Welcome to GaryJWolff.com, which since Sept. 2009 has been the new
homepage and cyber parking spot for
Gary Joe Wolff, a Tokyo-based retired university professor, corporate
communications consultant, model/actor, and all-round nice guy. This website started out as an attempt
to start some
sort of part-time online business, but I spent literally months
searching for
profitable keywords
and trying in vain to figure out my
niche. Not a clue.
So instead, I decided to just renovate my original
27-year-old website, Gary Joe Wolff (in Japan), (which I have borrowed
some content from as I've populated
this site), but this time doing it right, in a way which provides
greater value to the visitor and catches the attention of search engine
spiders.
My intent is to continue in the same
vein as before, sharing my uniquely American perspective of Japan's
absolutely fascinating and exciting culture in a way that I hope others
might find humorous or even insightful, including seasonal
photographic and video updates of Japan's stunningly beautiful
scenery.
Why Japan?
As a resident in Tokyo now for a remarkable
3 decades, I'm often asked
by my stateside family and friends, "Gary, when are you moving back
home?" Or "Why do you like Japan so much?"
My answer to the latter is easy, and for several
reasons.
Here's my Top
Ten List on why I like living in Japan:
1) The friendly Japanese people (who always laugh
at my very corny old man's gag jokes)
2) The beautiful Japanese mountains (70%
of the
country). Over the past 3 decades I've had the pleasure of scaling all
of the
nation's 29 highest peaks and in 2012 published a book entitled The View from the Top of
Japan chronicling my
many mountain climbing expeditions to Japan's spectacular alpine
country. And after Mt. Fuji was named a World Heritage Site in 2013, I
wrote my 2nd mountain climbing book, Climbing
Mt. Fuji: Tips, Q&A, and Climber Stories.
And I'd be remiss not to mention the
absolutely stunning cherry
blossoms and brilliant fall
colors, neither of which we have much of in my home state of
Texas.
3) A clean, safe, and efficient transport network
2nd to none (thus, no need to own a car). As a former professional
traffic engineer,
I never cease to be amazed and totally impressed with Tokyo's punctual
train and subway system, safely transporting millions and millions of
commuters across the metroplex every single day.
4) Excellent Japanese food. Ever heard of "negima
yakitori" (grilled chicken & onion kebobs)? It's my favorite, and
always reminds me of Dad's
Texas BBQ, for which he was quite famous.
5)
National health insurance. It doesn't come
cheap, and Obamacare it is NOT,
and the service is sometimes
frustratingly slow and inadequate, but it is definitely nice to have,
especially after you've crossed
the half-century landmark.
6)
Relatively speaking, a very safe and honest country
(almost zero guns). I can't count the number of times I've lost/left
briefcases, shopping bags, coats, a wallet (even with cash & credit
cards), and even a newly purchased business suit on the trains, and
they've ALL been turned in to lost-and-found offices.
7) Over 2000 onsen (hot springs), YAY!
8)
Many people speak at least a little English
(well, in the big cities, anyways). There's English TV, radio, movies,
newspapers, signs, train station announcements, etc. When I first came
to Japan, students learned English from junior high school, but
beginning in 2011 they started English lessons from 5th grade and from
April 2020 they've been studying it from 3rd grade.
9) The karaoke culture (I LOVE
singing.)
This wild man needs a WHOLE lot more practice!!
(If the video player above is not visible, you can view the video here.)
Several years ago,
we did an exciting
class project
on what
Japanese university students think about 16 various countries
around the world. Please have a look-see
at these very interesting stories when you get a chance. I think
my students did a wonderful job!
One final note. After the March 11, 2011 strongest ever
Japan earthquake & tsunami
and ensuing
nuclear crisis, because
I was home at the time and never lost my internet connection, in order
to keep
my overseas friends & family informed about the latest developments
(they were all literally freaking out at the time, urging me to get the
heck outta Dodge), I started blogging immediately. Over the course of
the
next 101 days after the triple disaster, I had posted 467 news updates.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy the GaryJWolff.com
website and I thank you for stopping by. If you'd care
to leave a comment at the bottom of this page, it'd be great to hear
from you.
Please come back
again soon as you find time to see what's
new (my blog page) and to check up on how this site's
coming
along in the weeks and months ahead.
Take care and thanks again for visiting,
Gary J. Wolff
Click thumbnails above to
view full-size images.
Site Navigation
The navigation bar in the upper left column will help you find the
major Tier 2 pages on this site, the bottom navigation bar will help
you drill down for even more pages, and for an even
more comprehensive listing, please see the Site
Map.
If all else fails, you can always search the site in the search bar at
the top of every page.
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What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Keep it up! I just love this page , it is really interesting! :D
Your "The View from the Top of Japan" book Hi Gary,
Many thanks for sharing with everyone such a wealth of information about Japan's mountains. I'm thinking of ordering a paperback copy of …
Looking for acting & modeling work in Japan Hello Gary. My name is Dominick, Actor, Model, and Martial Artist from Philadelphia. I'm in the beautiful country of Japan and looking for work in what …
"In contemporary times, especially since the deployment of vaccines in 2020, the phrase "corporate capture" has gained prominence. This term highlights the increasing public awareness of the close rel…
Shizuoka Prefecture is considering 3 proposals for an entrance fee on the Shizuoka side of Mt. Fuji from next summer. The entry fee would be mandatory for collection on the 3 routes of Fujinomiya, Got…
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