Questions?
Got questions about Japan, Korea, Buddhism or anything related? Feel free to leave a comment here. Your question just might be the next blog post subject. 
Japan: Life and Religion
My life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile / Koreaphile.
About the Author
Hello, I have a question regarding N2. I understand that N2 is 105 minutes and consists of Language Knowledge and Reading Comprehension. How would you suggest I divide my time between the two. I just took the Kanzen Master Reading Comprehension mock exam and got 19/21 but I spent 75 minutes, leaving me 30 minutes to do the Language Knowledge questions. You reckon that is enough?
Thanks!
Hi Caleb and welcome to the JLR. I can’t say for sure whether that is enough time or not. I wasn’t paying attention too well to time and I barely had time for the last two articles.
The reading section was definitely longer than expected so I’d say really invest the time to read fast and get the gist of it on the first/second pass.
Hope that helps!
Hi, not a question but a comment. I just returned from Tokyo with my 19 year old daughter (we live in Australia) the other day; I try to go every year as I’m studying the language for my degree and have fallen in love with Japan. We love going to Shibuya; we go to Book-Off and there’s a katsu place we like there (and we avoid 109 like the plague!) but I would have loved knowing about the NHK studio with the huge Domo thingy! You go all over the place which is fantastic, which is why I love reading gaijin in Japan blogs, there’s always something interesting to visit other than the norm.
and I would have loved the Korean food.
Anyway, I’m rambling but your blog is great and very interesting reading. btw, I had Korea Town bookmarked and now I’m sorry I didn’t go! My daughter would have loved the K-Pop Hall of Fame!
Jennifer
Sydney, Australia
Hi Jennifer and welcome! Glad you found it useful, both NHK and Shin Okubo. I really enjoy putting up things online that may be useful later to someone. Never know who might need it.
All the best,
Doug
Hi Doug,
Fantastic blog, as always! I had a couple of quick questions if you don’t mind?
1. On a post you mentioned taking the five precepts for the Buddha’s birthday, I note that Buddhist Monkks are not supposed to eat after lunchtime (although may have a weak broth) – could you elaborate on this please/
2. I had asked you once before about language learning – I am trying to learn Arabic and have been looking to sign up for Arabicpod101 and just wondered if you found the Japanese one of value?
Lastly,
3. In the initial stages of learning Japanese, how long did you spend on it each day? Did you even study it each day?
Many thanks,
Hussein
Ps apologies if you’ve answered these questions elsewhere
Hi Hussein and welcome!
1) This site does a good job of explaining it I think: http://bodhimonastery.org/becoming-a-buddhist-lay-disciple.html
2) Hm, never tried Arabicpod101, but I like both JapanesePod101 and KoreanPod101 and yes they were quite helpful up to a point. Once you get into more advanced stuff, you may find less material, but by that point, you should be starting with native material anyway.
3) Hm, I maybe spent enough time to listen to one or two JPod101 lessons on my iPod (10-15 minutes each), so maybe 30 minutes a day. What matters is long-term application rather than how much you accomplish in a day.
Best of luck!
Hi,
Thanks for your blog. I’ve learned a lot.
Do you happen to know if there are any Zen schools or groups here in Okinawa?
So far, the only ones Ive found are in the mainland.
By the way, Ive also tangled with the JLPT. I took it once and didnt pass. But I’ll be ready next December.
がんばってね
Dave
Hi Dave and welcome to the JLR!
I spent some time poking around this weekend and found that there are indeed Zen temples in Okinawa, both Soto (曹洞宗) and Rinzai (臨済宗), though options for foreigners appear to be somewhat limited. For example, for Rinzai Zen there is this temple near Shuri Castle as well as this place in Naha, but I there doesn’t appear to be a website, so it may be very local. For Soto Zen, I couldn’t really find anything. I guess for historical reasons, it never really had much of a presence there. Not sure.
I hope this helps. If you know a little Japanese, look up either sect above (Japanese don’t usually call it “zen”, they call it by the particular sect), plus 沖縄. You might be able to find an address close to where you are.
Good luck!