beat the heat

The early days in Japan

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March 15th 2004
Arrival in August: humidity, typhoons, Atomic bombs and fireworks A fellow ALT, Assistant language teacher, who greeted us first years at Hiroshima airport, having just flown in from an initial 3 day seminar in a 5 star hotel in Shinjuku, told us we were lucky to be posted to Kure. Why then did the young man at customs in Tokyo, seeing where I was headed to, laugh and say, "oooh, coun ... read more

Asia » Japan » Hiroshima

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In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more