When I first started 7:10 to Tokyo, I asked several fellow bloggers for help, particularly contributions to the site in the form of articles. A person who helped me greatly at that time was Shane Sakata. She provided interesting content and helped attract readers to the site. I have always been grateful for her help and hope she knows just how much her support has meant to 7:10 to Tokyo and me personally.

Well, that version of 7:10 is a memory now, but a couple of Shane’s classic contributions were brought over to 7:10’s new incarnation: “Unexploded Bombs in Tokyo - How Many Are Out There?” and “Reflections on Unexploded Bombs in Japan.” After making several contributions to 7:10 to Tokyo, she invested most of her blogging time in her main blog, The Tokyo Traveler, a b5media site. After a half a year of successfully running that site, Shane decided to go independent and has recently started her own online Japan travel and culture magazine, The Nihon Sun.

I recently asked Shane for an interview and she was kind enough to oblige with well-thought-out answers. Here’s how the interview went:

Why do you blog about Japan?
Blogging about Japan is a way for me to share some of the things about Japan that fascinate me. I have been blessed with the opportunity to live here for a second time and when I was searching for information about the country I found it difficult to find more that a few anecdotes about the various places. My curiosity runs deeper than a snap shot and a few worlds so I started to blog about some of the interesting places that I have (or want to visit) while attempting to capture a little bit beyond what you can find in a guide book. I love the odd little facts and trivia ….

What do you do when not blogging?
When I’m not blogging I love to cook and I’ve been known to frequent Daiso for a bargain shopping fix and for spending far too much money on yarn and other crafting supplies at Yuzawaya. I’m also a bit of a photography buff and am working up the nerve to take my Nikon D40X off of the automatic settings.

What aspect of living in Japan do you like the best? The least?
I like pretty much everything about living in Japan - I love not driving, biking or walking to the grocery store, the lovely parks and gardens, and the great food. My lack of language skills can be frustrating at times - I meet a lot of people who I just know have something interesting to say but we can’t communicate beyond a very basic level.

If I had to list a pet peeve it would be the lack of eye contact in public places but it’s not the eye contact per se, it’s the fact that if you don’t look at someone you don’t have to acknowledge their existence. I’ll give you an example…I am 5′8″ and have started to notice that there are a lot of Japanese people who will cut me off while walking on the street or in train stations. As a relatively tall women and I am often struck by the bravery of the much smaller Japanese women, and some men, who just barrel through in front of me. If the roles were reversed I would be scared of being mowed down by a larger person. But if they just keep their head down and don’t make eye contact it seems as if those around them are a bit dehumanized and they don’t have to be concerned about the feelings, or toes, of those around them.

What are two random blogs you read on a daily basis? (Japan-related or not)
I check JapanSoc and NewsOnJapan daily to keep up to date on what is happening in Japan and I keep tabs on a number of other blogs via my feedreader. Some of the blogs in my feedreader are Ping Mag, Jacked In by Jason Collins, Narrative Disorder by DBR, tonymcnicol.com - tokyo photojournalist and of course 7:10 to Tokyo. That’s more than two - sorry…

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Now that’s a tough question! I don’t really have a five year plan but my shorter term goal is to develop a community at The Nihon Sun and I will continue to hone my writing and photography skills. I believe that whether or not I remain in Japan that I will continue to be fascinated by the people, culture and history of this very interesting and multi-faceted country for some time to come.

Again, I can’t thank Shane enough for her help and wish her the best of luck with her new website. You can see for yourself more of what fascinates Shane about Japan at www.nihonsun.com.

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About: a resident of South Tokyo living on the Toyoko line, soon to relocate to Shibuya off the Keio line.See Authors Posts (28)