Kristen Barrett 
A new year has begun! A new semester is beginning, and summer is now a little closer to us. Well, unless you’re in Australia/The Upside-Down, then winter is coming. Say hi to Barb for us! Poor Barb. With a new start here, you may be pondering a big change: a semester or summer studying abroad … Read more
When I taught English abroad in the inaka (countryside) of Japan, I lived in a very small, very old mountain village. From afar, it was beautiful. Rice fields surrounded the mountain, lush greenery was everywhere, and in the summer, tall cumulus clouds floated slowly across the sky. It was like a scene straight out of … Read more
I try to recall the day that I first found Banana Yoshimoto, and the memory is shrouded in an aggravating haze. I must have been in my early college days, browsing the fiction section (the end of it, no doubt, where all the other Y-named authors reside), when the image of a young Japanese … Read more
After drifting away from it for a time, diving back into the world of Haruki Murakami is like going home again. That is, if home consists of heartache, jazz, Western literature, talking cats, whiskey, pasta-making, and classical music. Which, apart from the talking cats, is not too far outside the realm of normal. Murakami, … Read more
“I don’t know, I just wanna’ get healthy, you know? I wanna’ take…better care of myself. I would like to start eating healthier…I don’t want all that pasta! (sigh) I would like to start eating, like, Japanese food.” So sayeth Bob, or, the actor Bill Murray, in the 2003 film Lost in Translation, as he … Read more
When I was younger, I learned two things from my mother: one, to never apologize for bursts of ugly-sobbing when the world was crashing down on you and your only comfort was a wine cooler (it was the 90’s), and two, to never ever go to sleep with your makeup still on. Fifteen or so … Read more
In the past few years, a movement has quietly begun to take shape in Japan. A subtle but undeniable growth of the fitness-focused lifestyle has bloomed, planted in a country some might deem barren of fitness education. Images of muscular, tanned Japanese men posing at bodybuilding events are plastered on social media, a stark contrast … Read more
Take All of Our Yen: Japanese Skin Care Products You’ll Love Japan is a country where a minimalistic, simple aesthetic has long been prized. Of course, step foot into the panic-attack-inducing, claustrophobic confines of an electronics store in Akihabara, Tokyo, and you may beg to differ. But overall, there is a theme that seeps into … Read more
When I was learning Japanese, my go-to device was my Nintendo DS. On it, I used the game “Kanji Sono-mama Rakubiki Jiten,” an electronic Japanese dictionary and kanji translator, and I got my money’s worth. I used that baby every single day throughout college for my Japanese classes. When I lived in Japan, I carried … Read more
With all of the streaming options we have now, the choices can become overwhelming. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve scrolled through my Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, or YouTube queue, unable to choose what I’m in the mood to watch. I scroll until my eyes go cross-eyed and I toss my phone onto the … Read more