My 45 Minutes In A Japanese Police Station

I have done no fault but nevertheless I had no other option. It was all voluntary, no one was to blame not even the person whose wallet I found in front of my apartment. Yes, I picked (not steal) someone's wallet and because I cannot personally communicate with the owner, I surrendered the item to the police.   Police Station A successful trip to the koban (police station)...

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Scooping For Your Life in a Japanese "Perya"

Goldfish Scooping (Photo Credit) Okay I admit, the title seems to be an exaggeration but really there is a lot of scooping going on in a Japanese "Perya". For those who may not know the term, it is a shortened form of "peryahan"- a Filipino word (maybe Spanish-derived) for mini-carnivals present in town fiestas or matsuri as they call it here in Japan. When I was young, I loved...

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Why Election Campaigns Don't Accumulate Trash

Where I come from, elections and the election campaign greet you in the FACE. What would not be more obvious than this photo below? And because posters would tend to pile up one on top of the other, or the same face would be repeatedly posted in a row, tons of paper and tons of trash will find their way on the busy streets... an eyesore really but surprisingly, things are different here...

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Mama Mary and Her "Chinky" Eyes

I usually attend mass in a chapel in Suita but not on this special Sunday. We are celebrating a mass for the International Day so we traveled for an hour and a half by train to a cathedral in Morinomiya. It was the first time for me to see a big Catholic church in Japan, much more attend a Japanese mass. And upon entering the church, something or rather someone inside really caught my eye....

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Japanese Fitting Room Surprises

Shoes Off Please  OFF WITH YOUR SHOES THEN OFF WITH YOUR CLOTHES Clothes are not the only things you take off (and well of course put on) in a typical Fitting Room in Japan. As what they would traditionally do before entering a house, customers are expected to remove their shoes as well.  I think it is very convenient because you would easily figure out whether someone is inside the...

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5 Things To Try For A Better Hanami Experience

This is what Hanami is all about (Photo credit) When spring is around the corner, Japanese people have this custom of enjoying/viewing the flowers or what they call Hanami (花見 or "flower viewing"). In most cases, Hanami refers to viewing cherry blossoms ("sakura") which usually bloom at the end of March until late April. Families, couples or friends having picnics...

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How a Japanese Saved My iPhone from Destruction

I just cannot let this day pass without dedicating a blogpost for today's blessing so here goes... While the rest of the world and most of my guy friends are having a blast destroying monsters and devouring each other in the recently released Diablo III, my iphone also had a little adventure of its own. What I thought was an ordinary dinner time with labmates turned out to be a fatal moment...

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