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The Expat's Guide to Japan
Everything you need to know about living and working in Tokyo & Yokohama
Blog Archives
St. Luke’s International Hospital
St. Luke’s International Hospital has been offering high quality healthcare to Japan’s international community since 1902. The hospital consists of more than 40 departments with an emergency center operating 24/7. Physicians are well experienced with patients of various nationalities, and…
Seasonal Food – Autumn
Seasonality is an important aspect of Japanese culture, and in no area does it play a greater role than in the world of food and drink. The concept of “shun” (旬) refers to ingredients that are at their seasonal best,…
Aoba-Japan International School
Aoba-Japan International School is a K-12 school that is IB PYP and DP accredited. AJIS is rich in Japanese culture throughout the school, and is also proud to be a “real international school” as they are not affiliated with any…
ai International School
This is a preschool and kindergarten where children learn to respect differences and develop borderless friendships through an international atmosphere in the classrooms and during activities. As children experience many new things at their first school, they make it their…
Machiawase: Tokyo’s Famous Rendezvous Spots
Tokyo is the biggest city in the world, and if you haven’t gotten lost here at least once, you’re not trying hard enough. Even if you manage to keep a track of where you are, arranging to meet someone in…
Ayla International School
Ayla International School is a one of a kind boutique preschool. It is located in front of Donguri Park, where children spend most of their time playing and exploring. The school focuses mainly on art, music and nature. Ayla method…
American Clinic Tokyo
American Clinic Tokyo is an American-style practice founded in 1954. Serving the English speaking community for 60 years. Located adjacent to the U.S. Embassy in Akasaka, Tokyo.…
Club360 – Physiotherapy & Sports Massage
Club 360 is Tokyo’s premier physiotherapy and multidisciplinary practice. Club 360 seeks to find and correct the root cause of your problem to provide long-term pain relief and a preservation of the lifestyle you enjoy. Their highly qualified therapists liaise with a…
Japanese Clinics & Hospitals
The first challenge facing anyone seeking medical attention in Japan is finding the right facility. Read about the differences between clinics and hospitals, and why you should choose a clinic for non-emergency cases, on this page.
Tokyo Flowers in Spring
The smell of spring is in the air, and it seems like everyone is looking forward to the cherry blossoms and making plans for hanami…but what are the other flowers that blossom in the city? Here are some flowers that…
This Week’s Picks (Jan. 5, 2016)
This week, look after yourself with our guide to personal safety in Japan. Also, read up on internet services for short- to long-term visitors, and learn about Japanese road signs.…
A&C Tokyo: service for registering the incorporation of a small-sized enterprise
(This service is offered by Yoshihide Kurihara, judicial scrivener for A&C International) For many years, A&C has assisted foreign companies expanding into the Japanese market with incorporation registration procedures. A&C has supported enterprises large and small from many different countries…
Tokyo Winter Illuminations 2015-2016
Every year, the city of Tokyo responds to the dark of winter by lighting up brighter than any other time of year. Check out the highlights of the city’s Winter Illuminations below. Baccarat ETERNAL LIGHTS -Yorokobi no Katachi- The centrepiece…
Kusumi Morikage: From Adversity, a Gentle Gaze at Familiar Things
Kusumi Morikage (久隅守景) was a student of Kano Tan’yu, one of the foremost painters of the early Edo period. Much of Morikage’s work focused on the everyday lives of ordinary people, exemplified in his depictions of village life through the…
“My number” – What you need to know
If you are resident in Japan, you may have heard talk about a new social security number system that is being introduced this autumn. Nicknamed “my number” in Japanese, this Individual Number system identifies each resident by a single 12-digit…
Autumn Leaves in Tokyo
Though Tokyo is often viewed as a concrete jungle, there are plenty of places where the effects of the changing seasons on nature can be seen and appreciated. This guide contains some of the best locations, both in the city…
Tokyo Citizen’s Day
The 1st of October is Tokyo Citizen’s Day (都民の日, tomin no hi), on which many public parks, museums, galleries and other facilities offer free entry. Though not a public holiday, when it falls on a weekday most public school children…
8 Things You Can’t Do on a Bike in Japan
Japan is well known for the safety of its streets and low crime rate – helped, no doubt, by the visibility of the country’s police force. With so little serious crime to contend with, you may wonder what it is…
Asakusa Samba Carnival Parade Contest
This year, Expat’s Guide attended the 34th Annual Asakusa Samba Carnival Parade Contest . There aren’t many things that can make the humid Japanese summer feel even hotter, but if anything can, it’s samba! The Asakusa Samba Carnival has been…
The Dance of Fools – Awa Odori
If you visit one of the many festivals held across Japan this summer, chances are you will hear the distinctive Awa Yoshikono, played on shamisen, taiko drums and flute, and heralded by the striking of a kane bell. This is…
Sumida River Fireworks Festival from Skytree
One of the oldest and largest displays of its kind, the Sumida River Fireworks Festival is attended annually by thousands of people who brave the intense summer humidity and crowd the nearby streets and designated viewing venues to enjoy the…
Retro Japanese Junk Food, DAGASHI
You may know wa-gashi (和菓子, Japanese sweets) but do you know da-gashi (駄菓子)? Though best known for its traditional, refined confectioneries, Japan has its own unique selection of cheap and novelty candy that is as terrible, weird, wonderful, and cavity-inducing…
Wa no Akari x Hyakudan Kaidan
