Ever wanted to see how people really live life in Japan? Get ready for some surprises! — When I first arrived in Japan in 2005, I could barely say ‘konnichiwa’. So just imagine the shock on my very first night when I chowed down on some rather pink meat at a little bar only to find out it was raw horse. Raw horse! When the lovely old…

A beautiful story of inspiration, vulnerability, and fighting back from the brink. — “I’m sorry, but I don’t want a bum in my face, a face in my bum, or my pee splashing back off a tree and hosing my toes. Coz that’s what I got last time I went camping. Sand, flies, mosquitoes, sweat, and a tent doing cartwheels through the campground…

I was 13 years older, from a foreign country, and struggled with his language. Would he let me marry his daughter? — “I want you to meet my parents.” With those seven words, my heart palpitated, my testicles turned to raisins, and my breath got stuck in my throat. “Meet your parents? Cool.” I said. But I was anything but cool. And this was not cool. The sushi in my tummy was…

Samurais perished over 100 years ago. Ninjas too. And no, geisha girls aren’t on standby to sing you karaoke. What modern Japan really looks like. — When you close your worn and weary eyes each night and drift off to the mystical twangs of the shamisen wafting over a lake of cherry blossom petals, what images of Japan do your dreams conjure up? Perhaps pure, demure geisha? The scything sword of the stoic samurai?

I couldn’t believe it when my Japanese wife told me she wanted to leave me before our daughter was born. — “Iain, look,” my wife said. As soon as I turned around and saw her standing in front of me I knew exactly what it was. That beautiful pink stick in her hand meant only one thing. “Fuck yeah!” I screamed. A baby brother or sister for our little girl Isa. …

There’s no life rule that says you must spend time with people. So why force yourself if you don’t want to? — Are you a loner? I‘m a loner. Don’t particularly like spending time with most people. Much prefer being alone, hovering on the edge of anti-social. It’s not how I’d have designed my life if I’d had magical manifestation powers as a young’n, but I never had a choice. No brothers…

A step by step breakdown of everything I did so you can copy it — 12.2k views. 356 hours of members’ reading time. 5.7k claps. Pushing towards 100 comments. $555 earnings. And still climbing two weeks after being published. Pretty impressive for my very first article on Medium eh? So how did I do it? …

You Cannot Succeed Long-Term in Japan if You Don’t Have These. — Do you love Japanese food? Are you captivated by kimonos? Do you wonder if Japan would be an amazing place to live? When I tell people that I moved to Japan 18 years ago and have lived here since the reactions are almost always the same: OMG I love Japan…

For long-term contentment in Japan, embrace being a foreigner. A ‘gaijin’. An outsider. — When you first arrive in Japan, it’s only natural that you stand out. You’re probably half a foot taller, half a carpet hairier, and half a swimming pool sweatier. No matter, it’s the honeymoon phase, and everything’s new and glitzy. Who cares if a man’s groin is wedged across your…