Do you know her? I stared at their enormous bloated protruding noses, exposed floppy ears, enlarged craniums and piercing cobalt eyes. Viewed overall their facial features appeared puffy and without definition. Who were these exotic and frightening LH430 people?

Are Harajuku Goths Sacrilegious? A high school student of mine is into the Cospaly scene. Not from a wealthy family, she spends months of creative endeavor in costume design and before she and her boyfriend head up to Harajuku.

Making babies for Japan. I'm an attractive fertile women. The Prime minister wants me to have a baby. He and I know that the greatest threat to Japan's future, apart from Global Warming, is the current de-population of the country.

Teaching English in Japan is a messy business. Nothing in the collective account of introspective and homogeneous obsessed mythology that passes as Japanese culture has prepared its citizens to want to learn another language.

The Miraikan is my favorite new discovery, what an excellent museum! Mirai means future, and the Miraikan is Tokyo's 'National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation'. The building itself is gorgeous, and it is filled with an overwhelming ...........

Shimokitazawa Road Controversy: Tokyo's plan to build a big thoroughfare that will split the neighborhood in two. Shimokitazawa, in case you've never been, is a densely-packed maze of alleys filled with tiny bars, used clothing stores, music clubs etc., like a super-concentrated Berkeley or Greenwich Village.

Shimokitazawa, a hard rock hamlet in western Tokyo, must have the highest per-capita electric guitar ownership in the world. It's a little like the town scene in Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, except the Japanese on the street carry guitars rather than swords, and wear T-shirts and Converse shoes rather than kimonos and sandals.

Monkeys and Onions No, that's not a recipe. Yet. It sounds increasingly mouthwatering to me, though, compared to the way I felt in my previous ignorance, when I thought monkeys were cute.

Sushi Anyhow what's the big deal about sushi? For those of us who live in Japan, sushi is nothing special and maybe we should appreciate it more. The cultural staples of rice and fish make sushi a very unremarkable phenomenon. In fact, the concept of sushi dates back to a very practical purpose in .............

Ramen Empire If you're under 100 years of age and are interested at all in food, especially the finest oriental cuisine, then you probably saw the Japanese movie Tampopo, and if you saw Tampopo you know what it means to get a ramen craving, like you did after the movie. And as to the ideal venue for craving ramen, Japan is of course the

Shikoku This is a brief guide for English-speakers who plan to undertake the 八十八ヶ所巡り hachijūhakkasho-meguri ( 88 temple pilgrimage of Shikoku). Whether you are at one of those 'stages' in life, or an Eikaiwa / Mova teacher re-thinking why you came to Japan, or someone ................

Rat Race Does this image mean anything to you? It certainly did to me - just a couple of years ago. It sums up beautifully how I felt. There I was, working full time for a local I.T. firm, whilst simultaneously trying to build up my own business. I was a member of ............

Japanese etiquettes. Japan is a country of many traditions and etiquettes. Everything in Japan has its own way to be done and if you do something different, everyone will look at you wonderingly.

Driving in Japan Until June 2002, Foreigners driving in Japan (who held a valid drivers license from their home country) could apply for an international driving permit (IDP) and drive in Japan permanently.

Japlish. With Japlish the Japanese are able, forever politely, to raise their collective finger in the air and wave it at the Gaijin horde smiling and conveying silently what they think of the English experimentation.

Juijutsu In Japan, there is a saying, Nana Korobi Ya Oki, which means, "seven times down, 8 times up." This phrase, like the kanji character NIN, is a reminder that not everything in life ..........

Tokyo nightlife. Tokyo the most famous city of Japan, is one of the worst looking major cities in the world in the daytime. However, by night, Tokyo has a unique look that makes it different from any other city in the world.

Sudoku is in some cases spelt as “Su Doku” and is pronounced as “Soo Doe Koo” is an abbreviation of the Japanese phrase “suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru” meaning “the digits must remain single”. Although many people believe it to be of Japanese origin, it isn’t. The only thing truly Japanese about it is the name.

Kamakura It is hard to believe that between 1185 and 1333 this small, sleepy provincial town nestled in deep valleys and poke marked by temples was once the center of power in Japan.

