Tag Archives: culture

Hawaii Travelogue: A Japan away from Japan [Ch.5: Food in Hawaii]

This article is a part of series of articles about my 2017 trip to Hawaii. Please see the table of contents that contains links to other chapters. Food in Hawaii In Hawaii, specifically Waikiki, you can find much of the usual fare: American (including popular chains such as Denny’s and McDonald’s), Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and… Read More »

Hawaii Travelogue: A Japan away from Japan [Ch.1: Why Hawaii? and First Impressions]

This article is a part of series of articles about my 2017 trip to Hawaii. Please see the table of contents that contains links to other chapters. Why Hawaii? After much discussion we settled on Hawaii not just because of the Japanese culture there, but also because it was significantly closer to us (in Portland,… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 6]

This is the 6th chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land and his encounter with its indigenous people and culture. If you enjoy this story and want to read more, please consider liking this… Read More »

Japanese literature magazine review: 小説幻冬 (Shousetsu Gento) 

These days rather than reading Japanese novels, each which can still take me quite a long time to finish, I’ve been reading a literary magazine called 小説幻冬 (“Shousetsu Gento”, where “shousetsu” means ‘novel’ or ‘short story’) published by 幻冬社 (Gentosha). [Gotta love the name “幻冬”, which is made up for the characters for “mysterious” and… Read More »

How does Godzilla unpeel a banana in Japan?

Language and Culture are inextricably connected, and to master a language of any country surely requires a strong grasp of its traditions, manners, beliefs, and other aspects of culture. Getting a proper fill of culture is one of the most difficult things about studying a foreign language self-taught when not in a country where that… Read More »