If you’d like a taste of summer culture from across Japan, look no further than the Wa No Akari x Hyakudan Kaidan exhibition at Meguro Gajoen. Running until the 9th August, the event showcases paper lanterns from summer festivals across…
Eco Edo Art Aquarium 2015
Art and life are intertwined this summer at Eco Edo Nihonbashi Art Aquarium, running at Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall in Tokyo. Featuring hundreds of live goldfish in uniquely shaped aquariums, the exhibition is the brainchild of Tokyo-born aquarium designer, Hidetomo Kimura.…
Tanabata Matsuri
Perhaps the most evocative of Japan’s annual matsuri (祭り, festivals) , tanabata (七夕) marks the beginning of the summer festival season. Closely linked with the stars, tanabata is celebrated by the writing of wishes on strips of paper, which are…
Edo-Tokyo Museum Reopens
What is that looming structure, slightly reminiscent of a walker from the Star Wars saga, poised to beam down the Ryogoku Kokugikan (sumo hall)? Yes, it is the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which reopened to the public on March 28 after renovations.…
Jimbocho: Heaven for book lovers
One of the largest secondhand book markets in the world is centered on the intersection of Yasukuni-Dori and Hakusan-Dori in the Kanda district of Tokyo. Known as Tokyo’s book town, Jimbocho (神保町) is home to a concentration of over 170…
Things to Know about Winter Driving in Japan
Winter driving can be pretty treacherous, and you can never be too careful. When driving in Japan in the winter, remember to be aware of the road conditions. You might think that December is too early to think about heavy…
Shima Onsen
A four-hour bus ride away from Tokyo, overflows with nostalgic charm as well as healing spring waters. The unique hot spring experience found here continues to draw visitors to this isolated spot, deep in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture. The…
Food Allergy Labeling
Expats with food allergies know that they need to be extra careful when dealing with foods in a new country. Besides the obvious language barrier they deal with when trying to decipher the backs of food labels, labeling regulations may…
Sakura Spectacles
Cherry blossoms are one of Japan’s most famous attractions of spring and can be seen all over the country – from the northern tip to the southern islands, in the mountains and by the water, among the busy skyscrapers and…
Ski Resorts near Tokyo
Every winter, Japan’s mountainous region is transformed into a snow-filled landscape providing great opportunities for winter sports. Known worldwide for its characteristic dry and powdery snow, the Japanese and internationals alike flock to the slopes of Japan’s numerous ski resorts.…
Trip – Shimane and Tottori
Off the beaten path and a little exotic, the San-in Coast offers both the Japanese quintessential temple experience and something a little more unique. Located on the lower western coast of Honshu, the Shimane and Tottori prefectures may not have…
“Made in Japan: 400 Years of Nambu Tekki Ironware”
Japanese handmade crafts have always received international acclaim for their fine quality and simple beauty. Japan’s long tradition of crafting everything from swords, cutting knives, and ceramics to fabrics and woodwork has had a tremendous influence on the world in…
Kamakura Koyo Drive
Kamakura (鎌倉) is a coastal town in Kanagawa Prefecture, which used to be the capital in 12th and 13th century Japan. It’s about an hour driving south of Tokyo. It has a whopping 65 temples and 19 shrines, along with…
Sumo
Sumo – an iconic sport that epitomizes Japan’s image internationally just as much as sushi; what other sport is as linked to just a single country, but known so widely throughout the world? And “known” may be just the right…
Kichijoji: A Hopping Suburb Outside of the City
Far enough away from central Tokyo to escape the shadow of endless sky-rises, but well-positioned on the Chuo Line for a relatively quick commute into the business district– Kichijoji floats somewhere on the border between big-city Tokyo and quiet suburb.…
Snowscapes of Japan
The Japanese archipelago is rich in geographical diversity and allows different regions to enjoy different winter sights. Due to the westerlies hitting the rugged, tall mountain ranges cutting through the country like a spine, the western side of the country…
Mochi cooking – Easy ways to enjoy rice cakes
After Christmas, you can’t pass through a Japanese supermarket without seeing a pile of bags of rice cakes aka Mochi in Japanese. It plays a significant role in Japanese New Year, and appears almost daily on the dining tables at…
Japanese Summer Customs
Summer in Japan is a season full of festivals and events, and is when many people get a chance to have a weeklong break for overseas traveling or family trips. It is also the time of year, along with the…
If you’re asked to a Japanese wedding
June in Japan is a month with a lot of weddings. Though the image of a sunny wedding may be at odds with a season of perpetual rain and clouds due to the ‘plum rains’, as you might expect many…
The Japanese, the rain, and umbrellas
When you live in Japan you see that for half of the year in most places, it’s a rainy country — beginning with the fall of the cherry blossoms, then the thunderstorms in May, the monsoons in June, and the…
Singing in the Plum Rain
This year’s ‘plum rains’ (tsuyu) are upon us, and across the length and the whole country will be plunged into the long rainy season. This may be a yearly occurrence, but people still get depressed about the days of endless…
Hunting Fireflies
The end of May and throughout June is firefly season in Japan. Beginning with the genjibotaru (ゲンジボタル, laciola), you can spot many different varieties of fireflies near clear streams. Firefly viewing is a time-honored tradition and one of the features…
Rocking Out Without Ropes: Bouldering in Tokyo
Over the past few years the number of bouldering gyms in the heart of Tokyo has increased, along with the number of people discovering a great sport they can do on the way home from work. As you only need…
