It's official! Sometime after 10pm JST on 5th July, the UNESCO committee decided that the 23 'Sites of the Meiji Industrial…

It's been a long time coming, but it seems Tokyo winning the 2020 bid for the Olympics and the surge in visits from foreign…

Continuing an annual tradition here on Gakuran.com, I'm back translating the Japanese buzzwords for 2014. Fresh new expressions…

Anyone who has lived in Japan for a reasonable amount of time (and many who have just visited) will have had the pleasure of…

As a followup to my popular Top 50 Buzzwords of 2013, Anthony Joh, director at Gaijinpot and producer for the well-known Tokyo…

In what's become something of an annual tradition here on Gakuran.com, I'm back again analysing the Japanese words of the year -…

One of the lesser-known but fascinating parts of Japanese culture is that of the Ama pearl divers. Ama (海女 in Japanese),…

Have you ever wanted to buy certain products from Japan but found it difficult to do so? You may not have realised, but there is…

Today a Kickstarter email landed in my inbox entitled 'Projects We Love: Stranger than Fiction'. As an enthusiast for the…

Another year, 50 hot buzzwords nominated from Japanese publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha to capture the Zeitgeist. The prize has been…

Tokyo Metro (東京メトロ) is Japan’s largest subway system. Take a ride, and you'll find it hard to miss the catchy posters asking…

Something ghastly this way comes! Artist Hatboy has recently been posting his latest Tim Burton inspired creations - grim…

Over the last month or so the foreign community in Japan has been abuzz with talk of 'microaggressions' - a psychological term…

The E-M5 is a compact camera with incredible image quality that exceeds all but the highest expectations.

Learning to drive is an expensive and time-consuming process in most countries, but perhaps especially so for the foreigner…

The new Olympus OM-Digital EM-5 has just been officially announced. It hasn't been long since I did a field test for the E-P3,…

Publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha is right on time with its annual release of the top 60 Japanese buzzwords. The words are listed in no…

The ruins and haikyo aficionado in me couldn't resist making a post about Tokyo Genso's fabulous art depicting post-apocalyptic…

Nikkei Trendy is a popular trends magazine I've been roughly following since arriving here in Japan. I first discovered it while…

The way the media reports on radiation these days, you might be forgiven for thinking the whole of Japan has fallen foul to…

Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent. - Ludwig Wittgenstein.

The E-P3 is a camera made for taking with you.

On my night walk yesterday evening I came across some rather handsome done beetles, known as かなぶん in Japan. I decided to go back…

I know, I know. I should be working on the actual review of the E-P3, but the Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 Leica DG Summilux lens I…

Very quick post today! I've been busy lately designing websites for clients, as well as a new, sexy 'responsive design' version…

The first images of the soon-to-be-announced Olympus E-P3 micro 4/3s camera have been leaked online! I must say it looks…

Learning the Japanese language can be very fulfilling, but there is no doubt that it is challenging. With self-study and learning…

"To ask is a moment's embarrassment, but to not ask will bring a lifetime of shame."

I'll be updating this post with ongoing announcements about the huge earthquake that is occurring in the Tohoku region of Japan.…

Aftershocks seem to gradually be getting less and less and the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is, while…

We are approaching 2 weeks since the great earthquake. The situation appears to have calmed down somewhat with less aftershocks…

A week has passed since The Great Three Trials of Japan began. First a tremendous earthquake, second a destructive tsunami and…

When I first started live blogging about the Great Tohoku Earthquake, I never expected I would still be doing it nearly a week…

The beginning of the Great Tohoku Earthquake. Start here to read events as they unfolded, all listed in reverse chronological…

Google Page Rank is one of the measures used to determine a site's importance. It's based not only on the number of incoming…

When visiting my host family up in Akita some time ago, I came across a rather interesting item. It was a Mahjong board (my host…

Skritter is an interesting site I came across a while ago which specialises in one particular thing: writing Japanese and Chinese…

What's しょうがある？ The opposite of しょうがない, of course! That oft-muttered phrase that reeks of apathy and giving up. I've always hated…

After a stunningly shrewd post by Our Man in Japan, a wily Durf left a snarky comment in reply linking to this blog. It's left me…

