The word geisha tends to conjure up a certain image.  A lot of people have the misconception that geisha are professional prostitutes, but that actually really isn't the case.  They have a pretty long history that doesn't involve the world's oldest prof

The hot, sweaty, humid days of summer are almost over.  We just have to make it through the typhoon season and we are into probably the best season in Japan, fall.  Time for barbecues and hikes and getting out of the house before we have to hide out aga

Growing up in the countryside in America, I never really got that much exposure to the big city.  The only time we saw any kind of mass transportation was a large cargo train that was carrying grain or coal across the country.  I got to ride a few train

I've been sticking stubbornly to the 5 month plan I laid out a few weeks ago.  I've made some good progress with New Kanzen Master N1 Listening book.  It looks like I'm almost half way through it and still going strong.  Overall, I think it is going to

I finished up So-Matome N1 Listening in 3 weeks. I'm currently going back through it and reviewing all the difficult dialogs that I couldn't listen to completely, but for the most part I'm finishing up with it and have already started on the New Kanzen Ma

Rainy season has officially ended here in Japan, and now it is time to enjoy the free sauna that is the Japanese summer. If you are not familiar with the summers here, I would advise you to avoid them. It is incredibly hot and humid. It's a great time to

The So-Matome N1 Listening book has been giving me a bit of beating. I guess I deserve it to be honest, I would like to take my listening to the next level and be able to at least have a decent understanding of TV shows. But, ouch, what a beating. I'm goi

I have finally started to go through the So-Matome N1 Listening Comprehension book.  So far the first couple chapters are incredibly difficult.  I was surprised actually.  I felt like there was a lot of really challenging stuff to get you ready for the

I've started a regular 'rinse, wash, and repeat' review of N1 grammar.  I'm able to understand it all, in context, but I'm a little shaky about being able to choose which grammar point would fit in a particular sentence.  And, of course, that is what yo

After the initial pages of Harry Potter: The Philosopher's Stone (or sometimes called Sorcerer's Stone), it has gotten a little bit easier. I still think I'm looking up a good 4 or 5 words a page, but, I can pretty much understand everything from simply r