Becoming a Superhero

Am I a superhero? Of course not! I’m nothing at all like a superhero. I’m not particularly strong. I can’t see through walls. I can’t morph into an animal. I can’t fly and I’m definitely not the bravest guy you’ll ever meet. I’m certainly not a superhero.

I’m not Superman or the Green Lantern, but I do find a definite appeal in doing things others can’t or simply don’t want to try. Like most people out there (not everyone), I do want to be noticed. If I were happy blending into the woodwork I probably wouldn’t have dedicated years to making hundreds of You Tube video blogs and writing hundreds of posts on blogs now defunct and still in existence. I’m not a superhero, but I do enjoy some amount of attention. That’s a natural thing!

Over the years I’ve done a lot of things to “get noticed.” Growing up I was definitely the class clown. In university I got into acting and had parts in several plays and made “interesting” music as a drummer in several indie bands. I then went on to be a professional dinner theatre, improv comedy performer and bar band drummer.

Now I am a teacher and I suppose that to is a way to perform. Everyday I get on a small stage for a captive audience and it is very important that I both educate and entertain them!

I suppose in a small way though, part of me does romanticize about the “superhero” aspect of existence. In a small, yet rather realistic way, I have been trying to achieve my own personal “superhero” status. In early 2008, when I first moved to Japan from Canada I promised myself I would run a full marathon that same year. I had never run a race distance over 10k, but vowed to do it. I suppose it was something to check off on my “things to do in life” list (My list is long and varied. Some other goals involve going to the North Pole and spending a summer drinking and camping my way around the countryside of Ireland!)!

I ran my first full marathon that Fall (2008). It was a slow time, but I did it! That was my goal. I realized I had completed something most people would never try to do. It felt good. I ran more races over the next few years and consistently made much better times with everyone.



Now I find myself in the position of running a 60k run to raise money for a charity (Running to Help Japan). I will also run the Osaka Marathon and maybe the Kobe Marathon (if I get into that race) this autumn. This particular goal feels good in many ways. Some reasons are selfless and some are selfish!

I realize that by running practically a marathon and a half is something most people will never do. Many marathoners would never do this. I also realize that there are many others who have run MUCH further distances. In the world of athletics, what I am doing is nothing outstanding. In the world of runners, I am no superhero. I’m just a guy running 60k.

In my little world though, amongst my family, friends and coworkers, it is special though. I suppose within my community of You Tube viewers and blog readers it is special. It is special because those who know me well; know that I am not really an athlete. I’m a regular guy, realizing a little later in life that I have become an athlete (sort of). I’ve come to realize a new potential.

I can also do something I have never done before; I can raise a lot of money for a good cause. At the time of writing this post, I have raised almost $2700 for Save the Children Japan and their relief efforts in the areas of Japan hit hardest by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. I am happy that this amount of money will make a real difference in the lives of Japanese children, but also have to admit that it makes me feel good about myself that I can do this for others. I suppose I am a little selfish in that regard.

This whole running thing has also captured my imagination in other ways. I am curious to see what I can make my body do. I know I have some intense stubbornness and mental fortitude, but once I lay down the base of physical training, I think I will be able to do some pretty amazing things. Again, not necessarily amazing compared to great athletes, but for me. I run for me.
I suppose now, I run for my son as well. He is only 10 months old, but I do run for him in many ways. I want to be more fit. When he starts running and playing outside I want to be able to keep up with him. I want to be healthier and fit to live a long and energetic life as his father. Also, I want him, when he is a little older to come to my races and look up to me. I want my little boy to see me as a “superhero” I suppose.

I have dreams in my own little running life. Next year I plan to run my first 100k race. I hope to someday run the Marathon Des Sables in Morocco (running in the Sahara Desert just seems so badassed!). I would love to run a big 100-mile race in America like the Western States 100. I would love to hike the Appalachian Trail and the Trans Canada Trail.

I have many dreams.

I am not a superhero.

In a small way I would like to be one though.


You can Follow me on Twitter: @jlandkev

A Contest for Runners

Check out my "Running to Help Japan" blog for more information.

