While some Japanese vending machines are under fire for offering sexy good times, the vast, vast majority of vending…

If you live in Japan (or, well, Asia), you have a rice cooker. If you don't own one, get thee to a store and buy…

This week is Golden Week in Japan—a series of holidays. Because it's Golden Week, Japanese game news has pretty much…

May 5 is Children's Day. Since my wife and I have, well, children, we get out a set of miniature "yoroi" (armor) so…

A perfect pour in Japan has just the amount of right amount of head. This beer tap (beer fountain?) tilts the glass,…

Growing up in Texas, I always looked forward to fall. September was back-to-school time. New pencils. New notebooks.…

In Japan, you are either an udon person or a soba person. You cannot be both! This is serious Beatles-Stones kinda…

One of the most popular things to do on vacation in Japan is head to an onsen or "hot springs". They're dotted all…

Soon where I live in Osaka, Japan will be bathed in cherry blossoms. The plum blossoms are blooming, but the cherry…

It is for little kids. Above is a lunch my eldest son ate late last year. And it was pretty cute!

So my eldest son, who is 8, loves reading biographies. But most of the biographies he checks out from the library…

One of the best things about Japan is the service. The service is generally great. One of the things that makes it…

Tomorrow is White Day in Japan. I'm supposed to give sweets to women who gave me chocolate on Valentine's Day.

It really feels like spring here in Osaka—finally! Flowers starting to bud, bees buzzing, and birds chirping. But…

Holy crap, I love plastic models. I'm not very good at them, but ever since I was a kid, I adored building them. My…

Panasonic makes a 103-inch TV—it's apparently the biggest plasma in the world. It's on display at electronics shops…

Tomorrow is the Hinamatsuri, or Japanese Doll Festival. During the festival, dolls are displayed on stands against…

No, you are not reading Hideo Kojima's Twitter (though, I think it's silly that guy gets heat for posting pics of…

I've actually never thought that I needed an instrument to clean my tongue. I thought regular tooth brushing (and…

In Japan, "omimai" (お見舞い) is when you visit folks in the hospital. My mother-in-law broke her back, so we've been…