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Immigration
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Office is a hulking concrete building designed to intimidate people. The entrance underneath a long, shadowy portico sets the tone for what’s inside. Colored stripes on the floor help to herd immigrants to the proper room for their application type. We followed the pink strip to Number 6: Business Visas. The…
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Typhoon season
Typhoon season is upon us. From August’s hot and muggy weather, we’ve reached September’s torrential rains. Typhoons are the Pacific version of hurricanes. This week we’ve been seeing rain caused by the arms of Typhoon 14. It’s parked at the western end of Japan and it’s predicted to head north towards Korea instead of east…
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Beer coupons
Yesterday on the train, five business men stepped on at Yoga station. As they settled into their seats the oldest one, who carried the nicest briefcase and was probably the “satchou” or section chief, handed his companions a thick wad of coupons. On top of the pile was a beer coupon. Beer coupons are nifty.…
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Cash not Credit
Consumers in Japan don’t use checks to pay for things. In fact, checks don’t exists; banks don’t offer checking accounts. Retail purchases are made by cash or credit card. The concept of a debit card is beginning to catch on now. For bills and other transactions, payment is made either via a bank transfer or…
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Tsukiji
Tsukiji is the wholesale market for fish. It’s a great place to go for sushi. You can’t get fish much fresher than at the market that supplies the city’s restaurants! We had lunch at Kura Maguro a kaiten zushi restaurant in Tsukiji that serves mainly tuna (called maguro in Japanese). Yum! At a kaiten zushi…
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Door-to-door sales
“Sumimasen! Sumimasen!” a high pictched voice called urgently from outside my front door. I rushed to answer it. A young, slightly moon-faced girl wearing a white shirt, blue skirt and a name badge stood on my steps. Behind her, a middle aged man dressed in a yellow shirt and khaki pants watched. “Konban ha” she…
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Moving shop
On Wednesday morning, we lived across the street from the Bunmeido Book Store. By Wednesday night, we didn’t. A few weeks back, workmen started picking apart the building. First all the bricks around the bottom floor disappeared, then big hydraulic jacks were put in place to shore up the walls. I guessed they were either…
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Crazy proprietor
“Crazy proprietor?!?” was Brendan’s greeting to us as he cracked open two Red Hooks and handed us a menu at Pizzakaya last night. Brendan, the refined and dignified proprietor of our favorite Tokyo pizza establishment, had read my Gallery Show entry on this website. I did indeed refer to his as “the crazy proprietor.” But…
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Tachiyomi
Patrons of bookstores in Japan have a long-standing tradition called tachiyomi. Literally translated, it means “standing reading.” In practical terms, this means that the aisles of Japanese bookstores are crowded with people reading books. In a recent visit to Kinokuniya, a Japanese bookstore chain, I counted half a dozen people in the foreign book section…
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Mama trudges
Mama trudges up the hill with the Mom cycle. Son, decked out in toddlers’ playclothes and a hat, sits in the basket behind. “Mama, mite!” he points enthusiastically across the street at nothing. “Eh?” Mama continues to watch the ground she rolls across. His hands flail more wildly in the same direction. “Koko, koko…” “Doko…
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