Archives

Here lies the old content. Everything dating back to when it all started in 2003; a catalogue of my tentative foray into the world of web-logging. It’s pretty much all here, unashamedly presented in reverse chronological order. My best, and my worst. But some posts are indeed timeless, so if you have a free moment, go back through the archives and see if you can dig up some treasure.

2023

We Close Our Eyes — 15 October

2019

Space Oddity: Japan’s Lost Futuro House — 21 May
The Dark Night of the Soul — 1 January

2018

Dare to be Vulnerable — 16 November
Ye Olde Curiosity Clinic — 24 March

2015

Genesis Simple Portfolio — 20 September
Battleship Island Becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site — 5 July
Finally! New English Road Signs in Japan! — 3 February
The Tower of Skulls — 2 January

2014

Top 50 Japanese Buzzwords of 2014 — 19 November
The Eccentric Mr. Innards and His Golden Kingdom — 6 November
Sunday Night Ghost Island — 9 March
Why I Love Urban Exploration — 27 February
Gaku-RUN-Man - Running the Tokyo Marathon — 23 February
Hi! I'm a Foreigner! Racist Party Mask — 13 February
Gunkanjima Geocache — 25 January
Documenting Adventures in 2014 — 25 January

2013

The Japanese Zeitgeist: 10 Buzzwords of 2013 — 1 December
Top 50 Japanese Buzzwords of 2013 — 22 November
Ama - The Pearl Diving Mermaids of Japan (Warning: Nudity) — 5 November
How to Buy the Things you Love from Japan — 2 November
Gakuranman: A History Through the Pages — 15 October
Half Cat, Half Hoax? — 20 September
Don't Compare Your Inside to Someone Else's Outside — 20 August
Armchair Exploration: The Haikyo Story That Inspired 'Gone Home' — 18 August
Pink Secrets of the Red Villa — 16 May
Dealing with Saudade — 21 April
Gakuranman Body Pillow - Available Now! — 1 April
I Took the Road Less Traveled By — 23 March
Oh Dear! I Shall Be Too Late! — 16 March
The Honourable House of Mr. H — 21 February
Carpe Diem — 2 February
Horonai Coal Mine Substation — 31 January

2012

Haikyo Sandy Claws for Christmas — 25 December
Haikyo Adventures in Snow Country — 10 December
The Mysterious Island in Skyfall: Hashima / Gunkanjima — 15 November
Top 50 Japanese Buzzwords of 2012 — 12 November
Abandoned Tuberculosis Sanatorium for Children — 26 October
Like A Boss! (Coffee) — 26 September
36 Iconic Tokyo Metro Subway Manner Posters 2008-2010 — 10 September
Burtonesque Pokemon: Macabre Re-imaginings — 7 September
Microaggressions or Icebreakers? Everyday Irritations for Foreigners in Japan — 14 June
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Field Test — 17 April
Daily Mail Used My Photos Without Permission and Without Payment — 7 April
Haikyo House of Hidden Treasures — 30 March
Driving in Japan: Passing the Japanese Driver's Test — 8 March
The Winding Tower of Shime Coal Mine — 6 March
Olympus Photo Festa 2012 Nagoya — 18 February
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Preview — 8 February
New Year's Resolutions 2012 — 10 January

