Impressions of daily life in Japan
While attending Kyoto's Aoi Matsuri (Hollyhock Festival) last week, I came across an endearing scene. A huge black butterfly had decided to have a rest in the sun, right on top of someone's head. The person in question was keeping very calm, quietly posing for photographs. After a few minutes the butterfly took off and... Continue Reading →
Fruit is extremely expensive in Japan. While in Belgium fruit is priced by the kilo or the bag, in Japan the price usually applies to one single piece of fruit. These apples for instance, cost 198 yen a piece (about 2 euro)! One thing I do have to admit is that fruit in Japan is... Continue Reading →
Belgium is not a famous country. Whenever I travel abroad and people ask me where I am from, I am usually given a puzzled stare when I answer 'Belgium'. I usually try to clarify, saying 'Europe'. That usually rings a bell: 'Ah Europe! That's where France is, right?'. Right. But not so in Japan. In... Continue Reading →
Around the middle of April it was cherry blossom time in Japan. Needless to say I had been looking forward to this for a while. When foreigners think of Japan and typical Japanese things, the beauty of the cherry blossoms is one of the first things that comes to mind. My anticipation was only increased... Continue Reading →
When walking around in Kyoto, foreign tourists will often be very excited when they spot 'a real-life Japanese geisha'! Indeed when walking around the area near Kiyomizu-dera temple, one often sees groups of young girls dressed in bright kimonos. What most tourists probably don't know is that these girls are not geisha, but dressed-up tourists... Continue Reading →
It's over a year ago since the big earthquake and the ensuing tsunami took place in Japan. But even now I regularly keep seeing 'Ganbarou Nippon' flags en logo's everywhere. 'Ganbarou Nippon' (がんばろう日本) means 'Do your best, Japan' or 'Let's go, Japan'. Following the March 11th quake and tsunami, the 'ganbarou nippon' campaign was launched.... Continue Reading →
The Japans 