About the Author
Hello, this blog is about my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile / Koreaphile. Any useful information I can pass along will hopefully make the Internets a better place. Thanks for reading!
Category Archives: Travel
Cherry Blossoms, K-Pop Style!
It’s nice when I can post about two subjects at once. Recently the folks at Eat Your Kimchi did another segment about new KPop songs out, and one of the songs was by a band named Busker-Busker, which is more … Continue reading
It’s That Time Again: Cherry Blossoms!
I don’t know why, but I love spring. But of course, one of the most memorable things about Spring are blossoms! In Japanese these are known as sakura (桜) and in Korean I think1 these are known as peotggot (벚꽃), … Continue reading
Recycling in Japan: A How-To Guide
So here’s something I learned the hard way. When I last visited Japan and stayed at my wife’s parents’ home1 and I wanted to help around the house since I eat all their food, and create a load of laundry … Continue reading
Racism in the 21st Century, old habits die hard
(Another sad example in history when two tribes have clashed and caused needless loss of life) I am a happy follower of actor LeVar Burton on Twitter,1 and recently he posted an interesting article about the movie Hunger Games. Not … Continue reading
Japanese Names Through The Ages
Recently, the Japan Times had an interesting article about how names have changed in Japan to reflect the times. For example, if a new Emperor ascended the throne, many kids would have names that included kanji from the Emperor’s reign … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Family, Japan
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Spring Ohigan 2012: A Look At Its Founder
Once again, we come the twice-yearly Buddhist holiday of Ohigan, which falls on or around the Spring and Fall equinoxes. Instead of the usual sermon, I thought it would be interesting to look at the lives of the man (and … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Japan, Travel
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Hats for Jizo: A Japanese Buddhist Tale
Note: One day last month, my wife asked me to help translate a Japanese children’s book into English for a presentation at my daughter’s pre-school. It is a famous old tale (mukashi-banashi 昔話) in Japan. This is my completed translation, … Continue reading
Japan One Year After The Earthquake
My daughter made this in Japanese preschool last week as the calendar for March. Most years March would be represented by Girls’ Day but March 11th marks the one year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. My daughter wrote … Continue reading
Times have changed, and so have peoples’ heights
I saw this article recently on the Yonhap News Agency about the average height of Koreans changing in the last century. From the end of the Joseon Dynasty to now, the average height for Korean people increased by 12cm. The … Continue reading
Happy Girls’ Day 2012
My daughter made this in school to celebrate the Japanese holiday of Girls’ Day, mentioned recently here. Anyhow, to all the young ladies and little “princesses” out there, HAPPY GIRLS’ DAY! Update: My little girl got the flu overnight and … Continue reading
