Dear Alice, I was more than a little shocked, upon moving to Japan last year, to see people riding bicycles on sidewalks. Back in Arizona, in the United States, sidewalks are for pedestrians, and it’s illegal to ride a bike on one. Each time ...
Dear Alice, Perhaps you have not paid much attention to men’s restrooms in Japan, but in the vast majority of public toilets the urinals and the men using them are completely visible to anyone passing by. Do you think this is done on purpose? ...
Dear Alice, While out for an autumn stroll with my wife’s relatives, I came across what, at first glance, seemed to be a pair of samurai scarecrows! They were nearly as tall as me, made all of straw, and were packing two swords each! ...
Dear Alice, I just don’t get it. I go to the drugstore and there are all kinds of crazy products that claim to give you a “small face.” I’ve seen facials and massages for the same purpose. Then today I saw a magazine cover ...
Dear Alice, While living in Tokyo a few years back, there was one thing that I never stopped wondering about: the incredible number of Japanese with crooked legs! It seems like more women are afflicted than men, but maybe that’s just because they show ...
Dear Alice, What the heck are those little piles of salt that I sometimes see at the entrances of Japanese restaurants? I used to think it had something to do with food, until I noticed the occasional salt heap in front of other kinds ...
Dear Alice, I never saw a coin with a hole in the middle of it until I came to Japan, so I’m totally fascinated by the 5-yen and 50-yen coins. I even send them as gifts to friends back home, sometimes strung on chains ...
Dear Alice, On a springtime visit to Japan, I saw something at Toshogu Shrine in Nikko that really got me wondering. There was a festival going on, and a handsome archer made his appearance on horseback. He was decked out in traditional archer clothing ...
“Getting there is half the fun.” With that maxim in mind, my family and I decided to forego all the usual means of transport for our first trip across the Seto Inland Sea to Shikoku last month. Instead of relying on plane, train, car ...
Dear Alice, Once again, loudspeaker trucks marred what should have been a peaceful weekend at home. First it was a parade of vehicles blasting nationalist songs, then it was that pesky guy who circles round and round calling out for used appliances. Even the ...
