Disclaimer: This article was produced in cooperation with byFood and contains affiliate links. Kokoro Media may earn a commission from purchases made via the byFood links featured throughout this article. I started drinking green tea more than 15 years ago, during my first visit to Japan as an exchange student. I got a liking for…
Zen and the Art of Eating: Developing a Greater Appreciation for Food through Mindfulness
Disclaimer: This article was produced in cooperation with byFood and contains affiliate links. Kokoro Media may earn a commission from purchases made via the byFood links featured throughout this article. I’m notorious for my perception of food and eating. In my youth, meals were often something that pulled me away from whatever activity or creative…
Why I Do Not like Japanese “Girl Power”
I am looking at women’s magazines at the convenience store. On the cover of one of them, I can read “Improve your joshiryoku!” I am in a long meeting. One of my colleagues has prepared snacks and drinks for everybody. Someone says, “Your joshiryoku is high!” I am on the train. An advertisement advises visiting a…
Small Talk across Cultures: Adjusting to Office Life in Tokyo
When I was in college, I worked at a video game store in one of the largest shopping malls in southern California. There I learned the ins and outs of the retail business: customer service, inventory routines, cash handling, sales, and much more. However, working in a mall was also a social experience, one that…
My Japanese Supermarket Culture Shocks
After living in a different country for many years, you adapt to the local lifestyle and tend to forget the things that surprised you in the first place. The last time I went to my home country, France, I experienced several reverse culture shocks, one of them just by going to my local supermarket. When…
Iwata-san: Learning about Life and Leadership in Japanese
One of the things I love about interviewing experts and business leaders is the opportunity to learn while I work. I get to hear their experiences, process their wisdom, and share it with anyone willing to read the final product. While I was working on a recent project, a Japanese startup founder recommended a book…
How My Home Is Making Me “More Japanese Than the Japanese”
The community of French residents in Japan often uses a funny word to describe and make fun of the French people who “want to be more Japanese than the Japanese.” They use the word “tatamisé,” which could be translated as “tatamized” – from the Japanese word tatami. As far as home furniture is concerned, I must…
Working for a Japanese Company: How to Express Your Individuality While Maintaining Harmony
Foreign professionals in Japan often struggle to communicate new, diverse ideas and opinions to Japanese colleagues in a corporate world that prioritizes harmony and consensus. Modern Japanese companies that operate globally recognize the importance of employing a diverse workforce. However, according to a survey featured in the Nikkei Asian Review, few companies have been able…
“Kay” – a Japanese Short Film Exploring Parent-Child Relationships
I recently had the pleasure to be invited to the screening of a Japanese short film titled “Kay”, directed by Hironori Kujiraoka. The screening should have taken place in April 2020 but was postponed to September because of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, it was shown and awarded at several international short film festivals. It received Best…
Four Professional Communities that Will Help You Grow Your Network in Japan
With the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down large professional networking gatherings and preventing free-flowing travel between Japan and the rest of the world, many international job seekers and aspiring entrepreneurs are wondering how they can make the essential connections necessary to achieving their professional goals. Fortunately, Japan’s professional networking scene is sustaining itself through a variety…