Imabari Castle – Amazing Castle in Ehime Japan

Japan has a lot of castles; remnants of a time when having a castle meant you controlled the surrounding lands. Imabari Castle

Virtual Akihabara Station opening soon

Akihabara station is one of the most popular stations in Tokyo. The surrounding areas are always buzzing with events and other

Nanzoin Temple and the Reclining Buddha

Fukuoka Japan is home to Nanzoin a large Buddhist temple complex with a rich history. The highlight of Nanzoin is the reclinin

Japan Scene 13: Nanban? Barbarian Chicken!

My friends are either annoyed or amused when listening to my many stories of me mixing up similar-sounding words/phrases in Ja

Goshuin Book – Shrine, Temple and Castle stamp collection

My “honourable stamp/seal book” or Goshuincho (御朱印帳) has been sitting gathering dust for a while now long to get m

NPR Documentary – Living While Black, In Japan

Living While Black, in Japan has its own challenges, but they don’t include fearing for your life. That’s how I wo

My Short Film debut as a reincarnated Japanese Emperor

Late last year I was invited to be part of a short film project. It was about Japanese Emperor Gotoba, who was exiled to Oki I

JLPT N4 failed – Yes, I do need a teacher…

More than two years since passing the JLPT N5 and realizing that the 3rd time wasn’t a charm, I… failed the JLPT N

Video: Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer

For a few weekends in late May to mid-June, I grabbed my DJI Pocket 2 and Fujifilm Instax SQ6 for some therapeutic walks to en

Japan Scene 12: Bento Battles

A bento is a single-portion meal that can range from food thrown into a sectionalized container at a takeout restaurant to edi

Fujifilm Instax SQ6 Landscape photo walk

It’s a beautiful spring day and I was excited to take the Fujifilm Instax SQ6 out for a spin to take some landscape test

Operation Visit Japan – a lesson about Personal Goal Setting

The year is 2010, I am living paycheck to paycheck and I didn’t realize yet that I was stuck in a cycle that would not c

Shimanami Kaido cycling adventure

Shimanami Kaido is an epic cycling route that connects Onomichi City in Hiroshima Prefecture to Imabari City in Ehime. You can

6 Tips for Living in Japan – be mindful of these things

I have lived in Japan for a few years now and I often get questions from persons looking to move to Japan or seeking advice on

15 year Anniversary of blogging

Today marks the fifteen-year anniversary of Jamaipanese.com. While looking back at old posts and reminiscing its obvious that

Shikoku Japan Castles – I visited 5 of them

Shikoku, Japan has its fair share of castles (and castle ruins). I may have explored many shrines and temples in Shikoku but I

Video: Project “Ferry” – Oki Kisen 隠岐汽船

Small island life in Japan involves spending a lot of time on ferries and boats. The island where I live and work has about 23

Shikoku Japan – Temples and Shrines

Shikoku is the fourth largest island in the Japanese archipelago and is southwest of Japan’s main island Honshu. It is d

Life-sized movable RX-78 Gundam will open to the public

At first, there was the giant RX-78-2 Gundam that just had smoke effects, then came the giant Unicorn Gundam that has lighting

Japan Scene 11: I can’t swim!

Doraemon has been finally set free (I am told) but it seems I was been enslaved in a different sense when I somehow forgot tha

Gesshoji Temple

I have really fallen off the Goshuincho (Temple/Shrine stamp book) train recently but enjoyed a weekend with wonderful fall we

Taking the JLPT N4 again, 3rd time’s a charm?

The year that is 2020 has been “challenging” to put it lightly. My Japanese learning journey continues with my imp

Unko Kanji Drill Book 1 complete

Learning Kanji is a difficult process but after trying various methods of study I have found success with the Unko Kanji Drill

Black Lives Matter Hiroshima Peaceful March

I’m a little late with this one. I travelled from my island to attend the Black Lives Matter Hiroshima Peaceful March o