Monthly Archives: July 2019

Life In Japan: My Bike Ride to Teach English

Posted on July 25, 2019 by johnrachel

I ride my bike to and from the English class I teach whenever it’s not raining.  Many of the photos appearing in other essays at this site were taken on that bike ride. I frankly never get tired of riding anywhere here in our traditional, rural town. There’s still a lot to see and discover. People I hardly know always wave. Smiles are our common language. Continue reading →

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Life In Japan: Annual Neighborhood Barbecue

Posted on July 16, 2019 by johnrachel

The Japanese love to barbecue just about anything that can be barbecued! Corn, squash, onions, eggplant, potatoes, different varieties of mushrooms, garlic cloves, squid. Yes, unbelievably phenomenal meat: beef, pork, sausage. However, you’ll rarely see hamburgers and hot dogs. Pork and beans? Forget about it. Can you imagine? Continue reading →

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Life In Japan: The Naked American

Posted on July 6, 2019 by johnrachel

My nickname back in 2008 in the town I live in here in Japan was “the naked American”. I’ve never been either fond or adverse to nudism. But now I hear that women can go topless now in six states in the U.S., meaning I apparently was just ahead of my time, leading the charge for freeing nipples from oppressive censorship. Even so, I am forced to concede that my desire to be a tanned demigod was not very respectful of the local folks here. Continue reading →

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