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 →
Customer service is extremely important in Japan. Sometimes this leads to situations that seem a bit excessive in my eyes, like the amount of packaging they use or that time we saw a heater placed outside in the open air, to accommodate waiting customers. In Japan, it is very popular to eat out for lunch.... 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 →
The Japans 