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Brendan Craine
Rabbits are supposedly easier to get through quarantine, but Japan’s outgoing quarantine rules for our fluffy friends actually take a fair bit of time.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 1, 2023
Hare today, gone tomorrow: Another cautionary tale for expats headed home
In another piece about leaving Japan, our departee learns some hard truths about the country’s quarantine guidelines for animals.
Tossing your car in the forest when you leave Japan doesn't help anyone. If you want to throw away your things properly, you'll need to pay attention to your paperwork.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 24, 2023
Wheeling and dealing: A cautionary tale for expats headed home
Ditching big items, like your car, can be tough in Japan if you don't time things just right.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 15, 2023
Making a case for Japan’s right to brag about its four seasons
Sure, there are four seasons everywhere in the world. However, Japanese culture tends to treat them with a reverence that isn't observed elsewhere.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 27, 2023
More simple words to power up your conversations in Japanese
Continuing with conjunctions, here are a few that allow you to string pieces of similar information into a sequence.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 16, 2023
Some simple words to power up your conversations in Japanese
Japanese conjunctions, what's their function? Well, they can make your conversations go a lot smoother for one thing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 2, 2023
The Buddhist terms that find their way into everyday conversation
Just as Christian terminology has had an effect on English turns of phrase, Buddhism is the source of a lot of Japanese terms and phrases.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jan 18, 2023
Grammar for grumps: When you just don’t feel all that genki
We can't feel 'super genki' all the time, even if that's the prevailing mood that Japanese textbooks try to encourage. Here are some ways to express your dissatisfaction.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 25, 2022
How to put your best foot forward when stepping into a Japanese tatami room
You get an invite to your landlord's place, which is great. However, now you have to navigate the etiquette rules of the tatami room they will entertain you in.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 21, 2022
Walk this way, talk this way: The Japanese vocabulary of going on a pilgrimage
Get back to nature and take a break from the rat race by embarking on one of Japan's many storied pilgrimages.

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition