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Osaka Recommendations
I just got finished with a family visit to Japan and I haven’t put up a post of random Japan travel recs in a long, long time, so…
あとになってわかったこと
Collector's Mindset - How to Japanese - February 2025
Collector’s Mindset
I just sent out the February newsletter and podcast. This month I wrote about a phrase I encountered last summer while prepping for my annual Murakami fest. Give…
状態・状況
The January newsletter is out, which means the podcast is also out! I wrote about another Impossible Pair, this time 状態・状況. Give the newsletter a read and the…
のです
Mixing direct and distal styles - How to Japanese - December 2024
のです and Economic Conditions for Writers in Japan
The podcast is online! This month I wrote about のです (no desu) through an examination of some of Kakuta Mitsuyo’s writing that nicely captures two ideas that I…
修飾
Modification Complications - How to Japanese - November 2024
Asking for Someone’s Name in Japanese
I am beside myself. I forgot to include one of the most important and most useful examples of 伺う (ukagau, ask/hear/visit) in daily Japanese. I wrote about 伺う…
The City and Its Uncertain Walls – Review Redux
The English translation for Murakami Haruki’s latest novel The City and Its Uncertain Walls will be published on November 19, and reviews are starting to trickle out, so…
The Various Forms of うかがう
The newsletter and podcast are online: This month, the core topic I looked at was how easy and broadly useful is 伺う (ukagau) is, especially for folks struggling…
The Move
Well, Murakami did not win the Nobel Prize this year. But I’m back on my Murakami bullshit anyway. (Brief aside to note that I missed out on purchasing…
Petra
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
確か・確かに
You sure about that? - How to Japanese - September 2024
Impossible Pairs
The newsletter is online, which means the podcast is also here: The core of the newsletter is about “impossible pairs,” in particular 4日 and 8日. Do you know…
Vibes-cation
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
Black Monday
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
Infinite Appetites
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
Athens Marathon 1987
Welcome back to Murakami Fest. This is our 17th year doing this activity, and this year I’ll continue to look at Distant Drums (遠い太鼓), Murakami’s travel memoir written…
確認
The most useful kanji compound - How to Japanese - August 2024
Airbag Expressions – 確認
This month in the newsletter I wrote about 確認 (kakunin), a really useful word in so many different ways. Give the podcast version a listen here: While writing…
How much did Norwegian Wood weigh?
In the newsletter this month I did a check-up on my kanji study. The prognosis? DOA. I haven’t done a serious kanji repetition for over a year now.…
Holy Rollers
The June newsletter is up over at Substack. I wrote about 聖地巡礼 (seichi junrei), a word that means “pilgrimage of holy sites” which has been largely taken over…
文壇
Exploring the literary world - How to Japanese - May 2024
The State of 文芸誌
The newsletter is online, which means so is the podcast: This month I wrote about the 文壇 (bundan, literary world), which is most easily accessible in monthly literary…
Sentence Diagramming
I just sent out the newsletter for April. This month I focused on diagramming Japanese sentences. This is something I’ve been trying to do recently to get a…
お湯割り
In the newsletter this month I wrote about 角ハイ (kakuhai). This is a combination of 角瓶 (kakubin), Suntory’s flagship whiskey, and ハイボール (highball), a mixed drink made from…
まとめる
Bringing things together - How to Japanese - February 2024
How to Japanese Podcast – Episode 48 – The 1,000-yen Haircut and まとめる
On the podcast this month, I continued the conversation about value in Japan, specifically looking at the 1,000-yen men’s haircut, which I think is one of the worst…
Thrifting, Retaining Value, and the New Translation of Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World – Podcast Episode 47
I come from a family of thrifters and hoarders. It’s not fatal—we throw out our trash regularly and occasionally sort through the pantry—but we do accumulate stuff. And…
いろいろ December 2023
I ran out of space over at the newsletter this month, so I thought I’d share the いろいろ section on the blog instead. Podcast link at the bottom!…
How to Japanese Podcast – Episode 45 – コロケーション
I finally managed to see John Wick: Chapter 4. It only came out in Japan in September, six months after it’s initial release. In the newsletter this month,…
スミマセン
Visual communication - How to Japanese - October 2023
How to Japanese Podcast – Episode 44 – スミマセン
In the newsletter this month, I took a look at 非外来語のカタカナ表記 (non-gairaigo katakana notation), which is a complicated way of saying “katakana used to write words that are…
Prophecy
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
それが
An interesting conjunction - How to Japanese - September 2023
How to Japanese Podcast – Episode 43 – それが
Ahoy! Here’s the podcast, kanjilubbers! This month I’m talking about the message behind the message, inspired in part by my high school calculus teacher, Dr. Collins. Check out…
Editing Norwegian Wood
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
Old Shoes
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
Booze Bus
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
The Closet Massacre
Welcome to Year 16 of Murakami Fest! This year, as hinted in last month’s newsletter and podcast, I’ll be continuing my look at 遠い太鼓 (Distant Drums), Murakami’s travel…