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Loco in Yokohama, an Interview with the Author

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Baye McNeil, the man behind the über-popular Japanese website Loco in Yokohama.  At least, I think he was sitting down, since we were talking via Skype.  Anyway, I was.  I’ve got this new couch, and boy is it comfy.

Ken Seeroi:  Thanks for joining me.  Should I call you Loco, or Mister Yokohama?

Loco in Yokohama:  Ha, either is fine!

KS:  Great, let’s just go with Mr. Loco.  So I understand that you’ve written a new book? Continue reading “Loco in Yokohama, an Interview with the Author”

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Homeless in Japan not Big Fans of America

Last Friday, I decided to celebrate the lovely fall weather by drinking a refreshing beer in my neighborhood park and working on my tan.  I’ve discovered this really beats the hell out of sitting in a smoky izakaya wishing the proprietor’d had the foresight to provide some outdoor seating or at least install a teeny tiny window.  Why the Japanese have such an aversion to open-air dining, I’ve never been able to figure out.  So full of mysteries, the Far East. Continue reading “Homeless in Japan not Big Fans of America”

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Japan’s Runaway Turtles

So I’m heading to work early one morning when I happen to glance down and see this little Japanese turtle right in the middle of the road, totally random.  I mean, okay, I couldn’t really tell if he was a Japanese turtle or a gaijin turtle, but anyway he had the shell and the stubby reptile legs and all, so I felt pretty good about the turtle part.  And he was escaping from this neighborhood reservoir, full of green water and surrounded by tall chain link fence.  How a turtle got over a seven foot-high chain link fence, I’ll never know, but apparently he was some kind of Rambo super turtle or something.  You never can tell in this country.  Continue reading “Japan’s Runaway Turtles”

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Who’s Really Japanese?

When I first came to Japan, things were so much simpler.  Men were men, Japanese were Japanese, and foreigners were gaijin.  Now everything’s gone to pieces, nuanced to the point that when somebody talks about “the Japanese,” I don’t even know who they mean.  That it’s not me is the only thing that’s clear.  Things are complicated in modern Japan, is what I’m saying.  Three things, actually, or maybe four. Continue reading “Who’s Really Japanese?”