If you have travelled overseas for holiday or work, bank-issued credit and debit cards are used as a last resort because of hidden fees and poor exchange rates. Carrying wads of foreign currency remains the default means of payment for many travellers. Fortunately, things are rapidly evolving in the
Three months after settling into Japan, I decided it was time to open a local bank account and subscribe to a local mobile line. There are several reasons behind this decision, which I will elaborate on in a later article. To begin my journey, I started looking for a Japanese
Wasabi (Japanese: わさび) - Japanese horseradish - is a popular condiment in Japanese cuisine known for giving a sharp, shooting sensation up your nose. In Japanese restaurants, wasabi paste is added (in small quantities) to sushi (Japanese: 寿司), or mixed with shoyu (English: Japanese soy sauce)(Japanese: 醤油) and eaten with sashimi
I have been regularly attending volunteer-run Japanese conversation classes to improve my proficiency. Finding a suitable class is not difficult. You can use the Tokyo Nihongo Volunteer Network website to look for groups by district. Each group has its own set of volunteers. The participants are usually foreigners who
Two weeks ago, I took the Saphir Odoriko train to Shimoda (Japanese: 下田), a city located in the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula (Japanese: 伊豆半島). Saphir Odoriko is a Limited Express train operated by East Japan Railway Company (TYO: 9020)("JR-East"), an entity under the Japan
Rakuten Pay (Japanese: 楽天ペイ) - a cashless payment app - is owned by Rakuten Group, Inc (TYO: 4755), Japan's largest e-commerce company. The app's payment capabilities are similar to Malaysia's Touch 'n Go eWallet, Singapore's PayNow, China's WePay & AliPay
The Daichi and Genki series Japanese textbooks I am using to prepare for my Japanese Language Proficiency Test ("JLPT") have similar teaching formats. Each chapter starts with a dialogue between two people about everyday topics, such as going to the zoo, meeting a long-lost friend or a
We currently live in a world where short-form content is king. Case in point is the rise in popularity of platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Stories and Snapchat. These platforms appeal to our short attention span as they deliver an endless supply of engaging, easy-to-consume content.
Reading regularly is an important habit to cultivate. It trains our concentration, improves our knowledge and strengthens our grammar & vocabulary. It is therefore important to cultivate the habit of reading regularly when you're young. I remember being pushed to read more Mandarin books and newspapers when I
Growing up, I never liked running. I only started running regularly during Covid because it was a permitted activity. Since then, I have concluded it's a good sport to take up. Firstly, running (when done in moderation) improves cardiovascular endurance, which is good for your health. After a
Hoppy (Japaneses: ホッピー) is a slightly-alcoholic (0.8%) beverage made of hops and malt, and can be found in Tokyo's izakayas (Japanese: 居酒屋) or supermarkets. Hoppy was released in 1948 and is owned by privately-held Hoppy Beverage Co. Ltd. To this day, the company is still
The Nikko Kanaya Hotel (Nikko Kanaya)(Japanese: 日光金谷ホテル) was founded in 1873, making it 151 years-old. My trusty Frommers guide says it is the most famous hotel in Nikko, describing the hotel as combining "the rustic heartiness of a European country lodge with elements of old Japan"