Annoying and Dumb = Annoying and Dumb

As someone who has been a blogger and video blogger for about seven years, I have dealt with ten of thousands of comments and emails about my videos, blog posts and general questions about life in Asia. Most of the comments are supportive and kind. Some are rude and mean-spirited and some are simply annoying and dumb!


Supportive and kind comments = good!

Rude and mean-spirited comments = no worries (been online a long time and have a thick skin/don’t even notice them).

Annoying and dumb = annoying and dumb!


I want to take a look at some of the most annoying and repetitive comments I have found on my You Tube channel over the years. One of the most annoying and reoccurring problems is when people send you an email with a question that they could have easily found an answer to if they had just done a Google search!

A variety of annoying (so you all know, I have worked as an English teacher, elementary school teacher international school teacher in South Korea, Canada and Japan):

1. How do I get a job as a teacher in Korea and/or Japan? (Google it!)

2. How do I get a job in Asia? (What? What kind of job? Where are you from? What is your skill set? What? Be more specific and then Google it!)

3. I think Korean/Japanese girls are hot. How do I get one? (Come to Asia and try not to be a loser…then maybe you can get one!)

4. Can you recommend a recruiter? (No!....they are all scumbags!)

5. I know you said you don’t know anything about recruiter in you video/blog, but can you recommend a recruiter? (Drop dead!)

6. Which country did you like more, Korea or Japan? (Japan…my wife is from here…I’m biased.)

7. You shouldn’t make so many cuts in your video edits…it’s annoying. (I go to commenter’s channel and they have no videos, which means they know nothing and therefore I dismiss their opinion!)

8. Your walking videos are too shaky and they make me nauseas. (I go to commenter’s channel and they have no videos, which means they know nothing and therefore I dismiss their opinion!)

9. You suck! (…and I have more than 18,000 subscribers on You Tube so apparently I don’t suck as much as you!!!...that was smug…hehe…sticking my tongue out like a 4 year old!)

10. Get out of Korea! (I did many years ago….obviously you really didn’t pay attention to the part of my video where I aid I am not in Korea).

11. I hear English teachers in Korea/Japan make a lot of money. Is that true? (No it isn’t! Teacher often make very little. In Korea they make a low middle class income at best…Japan; not much better).

12. Promote my channel please. (Show me you have the goods and maybe I will. You better have at least two-dozen cool vids or a lot of great blog posts!)

13. Please make videos about anime/manga/otaku culture. (Sorry….none of these are interesting to me…I know nothing about them)

14. Make videos more like –other blogger’s name—(No! I’m not them.)



There are many more annoying and weird comments. These are some basic and very general ones. If you are a blogger or a vlogger you probably commiserate with this post.

Follow me on Twitter: @jlandkev

Why is Twitter So Much Fun?

Twitter is fun. It’s just that simple. Well, that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it! . I think it’s great. I use this app everyday. I use it when I wake up in the morning to see how my twitter friends (tweeps) are doing. I use it to pass the time on my commute to and from work. I use it to follow the latest in breaking news. I use it to spread the word about my blogs, videos and charity I’m working on. I also use it to ramble about the silliness of day-to-day life and the strange things I observe while wandering the streets and train stations of Japan.



My Twitter Story:

I began using Twitter about a year and a half ago. I was by no mans an early adopter. I had of course heard of it a lot and knew many people using it. I just hadn’t caught up. I started using the Twitter page itself when I opened my @jlandkev account. Then I installed Tweetdeck on my desktop. It was interesting to use, but not particularly fun. I could only use it a little at night when I got home and missed most of what people where tweeting about throughout the day when I wasn’t in front of my computer.

A little more than a year ago, I got my first smartphone. I bought an iPhone and that was the Twitter “game changer” so to speak. On the advice of some folks I installed Twittelator on my phone. It was so much fun. I could tweet and read tweets from others wherever I was. Although cool to me, I think my wife was thoroughly annoyed that my face was always buried in my iPhone, laughing about something that someone, somewhere had written.

I realized that Twitter was a great way to promote my videos on You Tube. It was even more useful in promoting my blog posts. It seems that the people who are really engaged by Twitter are more “text oriented” people such as bloggers. Many who are into “visuals” such as video blogs, don’t seem to have such a strong interest in Twitter (my observation).

