Most news channels in Japan are broadcasting other news or TV shows. Only two channels are broadcasting the missile news as a top story as most people in Japan feel this news is not a major concern.

Leading up to the launch, most people were never really concerned with the missile launch. Most people in Japan believe the governments of South Korea, Japan and the United States have their safety ensured.

• Runny nose and nasal congestion
• Watery or itchy eyes
• Sneezing
• Cough
• Itchy nose, roof of mouth or throat
• Sinus pressure and facial pain
• Swollen, blue-colored skin under the eyes (allergic shiners)
• Decreased sense of smell or taste

Hay fever symptoms usually last for longer periods of time or appear only after exposure to a specific allergen.

In Japan, 1 in 6 people are effected by hay fever. Japan has over 40 sources of allergic pollen alone. Two of the most abundant types of pollen are the sugi and hinoki trees. These two trees produce the pollens that are the main sources of kafunsho (hay fever) in Japan.

For those who are visiting Japan for the first time, you will probably not experience any hay fever symptoms, unless you are sensitive to pollen. Those who visit Japan frequently during the same season when pollen is at its peak may begin experiencing hay fever over time.

If you have hay fever and you plan a trip to Japan, make sure you visit the doctor before you leave so you can bring along some allergy medicine. The end of March through May is prime hay fever season.

I live in Kyoto and have taught at private schools as well as at universities.  I started this in order to give professionals within a particular field a means to contribute.  We must think of education as a long term need.

In regards to the schools and organizations listed in our directory, they are located in a number of different regions in Japan.  Refugees from the Tohoku area are moving to different locales throughout Japan and thus we strive to help them in their new environments.  The schools listed have agreed to give tuition assistance for affected children.  In this way, we hope to create a model that addresses the issues resulting from the triple disasters of March 11, 2011 on a national level.  As for the lessons using Skype we have at this time one volunteer based in Australia and thus, there is the possibility for the international community becoming involved.  Surely, people are suffering financially and we hope that through these offers their burdens may be lightened ever so slightly.

After School Lessons for Tohoku Children Homepage

Florally speaking, plum blossoms are the first to bloom. Birds fill the branches as they sip the nectar from the flowers. A few weeks later, cherry blossoms make their presence known. After cherry blossoms (sakura), peach blossoms begin their process. They are somewhat temperamental and bloom depending on winter temperatures, location and spring weather. Iris flowers bloom in late April to early May, while other flowers on the ground begin blossoming out with plum blossoms and continue all the way to the end of summer.

One of the most common flowers visible in spring is the dandelion, tanpopo in Japanese. They add extra color to landscape photos of cherry blossoms, blue picnic tarps and hanami viewers.

Springtime means a break for students. Japanese students are out at the end of March for a week or so while everyone else is busier than usual finishing out the fiscal year before the new one starts in April. Aside from students, the only people who aren’t putting in extra hours at work are the retirees.

If you travel in Japan in spring, you are bound to run across huge groups of elderly and retirees as they are the majority of the tourists visiting parks, museums, shrines, temples and hiking in Japan other than rich Chinese. Practice your Japanese or maybe even some Mandarin before you come for a visit. Elderly are learning English and many other languages. Many love to spark up conversation with foreigners visiting their home country.

One significant difference though is the balls; at least for younger aged players.

Kids in America use leather-covered baseballs in games. In batting practice, kids might use rubber balls either pitched by a coach or player, but most of the time it is only when a batting machine is being used.

In Japan, it is a world different. Young players all the way up to high school use only rubber balls whether it be practice or a game. The reason is rubber balls don’t hurt as much when a player is hit by a ball. Once players reach college level, they begin using leather baseballs…and cups.

Being a coach here in Japan, not a head coach, but an assistant one, I have come to understand why this rule has been put into place. However, I still like using a leather ball. It pitches and hits differently and this makes for a different game.

Now, what does using a rubber ball do for Japanese players other than protect them?

Rubber balls are a little cheaper. For kids, playing with rubber baseballs on cement doesn’t bring into play the leather tearing factor. So balls last longer. Rubber balls do wear down although at a very slow pace. Eventually, the rubber molded laces wear off and the ball is just round.

The main differences between rubber balls and leather ones are in fielding and batting. Rubber balls are difficult to hit. Make contact with a ball a little off center and it will spin right off the bat foul or dribble into the infield for an easy out. With that said, hit one with a lot of spin and it will possibly bounce for a hit. I see players miss balls all the time. The ball hits right in front of them and bounces left, right or over their heads. This teaches fielders to get their bodies in front of the ball better. Americans don’t want to get their bodies in front of the ball at a young age because the ball hurts.

