MET Column

  Daniel Penso Columnist/Proofreader/Translator   Sitting there in my college dorm learning how to write complex Kanji such as Bara (薔薇: Rose), I never contemplated that I’d be raving about French fries when I came to Tokyo. French fries, which don’t even bear that name in France (they’re called “Pommes frites” there) and are originally from Belgium of all places, are a big hit in Tokyo. You can find them served at almost any food joint that serves hamburgers, where they act as sidekicks. They are sold at the myriad of fast-food restaurants in Tokyo such as Lotteria, First Kitchen

Photo by Daniel Penso   Daniel Penso Columnist/Proofreader/Translator   For the average Japanese, Sarue Onshi Park (猿江恩賜公園, lit. “Sarue Imperial Gift Park”) may not be familiar. But for me, an avid tennis player in years past, this park was a recreational spot where I could escape from the monotonous teaching career that I was in and enjoy sweating even in the freezing Tokyo winters. A park located within 15 minutes by foot from Kinshicho, it remains relatively unknown to your everyday tourist. On a trip back to Tokyo with my family, I wanted to be near a green spot that

Photo by Tsubasa Kato (ICT, The International Center in Tokyo)     Daniel Penso Columnist/Proofreader/Translator As a history buff and someone interested in antiquated things and things of yesteryear, it was an odd experience finding myself doing a job in Shibuya, a mecca for teens and youngsters looking to showing off their new fashions or makeup such as gyaru or yamamba. Much of the younger generation in Tokyo and the Kanto area screams with joy at the thought of meeting friends in Shibuya or going shopping there with it’s huge lineup of shops in 109 or the Marui or Parco

Photo by Yuka Kayamori   Daniel Penso Columnist/Proofreader/Translator I had traveled in Japan previously. It was actually a homestay, or ryugaku as they refer to it in Japanese. Where I homestayed was in Yamanashi prefecture in the quaint little town of Hinoharu in the summer of ’93. I was in high school at the time and it was my first time living in a foreign country, outside of the U.S. so coming to Ueno on that April day six years later was exciting. My heart was throbbing and I was awestruck by the rows of cherry trees blossoming all around

Entrance gate of Chinatown *Photo by Megumi Honzawa     Daniel Penso Columnist/Proofreader/Translator Yokohama – This is a household name even in America. I went here for the first time in 1998 with some friends for cuisine in Yokohama’s famous Chinatown on the way to visiting a friend’s relative house. Unlike much of Tokyo, Yokohama has wide streets and feels quite spacious. It is riff with foreign influences dating back to the days of Commodore Perry and the smoke bellowing black ships that he brought in to open Japan to the West. As a dating area, I was interested in