Next spring, the WBC (World Baseball Classic) returns and Japan is hoping its national team will once again be crowned baseball’s world champs. Well, at least according to the WBC contest anyway.
This begs the question, does anyone believe that the WBC is capable of producing the highest level of competitive baseball in the world? Well, it probably doesn’t need to be said here that most American baseball fans don’t think so. Why? Well, most, if not all believe that the best players in the world eventually make their way to …

Ok, here’s the game…
Guess where in Tokyo the photographer was when he snapped the shot. Depending on the photo, a high degree of specificity may be required. Use your best judgment; If more precision is required, you’ll find out in the comments section below. The first person to guess all three locations correctly (subject to the author’s discretion) will get his or her Japan blog written up in JapanBlogger, as long as he or she consents to an interview. Leave your responses in the comments section of this post.
Seen this …

“One morning, Abe meets Aaron and promises him that if he (Aaron) skips work, he (Abe) will show him “the most meaningful thing that any living organism has ever witnessed.” From there, in a series of increasingly dramatic scenes, Abe reveals to Aaron that the machine works as a time-travel device.”

I come from San Francisco and go to school in Portland. My whole life, marijuana has been illegal enough to slightly inconvenience would-be smokers, but barely more. The consensus tends to be that it’s much less harmful than alcohol, an excellent appetite-inducement tool for those going through chemotherapy, and a good alternative to opiate painkillers.
This is not the case in Japan, where four students at my school were just arrested, and will likely be imprisoned and later deported, for marijuana possession. I received an “urgent” email from Waseda in my …

Tokyo has one of the most detailed and efficient train systems in the world. A person would be hard-pressed to find a place in Tokyo which cannot be easily reached by train. The trains are very clean, well kept, and most importantly, on time. Sadly, however, a ride on a train in Tokyo is also one of the most depressing experiences in the city.
When I was just making trips to Tokyo I did not notice the ice cold vibe of the train system. Now that I live in Tokyo, the …

I’ll be honest — it would be a lot easier to write about a bad day in Tokyo than a good one.

I wish I had photos, but it just didn’t feel right- I already felt like I was privy to a sight not meant for outside eyes, and I didn’t want to mark myself as a tourist any more than I already was (picture dressing to meet an old friend for drinks at a bar by a train station, and then ending up at a board meeting). The club was extravagant, from the gilded and art-laden walls to the private reserve bourbons filling the crystal cabinets. Everything screamed opulence. The tables are scattered around a carpeted floor, surrounded by posh leather sofas and chairs.

Meet Shane Sakata, Japan blogger and publisher of The Nihon Sun: Japan’s Online Culture and Travel Magazine.

That morning, I rode the local train into Shibuya Station. It was a cloudy day and a slight chill hung in the air…

The recent 7:10 to Tokyo article, Unexploded WWII Bombs In Japan- How Many Are Out There?, provoked some interesting responses but it came as a bit of a surprise to hear from someone who was actually on the ground in Japan disposing of these remnants from WWII.  Roy Kasier took an interest this article and provided a lot of food for thought in his well-researched comments. Roy had a fifteen year career in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) for the US Army and spent three of those years (1967-1970) at Ikego Army Ammunition …