baseball godzilla invades america
Godzilla Invades America Look out America! Japan’s latest export is not a car or electronic gadget, it’s a giant – the Yomiuri Giant they call Godzilla. On December 19th 2002, Japanese baseball slugger Hideki Matsui, a.k.a. “Godzilla” agreed to a $21 million contract with the New York Yankees and the 186 cm/95 kg power-hitting outfielder […]
Ken Shida President of Shidax ambassador of health
Ken Shida President of Shidax ambassador of health Ambassador of Health X-Treme is a keyword in the U.S. these days whether you are talking about sports, entertainment or even food. Add the X from X-Treme to Ken Shida’s family name and you get Shidax, Japan’s leading food service and karaoke business started by his father […]
Takafumi Horie, CEO tokyojournal exclusive interview
From Livin’ On the Edge to Livedoor Takafumi Horie, CEO TJ Exclusive Interview by Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie As I sat across from a man younger than I, I thought to myself what makes Takafumi Horie special? Out of the millions of IT venture companies and young entrepreneurs driving these companies, why is it […]
education elementary english education
education elementary english education Experienced Educator Explores Elementary English Education Renowned English Language Educator Yuri Kuno Gives TJ the Inside Scoop Yuri Kuno began her career as an elementary school English language educator at Seijo Gakuen Shoto Gakko nearly a quarter of a century ago and remains dedicated to enhancing the quality of English […]
japan on ¥425 a day – part II of the odyssee1
japan on ¥425 a day – part II of the odyssee From Tokyo Journal September 1999 (part 2 of a 2-part story) by David Duckett A four-day respite in Tokyo is instantly forgotten as I, the Mobile English Teacher, begin my second leg to the northernmost point in Japan, Cape Soya, Hokkaido. Deja vu […]
don’t land on my tomatoes
Imagine waking up one morning only to be told that the farmland you are living and working on would be expropriated. Some nightmares seem to never disappear. Back in the ‘60s the government must have thought it was a good idea to choose the middle of nowhere in Chiba for the site of the New […]
carved in skin
Art can quite literally get under your skin sometimes. Especially when applied under the pressure of up to 36 specially sharpened needles. Dr D. Vice visited the studio of top Japanese tattoo artist Horitoshi, looked into the eye of the needle, pricked up his ears, and finally got the point. Dr D. Vice: When and […]
new millennium ninja
new millennium ninja the secret art The ninja were so successful at keeping their arts, methods and activities in the background of history that they almost wiped themselves out of it. To find myths, folklore, ancient texts and even cartoons related to the ninja and their art is easy in modern Japan. Finding something that […]
born under a wandering star
born under a wandering star by Michael McDonagh As Tony and Maureen Wheeler sat at their kitchen table in Sydney in 1973, preparing what was to become the first Lonely Planet guide, Across Asia on the Cheap, they couldn’t have imagined the extent of the journey on which they were embarking. The […]