Sho Ga Nai (SHOGANAI) It Ain’t What It Appears To Be
“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not...
Gaman – Japanese patience and the people of Tohoku
The strong manly ones in life are those who understand the meaning of the word patience. Patience means restraining one’s inclinations. There are seven...
To Drive, Or Not To Drive
Only after a few months of arriving in Japan, I started to make enquiries about how to get my Japanese driving licence. I didn’t...
Coming Home
“Where you stand depends on where you sit.” Nelson Mandela
Japan is changing. Maybe its not as fast as some would wish (or in the...
Revisiting Nadeshiko
The victory by the Japanese National Woman’s Soccer team at the woman’s World Cup captured the world’s attention for a number of different reasons....
An Insider’s Educational Experience
Among the major benefits of being a teacher in a foreign country are the opportunities it provides for meeting and speaking with the “natives”....
We Japanese Think…
By Mark Lavers
Early in my teaching career in Japan, I remember a student prefacing a statement with “we Japanese think”. I was shocked that...
