Why else keep a log if not to put it to use on future voyages back to the places already visited? If so much trouble is taken to write down everything considered necessary, is this not in order to sign the way for others or ourselves when by chance we are again confronted with the same regions and season?
– L’Ingenieur Duplessis (in Writing Away, Lavinia Spalding)
Aaron “tokyoaaron” Paulson here, here being a suburb on the western edge of Tokyo, roughly halfway between the mountains of Okutama and the neon canyonlands of Shinujuku and downtown Tokyo.
Welcome to my newest blog! Big Sushi, Little Fishes continues the on-again, off-again story of my adventures as a long-term expat in Japan – a narrative first started over thirteen years ago with Postcards from Hokkaido and maintained sporadically through other efforts such as Tokyo Kills Me.
Inevitably, these blog posts will reveal more about me. For now, let me just say that I teach at an international school here in Tokyo, and write and take photos in my spare time. You can see the results of some of my efforts over the years at my new web site at www.aaronpaulson.com.
Dozo yorushiku onegaishimasu, as we say here in Japan. Please be kind to me.
Big Sushi, Little Fishes: a japan blog 
My name is Zak Baney and I have recently shot a movie in the tsunami devestated region of Miyagi, Japan, that I hope will interest your blog. The movie is called “Last Message” and tells the story of a rich Japanese woman in search of her lost grandfather after the earthquake and ensuing tsunami of March 11th, 2011. Her journey takes her through the chaos of the aftermath as she deals with obstacles, scenes of horror and of hope as she tries to get to her grandfather’s village. Throughout this search she comes to realise that human bonds are far more important than material wealth.
We shot this movie with a Canon 7D, and Canon 5D. We were also fortunate enough to be sponsored by several companies that donated equipment. Swit Electronics has generously donated a 7-inch waveform HDMI monitor, power adapters and batteries for the cameras. Rode Microphones has given us a lavalier microphone and accessories. We are also being interviewed by the national Japanese newspaper “The Asahi Shimbun”.
If you are interested in supporting us, any blog exposure would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance
Sincerely,
Zak Baney & Minha Kim
Trailer
Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/LastMessageFilm
Kansai Scene Magazine
http://www.kansaiscene.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1870&Itemid=1315
Hi Aaron,
I just wanted to let you know that your blog got listed in the Japan Blog Directory. Please let me know if any of the information is wrong or if you would like anything changed.
http://japanblogdirectory.com/
The Japan Blog Directory is still very new and you might also help spreading the word by adding a link or banner to your site or mention us.
I wish you all the best and a lot of success with your blog.
Best regards,
Nicolas Soergel
P.S. This is the code for a banner
Hi,
Happy New Year!
Years ago I lived in Kokubunji.
Perhaps you or your blog readers might want to have a look at “Simon and Hiroko,” a dramatic love story located to a large extent in Japan, which has gathered several appreciative reviews and blog interviews.
http://www.amazon.com/Simon-and-Hiroko-ebook/dp/B0092EYSIU
I wish you’d take a stab at it too, as impressions from current residents would be very special for me.
I lived two years in Tokyo and I enjoyed the place very much.
Cheers.
Marius Hancu
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6472280.Marius_Hancu
Hi Aaron
Hi I was looking at your blog and its looks pretty cool.
I was wondering if you would like to come out to my event as a special guest and possibly write on your blog about us. My partner and I run an event called Tokyo Pub Crawl we mainly do it Roppongi.
Its basically a group bar hopping event with around 80-100 people moving together to each location. Its a good opportunity for Foreigners and Japanese to mix, drink, and have a good time.
We believe in what we do and we try our hardest to make this event memorable and as “epic” ad possible for everyone that comes. We usually get positive reviews from our crawlers and for some its one the best nights they had in Japan. Maybe more many actually haha
The event itself even though its a “pub crawl” we put a bigger emphasis on socializing and interacting not just drinking, so our activities are geared towards the mixing of people. We are also trying to change the perception of Roppongi and turn it into a fun, exciting and safe location, or at least during our event time.
Our website and facebook
http://www.tokyopubcrawl.com and http://www.facebook.com/tokyopub
We would love if you could come and join us. Please let me know.
Andrew Nguyen
(Sorry for my late reply: I’ve been very busy this summer, and out of Tokyo for much of it. Only now getting caught up).
Thanks for the invite, Andrew! I’m gonna have to pass for now, for a variety of reasons, but I’ll keep it in mind for the future. It’d be nice to see a fun, happy, friendly side to Roppongi nightlife! Though to be fair, Pink Cow does have a good vibe…
Hi,
I have nominated you for the Liebster Award. If you want to participate you find the rules and my questions at this link. If you will not, then take my message as a compliment for your blog, which I like very much. Thank you, Marion. https://japankaleidoskop.wordpress.com/2013/12/20/liebster-award/
My name is Krista White and I am a graduating senior at Columbia University in New York. I am currently working with a company called The Big Roundtable that publishes great long-form non-fiction. It is an author focused, donation based company that promotes good journalism and important stories. I’m writing to you because I thought that our most recent story (“After the Tsunami” by John Sheehy) might be of interest to you and your readers. It’s about a young man’s journey back to Kamaishi, Japan after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. You can read the story here:
http://www.thebigroundtable.com/stories/tsunami/. If you are interested in posting the story on your blog, or if you can point me to other sources in Japan, it would be greatly appreciated. I am very excited to get the word out about this fascinating story and the mission of The Big Roundtable as a whole.
Thank you,
Krista White
following haibun
can I follow Big Fishes
Little Sushi too?
That would be Teri Carns, also posting at Chicken Lady at Locust Lane and roadtripteri.
Hi!
My name is Charlyn and I am the assistant to Katie Adler. Katie is a voice over artist in Tokyo Japan and also has an online English language learning blog: http://englishwithkatie.com and a call-in internet radio show in Tokyo. The show is Thursdays from 22:00 until 23:00 Japan time. It is done through Skype from wherever you are located and is live! I did a search and think that you would be an interesting guest for her to interview. If you are
interested, please email me at: charlyncharmpalomo@gmail.com
Also, if you are not in Japan, here is a world clock to help you navigate the
time: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Charlyn
Live w/Katie Adler
http://englishwithkatie.com/live-w-katie/
Thursdays, 22:00—23:00, Japan Time