On May 11, 2011, when the massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, Twitter was the fastest way to get news. I followed more than a dozen news sources and what stood out more than anything were the blogggers. Japan-based bloggers throughout the country stepped up to the plate and were tweeting news much faster than traditional news organizations could churn it out. By following some good people, you could be way ahead of most when it came to news of the disaster. News organizations such as BBC, ABC, Fox, CNN, etc., were following the same bloggers I was and simply reporting what those bloggers were saying!

I was on vacation the day after the disaster happened and for almost three weeks I was constantly tweeting about the disaster and retweeting amazing bits of news from so many sources. Many friends back in Canada commented that they appreciated me keeping them updated in such an instantaneous fashion. The number of people following me jumped very quickly and I was even contacted by some news organizations in Canada about the disaster. Since I was of course nowhere close to the affected areas, I just referred them to solid bloggers who were.

Since the news cycles around the world have changed and even domestic news about the disaster has waned, I don’t use Twitter as ferociously as before, but I still use it everyday. With my job, I don’t check it throughout the day while I am teaching, but I do check my feed at break time and after work of course. It is a lot of fun!

Now who do I follow on Twitter? I follow a pretty broad spectrum of people and organizations. I follow news agencies, reporters, charities, bloggers, runners, teachers, friends, family, etc. I don’t tend to follow big celebrities such as singers and actors. I find that they normally have little to say, yet speak a lot!



Twitter Integration:

Twitter can be even more fun when it is integrated into other iPhone apps.

I recently started using the Runmeter iPhone app while training for an upcoming marathon. A great twitter feature is that once I begin a run, it sends a tweet informing everyone I am now running. Then, when someone sends me a message on twitter, the app reads it to me as I am running (in a pretty decent voice). It is great for motivation! On June 12, 2011, when I am running my ultra marathon for Save the Children Japan, please tweet me a lot! I will hear them all as my running app reads them to me.

Instagram is another fun way to use Twitter. It is a free app for the iPhone and it allows me to take pictures, add really cool filters and share them within the Instagram social network. It also posts them to Twitter and Facebook so I can share them with my friends there.

Am I addicted to Twitter? Maybe a little. I have to admit that I don’t use it as much as I did a few months ago.

Is it a useful tool? As a blogger and aspiring “writer-guy” it certainly is for me. I currently have more than a thousand followers on Twitter and it is a great way to share my blogs and other projects with a wider audience.

In my previous post I mentioned how I am moving away from one form of media (You Tube), but I am not moving away from media altogether. I am still an avid Twitter user and blogger.


Am I a bit of a Twitter fanboy? I suppose so. If you think that’s a really bad thing; I stick my tongue out at you and say, “ blah blah waggle blarg blaaaaaaahh!!!” in my best four-year-old voice!


You can follow me on Twitter here: @jlandkev

Social Media Burnout

Things haven’t been good lately. A self-admitted social media addict, I have been involved in it, (social media) in one way or another for many years. I wrote my first blog in the late 1990’s while a student in Canada (all html in Notepad). I was studying 3D graphics and later worked in the game development industry during and post “Internet Bubble” breaking.

I left tech completely and set off for Asia. I quit my job as a 3D artist at a company and gave up my freelance contracts and became a teacher. My first year in Korea was a complete about face from technology. I had loved it so much, but it quickly led to my “burn out” in 2001. That was my first tech melt down so to speak.

That first year in Korea I didn’t even have a computer or even a cell phone. I would email my parents once or twice a week from a computer in the staff room at school. I would occasionally call people on the telephone, but normally, I would just “pop” by my friends’ apartments to see what they were up to and vice versa. That year was filled with work, martial arts training, drinking with friends, travel and general adventure.

Fast forward to 2006. That's the year I discovered You Tube. I had a Japanese girlfriend in Korea (now my wife) and we would watch videos about Japan. I opened up an account so I could email people like tokyocooney with questions about Japan.

Soon after that I purchased my first video camera. I bought a Sony Handycam at Emart in Busan, South Korea. I started making crappy videos and editing them in Windows Moviemaker. Months later I would move back to Canada, but the You Tube hobby continued.

