“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” — a Japanese proverb Japanese society is full of rules. Rules explicitly stated, and rules that are just in the air. When I moved to Japan, I unknowingly broke every rule. At first, people cut me some slack — I was a foreigner, fresh off the plane. […]
Japan
The Gift of Cherry Blossom
Days are getting longer, clocks have sprung ahead, and soon it’ll be cherry blossom season in Japan. The blossoms are weeks early this year. They’re scheduled to begin blooming around March 21 in Tokyo. Which means it’s— HANAMI TIME! Across the country, people will grab blue vinyl tarps to stake out their turf under the […]
Happy New Year of the Pig!
I hope you’re having a wonderful 2019. I welcomed the new year with a traditional soul food meal of black-eyed peas, greens, and chitlins. (I usually don’t eat pork— much—but it’s the year of the pig…) My husband, from Kyoto, ordered Japanese osechi—a Godzilla-sized New Year’s bento box with black beans, dried fish, seaweed. It’s […]
Bonenkai
Tokyo Firewall is set in Japan at the end of the year. In one scene, a character is getting dressed for a Bonenkai party, a traditional celebration when friends gather to forget the past year’s troubles. Much alcohol is consumed… In the spirit of Bonenkai, as this year draws to a close, may you let […]
I met Michael Jackson because of a McDonald’s Cheeseburger
I eat clean — vegetarian, organic — but once a year I have to have — I MUST HAVE — a McDonald’s cheeseburger with a small order of fries. The craving is an unstoppable force, a primal urge. The junk food arches of gold. But it’s also how I met Michael Jackson. Years ago when […]