Won't Miss #343 - the envelopes

A counter with forms and a glue dispenser at a post office. They know you're going to need it.
Back when I first came to Japan, I wrote to a lot of folks back home, and this was before home computers were cheap and accessible for all, let alone e-mail being the norm. At that time, I had ample experience with the frustration of Japanese envelopes and I was reminded of that recently when sending

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Will Miss #245 - housing brochures

 Click to see a larger version.
I have a peculiar fascination with the types of housing brochures that litter my mailbox. At least once a week, I get a large flyer advertising condominiums in my area. I'm fascinated by them for a variety of reasons. First of all, I like to see the sizes and relative prices. Second, I like to see how they conceptualize the spaces and lay them out. Third, I'm

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Won't Miss #159 - mail order limitations

One of the most frustrating things about living in Japan (or abroad in general) is that you can't order many items from the U.S. and have them shipped abroad. This is often so for computer and electronic items as well as software, but also clothing, packaged food items, and kitchenware. The electronics and sundry household items are limited because allowing goods sold more cheaply in the U.S. to

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