“If you could pick five great places to smoke a cigar, where would you choose?” A question not from out of the blue, but rather from the mouth of a cigar lover. Who tossed me this query during a lull in our evening conversation. ...

The new foreigner in my neighborhood is . . . me. I am new. At least from the chin up. Not so long ago I wrote a column about losing my hair. Well, now I have found it. On my face. I took the ...

In Japan, food is not just food. It’s art. And I do not mean the plastic imitations that decorate Japanese window displays. I mean the real thing, the very food on the very plate. For meals here are designed to please the eye as ...

I have news for those who fear the machines will one day rise against us. They have already risen. Maybe not in the Skynet sense. We don’t have cyborg Schwarzeneggers stalking city streets. For why would the machines want to kills us? They already ...

Japan is a revolving door when it comes to foreign residents. They come and they go. And when they go, most never come back. My life — like everyone’s I suppose — has been touched by a lineup of characters who once energized my ...

All good marriages hinge on compromise, no matter what the couples’ cultural backgrounds. Remove compromise and the open door of married life soon swings awry. “Ahem . . .” My wife clears her throat. “I prefer a different analogy. One where compromise in marriage ...

“A good job is hard to find” sounds like the title to a short story. One where the hero leaps various hurdles until at last plucking the perfect position. Or in a sad twist, ends up out on the streets with a pair of ...

I have always enjoyed a good zoo. . . . Ah, now that’s a compelling lead! To start, it offers a pale echo of Blanche Dubois in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” stating that she has always relied on the kindness of strangers — right ...

Japan typically digs in its heels against outside customs. To win acceptance here, such customs must first measure up to Japan’s high standards of cultural attainment. Which means . . . they gotta make money. Thus, through the years Japan has been trampled over ...

My wife cannot tell a story. There. I have delivered my point in six words. And now I will explain. “Oh, I can too tell a story,” she says, pouting. “I can tell a story as well as any person alive. Except for maybe ...