Blogs on Japan

Blogs on Japan has started a new feature where we will interview different bloggers who blog about Japan. Stopping by today is the Japanese Innovations Writer at Inventorspot, Steve Levenstein. If you would like to be interviewed, please contact me! Also if you are looking for some interesting blogs on Japan, take a look at the previous interviews.

When did you start blogging about Japan and why did you start?

In May of this year I was accepted as the Japanese Innovations Writer at InventorSpot. I had been looking for an opportunity to write about Japan’s unique & interesting products, people and cultural phenomena, and in my blog I try to share my discoveries and impressions with the wider world. Japan really is a world apart from the life and lifestyle we take for granted in the West, and appreciating the differences can enrich us
all IMHO.

Describe your blog in one word.

“!”

If you could introduce one of your posts to new readers which one would it be and why?

I would recommend two, if I may: “Ten Ways The Japanese Do It Better” and “Ten Ways The Japanese Do It Worse“, because together they present what I feel are two sides of the Yen coin. When it comes to Japan you’ve got to take the good with the bad, and by doing so you can gain a fuller appreciation of what makes Japan so very special.

What blogs do you read?

I enjoy Japundit, Tokyomango and, of course, Blogs on Japan. Together they provide a great source of Japan news & views.

What is your favorite place you have been to in Japan and why?

That’s a tough call… I will always remember the first time I enjoyed Oden, at a small restaurant high on Mount Fuji, or being greeted with a cheery “Hello!” by dozens of yellow-capped school children marching in single file along a hiking trail in Hakone. If I have to choose one, it’s the time we stayed at the Magoroku Onsen in Akita prefecture. The feeling of enjoying an sulphurous outdoor hot spring bath overlooking a burbling snow-crusted stream and surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery… words simply can’t do justice to the experience!

How long have/did you live in Japan?

I live in Canada but I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Japan numerous times with my Tokyo-born wife. My first visit was in 1990. I keep up to speed on things Japanese through the blogosphere and by watching NHK news and other programming via TV Japan.

The best thing about Japan is…

The food… from an expansive traditional spread at a ritzy hot spring resort to a humble MOS Burger, it’s all good.

The worst thing about Japan is…

The crowding in big cities, especially Tokyo. Then again, it’s a tribute to Japanese modern society that things don’t degenerate into a mad rush and total chaos.

Who is your favorite Japanese celebrity?

Beat Takeshi is always entertaining, even when he’s dubbed over in English for MXC, the repackaged Takeshi’s Castle. I also enjoy Kaori Manabe because she combines beauty with brains.

One thing about Japanese culture that I will never understand is…

The “Lolita Complex” and how openly it’s catered to.

What is the most delicious food you have had in Japan?

One time we were staying at a government-run resort at Miyako on the Pacific coast. The place was known for its fresh seafood, or so the guidebook told us - it wasn’t lying! I ordered Uni (sea urchin) and watched, amazed, as the waitress brought me one that was dripping wet, they must have yanked it off the ocean floor shortly before serving it to me. Indeed, the long black spines were still moving even though the creature was neatly cleaved in two! Well, what was I to do, look like a squeamish Gaijin (and yes, you better believe I was being stared at constantly)… so I dug right in, spines or no spines, and it was the best thing I have ever tasted! Footnote: after I had plucked out everything edible from the sea urchin, its spines were still doing their hypnotic dance.

What is the most disgusting food you have had in Japan?

See above… like I said, you gotta take the good with the bad!

What is the coolest gadget you have used or seen in Japan?

I mentioned this one in one of my blog postings, “Top Ten Ways Japanese Live Small”… the first time I used the washroom while staying at a Japanese friend’s home outside Tokyo, I was confronted by an obvious and
ingenious device: the toilet featured a faucet on top of the tank. When the toilet was flushed, the tank re-filled via the faucet which filled the concave tank-top before draining into the tank itself. A classic example of Japanese practicality - the tank had to be re-filled anyway, you’re going to wash your hands after flushing and the combination negated the need to take up space with a separate sink. Things like this epitomize the mix of weird and wonderful that I find so appealing about Japan!

Thanks for the interview and keep up the good work with sharing about Japanese Innovations!