Brian Ashcraft's discussions

No problem. Again, sorry about that.  Read more

Updated. Apologies for the error.  Read more

It’s Okinawa. It’s their signature veggie. It’s how they roll. Read more

This is excellent.  Read more

It’s viewed as a huge, scary no-no by the general public, underscored by a lack of experience and understanding and punctuated by how it’s portrayed by the domestic news media. Read more

There is a long history with hemp in Japan (not smoking it, but using it to make things)... Read more

If celebs in Japan break the law or associate with those who do, there always seems to be concern among the country’s corporate culture that doing will reflect poorly on them, thereby cut into profits, etc. So, for better or worse, they tend to act swiftly to negate that. Read more

Cicadas aren’t until later. Still working our way through the raining season -- not too hot yet, but damn, we’re getting there.  Read more

Good question! We have not. I’ve had gay friends visit solo and as couples, and they didn’t seem to have any issues, but that’s anecdotal at best. Read more

Will fix, thank you!  Read more

Thank you! Read more

I dunno if it’s become too Westernized. That started long ago—in the Meiji Period and everything since then has been a natural extension of that, underpinned by government policies to Westernize/industrialize. Catering to foreign tourism isn’t new for Japan. It dates back to the late 19th century. Read more

Oh hi! Sounds like an interesting plan! I’m not really the best person to ask about work experience in Japan as my commute is from my bed to my desk, and I work for an American company.... Read more

Ah, right. I’ll correct, thanks! Read more

Oh, “Ash” in Japanese is アッシュ. It’s a known loan word and a color, so people hear that and stop. Everything else is noise for some folks, even those who should know better!  Read more

I can only speak for myself right now, but I’ve been watching how English language versions of Japanese news sources and newspapers are handling this. Granted it’s early, but I haven’t yet seen the local media change in English... Read more

It’s a huge string of characters. Also, “Ash” is a relatively well-known loan word in Japanese, so they just get to that and stop, don’t even bother with the rest... Happens all the time! :| Read more

Mainichi, a Japanese paper, wrote “Shinzo Abe” as directed by its style guide--I think!  Read more

But that leads to : Read more

It’s a good tune!  Read more