By the time I moved to Japan a little more than three years ago, I was downright obsessed with You Tube and vlogging. I was all about building community, socializing and interacting with fellow bloggers and having a great time. Things got to the point where I had thousands of subscribers, received dozens of emails every week (often asking the same questions continuously) and started to find it hard to keep up with things.

My love of You Tube continued and in early 2009 I became a You Tube partner. In 2010 I had a chance to visit the Google campus in Tokyo when I was there for the Tokyo Marathon and met many amazing fellow vloggers.

By 2010 I was juggling several blogs, two You Tube channels, had become very active on Twitter and was doing numerous collaboration videos. It was a lot to handle. Did I mention I had a full time and very demanding job as a teacher and was a husband?

By mid 2010 I was a new father and things changed a lot more. I had far less time to sit in front of a computer maintaining my “social media empire.”

My interest in You Tube began to diminish a lot during 2010 and more so this year. The simple amount of time needed to maintain what I had created was simply too much. I was spending up to and above twenty hours a week parked in front of my computer working on You Tube and the community around it (that was before my son came along). I was no longer watching movies or television shows. I was no longer reading books. Everything was about maintaining my community and working on my You Tube success. I was taking things far too seriously.

Recently, I have also started to explore other areas of interest. I am now more interested in writing than shooting and editing videos. I realize I will never be a “superstar” or “professional” You Tuber and would rather channel my energy into more traditional blogging and writing. I also have some other literary projects I am interested in starting this year. My marathon running and charity work have also eaten into that “You Tube time.”

For the first time, I notice that You Tube causes me more anxiety than joy. I have met some incredible people through this social media network over the years, made a little money and have had a lot of fun, but it is now time to take a little break. I will of course pop videos up from time to time about my charity work, projects I am involved in and when I have vacation time, maybe a little more. My involvement won’t in any way what it once was.

I’m not disappearing by any means of course. I am still alive and very well on Twitter and I plan to focus a lot more on my blogging. I will be writing more than before and trying my hat at more traditional writing as well.

Long story short, when something you do stops being fun, it’s time to start doing something else.

I’m still going to be around and in a big way. I’ll just be around in a different way!


You can follow me on Twitter: @jlandkev

8 Ways to Make a Successful Blog

A constant for me in the previous two or three years are emails of a common theme. People from around the world have often emailed me asking how they can get more people watching their You Tube videos or reading their blog. I have spent about 6 years regularly, and more often irregularly, blogging and vlogging about life in Korea and Japan, about being an educator, about my views on a wide range of other topics.

I have spent more time than I can count chatting and discussing strategies with other bloggers. How can we get more traffic coming to our sites? How can we get more subscribers? How can we become professional bloggers? How can we become successful?

I think I have learned a great deal in my years of blogging. I do understand how you can create a successful blog or You Tube channel (the latter becoming harder these days since You Tube no longer seems to support new talent or even mid-pack partners such as myself). Now I have learned a great many things, but have often not put them into practice. I suppose I have learned how I "could" be more successful, but haven't taken many of the appropriate steps in that direction.


How can I become a successful blogger?

1. Choose a theme and stick to it! Most people who have successful vlogs or blogs have a specific theme and rarely, if ever deviate from it. If your blog is a random mishmash of ideas and topics, it will be hard to draw in a specific following. People with a narrow focus tend to find more success. A great example of narrowing a blog/vlog’s focus is the Korea-based You Tube vloggers, Simon and Martina. They used to make videos only about Korea and being a teacher. They were good and finding some success on You Tube. Once they zeroed in on making K-pop (Korean pop music) videos and created their K-Pop Mondays series, they blew up as You Tubers and are now VERY successful. Their blog eatyoukimchi.com is also hugely successful.

Although I know that I myself should be more narrow and focused, I tend not to be. In a way, I am shooting myself in the metaphoric foot!

2. Consistency pays off. If you want people to notice you, you must create a body of work. In order to do this, you must write or shot video consistently. People tend to not pay attention to or simply forget those who only post a new blog a few times a month. A few times a week or more is always better. Once you start building a following, those who really like you will crave content!

I personally have a great deal of trouble producing regular content. With a demanding job, wife and infant son, as well as a marathon running hobby, I have very little time to sit in front of a computer these days.

