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Can’t wait to see the pics! I’ll watch for them.

Yes, my nephew is American (no offense taken! at all!) He did have a very, very difficult time getting a full time job in Japan but it did help that he’s fluent in Japanese and Korean, he’s also a college graduate in Japanese (University of Texas). It still took years for him to get that job. He’s been in Japan quite awhile. My brother in law lives in the Tokyo area, I think. He teaches english, so funny that you mention that. My nephew at Konami started out teaching english and doing translation when he first moved there. It’s funny that you knew all that information about Japan. I had no idea until I had family move there that it’s so difficult for Americans to get a job there, other than teaching english.

The Fellow did English translations at a well known Japanese company for a while.(He is American) We would talk during the wee hours of the morning (for me) because he would need to ask me about certain technical or science concepts in order to accurately translate them, etc. (At least, that was the excuse that he gave!) He also taught English at a firm that was specifically for teaching English to regular people and business people. From what I understand through The Fellow, the Japanese are very friendly and hospitable, but also very nationalistic, which is why it's so hard to get a job if you are a foreigner. The also have all sorts of very particular social and etiquette rules. When we go out to grab Soba noodles or other Japanese food, (there are some authentic Japanese food stalls in Boston) he drives me crazy when he slurps his noodles, (this is OK in Japan) and I drive him crazy because I do lots of rude things with chopsticks. Once I was in San Jose and we were eating in Japan town. I tried grabbing sushi from his chopsticks (he was passing it to me) aaaand apparently that's something that you only do at funerals. ooops. (I say just give me a darn fork... I burn more calories than I consume just getting the food from my plate to my mouth!)

I'm a little uneasy with things that are Japanese for personal reasons. The Fellow misses Japan terribly, so I always find real Japanese things for him for Christmas or his birthday. I've discovered just about every Japanese owned restaurant in Boston as well. (there are only a handful) So, in my own way, I do try, and I absorb what cultural tidbits he passes on. :-)(Even though he thinks that I don't!). I would like to visit someday. If we go to the wedding, we'll be in Tokyo for a bit, then the Okinawa prefecture somewhere. (February is not the best time to go!)