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Mike

With nothing better to do in his native Ohio, Mike took a leave of absence from all responsibilities in life and came to Japan for the first time in 2006. After several years of what amounted to an extended vacation with occasional Japanese lessons, circumstances led Mike to finally settle down in Tokyo and get serious about life in 2009. He’s worked at magazines, a Japanese ad agency, and currently works in the entertainment industry. He also co-founded and writes for the humorous Japan news website Tokyodesu.com.

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Posted by Mike

Tokyo Metro employs megaphone translation tech at station near Harajuku

Mike
Jan 5, 2017
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The underground train operator has commissioned several real-time translation megaphones to facilitate communication with foreign customers.

Japan
(Harajuku • technology • Tokyo • Tokyo Metro)

Cheapo News: This may be Japan’s cheapest (and saddest) Christmas dinner deal for singles

Mike
Dec 24, 2016

No Christmas date? No problem! We’ve found one of Japan’s cheapest Christmas dinners at Italian chain, Saizeriya.

Food & Drink, Japan
(cheap • cheapo news • Christmas • food • Italian • Mr. Sato • Saizeriya)

Nissin sends Square Enix employees congratulatory instant ramen, possible collab on the way

Mike
Dec 3, 2016

With Nissin’s cup noodles featured heavily in the latest Final Fantasy game, the company decided to gift Square Enix employees with a ramen donation.

Japan
(Final Fantasy • food • games • Nissin • ramen)

More Japanese are marrying friends and acquaintances because they don’t want to bother with dating

Mike
Nov 30, 2016

Japan’s latest buzzword, “Marriage sans dating,” sheds some light on new Japanese romantic customs.

Japan, Lifestyle
(culture • dating • marriage • romance)

City that inspired settings in hit anime “Your Name” sees unbelievable boost in tourist dollars

Mike
Nov 26, 2016

Hida City, Gifu Prefecture rakes in a whopping 18.5 billion yen in tourist dollars as fans of the film make pilgrimages to the region.

Japan
(anime • Gifu Prefecture • Hida City • Kimi no na wa • tourism • your name.)

This is what a Yoshinoya beef bowl looks like with US$100 in extra meat topping

Mike
Nov 13, 2016

As is our longstanding tradition, we took a 10,000 yen bill to another Japanese fast food joint to see what kind of culinary monstrosity we could make.

Food & Drink, Japan
(fast food • food • funny • Yoshinoya)

Fukuoka town builds enormous Godzilla replica out of… straw?

Mike
Nov 12, 2016

After hearing about it last week, you bet we went to check out Japan’s gigantic straw Godzilla for ourselves, and it’s way more imposing than we’d anticipated.

Japan
(art • awesome • cool • Fukuoka • Godzilla • movies • Shin Godzilla • straw • travel)

Our reporter heads to an all-male crossplay event, and the results are gorgeous

Mike
Nov 3, 2016

We sent one of our Japanese reporters, “Rei-chan,” to the “RAAR’s Night” crossplaying event in Shinjuku. Here’s his story.

Japan
(crossplay • halloween • LGBT • shinjuku)

Tokyo’s Shibuya celebrates Halloween with awesome cosplay crowds, and we’ve got photos right here

Mike
Oct 31, 2016

We spent a night out on the town in Tokyo’s Shibuya this Halloween weekend to grab some incredible photos of cosplaying revelers.

Japan
(cosplay • halloween • pictures • Shibuya • Tokyo)

Cheapo News: The top 100-yen sushi plates at Shibuya’s Uobei Sushi

Mike
Oct 24, 2016

We visit the Uobei Sushi conveyor belt sushi restaurant and choose our top picks to save you time, money and potentially wasted calories.

Japan
(cheapo news • food • sushi)

Web search reveals dark (and kinky) habits of beloved mythical Japanese spirit

Mike
Oct 21, 2016

The Kappa is generally known as a clownish, mostly friendly water spirit in Japanese mythology, but a cursory web search recently revealed the creature’s darker nature.

Japan
(kappa • mythology • yokai)

Unique men’s clothing line lets you wear some of Japan’s most iconic woodblock prints

Mike
Oct 3, 2016

The menswear line is inspired by kimono designs and features (tasteful) recreations of famous erotic woodblock prints.

Japan
(art • clothes • fashion • Issey Miyake • ukiyo-e)

This jellyfish may only exist in Japanese aquariums, remains undiscovered in the wild

Mike
Sep 23, 2016

A handful of photos making the rounds on Japanese blogs purport to show a species of jellyfish only found in Japanese aquariums.

Japan
(animals • Aquarium • jellyfish • science)

Cheapo News: We discover a Tokyo sushi shop with unlimited inari-zushi

Mike
Sep 21, 2016

Sushi Mamire, in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district, offers up all-you-can-eat sides of inari-zushi with every lunch.

Japan
(cheap • cheapo news • food • shinjuku • sushi)

Clever AT-AT multipurpose stand helps organize your desk, recreate iconic Star Wars moment

Mike
Sep 16, 2016

Premium Bandai set to release this nifty Star Wars-themed desk organizing stand.

Japan
(Bandai • Bandai Premium • Star Wars • toys)

Finding a half decent gym in Japan: A survival guide

Mike
Sep 3, 2016

Here’s a guide to finding the right gym for you in Japan, a surprisingly difficult endeavor.

Japan
(fitness • guides • gyms • survival guide • weightlifting)

Animal caricatures from classic Japanese scroll art enter the modern world as cute, funny figures

Mike
Aug 30, 2016

The anthropomorphized frog and rabbit from the famous 12th century Choju-jinbutsu-giga acquaint themselves with computers, selfie sticks and more in this cute line of miniature figures.

Japan
(art • figures • Japan • toys)

Cheapo News: Dine on a great-tasting tempura rice bowl for just 130 yen at this Tokyo chain

Mike
Aug 29, 2016

Marugame Udon, a ubiquitous Tokyo noodle shop, serves this delicious “hidden” menu item for just 130 yen.

Japan
(cheapo news • food • tempura • Tokyo)

This ornate Super Mario Bros. watch can be yours for just, oh, US$27,000

Mike
Aug 22, 2016

This Romain Jerome watch with a classic pixelated Mario face is available for a limited time for Mario super fans with a lot of cash to blow.

Japan
(Mitsukoshi • Super Mario Bros. • video games • watches)

Korean man wins lottery, family stages City Hall protest demanding he split the money

Mike
Aug 19, 2016

The 58 year-old winner’s mother and daughter say they’re entitled to part of his winnings and went as far as to stage a protest at the local city office.