3. Interact with your readers/viewers. Followers love it when you interact with them by replying to emails and responding to their comments. This gives your readers a more personal connection. They begin to feel like you care about them and they in turn will support you even more. I suppose it is about community building. Unfortunately, as your following grows, this will become more difficult to do.

4. Build and maintain your community. Use other complimentary social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to promote your writing or videos.

5. Toughen up. If you can’t take criticism or rude comments from the occasional Internet troll or someone who disagrees with your point, blogging isn’t for you. The Internet is full of people who have strong opinions and many may be the opposite of yours. There are also a lot of idiots with too much time on their hands. From time to time they may target you. This is part of online life. Don’t take it personally!

6. It takes time. To many impatient people send me emails (which I normally delete and never respond too) about how they have made one or two videos and now they are ready for Internet fame. If you are a blogger or vlogger seeking success, it can take a very long time and a lot of hard work! The now famous You Tube star Wheezy Waiter, who now has hundreds of thousands of subscribers still only had about 200 followers after he had made 100 videos! He was doing it for years before he broke out!

7. Accept failure when it happens. Not every idea for a blog or video channel will work. Sometimes, after trying for a long time, it might be better to just call it a day and move on to a new theme or project!

8. Build a network. Make friends and connect with other bloggers and vloggers. If you have a great online network, they will help you and promote your content. Building a network takes time. You must regularly comment on people’s blogs, interact with them on Twitter and Facebook.


These are all very good pieces of advice. If you follow them, you may achieve success. There is also of course an element of luck involved. Sometimes someone accidentally notices you big and they promote you. Other times, your luck may not be so good.

You mustn’t only produce good regular content; you must also spend a great deal of time promoting yourself. Your blog is a product and you want people to buy in.

I know these rules, but I am often guilty of not following them. I am sometimes scatter-brained so making videos or blog posts on a consistent theme is difficult for me. I also have a lot of trouble producing consistent content and interacting with followers. This is due to a lack of time.

Would I like to be a super-duper successful blogger someday? Of course I would! Will I? Probably not, but you never know (Any famous bloggers out there waiting to notice me?).

10 Goals to Shoot For

Although this is not the beginning of a new year I thought I would map out a few of my goals for the rest of this year. I suppose like so many out there, I have goals, large and small that I often think about, but am also guilty of “only” thinking about as opposed to seeing them through.

1. Get back in the habit of posting on this blog more often. I really like writing here and earlier this year, when I was writing consistently, the number of readers here was constantly growing. Time to jump back in a keep developing this great readership!

2. Continue my charity work. As of writing this blog, my Running to Help Japan project is at 52% of my goal. I have raised more than $2500 for Save the Children Japan. Although this charity project I started has been time consuming (spreading the word through social networking) and the training itself, it has been beyond satisfying! I plan to keep it going throughout the year.

3. Learn more about being a good father and husband. I’m just an average guy who can always make room for improvement! I think I am already a good family man, but I know I can focus more on spending quality and meaningful time with the two greatest people in my life; my wife and son!

4. Kick butt in this years’ Osaka Marathon. I was lucky to land a slot in the first Osaka Marathon on October 30, 2011. I am excited to run in another major event. My best marathon time is 3hrs 59mins. I plan to run this one n 3hrs 40mins!

5. To write honest and interesting pieces on this blog (excluding this one of course…hehe).

6. I plan to write my first children’s novel/storybook. I have been a teacher for almost 10 years now. For the past 3 years I have been teaching young learners. I have read hundreds of children’s storybooks. I have my own personal collection of children’s literature here at home. I love storybooks and fun novels for young readers. I’ve been thinking about writing my own for several years now. I realize I have the ability and think I know a fair amount about children’s tastes. This year, I’m going to stop thinking about and get around to doing it! I plan to use my class as a great resource. They’ll be perfect for running my ideas buy and testing material on.

7. Begin re-growing my hair. Never mind…that one isn’t achievable!

8. Refocus my creative energies away from You Tube (I’ve lost the joy for video blogging and it’s no longer rewarding or me) to writing, blogging and possibly podcasting.

9. Focus on life after Japan. Time to seriously begin my teaching career in Canada. Research (where to live) and job hunting will begin this year. I will not limit myself by geography. There is a teacher surplus in many parts of Canada so we will go to an area that has a need.

