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Not So Silent Night
It’s early November. You’re out for an evening stroll, reveling in the crisp autumn air. Perhaps you’re in Ginza, window-shopping at the most expensive stores on earth even though you know full well...
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This Is A Call
Christi Rochin “I’m still atoning,” says Takayuki Niinuma. This is the man who gave up his possessions and underground Kabukicho life to head back to Ofunato after the earthquake and take care of his...
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Tokyo and the Big Spin
Christi Rochin The Japanese Diet is set to vote on what they call “special zone legislation.” It’s not the first time this has come up and this time around, the bill may really pass. Tucked inside is...
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The Customer Is God Delusion
Illustration by Christi Rochin As an agnostic, I have never really felt comfortable with the whole “customer is God” philosophy. I know I’m supposed to feel charmed, but I can’t help experiencing mild...
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Silver Linings Prayer Book
For the first time in many months, my fingers do not obey. I type, delete, type again, delete more. Today I am the bearer of bad news. Most people I know avoid the Negative Nellies, the chronic...
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When In Japan…
To put it mildly, certain members of Japan’s expatriate community seem to have a beef with their adoptive country. Their discontent is hashed out in expat bars and splashed across social media—not to...
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Sidewalk Circus
The subject of cycling on the sidewalk seems to spark outrage among the foreign community in Japan, yet for most Japanese people, this is an accepted practice that millions engage in every day. Why...
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Odd Kids Out?
Christi Rochin Imagine being a TCK for one day—a Third Culture Kid. A TCK is a young person who lives in a society with a completely separate culture from where his or her parents originated. It sounds...
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Eikaiwa’s Calm Center
Christi Rochin It’s hard to engage in any sort of online discussion about job-hunting or life in Japan without stumbling across some snarky remark about the eikaiwa industry. Countless articles are out...
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Caring For Man’s Best Friend
Christi Rochin Dogs have evolved a lot from their wolf days. For millennia we’ve teamed up with domesticated canines to hunt, protect, herd and more. Although that partnership remains intact today,...
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Sorry, I’m Not Sorry
Christi Rochin I’ve been a vegetarian for over 15 years and now living in Japan, the home of the vegetarian staple tofu, I’m often overwhelmed by the ignorant attitudes people express about my...
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Whine and Roses
Christi Rochin As a military spouse in Japan, my defining characteristic has become unemployment. “What does she do all day?” My husband gets asked this question a lot—by his fellow Navy pilots, his...
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So I Married a Japanese Man
Illustration by Christi Rochin My husband and I got married in America and shortly thereafter moved to Japan—where I proceeded to run headfirst into all sorts of unintentionally offensive questions and...
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Thar She Blows
Illustration by Christi Rochin Shinzo Abe’s recent comments to a parliamentary committee that he wished to see the resumption of the Antarctic whale hunt have sent a chill as icy as a katabatic wind...
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Land of the Lost
Illustration by Christi Rochin A crunchy, golden nugget of crispy chicken glistens on a shelf, its fried goodness ready for the taking. You eye it for a while, tears pooling in the corners of your...
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Side Project
Christi Rochin Tokyo is a great place to form a band and play. But further success—touring, making money from your music and honing an original sound—are all frustration-inducing stumbling blocks that...
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Nippon Newbie
llustration by Christi Rochin Japan offers modern living, a (mostly) affordable lifestyle and an abundance of job opportunities for those willing to pass on their native language to the locals. Even if...
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Operation Overlord
Illustration by Christi Rochin Google is God. That’s how I felt when I first moved to Japan. Dropped my keys somewhere in a grocery store; the translation app helped me explain my panic to the staff....
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Geothermal Self-Esteem
Illustration by Christi Rochin I remember hating my body when I was growing up. It’s not that I wanted to be pretty; I just wanted to be “good enough.” If I looked just a little bit like that woman on...
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Smells Like Nicotine Spirit
Illustration by Christi Rochin Imagine walking into a restaurant, taking out a small stick of pleasant-smelling incense—and not even a very strong-smelling one—placing it on the table, and lighting it....
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