Impressions of daily life in Japan
Are Japanese cats more docile than other cats? Before having lived in Japan, I would have thought this to be a ridiculous question. Surely cats are the same everywhere? Cats are not subject to cultural differences, are they? But living in Japan, surprises are never far off. I have seen Japanese cats tolerate things from... Continue Reading →
The weather in Belgium is beautiful at the moment. The sun is shining and the temperature is finally going over 20°C. Having long, dark winters, Belgians tend to go a little crazy when the weather becomes nice like this. One of the symptoms is the mass migration to pub terraces everywhere, to sit in the... Continue Reading →
The first time I saw an Automated External Defibrillator, AED for short, was in Japan. An AED is a machine designed to help people who are suffering from a heart attack. While waiting for an ambulance, bystanders can fetch the machine, connect the electrodes to the patient and the machine will automatically determine if it... Continue Reading →
Have you ever noticed that Japanese women never put their purse on the ground? It seems like a pretty straightforward thing but it really drew my attention in Japan. When Japanese women are in a café or restaurant, they will sit a bit forward on their chair and place their purse behind them on the... Continue Reading →
I recently learned the Japanese saying 'Even a road of thousand miles begins with a single step'. In Japanese it reads 'Senri no michi mo ippo kara/ 千里の道も一歩から。' I picked it up watching the dorama 'Massan' that is currently airing on NHK. We are currently in that time of year where everyone evaluates the past... Continue Reading →
Oden is a typical winter dish from Japan. It consists of several ingredients like daikon, tofu, konnyaku, eggs, etc., stewed in a light, soy-flavoured broth. One of the many wonderful things about oden is that it is so cheap. Each piece of oden costs between 75 and 100 yen (between 0,5 and 0,7 euro). It... Continue Reading →
The Japans 