For a country with a reputation for having such an intense work culture, Japan has a surprising amount of public holidays. Confusingly, there are also some holidays celebrated that aren’t actual public holidays at all. Even if you’re working for a company where you don’t get public holidays off, it’s good to know when holidays are coming up as they can greatly affect things like public transport or busy periods.  Historically, the majority of public holidays in Japan fell on specific dates, however in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a series of modifications to laws saw a number of holida ..read more

One weekend, I decided to head to the office. With an important deadline looming and no plans for that Saturday, it seemed like a prime opportunity to get ahead on some work. To my surprise, upon entering the office, I wasn’t alone. In America, the idea of voluntarily spending a Saturday at work may seem unusual, yet I soon realized it was common to see colleagues staying late into the night, sometimes until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m., even on weekends. Occasionally, I’ve even had peers who had pulled all-nighters at their desks. It wasn’t long before I noticed that many of my friends also dedicated ..read more

Growing up as a public school kid in the United States, the new school year brought with it nerves, but also excitement. One of my favorite memories is choosing a backpack to carry books, stationary, and my lunch box to and from school. I still remember my kindergarten bag – a shiny pink number with the PowerPuff Girls emblazoned on the front. It was a statement piece for sure, and probably one of the more fashion-forward moments in my life. 6-year-olds in Japan have this same opportunity, and it is undoubtedly equally exciting for them. The bags themselves, however, are nothing like what I or ..read more

It’s well known that Japanese work life is hectic and that doesn’t end even after you clock out as the nomikai is still waiting for you. The nomikai (飲み会) or drinking party is designed to build trust, rapport and to practice “nomunication” or communication between coworkers and has been a part of Japanese work culture for a long time. Traditional Drinking Culture in Japanese Business: Understanding Drinking Parties The word “nomikai” can be broken into two parts: “nomi” (to drink) and “kai” (gathering). It often elicits a nostalgic image of Japan during its bubble years of high growth and rapi ..read more

In the past few years, I’ve tried to cut down on my news consumption. I only check it every few days or sometimes even once a week, because I realized how the seemingly endless onslaught of despair and violence in the world was affecting my mental health. I have never been more convinced that the world could take a page out of Nagasaki’s book. Nagasaki City is probably most famous around the world for its history in World War II. I grew up hearing about the violence that befell it in the summer of 1945, its name often uttered in the same breath as Hiroshima. According to the Manhattan Engineer ..read more

When I was little, nothing beat sitting at the lunch table, opening my lunch box, and discovering that my mom had packed me a fun treat, be it a blueberry muffin, Hostess cupcake, or fun size pack of M&M’s. Depending on what my friends’ parents had packed them, a trade might be agreed upon. Beyond how delicious the food tasted, I never thought much about what I was eating. Where it came from, the ingredients used to make it, and its nutritional aspects were just some of the many qualities that never crossed my mind. In Japan, however, school lunchtime, or kyūshoku (給食), looks a little diff ..read more

“Make sure to use English as much as you can.” That’s what we were told on our first day of graduate school. What they said made sense. All of us were students who were expected to engage in research over the next two years. Doing well in academics often means publishing your work, and the better the impact, the better for your career. Soon, as I got into my degree, my senior colleagues were often coming to me to check their English articles and look at the English instructions for their studies. My classmates asked me to help them write emails to foreign professors. But it wasn’t until one ni ..read more

Nara city is one of those big name places for tourists in Japan, synonymous with roaming deer that bow for snacks, crowds and ancient temples. While certainly not on the level of Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka for must visit places in Japan, it constantly draws big crowds, most often as a day trip for people staying in nearby Kyoto. That said, few people ever venture outside the prefectural capital and explore the prefecture itself. Strangely, this makes Nara prefecture one of Japan’s best kept secrets even while Nara city continually draws in masses of visitors every day. So what else is there to see ..read more

In the Japanese workplace, looking busy means working hard, and working hard means being a team player. It doesn’t matter whether you are in the office or in a high school in the countryside, looking busy opens the doors for connections and promotions as well as makes for a generally smoother experience. It’s not all bad, though! Team work makes the dream work, right? So, to learn more about the intricate balance of looking busy at work and actually getting work done, read on to dive into the complexities of looking busy at work in Japan. The Illusion of Productivity With so many people bustli ..read more

These camps, which house refugees primarily from Syria and Palestine, have endured increased strain due to limited resources and overcrowding. Moreover, the devastating explosion at the Beirut harbor in 2020 further compounded the country’s woes, resulting in widespread destruction and loss of lives. Amidst these challenges, children in refugee camps bear a heavy burden, often deprived of basic necessities and opportunities for education and development. Here is a video of the conditions in the orphanage we are helping located in Northern Beirut: Chadi Dubois, owner of Discovery Language Scho ..read more