One reason Ichiro Suzuki may be so good at fielding and hitting is he was raised using rubber balls. He probably learned better eye-hand coordination from using rubber balls.

Whether the baseball be rubber or leather, baseball in Japan is still the same sport. It’s just as fun and a great way to learn how to play game and work as a team! Play ba-ru!

The prices for iPad 2 have been marked down 10,000 yen for now. But don’t expect prices at Softbank to drop much more any time soon.

On a slightly different note, Softbank just came out with a much faster 4G LTE wifi router that operates at 75Mbs replacing their current model that operates at 42Mbs. The older model was priced at 3880 yen a month, but now the newer model is being sold at that monthly price. There was no price for the slower 42Mbs router being displayed.

Currently, on the Softbank website, there is no mention of the much faster 75Mbs router, but at stores locally, it is available. The body styling of this unit is sleek and sexy, but a little heavy. It would be best carried around in a bag, not anyone’s pocket.

Some of the changes that will most likely occur:

• The current gaijin card will be changed to a new version.
• Foreigners who have been living in Japan for a long period of time will begin receiving permanent residency status. He was unsure of the base number of years; 7 years or maybe fewer.
• 3-year length of stay changed to 5 years

Can you believe there is a sign like this being displayed in a store in Osaka, the second largest city in Japan where millions of people live? Believe it! It’s something that happens all the time, maybe not so foul, but the misuse of English is prevalent in all facets of literary use throughout Japan.

In this day and age, when computers and electronic dictionaries are something most have access to, you’d think those wishing to use English would get it correct. That, however, is not the outcome, no matter what their approach. They still get it wrong; so much it has become a sort of cult for foreigners!

Foreigners living, working and/or traveling in Japan cannot go a day without seeing some sort of English faux pas. Many foreigners make it a mission to seek out bad English. Once they find it, they post their findings to the web. Many blogs and websites around the world have been created by native English speakers to display strangely written English on T-shirts, signs, billboards or other forms of English print. It’s amazing how much there is out there! It’s even funnier when you take into consideration the huge number of foreigners that now live in Japan who can provide Japanese with English support if they were ever given the chance.

Most of the grammar mistakes come from people who think they have a good enough grasp of the language to do it on their own. Some might consider them idiots while others might consider them genius, if you taken into consideration the amount of exposure they get from foreigners posting their mistakes. Just look at how much exposure the store in Shinsaibashi is getting as their sale campaign is being splashed across the web on Facebook and websites like this one.

Another reason people in Japan make grammar mistakes, aside from the fact they don’t hire out foreigners to edit their works, is they take words straight from their dictionaries and use them thinking that because their dictionary said it means what they want to say in Japanese that it can be used in English just the same way. Unfortunately, this does not apply to all or most words the English language. Just look at the different words in a Thesaurus and you’ll see how words may be similar in meaning, but are used in different ways at different times. And some words, if used in conjunction with other words, may take on a whole different meaning.

Japanese people would do well to hire out foreigners to edit their English, especially since so many of them now live in the country and work in the English industry. But then again, they might not get as much exposure if their English stopped being funny!

Years ago, ATMs used to closed from before January 1st and wouldn’t be available for use until around the 4th or 5th. If you needed money, you had to get it out of the bank before then, otherwise you’d be without money for almost a whole week. Nowadays, ATMs are open 24 hours at convenient stores, and some are open at other locations. But banks are generally still closed during the New Year holiday period.

Another place that closes down on the 1st is gas stations. If you wish to get gas on January 1st, good luck. You can find some on major highways, but ones in local townships are generally closed for at least on day.

Anyone traveling to Japan during the New Year holiday period should remember this and make sure to have enough cash available because stores, even large ones, sometimes don’t take credit cards. If you don’t have cash, you’re stuck, especially at restaurants!

Yawata City, which lies just along the northeastern border of Osaka prefecture, is host to one of the latest Costco stores to be opened in Japan. Tons of people will be flocking to the store today to get a glimpse of the latest addition to the Costco Japan family.

Roads leading into the Yawata Costco will most likely be jammed with cars as members and visitors head to the store to shop on Opening Day.

Locals have been anticipating this day for a long time and have hopefully prepared themselves for the traffic that will now be something they have to deal with on a daily basis. Granted, it might not be as bad as it most likely will be today, but nonetheless, from now on, anyone living near Costco Yawata will have a lot more traffic.

Locals, like myself, will most likely walk or ride their bicycles to beat the traffic. Anyone going by train will have to take a bus or taxi in order to get to the store since JR Matsuiyamate station is not a close walk away. But even though the store is not a short walk away, today, anyone going by train might want to consider walking. It might be actually faster!

I’m heading there by bicycle now…