This manga was recommended by someone, so I decided to read through the first volume. At first, the plot seemed strongly reminiscent of a certain early 90s movie about a unique type of “time travel”, however as you read into the 2nd and 3rd parts you start to see there is much more depth to… Read More »
Recently I reviewed the site “小説家になろう” which is where you can find thousands of free Japanese novels and short stories of various genres. One thing I’ve realized (again) when looking for Japanese stories to read is that I’m quite picky about the types of stories I read. I try to stay away from things that sound too commonplace, like… Read More »
When searching for a new Japanese novel to read, I decided to peruse through the Fantasy section of Booklive (one of my favorite E-book sites) to see what was available. A few of the books looked pretty cheesy, but one of the book’s title and cover art intrigued me: “Witch of the Library” (図書館の魔女) by Daisuke… Read More »
Without a doubt, ramen soup is one of my favorite types of Japanese cuisine, but until recently we lived in an area devoid of restaurants that served decent ramen. Having moved to Portland a few months ago, I was eager to try Ramen at a bunch of restaurants in the area and compare, and I’ll admit I had… Read More »
Lately, I’ve been trying out a bunch of random Japanese novels via the free samples available on the E-book site Booklive. I went through a few that were mediocre, after which I came across upon the 2014 novel『そして、星の輝く夜がくる』(Soshite, hoshi no kagayaku yoru ga kuru) by Jin Mayama. I got absorbed into it after only a few pages, and before I… Read More »
I’ve lived in South Florida for quite some time, and I feel that the more time passes, the more disappointed I get with the general state of Japanese cuisine in this area. There are precious few restaurants that have high-quality Sushi, and some of the better places seem to have gone downhill in the last… Read More »
Recently the same friend who had introduced me to the great Japanese band Jizue (review) told be about another entertaining Japanese group: Fox Capture Plan. This is an instrumental band with three members (Ryo Kishimoto – Piano, Hidehiro Kawai – Base, Tsukasa Inoue – Drums). They bill themselves as “Modern Jazz Rock” (現代版ジャズロック), but much… Read More »
Today we visited an event at a library in Fort Lauderdale, South Florida, which had many great activities for kids including a free book for the first 1000 children to arrive, boardgames, picture taking area, face painting, and live performances. The first performance was by a Japanese woman of the name of Kuniko Yamamoto, titled… Read More »
Although I’m very much into many facets of Japanese culture, one thing I need to spend some more time researching is some of the classic artists of Japan. Katsushika Hokusai (often just called ‘Hokusai’) is one of the most famous artists from the Edo period. It’s very likely you’ve come across his famous print “The… Read More »
In this post I’d like to discuss the Japanese podcast “僕と、嫁さんと、息子と、ゲームと” which I’ve been listening to almost every day during my commutes to work lately. (By the way, if you aren’t using podcasts to help supplement your Japanese studies, you’re missing out! You can see a few other of my podcast reviews here) This podcast, translated as “My… Read More »