Impressions of daily life in Japan
In Japan, it is customary to send out New Year's cards, or 'nengajou'. While in the West, traditional Christmas and New Year's cards are gradually being replaced by electronic versions and e-mails, in Japan cards are still being sent through the mail (which I quite like). New Year's cards are big business in Japan. Every... Continue Reading →
When we first moved into our Japanese home, I noticed a strange contraption on the inside of one of our kitchen cupboard doors. I was puzzled by this strange, plastic attachment to our kitchen cupboard doors. I tried using it to hold the kitchen towels (by jamming a corner of the towel in the openings)... Continue Reading →
When I first decided to start this blog, I spent a lot of time thinking of a good name. One thing that kept popping up in my head was 'The Japans'. The term comes from the novel 'Shogun' by James Clavell. 'Shogun' is the story of an English pilot, John Blackthorne, who washes up on... Continue Reading →
Yesterday was Pocky Day. It is a Japanese 'holiday' that celebrates the snack Pocky. The reason that the 11th of November was chosen as Pocky Day, is because the date consists of lots of 1's, which are of course shaped like Pocky. What is Pocky? It's a crunchy biscuit stick covered with chocolate. This is... Continue Reading →
Keeping a pet is quite a challenge in Japan. Living space is limited and the rules about keeping pets are very strict. But the Japanese wouldn't be the Japanese if they hadn't found a very interesting solution to that problem. I present to you: The Cat Café. Cat cafés are places where one can go... Continue Reading →
Japan has an elaborate gift culture. Therefore it should come as no surprise that the Japanese are masters of gift wrapping. Their attention to detail, combined with their ancient tradition of beautiful paper makes for some of the most gorgeous gift wrapping I have ever seen. You might notice that the Japanese wrapping paper is... Continue Reading →
The Japans 