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By Joe, February 23, 2009 5:05 pm

I gave all you guys the low-down on last semester’s classes, so I figured it would be a good idea to tell how you how things went this time around. Overall, this semester was just as successful as the last was and I had a good time in all of my classes. Once again, they centered around the Japanese language and the culture of Japan. So, let me give you the run down!

Continue reading 'A Review of the Second Semester’s Classes'»

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By Joe, December 30, 2007 3:26 am

After my last post, I figured I’d lighten the mood a bit with an article I found over at Gadling via digg entitled, “Big in Japan: How to rent an apartment in Tokyo.” Author Matthew Firestone decided to move into his own place with a roommate and discovered firsthand the craziness that is renting an apartment in Japan. The place cost $1500 a month, not bad for two people in downtown Toyko. But, not only do you have to pay a down payment and security deposit, you must also pay something called “reikin,” which is two months worth of rent as a gift to the landlord, non-refundable. It doesn’t stop there. You must then pay a “finder’s fee,” costing another month’s rent, non-refundable. Why do these practices exist? According to the article, it is because of feudal laws still on the books mandating that things like apartments be suitably expensive such as to maintain the gap between rich and poor.

I must say, I was shocked to read this article. The cost of living in Japan must be insane, but somehow people manage, otherwise Japan wouldn’t be one of the leaders in the global economy. Go give the article a read, and discover what it means to be “hikoshi-bimbo,” also known as “moving poor.”

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