OK, sounds unlikely, but bear with me... One of the pleasing changes I discovered on returning to Japan after a few years away was the arrival here of Sarson's malt vinegar. Little portions of fish and chips in paper …
Japan has just passed a significant milestone: the average household now spends more on bread than it does on rice. I'm not sure why, as most of the bread on sale here has the taste and texture of cotton wool (I'm imagining the taste …
The highlight of April so far for me has been the opening of the first ever Ben & Jerry's ice cream parlour in Japan (left). At last I can get my hands on a Chunky Monkey again! (am I allowed …
Why is that the weather's always glorious during the week and then come Saturday it pours with rain? Well, maybe not always, but certainly that's been the pattern here the last two weekends. Never mind, it's provided the perfect excuse …
Flags across Japan flew at half mast on Sunday 11 March, to commemorate the first anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that claimed so many thousands of lives. The country paused for a minute's silence at 1446, the exact moment …
Why is it that pollen always seems to know when it's exam time? In the UK, come May/June, out pops the pollen to torment all those poor examinees, as if they didn't have enough to worry about. Japan's academic year …
When you live abroad but are paid in sterling, as I am, you become pretty sensitive to exchange rate movements. In the 18 months that I have been in Japan the yen has strengthened by 12 % against the pound. …
The UK isn't the only country with something to celebrate this year: some 1800 Japanese companies are celebrating their 100th anniversary in 2012. Suggests it might be a good year for manufacturers of commemorative goods... Looking down the list …
In theory Japanese companies were back at work after the New Year break on 4 January. But it's a while before normal routine resumes. On the first day back there is some kind of ceremony to mark the start of the …
You've got to admire Japan's resilience. An earthquake 6000 times more powerful than the one that hit Christchurch in February, the most towering tsunami in a thousand years, nuclear crisis, power shortages, typhoons, astronomically strong yen, flooding of their factories in Thailand, predictions that the …
