As I head into my final two months of living in Japan, I continue to panic. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with myself, even immediately after I touch down on American soil (hug my mother, lavish affection on my pets, lug overly-full suitcases, pull a…
Now that Deadpool has finally arrived in a blaze of obscene glory, I can finally review it! I first saw it in February at an English-only theater in Vienna with two friends who are former JETs. I then got to dangle this fact over my current JET friends’ heads as they salivated in…
In honor of my seventh visit (and as it’s the most magically powerful number), below is a list of Kansai’s best theme park’s best attractions. Obviously, not everyone will agree with this, but I think it’s safe to say most other ALTs’ lists would be populated by the same rides. Without further ado,…
It’s hot and muggy, the JLPT is in two days, and many Americans are probably cursing that fact. Welcome to July, and my final issue as the editor of the Hyogo Times! My first July was the easiest: I went on a road trip up to 天橋立 with my Kobe area friends,…
South Korea’s second largest city, Busan, opened its port to the Western World back in 1876. Since then, it has expanded in a rather Western way (out instead of up, though they’re making up for that with some of their department stores now). The city is much more relaxed than Seoul and makes…
For perhaps the first time since I moved to Japan, a movie I was interested in seeing was released here before America! To celebrate such a momentous occasion, a visiting friend and I saw Civil War in IMAX 3D. On its own, it was enjoyable, but I was pleased with our decision from…
My love for Uematsu Nobuo goes back many, many years. I was first introduced to the Final Fantasy series when I was a wee 3rd grader. A friend told me about FFVII and we role-played on the playground for a while before I was able to convince my dad to buy me the…
Ah, the rainy season. Fortunately, Starbucks is this year presenting us with a baked cheesecake frappuccino, which sounds intriguing and with the potential to be incredible. Keep those waterproof accoutrements around you yet (for frappuccinos spillages, and the rain, I guess)! My first June in Japan, I jetted off back to Portland for a…
On April the 17th, of 2016, the book club met at Rough Rare (its second time hosting) to discuss Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites. It is a fictional imagining of the final months of Iceland’s last citizen to face the death penalty. Agnes Magnusdottir begins the book nearly inhuman and covered in her own…