Niigata Prefecture is renowned for its sake (rice wine). In my small town of Joetsu alone, there are several breweries, two festivals, a sake-tasting railway and, […]
Category: Japan
The Japan Times – Sleepy Niigata Prefecture has an on-rails booze cruise that’s well worth the hangover.
Read my review via this link or the file below.
The Japan Times – How a dig for Naumann’s elephant is forging Japan’s future scientists
Back on the trail of Naumann’s elephant, I wrote a side story for The Japan Times about the benefits of community-centric archeology. As it happens, […]
The Japan Times – In Nagano, an excavation of Japan’s ancient elephant looks to rewrite history
At the close of my second Japanese winter, I managed to get a piece about elephants in The Japan Times. It was the first ever […]
The Japan Times – Why they’re staying
In January, Japan’s foreign English teachers chose to go home or stay. These are the people who chose to stay.
12 Months in Tengoku – Part 2
Winter Jennifer Roche sat at her desk and stared out the window. The snowy deluge showed no sign of stopping. Scores of thick clumps fell […]
12 Months in Tengoku – Part 1
One year and two weeks ago, I moved to a town on Japan’s west coast named Joetsu. On my third day, a local told me […]
The Long Commute
I was lucky enough to have this piece published in Metropolis Magazine. You can read that version here. The Noto Peninsula was once considered the […]
The Japan Times – As borders slowly reopen, a familiar question returns: Why did you come to Japan?
Since moving to Jōetsu in November 2021, I’ve been asked one question more than any other: why did you come to Japan? Check out this […]
What I’ve learned about Shinto
Nature spirits, scorched temples and accepting death – this is Shinto, Japan’s native belief system.