What Should I Do? More on AIDS in JapanRed on Apr 17 2007 | Filed under: Japan: Life
Remember the Grim Reaper AIDS campaigns of the ’80s?Late last year Pink shared with us the eye-opening story of his friend who found out that he had been dating a girl infected with HIV, and the story of his soul search while he waited for his own test results. After reading the number of [...]
Watching the Grass Grow - Tokyo StyleSilver on Apr 09 2007 | Filed under: Japan: Life
Grass. Simple green grass under my bare feet is something I really enjoy in the summer. In the park with the kids I have the occasional old person come up and say how healthy it is for the kids to be playing in bare feet, yet mine seem to be the only kids around who [...]
Bad Bad Medicine: Doctors in JapanSilver on Apr 04 2007 | Filed under: Japan: Life
We have explored on stippy how interesting it can be to call an ambulance in Japan, but have you ever had one of those crazy “only in Japan” experiences at the hospital?
Just the week before last I was hit with a mysterious sort of virus that had gone through our office. I battled through a [...]
Getting HIV in Japan - A True StoryPink on Dec 23 2006 | Filed under: Japan: Life
A friend of mine living here in Japan wrote this to me yesterday. Read it right to the end. It will chill you to the bone. You won’t be disappointed, and may even rethink a few things in your own life, or maybe make a different New Year’s resolution than the one you had in [...]
The Suburban Building Boom in Musashi KosugiBeige on Dec 20 2006 | Filed under: Japan: Life
Much has been said about the recent turn around in land prices in Japan over the last couple of years. Since the burst of the bubble land prices have been going down for 15 years but recently there has been an upswing in values in the major cities of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka although values [...]
‘Til Pension Do Us Part - Divorce in Japan set to SkyrocketBone on Nov 19 2006 | Filed under: Japan: Life
The image of Japanese salarymen working until late, drinking with colleagues, and then not wanting to go home to their unhappy marriages is a common one in Japan. Yet Japan is also well-known for its low divorce rates.. well, at least up until now that is..!
Blokes be aware - times are changing and those miserable [...]
Calling an Ambulance in JapanPink on Nov 08 2006 | Filed under: Japan: Life
Just this past long weekend, I had the misfortune of having to call an ambulance in Japan for my girlfriend, who began writhing in pain and clutching her abdomen - all the while letting rip some of the most blood-curdling screams I had ever heard. After 2 minutes of this I made the decision to [...]
What’s Hot in Japanese Toilets?The Purple Imo on Nov 03 2006 | Filed under: Japan: Life
“Your Mission: Extinguish a fire!”, says the sticker above the urinal. It is the latest in an arsenal of stealth weapons gaining popularity in Japan amongst toilet cleaner circles. These Toilet Target Marker Stickers, play on a known male psychology by changing colour with the heat, as they are doused in urine. They are [...]
Getting a National Pension Payment Rebate When Leaving Japan as a “Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment”Bone on Oct 25 2006 | Filed under: Japan: Life
The Japanese Government has a system where foreigners leaving Japan, who have been paying into the pension system, can receive back a portion of these payments. This is known as a “National Pension Payment Rebate”, or a “Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment”. After all those hard years slugging it out working in the far east, you [...]
Musings of a Gaijin: First Months in JapanBlue on Sep 27 2006 | Filed under: Japan: Life
By Guest Writer Simon Adams
Editor’s note: For us who have been living in Japan for so long, it is refreshing to occasionally read the account of someone who is fresh off the plane, and still living in wonder everyday at how this country ticks. This is an article that Simon wrote when he had only [...]