Next up in the “Teaching in Asia” interview series is my friend Philip, who some of you may know as ToLokyo on YouTube. Philip graduated from university in 2003 with a degree in English Education – Secondary and a certification to teach grades 6-12 in Florida. During college, Philip did an internship abroad in Saipan. [...]
Archive for the ‘Japanese Culture’ Category
Caught Doing Good: Teaching English in Korea and Japan
Posted in Japan, Japanese Culture, Teaching English Abroad, tagged Caught Doing Good, constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Korea, life in Japan, life in Korea, South Korea, teaching, teaching English, teaching English abroad, teaching English in Japan, teaching English in Korea, ToLokyo, Travel on September 10, 2010 | 6 Comments »
Absolutely Grotesque: Feminist Literature in Japan
Posted in Book Reviews, Japan, Japanese Culture, tagged book review, constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, critical essay, feminism, grotesque, Japan, Japanese culture, Japanese feminism, kirino natsuo, natsuo kirino on September 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Unlike the West, Japan does not have a history of strong feminist movements – or, at least, Japanese feminism is less focused on individual autonomy than Western feminism. Even today, most ‘feminist’ dialogue takes place within community or civil rights organizations, not feminist activist groups. While the position of women within Japanese society has changed [...]
The Works of Kon Satoshi: Introduction
Posted in Film Reviews, Japan, Japanese Culture, tagged anime, constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, film review, Film Reviews, Japan, Japanese animation, Japanese culture, japanese film, Kon Satoshi, Millennium Actress, Paprika, Paranoia Agent, Perfect Blue, Satoshi Kon, Tokyo Godfathers on September 1, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Alright, I realize that by doing something like this I am going to be revealing just how much of a nerd I am to everyone who reads this blog. However, considering my last blog post mentioned that I have history-induced orgasms, I guess I’m not fooling anyone into thinking that I am coolness personified. Over [...]
Kechien Kanjo at Koyasan, Wakayama-ken, May 2010
Posted in Japan, Japanese Culture, Travel, tagged constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese history, Travel on August 22, 2010 | 8 Comments »
Back in April/May, my mother came to visit me in Japan. During our trip down to Osaka, we took a ‘little’detour into the nearby Wakayama-ken. Our destination: Koyasan (高野山). Founded in 819 by the monk Kukai (AKA Kobo Daishi), Koyasan is the world headquarters of the Koyasan Shingon sect of Buddhism. Home to approximately 120 [...]
われわれ日本人: We Japanese, You Gaijin
Posted in Japan, Japanese Culture, JET Program, tagged ALT, constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, JET Program, life in Japan, teaching in Japan on June 23, 2010 | 21 Comments »
I was recently asked to answer a few questions for the new website iShare-Japan about my experiences since I have moved to Japan. As some of you know, I have lived in Japan for almost a year; my so-called ‘Japaniversary’ will be on August 3rd. That’s no where near long enough to have developed a [...]
Racism in Japan
Posted in Japan, Japanese Culture, Ramblings, tagged constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, Japan, life in Japan, racism on May 10, 2010 | 21 Comments »
As a part of the ‘Japan YouTube community’(though somewhat reluctantly) I’ve encountered a lot of the videos that people have posted about racism in Japan. I don’t really agree or approve of a lot of these videos, because they are almost always very negative and extremely one-sided. Personally, I haven’t experienced much racism while living [...]
Nakizumo Crying Sumo Festival, April 2010
Posted in Japan, Japanese Culture, Travel, tagged Asakusa, constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, Japan, Japanese, life in Japan, nakizumo, Senso-ji, sumo on April 26, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Yesterday, I braved the crowds at Asakusa’s Senso-ji temple to witness a time honored Japanese tradition – shaking babies. No, I don’t mean the sort of behavior that results in Shaken Baby Syndrome, but the infinitely more entertaining one type that involves young sumo wrestlers. Every year on the 4th Sunday of April, Senso-ji Temple [...]
川崎の金まら祭り AKA The Kawasaki Iron Penis Festival
Posted in Japan, Japanese Culture, Travel, tagged constantine in tokyo, fertility shrine, Japan, Japanese, kanamara matsuri, kawasaki, kawasaki penis festival, shinto on April 5, 2010 | 1 Comment »
About a 30 minute train ride outside of Tokyo is the city of Kawasaki, a typical Japanese suburb that sports a large train station/depaato and many neon-clad pachinko parlors. Every year on the first Sunday of April, Kawasaki is invaded by a flood of gaijin, Tokyo’s LGBT community, and curious onlookers to participate in (or [...]
Purikura (プリクラ – Print Club)
Posted in Japan, Japanese Culture, tagged critical essay, Japanese culture on January 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
If you go to Japan or have Japanese friends you’re bound to run into a purikura photo or photo booth. Purikura stands for purinto kurabu (プリント倶楽部), or print club. These photo booths were introduced in 1995 and by 1997 over 45,000 booths existed around the country (Okabe, Daisuke et al., pg. 1). It is popular [...]
Irony in Advertising: コカ・コーラ ゼロ
Posted in Japan, Japanese Culture, tagged Japanese culture on January 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Have you guys seen the old Coca-cola Zero commercials? They are ridiculously awesome… “Hey, fat ass, just drink diet soda! It works for the Americans!” (Not an accurate translation) This commercial spot ironically mocks the ‘Cool Biz’(クールビズ) style that the government promotes in Japan to help cut down on air-conditioning and other types of electricity [...]
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