nice guide you out together here. Mandrake is a little more expensive, but something about the layout makes it worth a visit, even if it's just to have a look around. Mandrake reminds me of a Japanese take on an American comic store. I definitely regretted the manga I bought there when I discovered how much cheaper…

Don't know if this is too late, but I googled a Chiba postal code, hit the orange button to autofill, and hit enter. Apparently you don't have to get too specific.

I agree with this 100 percent. In a sense, piracy serves a needed check on monopolistic cable companies and will hopefully force a more competitive business model on them. Forcing everyone into an $80, 300 channel subscription. Or whatever is ridiculous.

Import games can also be a great way to study Japanese, especially games with kana. It's a different experience, and probably a little frustrating if your focus is on the game and not language learning. Pokemon games are particularly nice for this. Some games like dragon quest have furigana along with the kanji, which…

This is spot on, and matches up with what I've seen as a crime reporter. The situation you described, in which the victim recants, is SO common. And I understand why - money, kids, etc all play a factor. One thing I've been wondering, is if a mandatory no contact order would help. Most of the time judges order no…

I totally agree with your view on this. The law doesn't hold to this double standard - which is why both are arrested. In fact, police are required to arrest all aggressors in a domestic abuse case, and yes women are arrested more than I think most people think (though still at a much smaller ratio than men, of…

I'm fascinated by your approach to what must get relatively annoying after a while. Especially the guys that try to bait you into the "my car is faster" debate. Who cares right? You drive the car because you like it. Very cool. Where I live, there's like one Fortune 500 CEO, who's kind of the local rich guy, so you…

As a reporter, I know what a pain in the butt it is to do man on the street interviews. You try to find a high-traffic area, then start randomly approaching someone to ask what they think. Most people turn you down, because it seems so random, I think. Then you talk to 8 people to find maybe one or two who actually…