NihonShock is born!

Hello and welcome to NihonShock, thanks for stumbling by. If you’re new here I imagine you have a few questions on your mind, so let’s get right to it.

Where are you?

You’re looking at a blog dedicated to all things Japanese.

It was a few weeks ago that I suddenly decided for no reason in particular to start thowing random Japanese proverbs and their English translations/equivalents onto Twitter. Most likely I was just bored (if necessity is the mother of invention, boredom is the handsome young milkman). After a couple days I got the urge to step up from the realm of short, quickly buried and forgotten tweets to an actual blog. I’ve also recently been getting into web design, so it was a good chance for me to start working with WordPress. Less than a week later, this blog was born.

So that’s the story of NihonShock!

Who’s responsible for this?

My name is Lloyd Vincent. I’m a translator/interpreter living and working in Nagoya, Japan. I’ve been a Japanophile since high school, and I majored in East Asian Studies at Western Washington University. I also have JLPT Level 1 certification (2007).

What will you find here?

Japanese language and study tips
Pictures and stories of strange and interesting things from around Japan
Information useful for moving to, living in or travelling around Japan
Cultural tidbits
Occasional Japanese news that is of interest
…and more!

I personally am an anime/manga fan, but NihonShock will not be an “otaku” blog. I’m not shunning the topic by any means; I just don’t think I could write anything of interest about it.

Anything else you should know?

If you have a question about Japan or Japanese, or if there’s a specific topic you’d like me to write about, feel free to message me on twitter. Of course I can’t guarantee to be willing or able to do an article on everything that is requested, but I’ll try my best.

Also, be aware that this site will contain content that some households might consider inappropriate (I mean, the subject of this site is the country that invented used panties in vending machines and has a festival in honor of the male reproductive organ, among other phenomena…), so consider yourself warned.

What does “Nihon” mean?

“Nihon” is how you say “Japan” in Japanese.

Okay, that about wraps up the introduction. Check back frequently for updates, or subscribe to NihonShock’s RSS feed!

I’ll be tweaking the site here and there for the first month or so while I get everything the way I want it, let me know if you notice any bugs or design glitches.