MARCH 11 The Ginza Line was pulling out of Ueno Station when the quake hit, jolting the train to a hard stop, then vibrating it like a car revving to free its tyres from thick mud. For a moment, I thought somebody must have thrown themselves under the train, until the vibrations turned to violent […]
On Sake, Dogs and Community
With a sudden tug, Henry sends a slug of sake over my hand. Blame it on the toy poodle in the distance. Or me for trying to hold a one-cup sake with his lead wrapped around my drinking hand. In fairness, it wouldn’t be a one-cup if I didn’t spill a bit. The pull-tab lids […]
A desk-bound day in the life of a Tokyo-based writer
A desk-bound day in the life of a Tokyo-based writer I’ve been thinking about work styles the last few months, wondering what changes I could make to the way I’ve been scheduling my time, finding out what works (and doesn’t) for others. For some background, I work at home and when my son was a […]
The Sackings – A piece of flash fiction
The Sackings Gossip had awoken the staff room from a monotony-induced slumber. A teacher had been fired. Something to do with harassing female students during class was one of the rumors doing the rounds. Another was that he’d been caught shoplifting from 7-Eleven. Neither would have represented a first at Heartful Eikaiwa, Japan’s largest chain […]
Interview with Eye-Ai magazine
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 […]
When is “too long” in Japan?
“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 […]