To Tokyo & Back

We’re back from our whirlwind trip to Tokyo!  It was a very full trip, and a lot of fun! We tried something new this time around and bought a special seasonal train pass called the “Seishun Jyuhachi Kippu.”  It gave us 5 full-day passes to travel anywhere we wanted in Japan.  The one catch is that it’s only good for regular-speed trains (not the Shinkansen bullet-trains).  So, we brought our language study materials and settled down for … Continue Reading →

The Sweltering Days of Summer

So just how have we been spending our summer vacation?  Allow us to take you on a little tour of our summer break! Umi no hi (Marine Day) On Umi no hi (a National holiday in mid-July), we took off on a day-trip with the principal of one of the local elementary schools.  We joined Kocho-sensei and his daughter on a tour of the Noguchi Hideo History Museum, got to experience our most intense earthquake here in … Continue Reading →

Mike’s Karaoke Director’s Cut Video (Available in Three Speeds)

One of the hardest things about making your own movies is having to chop out good material, either because it doesn’t fit for some reason, or because it’s just plain too long. But one of the best things about maing your own videos is that you can go back and make a Director’s Cut and give that stuff a chance to shine in its own right. And what’s even better than that, is to then go … Continue Reading →

The Further Exploits of Mike’s Culinary Adventures

Hontou ni hisashiburi desu ne! It’s been a long time since my last Culinary Adventures (TM) blog–six months, in fact. You might even have been fooled into thinking that maybe I settled down and decided to give up trying all the interesting new foods that Japan has to offer. Well, never fear, because I’ve been as fearless as ever in my non-stop quest for new and exotic culinary experiences. So without further adieu, allow me … Continue Reading →