A friend recently told me that I was “so like Byron.†I tried to puzzle out what she meant: A prolific poet? A notorious bisexual? A major theme in a work by Tom Stoppard? All are applicable to me, but I imagine, given the context of the conversation in which we were engaged, she…
The Hanshin Earthquake of 1995 has widely been regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in Japan’s recent history. Over six thousand lives were lost and there were billions of dollars in damages. However, in all the chaos and pain something beautiful and bright began. The Italian government donated over 200,000 painted…
Hello everyone, I am Justin Parker Pool I, another in a long line of Shiga JETs gracing the pages of this illustrious publication’s pixelated pages. I spent my formative Japanese years in beautiful Omihachiman just east of the Mother Lake, Biwako. My base school was Hachiman Technical High School for the duration of…
Adelaide stepped off the bus and into the rain. It barely registered to him, the water lashing against his face, the disgusting cloying of the damp collar against his skin. It rained so often where he lived, it was like political corruption or economic recession– it had just become part of the scenery. Bitchface…
An Instructional Guide on Dragging People Around Japan It may not happen for everyone, but eventually you may receive long-distance visitors. In as many months, I had two friends from America make the long trek to the land of the rising sun. Naturally, I was expected to serve as guide, translator, and planner for…
Season’s Greetings JETs! (Whoa it feels odd to say that) I saw the Christmas trees go up in my local department store on November 1st and then my body tensed up and my head started shaking as I realized BUM BUM BUM… the Christmas carols are coming! I know anyone who has worked in retail…
My father had a unique approach to business. He wasn’t a salesman, at least not in the traditional sense of the word; he certainly made a lot of money in his time. Not that he was even particularly interested in being rich– he was just interested in people, even if he didn’t especially like them…
 Fall is in full swing in Japan. Finally we have been released from the insufferable temperatures and now can enjoy the beautiful colours of the changing leaves and innumerable varieties of sweet potato and pumpkin flavored foods. However, as October turns to November, and November to December, we are faced with another climate…
The temperature has started dropping and the autumn season is fast approaching. This means swapping out clothes, pulling out the kotatsu, dusting off that nabe pot, and getting ready for what is considered the season with the best food in Japan! Be sure to eat your fair share of mikan, persimmons, and of…