I have this vivid memory from high school about the need to belong—and what happens when you try to be different. It’s part of my core memories, though now as an adult, I just laugh when I think back on it, even if it did have a big impact on me. I went to a…
Author: Enrico Pangan
Filipino in Tokyo
Then and Now: A Visit to My Childhood Barangay
The other week, I flew back to my provincial childhood home to spend some quality time with my family. I bought my tickets on Thursday, flew the next day, and stayed for a week. This time, I went by myself and had no particular plans other than to simply be with my family. It was…
Too Old For A TennisBear Event
The other day, I tried joining a tennis event through TennisBear, a popular Japanese website for finding such events. This particular event was looking for six intermediate or upper-intermediate players, and since there were still a few open slots, I was hopeful I could get in. I applied, entered the required details like my name,…
Japan And The Rules Locals Often Break
The people of Japan have, over the years, built a reputation for being rule-abiding and mindful of their surroundings. It’s still not uncommon to see locals patiently waiting for the pedestrian light to turn green, even when there are no cars in sight. Television and social media often feature visitors who don’t follow the rules….
Selling My HomePod Mini on Mercari
September is just around the corner, and every Apple fan knows it’s the month when new hardware drops. I’ve been reading rumors that Apple will release new HomePod minis, so I figured it’s a good time to part with a few of mine … ehem … to make space for the new ones. We currently…
Upgrading Our Almost 10-Year-Old Toilet
The Red Light That Started It All Our toilet is almost 10 years old. Our building was built in 2016, and while it’s still working fine, we recently saw a red blinking light on our Lixil toilet. A blinking light is never a good sign, but since nothing seemed wrong, we checked the user manual….
We Visited Narita Station (Not the Airport) — Here’s What We Found
We were in Narita to run some errands. Not the airport that everyone associates with “Narita,” but the actual city where the airport got its name. Specifically, we were at Narita City, near Narita Station. We thought to ourselves—we pass this station so many times whenever we go to Narita Airport, and now that we’re…
Goodbye Wisdom Tooth. Goodbye 親知らず
My dentist had been prodding me for a while to have my wisdom tooth extracted. He argued that it would be better to remove it before it started causing more problems, since it had become a natural collector of dirt that was hard to clean, and because it had been pushing against one of my…
1K Followers Later: My Anonymous Neighborhood Account
Yesterday, I hit a mini-milestone: I’ve accumulated 1,000 followers on one of my accounts on X (formerly Twitter). It took me three years to get here, and I’m genuinely happy about it. Back in early 2022, I wanted a forum to talk about my neighborhood and possibly connect with local people — but I didn’t…
Twenty-Five Years in Japan: Then and Now
Twenty-five years ago today, I had just graduated from university and found myself boarding a plane for the first time in my life. I was with other trainees, and we were flying from Manila to Nagoya in central Japan, where we would begin our training as software engineers. I didn’t know it at the time,…
My Unexpected Return to High School
A close friend from high school messaged me one day to say our school was celebrating its 80th anniversary. As part of the celebration, they were collecting short video reels from alumni—one for each of those 80 years. The idea was to create 1–3 minute videos in English sharing our experiences at school, and post…
Navigating Tokyo’s Roads: Bicycles, Scooters & Cars
I was on my bicycle on the way home when, to my surprise, a guy riding one of those LUUP electric scooters tripped and fell in the middle of the road. Luckily, there were no cars around. I asked if he was alright, and thankfully, he said he was fine. I couldn’t help but think…
Enrico in Tokyo 