2011

f11 Magazine: Urban Exploration Interview — 22 November
Top 60 Japanese Buzzwords of 2011 — 18 November
Post-Apocalyptic Images of Japan — 15 November
Nikkei Trendy's Top Trends of 2011 and Predictions for 2012 — 14 November
At the Eleventh Hour... — 11 November
A Beautiful Kobushime-chan — 2 November
The Jimonjitou Days — 21 October
Deserted Dolphin Island Ruins in Okinawa — 18 October
Radiation Scare in Setagaya — 14 October
A fresh start with the journal — 5 October
A Brush with the Law at a Haikyo Hotel — 28 September
Iori Tomita's New World Transparent Specimens — 18 September
Night Walk with the E-P3 and Olympus 45mm f/1.8 Lens — 16 September
Olympus PEN E-P3 Field Test — 15 August
Kanabun Drone Beetle Macro with the E-P3 — 13 August
Night Walk with the E-P3 and Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 Leica Lens — 11 August
Olympus E-P3 Shooting Fireworks — 7 August
Olympus E-P3 PEN Preview — 27 June
The Best Resources for How to Learn Japanese — 23 June
Urbex at the Grain Tower Battery — 21 June
Touring Lake Biwa on a Mama Chari Bicycle — 16 June
Thoughts on Discussing Other Cultures — 9 June
The Foul Stink of the Japan Snake Center — 3 June
Great Tohoku Earthquake (Latest) — 8 April
Great Tohoku Earthquake 5 — 23 March
Ruminations on Citizen Journalism and Media Bias — 21 March
Great Tohoku Earthquake 4 — 18 March
Great Tohoku Earthquake 3 — 16 March
Great Tohoku Earthquake 2 — 14 March
Great Tohoku Earthquake 1 — 11 March
Dead Creatures from the Deep — 9 March
Love Land - A Quirky Korean Sex Park — 1 March
Page Rank in the Japan Blogosphere — 24 February
Classic Nintendo Mahjong Set and Hanafuda Cards — 9 February
Conclusion to the Royal House Haikyo Mystery — 31 January
Urban Exploration in the Paris Catacombs 3 — 25 January
Urban Exploration in the Paris Catacombs 2 — 21 January
Urban Exploration in the Paris Catacombs 1 — 19 January
Tying Up a Loose End at the Royal House — 18 January
Speculation about the Royal House Family — 14 January
A look back at 2010 on Gakuranman.com — 1 January

2010

The Royal House Mystery Unravels — 5 December
Gakuranman Youtube Channel Has Moved! — 29 November
The Royal House Haikyo — 18 November
Fifteen Fantastic Froggie Fotos — 9 November
A Return to the Sepulchral Doctor’s Shack — 30 October
Skritter for Writing Japanese: Review — 28 October
There's Always a Way! - しょうがある！ — 15 October
Kawatana Human Torpedo Training School — 2 October
The 7 Stages of Gaijinhood Revisited — 1 October
Are You Just Recollecting Japanese? — 29 September
Ruins of the Imari Kawanami WWII Shipyard — 27 September
The Gruesome 'Art' of Daikichi Amano — 8 September
Raiders of the Lost Subterranean Shrine — 31 August
Grape Picking on a Hot Summer's Day — 31 August
Flutterscape Competition Winners! — 29 August
Japanese One Point Lesson: 青姦 — 17 August
The Ethereal Void of the Maya Hotel — 10 August
Lost Worlds – Japan Times Articles — 8 August
Flutter Japanese Goods Home: Giveaway! — 6 August
Touring Japan 2010: Day 8 - Kaiyukan — 1 August
Touring Japan 2010: Day 7 – Haikyo Hiking — 31 July
Touring Japan 2010: Day 6 - Oboke Rafting — 30 July
Touring Japan 2010: Day 5 - Rusty Teshima — 29 July
Touring Japan 2010: Day 4 - Ritsurin Park — 28 July
Touring Japan 2010: Day 3 - Art Houses — 27 July
Touring Japan 2010: Day 2 - To Naoshima — 26 July
Touring Japan 2010: Day 1 - Kyoto Drinking — 25 July
Diving on Ishigaki Island — 21 July
Useful Expressions for Arguing in Japanese — 30 June
Gunkanjima: Ruins of a Forbidden Island — 28 June
Monkey Island 2: Lechuck's Revenge Remake — 17 June
Eerie Monotones of the White Stone Mine — 16 June
Interview with the Gakuranman — 13 June
The White Stone Mine: Fragments of the Past — 9 June
Ruins of the White Stone Mine in Vivid Colour — 2 June
Sexy Japanese Zen Buddhism: Nude Forms — 14 May
How to Argue in Japanese — 12 May
Secret Japan Blog Matsuri — 30 April
10 Beautiful Cherry Blossom Pictures — 17 April
Becoming a Samurai - The Ieyasu Parade — 10 April
Japansoc Blog Matsuri 2 — 29 March
The Hazards of Haikyo and Urban Exploration — 24 March
Japanese Penis Festival — 22 March
The Secret Doctor’s Shack — 17 March
Photography with Jason Collin — 5 March
The Corrosion of an Elephantine Haikyo Bus — 3 March
Jeju Mysterious Road and Totem Pole Graveyard — 28 February
On Becoming Japanese — 24 February
Gakuranman.com Website and Logo — 17 February
NihongoUp contest results — 29 January
Bring the Ocean into your Bedroom — 27 January
The Red Demon Samurai - Ii Naomasa — 21 January
Slick Samurai Sword Chopsticks — 20 January
Star Wars Chopsticks - Nibble with the Force — 13 January
NihongoUp Japanese Study Tool Review — 8 January
Deep sea bonefish extension cord — 6 January

