One of the questions I was often asked in Japan was whether we have cherry blossoms in England. To this, I would reply: ‘yes, but English people don’t really pay much attention to them.’

Since returning to the UK, I can confirm that this is definitely the case: whereas the fervour surrounding hanami in Japan can best be described as a national obsession(a perfect example of this being the sakura-zensen ‘cherry blossom front’ weather forecasts, pictured above), in England (more…)

After five wonderful years spent living in Japan, I’ve now returned to the UK to live. To a certain extent this won’t affect the contents of Big On Japan: I’ll still be posting the same mix of articles I wrote whilst living in Japan, along with photos I took there. I’ll also continue posting the best Japan-related photos and videos I find on the net too.

But additionally, there’ll be more articles examining similarities and differences between British and Japanese cultures, especially those focusing on life in England from someone who’s gotten used to living in Japan. (more…)