciting, and it was something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time :-)

Quick catchup in case you’re just joining in: Eikaiwa Bums is a 20-ish page short story about life at a for-profit English conversation school in Japan.  It’s based on some themes from my Japan novel that I pitched to the good folks at Blue Cubicle Press and that they published last month as part of their Overtime series of chapbooks about work.  (If you’re interested in how the story went from novel draft to Blue Cubicle chapbook you can read all about it here.)

I’m sure a lot of you out there are asking the same question: How can I get a copy of this fine piece of writing? Continue reading »