Kicchiri Kitchen: Primordial Chicken Soup
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Kicchiri Kitchen: Primordial Chicken Soup

ByTravis Love

It’s the dead of winter here in Hyogo, and you all know what that means: influenza! Teaching is one of the absolute worst professions to be in come flu season, as teachers are surrounded by sniffling, coughing, plaguebearing students. I usually interact with between 140 and 200 students a day, and with the added strain of capering back and forth like a dancing monkey for their edutainment, my immune system can always use a boost. So aside from eating a sack of mikans every day, what’s a health-conscious ALT to do?

Shorinji Kempo: the Martial Art too Japanese to Export?
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Shorinji Kempo: the Martial Art too Japanese to Export?

ByRob Miller

About 65 years ago, a soldier coming home from the war returned to a Japan very different from the place he’d left in 1931. He had been in China during its occupation and had seen the Soviet invasion of Manchuria before making it home. He had witnessed the very worst of human nature.

English Sensei Spirit: Omiai Speed Dating
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English Sensei Spirit: Omiai Speed Dating

ByMiriam Truppin-Brown

The goal of the Omiai Speed Dating Game is to give the students a fun, real-world context in which to practice the target grammar, in this case “X is as ~ as Y,” many times in rapid succession, until they are able to do it naturally and fluidly. This game has the added bonus of provoking non-stop giggling, because it asks the students to search among their classmates for a spouse.
Students write three opinion sentences using the target grammar. In this case I asked the students to make value judgments about school and free time, American food and Japanese food, and love and money.

Callin’ All Politicos: The Land of Lousy Choices
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Callin’ All Politicos: The Land of Lousy Choices

ByColin Fukai

Japan’s arch nemesis, North Korea, was very busy in 2010. Two major engagements with South Korea produced numerous deaths and raised regional and world tensions to levels not seen in many years. Japan has a long and complicated history with both Koreas that affects everyone living here, so it is worthwhile to examine the “North Korea problem” closer.

I Heart T-Points: RoboGeisha
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I Heart T-Points: RoboGeisha

ByJ.J. Cappa

There are many ways to study geisha. Middle-aged American women have Memoirs of a Geisha and Oprah. Tourists can dress like geisha in Kyoto for an in-their-shoes experience. The rich and connected can attend legitimate geisha performances. Academics turn to scholarship and classical literature on the topic. Me? I learned everything I need to know about geisha from a film released in 2009 by director Iguchi Noboru (who also makes porn). His film taught me the four tenets of geisha:

Moe Adventures: Izena Triathalon
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Moe Adventures: Izena Triathalon

ByMoe Kelleher

It all started when I got a phone call in June from my younger brother Len, who lives in Okinawa. He said he was signing up for a big triathlon in Okinawa, and if I didn’t sign up too he’d call me a loser for the rest of my life. So I agreed. My older brother, on the other hand, declined, saying he didn’t have a good bike. What a loser!

Book Discoveries: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
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Book Discoveries: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

ByCaitlin Orr

Translated from French to English, The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a powerful novel that brings two very extraordinary characters to life. Renee Michel is a concierge at an upper-class Parisian apartment complex. She constantly has to conceal her intelligence from the other tenants in her building for fear they may not appreciate her insights and philosophies – especially if they are coming from one of their apartment employees.