Cultural discovery starts at the table
In an eastern area of downtown Tokyo, classes are being held in a six-story building promoting Thai language and culture. Kinshicho, in Sumida Ward, has all the trappings of a "Little ...
The protester, the party animal, the professional millennial — it seems like the Japanese capital had a place for every foreign stereotype imaginable in the past decade. We look back ...
Halloween's rise in the 2010s provided Shibuya crossing with plenty of tricks and treats
While Halloween has been around in Japan for a few decades it wasn't until recently that it became a true phenomenon, especially at Tokyo's iconic Shibuya crossing.
There are plenty of activities to get involved with at the Japan Writers Conference taking place in Tokyo this weekend. You can't be everywhere at once, though, so here's a look at some of the presentations that caught my attention. Recasting Your Inner Critic as ...
'Disturbance' gives a voice to victims of domestic violence
Standing alone, high up on the balcony of the Musicasa theater in Tokyo, the character of Jane — a wife, mother and a victim of domestic abuse — leaves a red analog phone with a coiled cable hanging over the balustrade. "That's a bit of ...
There's a student Uprizine that needs to be heard
When students Hikari Hida and Trica Euvrard discovered that their university had no support in place for victims of sexual violence they created Uprizine to help make a change.
#StandUpJapan and other hashtags allow for new voices to be heard
On the morning of Jan. 14, 20-year-old women decked out in brightly colored kimono scrambled to catch trains to take them to ceremonies across the country to mark Coming of Age Day. The day's related ceremonies, targeted at young men and women who have or ...
How Coretta Scott King brought her husband's message to Japan
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which this year falls on Jan. 21, is a federal holiday that marks the birthday (Jan. 15, 1929) of one of the United States' most-revered civil rights leaders. After King was killed in 1968 while standing on the second-floor balcony ...
Sort out your digital diet and keep your sanity in 2019
Judging by the New Year's resolutions I'm hearing so far this year, the internet was a real source of frustration for a lot of people in 2018. Thanks to a constant stream of bad news resulting in outrage that takes up most of the day ...
It's 2019 and it's time to hit those Japanese textbooks — for real
Whether you've been here for several days or several decades, listening to fellow expats, immigrants and other non-Japanese residents groaning about their dissatisfaction with their language abilities is nothing new. The advice I've received on how to improve, however, sometimes skews toward the exasperating. I've ...
Knowing how to write is a necessary skill if you want to work in translation
Any great chef can whip up an omelet. But each has their own style — the herb-rich French omelet, the albumin-heavy American omelet, the sweet Japanese tamagoyaki, the list goes on — but either way, you can expect to be served up something tasty. That ...
The crew at TELL Japan wants you to know you're not alone during the holidays — or at any other time
The holidays can be tough for foreign nationals in Japan. For those hired in the summer, the thrill of being in a new country is starting to fade. Open social media feeds and you'll be bombarded with photos of family and friends back home ...
