Anna Purna is a top-notch, Nepalese-run Indian restaurant with a well-deserved reputation. Most JETs who live in the Fukuyama area are more than familiar with its delightful ambience, flavorful curries, and consistent quality. Instead, I am writing this article mainly for the benefit of others who visit the area, and might fancy a fantastic Indian meal to round off their day or kick-start their night.

I’ve had my share of Spanish/Mexican food in Japan. From Hiroshima’s Cusco Café and Tinto’s Restaurant to the do-it-yourself ingredients sold at Jupiter to the Visitor’s Day at the Iwakuni Airbase (which I went to solely to taste the delights of the on-base Taco Bell).

As Groucho Marx himself once said, “Hello,” and welcome to the grand opening of the brand-new-old-curiosity-shop that is Flickerbook. If you are looking for up to the minute reviews of the latest slick Hollywood money-makers, then I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. But, if you are happy to meander aimlessly with me along the cluttered aisles of cinematic history, I may have a few curios to show you.

After coming across the “Norwegian Wood” (ノルウェイの森) youtube trailer I must say I was more than eagerly anticipating the movie. This is the first of Haruki Murakami’s famous works to have been adapted to the big screen. Considering most of his books include talking cats, out-of-body experiences, and the like, “Norwegian Wood” is definitely one of his more grounded works. I pictured the scenes vividly while reading the novel, yet had never imagined a movie could encompass Murakami’s voice.

What happens when you throw thousands of fresh-faced foreign graduates into a system and a country known for bureaucracy, insularity, and inflexibility? You get something that eventually became The JET Programme as we know it today.

Beppu (別府) is a small city on the northeastern coast of Kyushu, and is known as “the onsen capital of Japan.” There are literally dozens of different hot springs, from ritzy hotel onsen with ten baths to tiny local establishments with only one. Because there are so many, though, it can be hard to know which ones to try, especially if you only have a couple of days. So, I decided to make a mini-guide of the onsen I visited in Beppu, to help you narrow down your choices.

It seems that most people in Japan who are into cute things have taken a trip to Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea at some point, but let me tell you a little secret: I’m not that into Disney. No, my obsession is with Sanrio and so it was with great joy that I finally visited Sanrio’s own magical kingdom, Sanrio Puroland, a couple of weeks ago. Opened in 1990, Sanrio Puroland is a forty minute train ride from Shinjuku Station, located in the rather grey looking Tama New Town.

I receive somewhere in the neighborhood of ten emails every month from strangers asking to sleep on my floor for a couple of days. These people are strangers when they contact me, but sometimes once they arrive on my doorstep I find we have so much in common that we can lay awake and chat all night…sipping a beer or some tea, sharing travel stories or photos or both. This is my life as a CouchSurfing host in Japan.

I had heard of “capsules hotels” when I visited Japan several years ago, but I didn’t manage to stay in one until I moved there for a year. When I imagined the small container you sleep in, I immediately thought about the machines in the hospitals for MRIs and CAT scans. Mentally, I thought I would never be able to sleep in one, but then a moment arrived when I wanted to visit Osaka and stay in the city center for a cheap price. The Asahi Plaza hotel seemed like the key place. I waltzed in, put my shoes in one of the shoe boxes, retrieved my locker key, and shuffled down the carpeted steps to the basement floor.

If you are like me, J-POP will not satiate your musical hunger. I have an eclectic taste in music and I enjoy many genres, but Top 40 Pop is not one of them. The bands I discuss here are not hugely popular here in Japan or overseas. These are simply bands that I enjoy listening to and, hopefully, some of them will become bands that you enjoy listening to as well. And, hey, maybe it will help you with your Japanese listening skills.