10. Spend an amazing Christmas holiday in Canada. I’m looking forward to introducing my son to his grandparents and family in Canada, in person. Also, Canadian pizza, Tim Hortons breakfast sandwiches and Sleeman’s Honey Brown Ale are high on my list of priorities!

Are Foreigners in Japan Cold?

Today I was asked some interesting questions on Twitter. Someone, who lives and works in South Korea as a teacher was asking me about making the move to Japan. Of course, I have lived and worked in both countries and made a rather brief answer to her in a few tweets. I decided I wanted to sit down this evening and be a little more thorough with my answers.

Now, this Twitter follower mentioned to me that she is interested in moving to the Kansai area of Japan and has visited a few times. She commented that she noticed foreigners (gaijin) in Japan seem to stick to themselves as opposed to Korea where (waygooks) tend to socialize more. She is worried about being lonely when she comes here.

Being worried about the prospect of feeling lonely is a very legitimate concern. I also have to admit that when I first arrived in Japan a few years ago I thought much the same as she did. Within my first few months here I thought that gaijin in Japan were a cold lot and not at all welcoming. Although I didn’t miss Korea much, I longed for the foreigner camaraderie! Why don’t foreigners in Japan have that?

As I spent more time in Japan and was able to meet more and more people I made some interesting conclusions. Most of them had to do with the fact that the foreigner populations in the two countries tend to be quite different. Comparing the two is much like comparing apples and oranges.

To be broad, the variety of foreigners in Korea is much more limited. There are basically, migrant workers, brides from South East Asia, U.S. Army personnel and English teachers. The individual asking me the questions was mostly talking about the English teacher crowd I assume.

In Korea, English teachers for the most part, tend to stick together, move and party in packs and pretty much do everything else together. They normally come from the U.S Canada, the U.K Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. They are all university grads, or at least supposed to be, the only way to get a teaching visa and often are in their 20’s.

Many teachers come to Korea simply because they are not sure what to do after university, are looking for a “gap” year, are having trouble finding work in their native countries or would like to travel. Now of course there are many interesting stories and folks in Korea and many have left pretty amazing lives in their respective countries to simply experience Korea and try their hand at education.

Most people I met during my time in Korea never learn much about the country or language. They didn’t go to Korea to do that. They went there, worked and had a great time with like-minded foreigners. Every small town/city with any foreign population had a foreigner bar where most English speakers congregated on weekends to party.

That was my experience when I lived there from early 2002 to 2007.

Japan is an entirely different beast altogether. There are of course scores of young people who come here to teach English. There are also many people who come here to do other things as well.

If you are new to Japan or lived in Korea beforehand, you must be careful not to make the mistake I made. I assumed most foreigners here were assholes for not smiling at me or nodding their heads as I passed by. I suppose I know much better to think that now.

You quickly learn a lot about the different types of foreigners here and why they may not al huddle together in dark bars on Friday nights (there are many who do that of course, but not everyone). There are also many reasons why they may not want to interact with a friendly foreigner new to Japan and looking for friends:

1. The vast majority of foreigners in Japan are not teachers. Many of them (even if North American/European looking) don’t even speak English. For example, there are of Russian factory workers living around my neighborhood.

2. Many foreigners who came to Japan studied Japanese in school and are very interested in Japanese culture and language. They are keen to improve their language skills, learn more about the culture and would rather interact with the local Japanese folks (makes sense).

3. Unlike Korea, many foreigners in Japan have been here long term. They have set down roots, have families and simply aren’t interested in the bar life/foreigner community. They have created their own community with family and friends (both foreign and Japanese).

4. I have found that some groups of young people who work for the JET program, ECC, Aeon, etc. (not always of course) can be cliquey and mostly socialize with coworkers.

5. MANY foreigners you see walking around in major urban centers don’t even live here. They are tourists. Unlike Korea, Japan has a massive tourist industry (well, maybe not at the moment with the current nuclear issues). They have traveled here from other countries, have limited time here and are usually not looking to make friends I suppose. Their friends are waiting for them back home when vacation is finished.