Bunkasai Universities in England and their students often have uneasy relationships with their neighbours. Sometimes the students are resented for the noise they bring to a previously quiet town.

Fuji Probably few other countries have their cultural identities so wrapped up with one geographical symbol as much as the Japanese identify with Fuji San. The mountain itself undoubtedly is more attractive in the .............

Tokyo Film Festival Despite the welcome uprising of a large number of new (usually specialised) movie festivals in recent years, the Tokyo International Film Festival remains unrivalled as Japan’s largest and most headline-grabbing festival.

Sumo It’s not just about big people. Sumo is inherently　part of Japan's culture and its sense of ethnic identity. Deeply ingrained concepts like order, harmony and respect are emphasized by the sport.

Kawasaki An overweight clown who I’ve been following for the last few blocks stops to light a cigarette. His companion, an attractive woman dressed in a white ballerina costume, covered with a long black jacket, is also smoking. Perhaps pre-parade nerves ......

Nikko is only three hours away, close enough to be visited in one day, deserving a lot more time, and really is a place you’ll want to return to many times. Unlike most Japanese temples and shrines, the buildings here are extremely gaudy and ornate ......

Cape Tsurugi Tokyo is such a huge metropolis it is difficult to understand the city in its totality. Yet a trip out to the headlands reveals how the city owes its existence to the resources of the bay, the foresight of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the immense impact of 34 million people living along it shoreline, rivers and tributaries.

Learning Japanese Is learning Japanese really that difficult and what type of person does it? Who are these strange ............

Interview with David Sporar Just before the fall Designfesta 2006, artist David Sporar gives his thoughts on art in Tokyo.

The Namamugi Incident (なまむぎじけん) took place on August 21st, 1862 on the “Tokaido” (Eastern Sea Route) and was an attack on three Britons by Samurai guards escorting the Daimyo (feudal lord) of Satsuma, Shimazu Hisamitsu.

Yasakuni t is not uncommon to hear foreigners who have lived in Japan for a long time complain that they still don’t understand the country. Perhaps that’s because they’ve been looking in the wrong places. Yasukuni is, and will be for the foreseeable future .......

Presimmons The word ‘persimmon’ is neither English nor Japanese but comes from putchamin, pasiminan, or pessamin, from an Algonquian language of the Atlatic United States. For indiginous Americans persimmon refered to "a dry fruit" with little inner moister.

Making Perfect Rice, in Japan rice is sacred and cooking it just as important. Making Mochi, mochi is a traditional New Years food, yet it also the major cause of death amoungst elderly people.

Gay Christmas. Mark Ito pours out a stream of conciousness as he earns a living being Santa San.

Vegitariian food in Tokyo. M.K takes a look a look at Vegitarian and Vegan food in Tokyo.

Chocolate and Happiness As far back as I can remember I have felt that the goal in life is to achieve happiness. I recall that as a teenager I felt that happiness was gained through success. Success was often represented by money; therefore money = happiness.

How To Go To A Tokyo Rock Show You’re coming to Tokyo on vacation. During the day you will go to the Imperial Palace, see a piece of traditional Japan in Asakusa, take a trip to Kamakura to visit ancient temples. But at night you want to unwind and have fun. How about catching a rock show?

So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star (In Japan)? Since I started writing half a year ago, the most frequently asked question from e-mailers, in fact the ONLY frequently asked question, is from musicians outside of Japan wondering how to go about arranging a show in Tokyo or the other big cities.

Yokohama BankArt 1929, Japan’s second most populated city, is less than hour away by train from central Tokyo but has a much different feel. It’s a port city, so there’s the Pacific Ocean to look at. There also seems to be more open space there than in cramped Tokyo.

Koishikawa Korakuen is one of Tokyo's oldest and most beautiful Japanese landscape gardens. The Tokugawa daimyo (feudal lord) Yorifusa Mito began construction of the park in 1629.

Rikugien is now a garden, but in the early 1700's, it was the residence of the feudal lord, Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, who was famous for his literary accomplishments.

Photos by Ajpsc.