Have you ever had that feeling of frustration when, having learnt a word one day, the very next it seems to cease to exist inside…

I'm not going to be roundabout with this. Today's post borders on the sickening. If you want to hang onto your dinner or are…

Alrighty then. It's high time I announced the winners to my recent competition with Flutterscape! There were a great selection of…

It's been a while since I looked at some interesting Japanese, so "Let's Nihongo!" it up with a frisky little word I learnt…

Flutterscape. What a marvellous idea. I wish I'd thought of it myself. Japan is packed to the brim with unique and tasty goods…

Hop on over to the Japan Times to read my special feature titled "Mastering the Gentle Art of Arguing in Japanese" - an extension…

Philip from Nihongoup recently asked me for an interview as part of his growing collection of knowledge on learning Japanese.…

A rather curious piece of art by the group Gelitin is coming to Nagoya. The 'Klunk Garden' is a mashup of a Zen Buddhist Japanese…

In a recent scuffle over the controversial whaling issue, I managed to seriously offend a couple of Japanese friends. Political…

What’s your best kept secret about Japan? That was the question aimed at fellow J-bloggers for this month's Japansoc Blog…

Sakura Season is almost over and the final petals are falling gracefully to the floor. So before this ephemeral phenomenon has…

Last July I hosted the immensely popular 'Weird things about Japan' blogging festival. This time, in celebration of the new focus…

More respectfully known as the 'Japanese Fertility Festival', but let's not beat around the bush here, this is a bizarre matsuri…

Since coming to Japan and acquiring my Olympus E-P1 I've been getting into photography in a more serious way than ever before.…

What does it mean to become Japanese? Can a foreigner or 'gaijin' ever fully integrate into Japanese society such that they blend…

Here are the winners to the review and contest I held recently. Philip has supplied me with two copies of his nifty little flash…

If you're as smitten with the ocean as me, you might appreciate this little projector unit I discovered for this week's…

Ii Naomasa is known as the Red Demon. A historic figure and one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa in Japanese history. He is…

It was only last week that I introduced Kotobukiya's Power of the Force special Star Wars-themed chopsticks. Now they've gone and…

This week's Interesting Items from Japan (Omoshiro Zakka) are Star Wars chopsticks. Use the Power of the Force to fight your way…

NihongoUp is a neat little game that installs quickly and cleanly and offers great benefits to you learning Japanese. With Kana…

It's that time of the week again. Here's another bizarre product from the everlasting goody bag of interesting Japanese items…

Magic PET creatures from the depths of the sea! What now?! Yes. They float, they sink, they wobble playfully in the waves of your…

Since it's Christmas, I figured this week's Omoshiro Zakka (Interesting Items) should be Christmas themed. But you'd be surprised…

This week's Omoshiro Zakka (Interesting Items) are quirky ice cubes. If you've ever wanted to liven up a boring glass of coke or…

How has social media and blogging affected the way companies market in Japan? In this article, I take a look at Consumer…

This week's Omoshiro Zakka (Interesting Item) is the sea anemone named 'Harry' (seemingly named after its designer). A fun-filled…

Free Japanese resources are plentiful on the internet, but have you ever wondered if you are getting the most out of them? While…

Omoshiro Zakka (オモシロ雑貨) means something like 'Interesting Miscellaneous Goods' in Japanese and is the title of this new section…

I came across an inspired Japanese horror video recently which included a rather unsettling interpretation of the Ghibli classic…

Alrighty folks and folkesses! You might have been wondering what all this fuss is about with the launch of Twitter lists. What?…

Okay, video time! The new flavour of Pepsi was launched in Japan yesterday. An ambitious Azuki (red-bean) flavour! I called into…

Here's a selection of some deliciously awesome Japanese Super Mario cakes I found on Flickr. The creator is quite the artist,…

At first a faint wail carried by a distant wind, slowly growing louder and louder into a caterwauling song. As the leaves turn…

Alrighty good people. You've been kept waiting enough! Here are the winners are the Gakuranman Giveaway contest that I posted a…

A bit of a chance encounter after work today saw me with my first photography job doing some shots for a small Japanese interior…

Faux Russian rabbits and their wacky adventures, a frog that doesn't stop eating and a masochistic transvestite chicken. Sounds…

Alrighty loyal readers and Gakuranman followers! (You ARE all loyal, right??) I figured it was about time for a little contest of…

What do you find most unusual, crazy or strange about Japan? That was the question I posed to passionate J-bloggers from around…

Alrighty then. Here are the instructions for the July 2009 issue of the Japansoc Matsuri!

