Category Archives: Adventures in Columning
Randoseru Giveaway! Get a genuine Japanese backpack
When I wrote a while back about randoseru recycling, I got a ton of emails from readers asking where they could get a used Japanese school backpack. So many that I hunted one down to give away. This is a … Continue reading
The Urban Balcony: My First Japanese Garden
Before I moved to Japan, I lived in a house with a garden. In Tokyo, I’ve lived in an urban apartment. No garden. No access to the outdoors. Then in July, I moved to a second Tokyo apartment. Still no garden. … Continue reading
More on Manhole Quilts — and the Tsunami
The other day I received a solicitation for sleeping bags for one of the coastal towns in Iwate Prefecture that was all but destroyed by the March 11 tsunami. The town is called Kamaishi. More than 600 people in Kamaishi … Continue reading
Adventures in Columning: Japanese bobtail cats
One of my very first “What the Heck is That?” columns in The Japan Times, way back in 2005, was about why Japanese alley cats don’t have tails. A few months after the column appeared, I got an email: I … Continue reading
Adventures in Columning: Manhole Quilts
This beautiful quilt arrived in my Tokyo apartment last week, and inspires me to write here about the adventures I’ve had thanks to my columns in The Japan Times. Back in 2008, I wrote a column about Japan’s beautiful manhole … Continue reading
