(Published in Korean Air’s June 2018 issue, http://morningcalm.koreanair.co.kr, but here in it’s slightly longer original form) Tracing the River Abe northward out of central Shizuoka City, it’s only a 15-minute drive before urban Shizuoka is replaced by ever-heightening hills that offer glimpses at many of this part of Japan’s culinary specialties. Small mikan groves give […]
This post might well come across as grumpy. Partly, I’m blaming the weather—as I write, Tokyo is getting its first snowfall in November for 54 years, and it’s grim. Mainly, I’m blaming…well, you’ll see. I’m talking National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, and the negativity it generates with some writers. For those who don’t know […]
AS DAWN APPROACHES atop Tonodake (Mount To), a chill wind whips over the exposed peak. Off to the west, Mount Fuji begins to emerge as the darkness that cups the peaks of the Tanzawa range fades to a fleeting purple hue before the rising sun changes the sky to a more familiar hazy orange. The night […]
[Updated March 2022] From time to time, new writers and students get in touch to ask for advice about becoming a writer, so I thought I’d post my notes from a presentation I once did (for the Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators) on freelancing from Japan. Some of it might be useful to writers […]
A quick update about an event I’ll be taking part in this April, a panel discussion run by the Society of Writers, Editors and Translators related to travel writing and producing tourism material. It’s free and open to non-SWET members, you just need to send an RSVP in advance so they can keep track of numbers. […]
A few weeks ago I had the rare (for me) experience of being on the receiving end of an interview, when I chatted with Karen Riley of Eye-Ai magazine about being a writer in Japan. I’m used to new writers and students getting in touch to ask about how I got into writing and looking […]
A month or so ago, I posted something about micro fiction and why I’ve found myself drawn to writing it. Call this an update of sorts to share the following handful of micro fiction stories, each of which is either 50 or 100 words in length. […]
It’s a funny thing sending off haiku to haiku journals. Even with the most recognized publications, the variety in the styles of poetry – and the execution of them – is extremely wide. It’s hard to know what a publication wants to receive, and both acceptance and the quality of publications feels very hit and […]
“Been here long?”, or words to that effect, I must have been asked hundreds of times since I moved to Japan. My answer varies. I usually say I’ve been here for about ten years, then have to correct myself when I remember it’s now been 15 years since I arrived in Tokyo. If I’m in […]
