The Japanese summer is officially over. But the heat lingers. Japan is a hot and humid country, which comes as a surprise to newcomers who can’t really imagine humidity at 70 or 80 percent with no rain. Many foreigners come to terms with their ...

Imagine yourself out on the Seto Inland Sea in a boat. You’re by yourself, floating along happily. You open a beer and kick back for a while letting the boat drift in tranquility. You can see the shore, but it’s a bit far to ...

If you’re wondering where all the ninja are these days, I can tell you. They’re hiding within the bodies of people you’d never suspect, such as your next door neighbor. Our island has a very high concentration of modern ninja, whom I will define ...

Recently, I have had this creeping crud on my hands. I get it every year. It looks like poison ivy — except that it isn’t. How cruel to have only the effects of something and not the actual something. At least if I had ...

Meet Ususama Myo-ou. He purifies the unclean. He hangs out in bathrooms. He’s the guardian deity of the toilet. I’m thinking of inviting him to do a residency. Here’s why. As you may know, in the countryside in Japan many houses still have pit-style ...

“Wow, what’s that?” I asked Mrs. Amano. In her arms she was holding a furry thing with whiskers. I couldn’t quite recognize the animal as it had tufts of hair sticking out all over it — like a hexagram with a cat face in ...

Today I’d like to introduce you to someone so important, she may change your life. She has been a highly revered VIP for years, and is a household name in Japan, China and India. Although she is relatively unknown to the Western world, her ...

If you stay on a small island in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea long enough, you will become one with nature. Mainly because there is nothing else to become one with, except for maybe alcohol. Being one with nature isn’t just convening ...

The day I leave Japan, the country will be worse off for it. The Japanese will have lost a cartoon character in their comic strip of life. Once I am gone, who will they laugh at? I am here to ensure the entire country ...