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手伝ってください！

Getting on the plane at Narita was gut wrenching. The realisation that my Tokyo trip was over had hit me square between the eyes. Real life was beckoning once more. It wasn’t all bad though. What I’d realised whilst in Tokyo was that my Japanese abilities had improved. Massively. I was not only able to make myself understood pretty articulately, I was also finding that understanding people’s responses was a hundred times more successful than I’d ever thought it would be. And reading signs, menus, flyers, newspapers, novels even, was not half as soul destroying as I’d assumed it was going to be. (more…)

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Why?

I’ve started a million and one articles on Caught*Red-handed with one, simple sentence: ‘I love Japan’. In fact, it would be easier to count the posts that haven’t begun with me slavering all over my most favourite, beautiful, beautiful archipelago of islands. That said however, I learnt pretty early on in life that books should not be judged solely by their covers and every rule, no matter what it is, has an exception. For that reason, C*R-h reports this time on something less than desirable about this highly coveted country. In fact, this time I ask just one, straightforward question: why? (more…)

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C*R-h On Tour In Tokyo: Part One

You know, there’s some real special places in Japan. It has sugar-coated mountaintops, it has delectable marzipan beaches and just about everything in between. One minute you can be corralled on the corner of a crossroads, just one bee in a million caught within the confines of Tokyo’s many human hives, the next you can be off the beaten track, the wind in your hair, the sun beating down, not a person to be seen for miles around.

I suppose the danger with having so much to choose from is that unquestionably, at some point, you are going to get caught up in the mêlée of tourists making their way along a path trodden by a billion other people. But is that necessarily a bad thing? And do you have to get out of other people’s way to spot some real gems? Is having the same photographs in your album as every other person whose visited Japan all that terrible? I’d argue not, but you knew I’d say that, right? (more…)

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Down And Out In Tokyo

Well, after the most fantastic break in Tokyo, Caught*Red-handed is BACK! I’ve had a truly magnificent time, so watch out for upcoming posts detailing my every move whilst out there, however before all that, what better way to get back into the groove than with a fantastic post from our resident linguistics expert, Mr Brett Fyfield! Believe me, I’ve been meaning to release this article for a loooong time but tech problems whilst in Tokyo as well as a whole host of other mishaps (coming soon in later posts!) have meant there’s been a bit of a delay. Let me tell you though, it’s well worth the wait… (more…)

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有名！３: Yoko Ono

When you think of Yoko Ono, what immediately pops into your mind? Yup, me too. You see, humanity has this uncanny knack of thinking almost completely in superlatives. And so unfortunately, (though I speak not from personal experience, obviously) the problem with being famous yourself but then being married to quite possibly one of the most famous people that has ever lived, is that ultimately people will always bridge the gap to the highest common denominator. And so Ono ends up at Lennon, quite like Camilla ends up at Charles, Lisa ends up at Elvis, China ends up at Japan, Gordon ends up at David and Microsoft ends up at Apple… Thinking in superlatives: sometimes it’s useful, but for this post, it’s annoying. (more…)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:16 — 9.2MB)