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When asked to name words associated with Japan, ‘fish’, ‘sushi’, or even ‘sashimi’ are likely to make most people’s top 10 list. If you are like me, and love seafood, there is probably no better place than Tsukiji Fish Market to indulge in the freshest, most delicious, mouth-watering, and BEST sushi in the world.
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Suffering separation anxiety when parted from your kotatsu? Sub-zero apartments and icy bike rides to school mean Gunma’s cold is already biting. Without wanting to sound like a doom-monger, the worst of the winter is yet to come! Meet the cold head-on and make your pad a hot-haven…
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The thought of catching your dinner before you eat might sound a bit like hard work. But for a truly unique, and crazily Japanese experience, there’s a lively restaurant where you catch it, cook it and eat it.
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Whether you’re working towards the JLPT or you’re just starting out with Japanese, the Gunma Study Games are here to help you level-up. Jen Hammer is organising the events and explains what they’re all about…
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If you have yet to make a trip up into the mountains of Minakami for an art-filled day, slap it near the top of your Gunma bucket list. Takumi-no-sato (たくみの里) is an entire village filled with far too many hands-on traditional Japanese art workshops to even consider doing every one in a day.
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Guides »
Snow capped peaks are already visible around Gunma, hailing the start of the winter sports season. It’s time to wax up your gear and find out why Gunma has some of the best skiing and snowboarding in Japan. Whether you’re a master of the slopes or a powder first timer, there’s something for everyone…
Travel »
South Korea is a common holiday destination for JETs. One of the must-sees when going there is a village called Panmunjom, which lies in the creepy, demilitarized zone between the North and South.
Guides »
“Where’s your favorite place in Gunma?” ALT asks JTE.
“Oze!” responds JTE, enthusiastically. “It’s so beautiful!”
“Great! I’m going there this weekend.”
There is shocked silence. Then, “Oh, no!” JTE suddenly wails. “That’s terrible!”
Guides »
Whether you’re a new ALT kitting out your first Japanese home, or a Gunma veteran who spent the summer gallivanting around Asia, chances are your bank balance took a hit this summer.
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I must confess my stupidity. During my first 12 months in Japan I have been confusing the Japanese emoticon for ‘smiley’ with the one for ‘angry face’. It suddenly dawned on me, with a cold chill of realisation, that every time I emailed a new friend for the first time, or made a plan to meet up at the weekend, or sent an SMS to one of the teachers at my school, I’ve done it with a dirty look.
Guides »
With every summer, there comes a time when a crop of ALT’s International Drivers Licenses are about to expire. To ensure my life of comfort continued, while others sweat or freeze outside of my environmentally controlled metal steed, I subjected myself to the Maebashi Practical Driving Examination.
Guides »
A city has a whole lot to offer, you just need to know where to look. Gunma’s largest urban district is perfect for city lovers who need an urban pulse once in a while. This is the insider’s scoop on Takasaki!
Guides »
Has your kitchen turned into an oven? Your living room into a sauna? And your bedroom into a hot yoga studio? If yes, it’s likely you’re living in the middle of Japan during the middle of summer. And, oh yeah, in the middle of an energy crisis.
Guides »
Summer festival season is upon us. For many Japanese people it means garnishing portable shrines and dusting off traditional costumes to parade through town. For all people it means enjoying fun in the sun, food stalls and fireworks. Nothing tops off the festival season better than doing it in style!
日本 in General »
If a picture is worth a thousand words, seeing it in person is worth at least a million. Yet there were no words good enough to describe the devastation seen in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.
Life After the B.O.E. is a comic by David Namisato, a former CIR in Aomori-ken. The online comic has ended, but the book is available to purchase.
