The E-book industry in Japan is gaining momentum. Both contemporary releases and more popular classics are seeing an increase in digital publication alongside physical distribution. Through their kindle service Amazon.co.jp has a particularly strong hold on this market, and their extensive catalog could offer good news for any intermediate or advanced Japanese language learner. It is easier to... Continue →

At the end of my third semester in Japan, I took use of an extended school holiday and my last remaining months in Japan to plan a short trip to Taiwan and Hong Kong. During my stay I’ve had the pleasure to acquaint people from both regions and took this as the perfect excuse for some last minute sightseeing. Brief history As one of the most important trade and financial hubs in Asia and one... Continue →

At the end of my third semester in Japan, I took use of an extended school holiday and my last remaining months in Japan to plan a short trip to Taiwan and Hong Kong. During my stay I’ve had the pleasure to acquaint people from both regions and took this as the perfect excuse for some last minute sightseeing. Brief history The Island of Taiwan (governed since 1945 by the Republic of China,... Continue →

As an undergraduate student I wrote several blog-posts and tutorials throughout 2016 on how I’ve personally integrated Anki in my daily life. One of those entries extensively documented how to connect Anki with Firefox to vocab-mine Japanese texts in my browser with JPod101 audio-readings, example-sentences and Japanese dictionary definitions; posts that became somewhat high-ranking when... Continue →

At the start of the new academic year in Japan, early April, I joined a music circle and formed several bands with other members of the circle. During the summer break, one of my band’s members invited me to join his class’ study trip to Fukushima; gaining first hand experience at methods Fukushima’s civilians are employing to revitalize Fukushima’s tourist industry after the 2011 earthquake.... Continue →

Last April, I had the pleasure to my professor from KU Leuven on a study-trip to Matsumoto, accompanied by several KU Leuven schoolmates also present in Japan, as well as a Japanese historian and professor at Matsumoto’s Shinshū University, and his seminar students. On our study-trip, we would first visit the Old System Matsumoto High School Museum (Kyūsei Matsumoto kōkō kinenkan 旧制松本高校記念館)... Continue →

During this year’s golden week in Japan, I joined several of my friends for a short trip to Okinawa Island, the main island of the Okinawa prefecture. Due its pleasant tropic weather and beautiful beaches at this time of the year, Okinawa is one of the more popular destinations during Golden Week, and for us too a good occasion to finally visit Japan’s tropics. Brief history One of 47 of... Continue →

As an undergraduate student at my Belgian university, I took several courses related to the Korean language and Korean history, which in turn made me quite eager to visit the country, given that I’d be living relatively close for the next year and a half. During my first semester studying in Japan, I was fortunate enough to make several good friends from South Korea. One of them had already... Continue →

It’s been a while since I’ve posted my last blog, and while I’ve had some ideas on new posts, I had to prioritize schoolwork, including finishing my graduation thesis and preparing my cultural exchange. Courtesy of my university I received the opportunity to study and live in Tokyo for a year and half at Chuo University with MEXT scholarship, as part of my Master degree in Japanese Studies.... Continue →

Having finished the final exams for my undergraduate degree in Japan Studies, we decided to spend some time off by visiting a close friend doing an internship in Seville, Spain. We used our time there to get a glimpse of beautiful Andalusia and were not disappointed by the stunning beauty of its architecture and nature, its fascinating history and, importantly, its wonderful culinary... Continue →