Japan is a dream destination attracting people of all ages and walks of life. The attraction is mutual, as Japan’s government is setting a goal of welcoming 40 million tourists in 2020 and 60 million by 2030. However, as in all popular tourist destinations, miscommunications arise, creating discomfort in both locals and visitors. The problems…

I’m 192cm tall, otherwise known as somewhere in the realms of 6’ 3” to 6’ 4”. By Western standards, that makes me somewhat taller than average, but take a random selection of a hundred Japanese men and I’d be surprised if even one of them is my height or taller. That equates to the fact…

Nearly 700,000 young Japanese people are missing. They have seemed to drop from the face of the earth. They do not work, they do not engage socially, and they are gone for years at a time. These tend to be largely young men between the age of 15 to 34. These young people will suddenly…

There different reasons you might need to buy new shoes in Japan. For example, you travelled to Japan to attend a wedding and forgot to bring your fancy pair, the season is unexpectedly different and you need to adjust your shoe wardrobe or,simply, the current pairs you got are worn out. If you have big…

Because Tottori University International House (probably that of other universities too) only caters international students for a maximum of one year, I moved out to rent an apartment last month. Author’s photo Hey, I tell you what, the whole process was quite tedious, especially if you have a problem communicating in Japanese. For me, although…

As many as a million young people in Japan are thought to remain holed up in their homes, sometimes for decades at a time. Why? For Hide, the problems started when he gave up school. “I started to blame myself and my parents also blamed me for not going to school. The pressure started to…