mito comments

There is not much in the way of real burgers here (or even in the isa nowadays), but KuaAina is probably the best chain. The fries are especially tasty.

Just across the tracks from me. Also we had 2 arson attacks at the university next door a couple months ago. There's a maniac looking for trouble out there.

That may have been true, but . . . .

"StrangerlandMAR. 08, 2014 - 10:00AM JST Kanji only, we presume.--Probably, but you can use this as a motivation to learn the kanji in that app."

Well, that's not much help for tourists coming for a couple days, eg. my 85 year old mother. It's a bit tough to learn a few thousand kanji for a three day visit.

Too sad. There is such little room for error on the roads here in Japan, and the driver must have panicked, knowing this would probably ruin his/her life. But the driver still should have stopped.

Oh no, here we go again.

Japanese jingoism reigns here. It seems that most readers have ignored history.

There seems to be no end to their evil.

I think Mito will be the last city for wifi : ((

"ben4shortFEB. 04, 2014 - 05:00PM JST I got it when I finally realized there is no getting it."

That's it in a nutshell, Ben. Just like everywhere, once you realize the infinite complexity, then you got it.

Talk about your niche markets!

Huh, I had to check the calendar to make sure it was Feb 1st, and not April 1st. You can't make this stuff up.

"have become" - it must have happened long before I arrived in 1990!

We are not tourists. If we show our passports, we probably cannot get the card...

"sillygirlJAN. 23, 2014 - 07:33AM JST The infection route is not properly washing hands. Exactly where remains a question but not washing properly is the cause."

You are not a silly girl. Having spent time in a number of hospitals in Japan, I've watched all staff, nurses/doctors go from patient to patient, room to room, with no masks, and unwashed hands. Washing hands is the first step in health care.

Oh sh!t - that's a stone's throw from my back door.

Bought it, and love it. But the cable is pretty long!

Worst: forced retirement by age discrimination; Best: forced retirement by age discrimination.

Definitely more should be done to help the homeless. But at the same time: 30,000 homeless in Japan; 633,782 in the US. It seems Japan is doing a far better job of keeping people housed.

"JoshuYakiDEC. 29, 2013 - 07:57AM JST I've had some great customer service in Japan. Often I wont shut up about it to my friends. I have had some bad customer service too. I find that the more expensive the store the less likely I am going to be served properly. I have had an employee hiss at me to stop touching the merchandise (I was looking for my size) at a department store in Tokyo and I have been avoided and ignored in Gucci, Vuitton, etc... I don't have the appearance of being overly wealthy and I get an appropriate reaction because of it. I think Japan's customer service core is migrating towards the sort of 'whateva' attitude found in the rest of the world bit by bit. What can you do?"

What can you do? Don't go to these rip-off joints like Gucci, Vuitton, etc...

Top pop SL_T?

Education? They must have focused only on elementary school.

I never realised how nasty J-girls could be on-line. Yeow!

Excellent news. And the writer of this piece should be commended for writing with heart - it's good to read a story that we can tell was written by a sentient human being, instead of the usual dispassionate texts.

I object! Why should I have to pay for TEPCO ineptitude, negligence, and downright corruption? If I acted like TEPCO execs, I would be fired. But they are being rewarded!

"FadamorDEC. 17, 2013 - 04:37AM JST there are japanese words for "pink" and "shock", so use them and forget this katakana nonsense.

I have to agree. "Miruku" does a disservice in that it reinforces the mispronunciation of the "L" sound. The native Japanese speaker pats them self on the back for using an English word when in fact the only native English speakers who would know what they were saying were those who have studied Japanese."

Yes. Case in point my Japanese friend ordered "miruku" at a restaurant in the US, and received . . . a coke.

Yes. Very nice.

"five years in jail plus flogging" for carrying weapons is a good punishment. Too bad the US can't learn from this.

Yes, this from a country that arms it's citizens, armed Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, and countless other nasties. More arms = more problems.

Running an English class in Japanese is what is absurd - that is why they can't understand it.