I find reading comprehension or doukai (Japanese: 読解) one of the more challenging sections of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). The doukai questions are multiple choice format, with each question having four choices to pick from. The questions are based on short, medium and long opinion-style excerpts from published
In Japan, inaka (Japanese: 田舎) refers to the rural countryside, conjuring an image of a place far removed from the bright lights and bustling sounds of the big city. I like visiting inaka to explore the local sights, sounds and smells. Who knows, you might also stumble upon a novel
When I was in high school, I studied a subject called Design & Technology ("DT") where did hands-on projects like woodwork and assembling basic electronic circuits. While STEM ("Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics") subjects like Applied Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics were also fun, what I found
Developed by Anthropic - the AI company behind the popular Claude AI chatbot - Claude Code is an AI application that can build a software application based on a user's prompts. For example, you can tell Claude Code to: "Build an application that summarises the documents I
Not a day goes by without a news article, YouTube video or passing remark about the tremendous advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and how it is quickly reshaping our world. The internet is always abuzz with bold predictions when there are new iterations of popular AI applications like OpenAI&
The other day, an encounter at my neighbourhood's public swimming pool triggered a recollection of an experience I had as a 14-year old high school student. At the time I was studying in a Mandarin-medium school. As there were plans for me to move to another school, my
I have always been curious whether the ability to pick up and read any book is a skill that can be developed over time. More often than not, I rarely buy or borrow books outside my comfort zone, largely for fear of ending up with a book that I don&
Birthday Girl (2022) is a short story written by Japanese author Haruki Murakami (Japanese: 村上春樹). Murakami is a celebrated author whose legion of fans are referred to as "Harukists". I had previously read two of his English-translated books - Norwegian Wood (1987) and Kafka on the Shore (2002)
A common fixture in sentō change rooms is a bodyweight scale. I am not entirely sure when this became the case, but I guess back in the day weighing scales, like baths, were not common in households. A bodyweight scale doesn't look terribly out of place in a
A sentō (Japanese: 銭湯, English: public bathhouse) is probably the least ideal place to people-watch, as everyone is naked. I think it is OK to people-watch. Just be sure not to stare and mind your own business. One cold, wintery Wednesday night, I went to seek refuge at my neighbourhood
Japan celebrates the new year, called oshogatsu (Japanese:お正月), on the first of January. Many salarymen and salarywomen go back to their hometowns for a few days to celebrate oshogatsu. As a result, most businesses are either closed in the first week of January or have limited operating hours. Families
In Japan, official notices or announcements usually have titles containing these four Japanese characters: お知らせ (oshirase). These notices, often written in formal, honorific Japanese called 敬語 (keigo), are a little difficult for me to comprehend. That said, I can generally guess what a notice is about if I recognise and