-
602,089 students took their
602,089 students took their university entrance examinations yesterday. This is the moment they’ve been working towards throughout their school years. They’ve studied, memorized and crammed their minds full of facts for these examinations. Some of the hopefuls will make it into their college of choice and face a pretty easy road through university. It’s generally…
-
Paying utility bills in
Paying utility bills in Japan is interesting. You take your bill, and the necessary cash, to the post office or to the convenience store and pay there. You can’t mail a check since there are no checks in the Japanese banking system. At the convenience store, the clerk scans the bar code on the bill…
-
Traditional workman’s clothing is
Traditional workman’s clothing is distinctive and very functional. Pants balloon at the knees then fall tight and straight to meet leather-bottomed split-toed socks called tabi A vest with pockets tops the outfit. What’s really nifty is that these traditional uniforms are still in widespread use. You can buy them online at Tokyo Uniform along with…
-
I love it when
I love it when DigitalEve Japan gets good press. We all work so hard at creating an engaging, useful organization that articles like today’s in the Japan Times’ Techno Times section make me grin.
-
Spring might be creeping
Spring might be creeping up on us already. The weather in the past few days has certainly made a turn in that direction. I can tell because it is colder inside the house than outside. It seems crazy that I shiver as I’m putting on my coat and shoes in the hall, then feel toasty…
-
I’ve always been a
I’ve always been a bit behind the times when it comes to adopting new technology. But today I joined the ranks of normal people when I purchased a cell phone. It’s a sweet little thing–a D211i. In addition to letting me make phone calls, I can surf the web, send e-mail (if I’m willing to…
-
Although I’ve never really
Although I’ve never really wanted one before, I picked up a DoCoMo catalog today to look at the cell phones. There are 28 different handsets ranging from ones that can run Java applets to more basic models with greyscale displays. It costs between 3,000 and 45,000 yen to purchase the hardware. Then come the calling…
-
Sunday afternoon at the
Sunday afternoon at the free market (aka flea market) in Shinjuku was fun. Sarah, Tod & I gawked at all sorts of old dishes, kimono, and pretty Tibetan style things, but spent most of our time poring over old maps. Sara ended up with a 1930s hand-tinted map of Tokyo and two vivid reproductions of…
-
Japan’s businesses are in
Japan’s businesses are in deep trouble despite the weakening of the yen which makes the import/export figures look better. Yesterday MyCal, a national grocery and retail chain, closed its doors after a two-day 80% off sale. eBay Japan is considering how to manage compeition in the online auction market here. One idea is to sell…
-
Today’s the day to
Today’s the day to break the kagami mochi and to burn all the holiday decorations. Kagami mochi is the double-decker offering of sticky rice made at the new year. By now, it’s gone hard and cripy and after scraping off the mold which has no doubt accumulated, you must crack it with a hammer into…
Archives