| Very very safe! A few examples we’ve noticed recently, from in and around Fukuoka: – When you get large amounts of change from the subway vending machine, a loud…

| Sometimes the implied meaning of words can be very different from the stated meaning. A friend of ours in Japan, on a recent visit to the offices of another…

| We finally got round to analyzing who our students were this year, and we’ve posted the results to our website at this page. Some semi-interesting factoids: while the total…

| Well, if you’re American at least. Our highly placed sources in the international finance community tell us that the yen to dollar rate hasn’t been better for a long…

| Have you ever seen Rikishis (Sumo wrestlers) in Fukuoka except at Kokugikan (the sumo ring)? I’m quite sure I’m not the only one who has never seen Rikishis, even…

| One of the hardest things for students of English as a second language is the subjunctive mood, especially talking about what might have been. Just look at the grammar…

| Now it’s a Bounen-kai season. Japanese hold Bounen-kai between the end of November and middle of December (before Christmas) every year. Have you ever heard of Bounen-kai before? If…

| With the Christmas Season fast approaching, it’s probably time to spill the beans about what Christmas in Japan is really like. You may have heard the one about Santa…

| Kokusai Hiroba, in the wonderful ACROS Building, is running another of their great (and almost free) classes next Monday, this time in Japanese pottery. They’re always recommended! Here’s their…