Ahh yes…Hoppy is an interesting beverage, but if you give it a try I believe you will enjoy it. Hoppy itself is a ‘beer taste’ beverage. Supposedly created after WWII for a beer loving, but at the time, beer-poor country, Hoppy is similar to a non-alcoholic beer containing only 1% alcohol. The difference is that [...]

The Sumida-gawa cruise to Odaiba is great way to see many of Tokyo’s famous Shitamachi-area and bridges in a short amount of time. The journey starts by boarding a small ferryboat from Asakusa near the Asahi Beer Headquarters. Tickets run about ￥1,000 and the trip will take around 1.5hours one-way

A few years ago I took a train to Omiya station in Saitama to do some shopping. While walking through the concourse I came across an interesting poster for Gold’s Gym. As a native English speaker, it is only natural that it caught my eye.
Yoga Pirates, What the heck are those?
This is when I burst [...]

Have you ever tried to carry a banana in a bag? Then you already know that it becomes a bruised mush by the time you get where you are going. If you like bananas and you’re often on the move, then buy a banana case now. The case pictured above runs about 500 yen and [...]

I commute to Tokyo daily via the Saikyo line. It is not a bad ride, but sometimes it can get crazy. If the train runs late, you can count on being packed in like a sardine. You may hesitate thinking that you cannot possibly get in, but you are wrong. I have found there [...]

When I took the Japanese drivers license test in Saitama, I was lucky enough to pass on the first try. There were about 20 other gaijin (foreigner) in my class and only 3 of us passed. After I talked to the other 2 who passed I found out that this was there 2nd or 3rd [...]