Impressions of daily life in Japan
Japan is full of surprises. For example, here I was strolling around a department store, when suddenly I saw someone dressed in what I believe to be a giraffe costume. It seems this person was just hanging out with friends and I could see no apparent reason to be wearing a giraffe costume. Although one... Continue Reading →
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 →
Found in Toyota City near the train station: a map where the north is at the bottom of the map. I think it was my first time ever to see a map where north wasn't at the top of the map. It was very confusing trying to orient myself with this map, since I was... Continue Reading →
When living in Japan, you are constantly seeing funny English phrases everywhere. Many misunderstandings result from literally translating Japanese into English. Both languages have a totally different structure and many formal Japanese expressions have no English equivalent. If you speak a little Japanese, some of the strange English starts to make a lot more sense.... Continue Reading →
When we were driving around Kyoto, we saw the cutest little roadblocks. They were shaped like frogs. While Belgian roadblocks are just functional and boring looking, the Japanese never pass up an opportunity to make something look cute. We were surprised and fascinated to suddenly see these funny frog-roadblocks while entering Kyoto. In Japan you... Continue Reading →
In Japan you never know what you'll see next. It is one of the many things that I love about living in Japan. The strangest thing you will ever see might be just around the corner. Like that one time we were visiting the towns of Magome (in Gifu) and Tsumago (in Nagano). These picturesque... Continue Reading →
The Japans 