SOFTWARE, JAPAN, SELF-ACTUALIZATION AND

This weekend I received 2 boxes in the mail that I’ve been looking forward to having.

I now have over 1,000 Kanji flashcards to use as an additional tool for memorization. I’ve been doing quite well with the Nintendo DS routine, but it seemed best to have more than one interface / context from which to […]

I ate tebasaki (wings) last night 手羽先を食べました！
There’s a really good tebasaki place near Kabukicho in Shinjuku. This is the second time I’ve been there for a nomikai, and it did not let me down. Great food & drinks for a reasonable price:
http://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000011705/ 手羽先　おすすめ
I went with a bunch of coworkers and talked the night away (I […]

I attended the Tokyo Rubyist Meetup in Jimbocho. This was my second time attending, and I’ll be going again to the next one.
The venue was at a technology research campus, which was more or less a single office building with about 30 floors. The conference room was rather nice, and the presentation itself […]

This weekend, my basketball friends (trans-breakers) and I traveled to Ibaraki prefecture to attend a very large tournament. The tournament had about 40 teams, and was definitely on a level above ours (most of these teams have people that played on college and high school teams… and probably have years and years of experience […]

The 20th of January marked the 2 year point of my stay in Japan; I call it my “Japan Day.” I’m going to stroll down memory lane in this post and try to take another look, from this future vantage point, on the more interesting things that happened and draw an assumption from the things […]

At one of the stations on the Shinjuku line, I saw some awesome shodo - kanji calligraphy art - showcased prominently for everyone to see.
Shodō 書道 = kanji for write + kanji for road = and is translated as “the way of writing”

Kanji for interest, and for month.

Kanji for spirit (health, vigor), flourish / […]

Remember mochi? Well, at Burger Mania you can buy a cheese burger with mochi on top. The mochi doesn’t add much flavor, but it does add texture. And that’s fine, because the burgers are awesome to begin with.

鴨丼 (”kamo donburi”?) “Duck bowl” is probably the direct English translation for this meal. Roasted duck with egg […]

I’ve been writing kanji every day for the past few months as I continue preparing for the next JLPT. The daily practice has really helped me recognize kanji when I see them. It also has helped spark a few conversations, particularly when it comes to difficult kanji.
I’ve been able to memorize 3 particularly difficult […]

Today was a national holiday in Japan. This particular holiday is for all those that turn 20 by March of 2011 (and all those that already turned 20 since April of 2010). 20 is the official age of adulthood in Japan, which opens the doors to such things as legal consumption of beer and tobacco.
I […]

In Maebashi, we got a chance to meet some good friends (and the first friends I ever made in Japan).

If you are wondering what I am holding in my left hand, it’s this tora no sippo:

Tora = tiger
Sippo = tail

This “tiger’s tail” was a tasty treat from Gunma’s safari park. I haven’t been there personally, […]