2009

Magic PET bottle creatures — 30 December
Light Photography in a Rotting Onsen Hotel — 28 December
Roly Poly Cat Egg for Christmas? — 23 December
Rotting Onsen Resort Hotel — 21 December
Ice Cubes that Tell Stories — 16 December
How blogging is changing Public Relations in Japan — 13 December
Sea Anemone Accessory Holder — 9 December
Top 5 free online Japanese English dictionaries — 7 December
CGM Night 6 - Otaku Version — 4 December
R2D2 Soy Sauce Bottle — 2 December
Decaying Volcano Observation Deck — 28 November
Mysterious Abandoned Volcano Museum — 25 November
Autumn Networking 2009 — 16 November
Horrific My Neighbour Totoro — 11 November
Top Japan-related people to follow Twitter list — 4 November
Gakuranman.com v5 — 26 October
Red Bean Pepsi — 21 October
Super Mario Cakes and Treats — 17 October
The Yaki-Imo Man of Japan — 14 October
Anglerfish Ovary & Microscopic Photography — 10 October
Gakuranman Giveaway Winners! — 5 October
Japanese-style Interior Design — 2 October
Random Japan Photos 1 — 30 September
Aeon Photo Walk — 27 September
Usavich — 14 September
Gakuranman Giveaway! — 8 September
August in Japan 2009 — 2 September
Weird Things About Japan — 27 July
Japansoc Blog Matsuri — 4 July
Unusual Katakana Words — 25 June
Japanese One Point Lesson: なう — 19 June
Olympus E-P1 PEN Preview — 16 June
New Monkey Island and Remake! — 2 June
The 'Gaijin' Debate — 29 May
The World of Golden Eggs CM — 28 May
Super Mario X Japanese Lesson — 24 May
Yakushima - Japan Travel Photos — 21 May
Gakuranman Fan Art — 20 May
Japanese Newspaper Headlines — 5 May
Wason Card Puzzle Solution — 30 April
Wason Card Puzzle — 28 April
Japansoc Poken Contest — 24 April
Warship Island — 23 April
Launching: Gakuranman.com — 21 April
Learn Kansai-ben — 16 April
Fine Orient relaunch — 7 April
Work-Life Balance in Japan — 29 March
Japansoc Blogger Conference 2 — 15 March
JLPT1 2008 Results — 8 March
Love Doll Rental in Japan — 3 March
Why say Moshi Moshi twice? — 27 February
Lucky Japanese Girls — 22 February
Refusing people in Japanese — 18 February
Happy Birthday Darwin! — 12 February
Fish and Chips — 7 February
GTO Jdrama — 3 February
Learn Japanese with the Gakuranman — 30 January
Moral Naturalism — 20 January
Expressivism — 19 January
Moral Internalism vs. Moral Externalism — 17 January
Open Question Argument — 15 January
Textbook Reformations — 14 January
How to make people Angry — 9 January
Procrastination — 6 January

2008

There She Is!!! Final — 29 December
Luminescent Mushrooms — 24 December
Christmas Dating in Japan — 20 December
Website v3 — 14 December
JLPT1 2008 - The Aftermath — 10 December
QR Codes — 6 December
CSS image rollovers — 3 December
Club Nintendo Member Gifts 2008 — 30 November
Nyoki Nyoki, Mydodolook and Magibon — 25 November
Squid ties and USB drives — 19 November
Metaethics Intro — 16 November
Three Quirky Deep Sea Creatures — 13 November
Anki-ising — 31 October
Battle Royale Collar — 29 October
Knowing Nothing v2 — 15 October
Adventures on Yakushima — 5 October
Watermarking images — 19 September
Panty Vending Machines — 12 September
CD Rental in Japan — 21 August
Absence - in Japan — 19 August
Ricoh GX100 — 21 June
Japanese csv database — 7 June
Spider art and plucking — 30 May
Hume's Moral Philosophy — 23 May
Kant's Moral Philosophy — 22 May
Aristotle's Moral Philosophy — 21 May
Moral Philosophy - primer — 20 May
Okaeri - Ayaka — 15 May
Spiderman Para Para — 10 May
Golden Eggs Techno — 23 April
Oingo Boingo — 8 April
London Ghost Walks — 2 April
Colour in the Deep Sea — 24 March
JLPT2 2007 Results — 16 March
The World of Golden Eggs — 9 March
Smash Brothers Brawl! — 4 March
Hot CROC and Rasputin — 27 February
Japanese Speech Contest 2008 — 13 February
Crying - that lump in your throat — 11 February
Reading philosophy — 7 February
Manga portrait — 30 January
Japan Year Abroad Report 2007 — 27 January
First Kiss Jdrama — 23 January
Wittgenstein's Fly bottle — 21 January
Responses to Skepticism — 17 January
Internalist views — 17 January
Externalist views — 17 January
Externalism vs Internalism — 17 January
Nozick's truth-tracking — 15 January
Gettier Cases — 14 January
Justified True Belief — 13 January
Closure Argument — 13 January
Left-brain Right-brain — 11 January
Moral Anti-Realism — 9 January
Moral Realism — 9 January
Ersatz Modal Realism — 9 January
Problems with Modal Realism — 8 January
Possible Worlds — 7 January
Realism vs. Anti-Realism - primer — 6 January
Happy New Year! — 5 January

2007

Welcome home! — 3 December
Christmas Theme! — 1 December
Casio Ex-Word XD-GW9600 — 29 November
Import tax on the Dench'!? — 27 November
On banners & Ambigrams — 25 November
Club Nintendo & Hanafuda! — 22 November
Zeitgeist, The Movie — 20 November
Christmas comes early! — 14 November
Broken Dench' — 4 November
Cogito Ergo Sum — 31 October
About Me & Contacting — 28 October
There She Is!!! — 24 October
Clione — 20 October
Brown Penny — 15 October
Knowing Nothing relaunched! — 14 October

2006

Trying Fugu — 10 December

2005

At the University of Leeds! — 21 September
Chatterbox — 13 September
Random quiz — 29 August
Surfing on the gentle hum of air — 11 August
Return and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — 1 August
In Tokyo — 26 July
To Shodoshima — 15 July
Daisen — 20 June
Jack Johnson and Shodoshima — 31 May
The Power of the Sith — 21 May
Thoughts on work — 10 May
Back at Shiso — 26 March
Live from B@gus! — 3 March
My 6 month GAP report — 12 February
Snowboarding! — 28 January
Osaka Kaiyuukan and Capsules — 16 January
Arrival of Winter — 12 January

