Gakuranman.com - illuminating Japan

Flutterscape Competition Winners!

Alrighty then. It’s high time I announced the winners to my recent competition with Flutterscape! There were a great selection of insightful...

The Ethereal Void of the Maya Hotel

I know, what a title eh? Words have failed me. Or perhaps I have failed them. It didn’t seem like much at the time, but having gone through the...

Flutter Japanese Goods Home: Giveaway!

Flutterscape. What a marvellous idea. I wish I’d thought of it myself. Japan is packed to the brim with unique and tasty goods and usually the...

Raiders of the Lost Subterranean Shrine

The day was drawing to a close and my haikyo partner and I could already hear the noisy mating gerrops of frogs. But one last thing had caught our...

Gunkanjima: Ruins of a Forbidden Island

Gunkanjima – every urban explorer’s dream. A deserted island of concrete ruins slowly crumbling away off the West coast of Japan....

How to Argue in Japanese

In a recent scuffle over the controversial whaling issue, I managed to seriously offend a couple of Japanese friends. Political and ethical issues...

Recent Posts

Grape Picking on a Hot Summer’s Day

Here’s a gentle ‘living in Japan’ post for you all with a splash of language learning and colourful photography. Grape picking in Japan (ぶどう狩り – budou gari) is one of the many fruit-related activities one can do over the summer. And quite a delicious one, too!

31 Aug 2010 | View Comments |

Japanese One Point Lesson: 青姦

It’s been a while since I looked at some interesting Japanese, so “Let’s Nihongo!” it up with a frisky little word I learnt during my intercourse with Japan. Oh yes, be afraid. Here comes a terrible orgy of puns for ‘Aokan’ (青姦), the little-known word for getting busy under the stars.

17 Aug 2010 | View Comments |

Lost Worlds – Japan Times Articles

A collection of haikyo articles penned by Japan Times staff writer Eriko Arita ventures into the deeper meaning behind ruins exploration and its popularity in Japan. A mention of my thoughts of the subject are included in one of the stories.

8 Aug 2010 | View Comments |

Gakuranman.com Website and Logo

It’s that time again. Yet another spasm of tinkering, tweaking, coding, designing and, of course, consuming copious amounts of sugary goods well into the early hours has resulted in Gakuranman.com version 7 and a logo. Here’s a history of the website’s design evolution!

7 Aug 2010 | View Comments |

Touring Japan 2010: Day 8 – Kaiyukan

The final day in my trip was a pretty relaxed one. I decided to head on over to Kaiyukan, the impressive aquarium at Osaka bay. I’ve been there once before some 3 years ago, but with my renewed interest in all things aquatic, a return visit would not go amiss!

1 Aug 2010 | View Comments |

Touring Japan 2010: Day 7 – Haikyo Hiking

Ahh, yappari. Manga cafes are too distracting. With all the free films, drinks, manga and ‘special’ photo books one can’t help but do everything other than sleep. So today, with a mere three hours under my belt I set out to meet fellow haikyoist Florian at 5.30am.

31 Jul 2010 | View Comments |

Touring Japan 2010: Day 6 – Oboke Rafting

The day was already off to a bad start. I awoke feeling much more refreshed than usual in the manga cafe. Something was definitely off. Reaching for my phone, I checked the time: 7.30am. Bollocks… I’d overslept and missed my train to take me the river Oboke for rafting.

30 Jul 2010 | View Comments |

Touring Japan 2010: Day 5 – Rusty Teshima

I was planning on going rafting in the wilderness of Oboke today, but I awoke in the manga cafe to the sound of heavy rain outside. I ‘borrowed’ one of the clear, plastic umbrellas left behind by other people at the exit and walked quickly to the station. The staff informed me the local trains [...]

29 Jul 2010 | View Comments |

Touring Japan 2010: Day 4 – Ritsurin Park

Just a short update today. I think the heat has been getting to me, and the lack of sleep last night probably didn’t help either. I was up until the early hours searching in vain for a way to get down to Kashiwajima, an island South-West of Shikoku renouned for its scuba diving.

28 Jul 2010 | View Comments |

Touring Japan 2010: Day 3 – Art Houses

I awoke in a relaxed manner after a lazy night’s sleep with the early morning sun on my face. It looked as though it was going to be another beautiful day on Naoshima and I had plenty of quirky art left to see before catching my ferry over to the main island of Shikoku.

27 Jul 2010 | View Comments |

Touring Japan 2010: Day 2 – To Naoshima

I was already on the train and leaving Kyoto at 8.30am after Ryosuke had dropped me off at the station. Today’s aim was Naoshima, the fabled ‘Island of Art’ on the Seto Inland Sea. What’s more, it seems that there is some sort of special art festival going on right now through to October – [...]

26 Jul 2010 | View Comments |

Touring Japan 2010: Day 1 – Kyoto Drinking

I must be crazy to take such a trip right in the middle of Japanese summer. The streets are empty in Tokyo and they’re talking about Gifu reaching the 1997 highs of 40 or so degrees Celsius. But it’s not the first time I’ve set out on a solitary trip in such stifling weather. I [...]

25 Jul 2010 | View Comments |