A recent teaming-up with Wonky Tofugu saw Koichi and I giving a special Edufire Superpass class on bizarre Katakana words in…

Welcome to the first in what I hope will become a long-running series on this site - Japanese One Point Lessons! Today's lesson…

Oh yes! Finally we get information about the highly anticipated Olympus micro 4/3 camera offering. All the benefits of a DSLR…

That perennial debate - is it racist to use the word 'gaijin' to refer to foreigners? Here is a summary of the multitude of views…

Ooo! The Golden Eggs are back! Gotta love these insane little adverts. Plusheads and CC Lemon last year and right now on Japanese…

I came across this fantastically hilarious Super Mario World parody today. It's an original song by Hyadain which I enjoyed so…

Here's a video-photo slideshow of my trip to Yakushima (屋久島), the green island in southern Japan, famed for its ancient cedar…

Have you ever wondered how to read the headlines in Japanese newspapers? They're so chock-a-block full of kanji that it seems…

Oh yes old chap. I've only gone and entered myself into the devilishly hot Japansoc Poken Contest, haven't I? I was feeling a…

A recent interview saw me exploring some of the wonders of Kansai-ben with a native speaker. If you're like me, you might have an…

I've been pondering over this issue so much recently that I feel compelled to write an introspective post. So here are the naive…

Recently I guest-blogged for Loneleeplanet, discussing the controversial matter of 'Love Dolls', or 'Sex Dolls', and challenging…

Moshi-whatnow? "Moshi Moshi" da yo! This is the expression Japanese people use when answering the phone. But why on earth say it…

Ever wondered why some girls can stop a guy at 10 paces and others make him run for cover? Do you know how to tell a gold-digger…

I'm disinclined to acquiesce your request, dear Sir." We all have times when we need to politely refuse requests. But how to turn…

Great Teacher Onizuka! GTO is \the\ best Japanese drama. Yes, it's cheesy, cliché at times and really pushing the boundaries of…

So, as a note-taking session for my exam (today!), I decided to very briefly summarise the positions of major political parties…

Professor Himonya (碑文谷潤教授), the 'rude dude', 'zoomjap' or 'card crusher'. He's perhaps best known in the English-speaking…

After several years, the charming little Korean series created by SamBakZa involving a Cat and Rabbit has come to a close. It's a…

Illuminations, fashionable restaurants, Christmas cake, KFC, omnipresent Santa Claus avatars, Disneyland and the infamous love…

Have you heard of QR (Quick Response) codes? I came across them in Japan but didn't realise it was possible to create your own!…

It's that time of year again where we all start to get the Christmas feeling, and Nintendo Japan is as early as the rest of them…

Youtube videostars - Nyoki Nyoki, Mydodolook and Magibon. This is the new form of entertainment, apparently. These sort of…

Another deep sea creature-related post that vaguely sings of bioluminescence. Behold! No longer is your USB key bound to those…

Underwear! In vending machines! I'd heard the stories for years, at how select dodgy locations in Akihabara and other districts…

Most people probably know and accept that copying rented media is illegal in the same way downloading music and films is. So it…

Today though, more Golden Eggs! I found this great little video a while ago and was thoroughly tickled by the superb editing that…

The World of Golden Eggs da yo! Your life is impoverished if you haven't seen Golden Eggs before! It's a Japanese animation set…

Watching Jdramas is a great way to brush up on Japanese listening skills, and even cultural knowledge. Recommended is the…

What fine, dandy people they are over at Nintendo of Japan. Register a few points and then spend them on exclusive, free,…

Cats and Rabbits holding a forbidden love? That's the general theme of this popular flash animation from the Korean site…