2004

Winter Sonata — 29 December
Christmas happenings — 26 December
Report — 18 December
Three months! — 1 December
My address again — 15 November
Gion Odori and Shiso Home — 15 November
Matsuri, typhoon, Kyoto, Kobe and studying — 27 October
Himeji and the screaming deer — 13 October
Maeda-sensei — 7 October
Osaka and Yamasaki — 28 September
Shiso address — 17 September
More from Shiso — 15 September
At Shiso — 10 September
GAP Japan Diary - Beginning! — 2 September
Final Farewells — 29 August
GCSE Japanese result — 26 August
Froglet photography — 22 August
Japan Pictures - Xtra! — 22 August
A Level results and Japan Diary! — 20 August
Friday July 16th — 20 August
Thursday July 15th — 20 August
Wednesday July 14th — 20 August
Tuesday July 13th — 20 August
Monday July 12th — 20 August
Sunday July 11th — 20 August
Saturday July 10th — 20 August
Friday July 9th — 20 August
Thursday July 8th — 20 August
Wednesday July 7th — 20 August
Tuesday July 6th — 20 August
Japan Diary! (Abridged) — 20 August
Chris visits! — 11 August
London, passports, visa and anime — 6 August
Chris's sleepover — 5 August
My belated birthday party & other stuff — 1 August
I'm off to the Peak District — 22 July
In a hole — 20 July
I've got a golden ticket! — 19 July
Gilbert's Syndrome — 19 July
Japan - return — 18 July
Japan beckons! — 5 July
Room 101 — 3 July
GAP interview — 1 July
What in the hell?? — 30 June
Riverside — 30 June
Brief tadpole update — 28 June
Gap year form — 26 June
Froglet! — 23 June
RHCP and Colindale — 20 June
R.S. & Odd meme — 17 June
Blah... — 14 June
4 exams — 9 June
Tadpole safari — 7 June
Tadpoles!! — 6 June
How the rain falls... — 2 June
Hayfever... Oh joy. — 29 May
Japanese exams — 25 May
Official final day & MYP — 21 May
Update update update — 17 May
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator — 6 May
Eternal sunshine of the morally stainless mind — 20 April
Handicamp diary — 17 April
Handicamp return — 16 April
Pre-Handicamp & work — 9 April
Parents evening & Sensei — 17 March
Chisai sakana! — 9 March
Reading, rainbows and status anxiety — 7 March
The Square Knot — 4 March
琥珀 - Kohaku! — 3 March
Returned... — 29 February
Blitz Downloading — 27 February
Drowning in paper to Japanese lyrics... — 26 February
MYP visit & Wai-sun's Monty Python fest! ^_^ — 24 February
Trigonometric Identities — 22 February
And so half term approaches... — 21 February
One more thing I hate... — 19 February
'Christian Ethics hang by a divine thread' :P — 18 February
Busy week... — 14 February
Birth Month Meme — 11 February
'The Barley Method' — 4 February
Random update... — 2 February
Phoenix — 31 January
BBFC rating, Blair wins and Auras o.O; — 27 January
Hot Topic!! — 21 January
False! Tricksey! Filthy hobbitsessss... — 18 January
The Last Samurai — 17 January
Oingo Boingo - my introduction — 12 January
BETTs and Collindale — 11 January
Wahhhh-Hoooooo!!!! — 11 January
D:\ Is corrupt and unreadable... — 9 January
Disinclined to acquiesce your request... — 6 January

2003

Ansir Profiler — 26 December
Christmas — 24 December
Random tests... — 24 December
Absolutely nothing... and Love — 22 December
MYP Christmas social — 16 December
Japanese party & Heather's — 14 December
Susuwatari!! — 12 December
BAE and such — 10 December
RPG — 2 December
Personality Test — 30 November
UCAS offers, drawing (etc) — 29 November
'Every Child Matters' - Medway Youth Parliament — 28 November
Moboroshi High School — 27 November
Dante's Inferno — 17 November
Plato and the Allegory of the Cave — 9 November
Updating that RPG... — 30 October
Trick-or-Treat — 29 October
Give A Reason... — 27 October
Finding Nemo! Broken Sword! — 25 October
UCAS - Complete! — 23 October
Medway Youth Parliament — 22 October
Only brief today... — 21 October
Multitasking... — 18 October
Random weirdness with the King of Sarcasm himself... — 17 October
Trudging through Thursday — 16 October
Just Another Day... — 15 October