6. Some foreigners are simply assholes. Yup, some are just not nice. There are many of foreigners who speak the Japanese language, but there are some who think that speaking Japanese better than others, makes them an actual better person. Believe me, you don’t want to hang around with a chucklehead who judges his/her own self-worth and that of others based on language ability (a little shallow me tinks!).

7. There are also folks who think they are better than others simply because they have lived in Japan longer than you. Their years of experience “in country” make them somehow better than others. I suppose if you met someone like that in your own country you would deem him or her obtuse or shallow or both!

8. Many people who live here are university exchange students. They normally come for a school year and tend to be busy with studies and having fun with classmates.

9. There are also many others I didn’t mention!

As you can see, there are all sorts here in Japan. Simply put, the variety and amount of foreigners living here is much larger than in Korea. With that variety comes a more complicated social tapestry I suppose.

Is there a strong foreigner community in Japan? Yes; just look at how so many foreigners in Japan banned together online and in person shortly after the earthquake and tsunami last month to help.

I suppose I should refer to it not as a “foreign community”, but as “foreign communities.”

If you are new to Japan, will you be lonely? If you are outgoing and willing to meet new people and try new things, probably not. Are most of the foreigners in Japan similar? Absolutely not! Can it be more of a challenge to make foreign friends in Japan than in Korea? I think so, but it is very doable. From what I remember, people teaching in Korea tended to make friends simply because they had "being foreign" in common. I have found that in my short time here, making friends is similar to making friends in Canada. I don't just befriend anyone. I tend to hang around people who have common interests, I think are dynamic, interesting, etc. I suppose with a broader foreigner population base (at least in urban areas), people can be more selective.

I have been here for more than three years and have some very good friends. Mind you, my own personal life has changed drastically. When I lived in Korea, I was single and always game to go out, met new folks and often both in clubs and bars. Now, I am married and have a young child. I no longer tend to go to bars and never clubs. I have also become a long-distance runner. My lifestyle is completely different than before. I may not have as many friends as I did when I lived in Korea, but I am still a very happy man.

Hope some of you thinking about living in Asia for the first time or moving from one country to another take something at least quasi-valuable from this post.

Things movin in Japan

It's been a long time since I have posted on this blog and there is of course a few very good reasons. First, the new school year in Japan has begun and I have been extremely busy getting used to a new group of students. I've also ben enjoying time with my family.

The thing that has ben very consuming for me of course has been my Running to Help Japan project. I decided last month that I would tackle a "homemade" ultra marathon in order to raise funds for Save the Children's Japan Disaster Relief Fund. I had been taking part in some group efforts and spent a lot of time promoting other people who were helping, but I wanted to do something more personal. I don't have a lot of money, but I do enjoy running. I thought I could harness my love of running with my social media "talents" and raise some funds.

I've made a few video on You Tube promoting Running to Help Japan and so have several other great video bloggers. Many people have been very kind to tweet about my run on Twitter as well. Last week I was also featured in a story in the Cape Breton Post, a newspaper from my hometown area in Nova Scotia. All of these efforts have helped a lot! As of the time I'm typing this, I have raised $1,662.00. That's 33% of my $5000.00 goal.

I have been waking up most mornings at 4:30am to get out and do training runs. It hasn't been easy adjusting to this new lifestyle, but my health is getting better everyday and I am doing it for a very good reason!


Some local media coverage (in Nova Scotia, Canada) about my Running to Help Japan Project. A story was written about me in the Cape Breton Post. Hopefully, I can get more media coverage like this. It certainly helped with donations!

For more regular blog posts by me in the upcoming months, it's better to follow my Running to Help Japan blog.


Here are some pictures I took in the past week during some of my training runs:


These are some fishing boats tied up in Nada-ku in Kobe. I often run past them in the morning.


Oe of the many bicycle parking lots you come across everyday in Japan.


Some police boats docked behind the Kobe HQ of the Japan Coast Guard. This is located downtown near Meriken Koen.

A Spring Week in Japan

With the addition of running to my life, things have gotten a lot busier. Since going back to work this week and training again, I have precious little time in the day to even think about blogging and even that time will be reduced in the coming weeks.

I wanted to share some photos I took this week with my iPhone.

A spring week in Japan: