In the months of December and January, Setagaya City where we live holds what is called a Boro-Ichi (世田谷ボロ市）which literally translated means Setagaya Junk Market. It’s a big two-day event that attracts a lot of people, as they turn the streets into a massive pedestrian zone of vendors selling everything from sake to second-hand kimonos.… [Read more…]
December 5, 2011
Did I mention that we live in a mansion in Tokyo? Now I know what you may be thinking — a mansion like Beverly Hills with big gardens and golden gates and swimming pools and marble floors? I wish! The short answer is NO. Such a thing does not exist in Japan! In Japan the… [Read more…]
November 26, 2011
Special delivery! Coming soon to a home near you — babies in a buggy! A nearby daycare center actually drops these little suckers back home afterwards. Amazingly they put all the babies to stand up in the buggy, and push the buggy from house to house to deliver the babies. Amazingly all the kids just… [Read more…]
November 21, 2011
Weather of 21′C in late November is almost unheard of in Tokyo, so when the temperature rose yesterday and the sky turned a brilliant blue, it seemed like all of Tokyo went outside to play (including me!). My first stop was the weekend Antique Market outside Yasukuni Shrine. If you dig weird old stuff, this… [Read more…]
November 14, 2011
As I cruised up the Chuo Highway at 110 km per hour in my father-in-law’s BMW, on a perfectly clear morning in Tokyo, with a stunning view of Mt. Fuji in my rear view window and the Japanese Alps ahead of me, I thought to myself, “Dubai? What Dubai?” Maybe having to leave abruptly was… [Read more…]
November 14, 2011
It was very hard to drive away from Kami-kochi after enjoying its natural beauty and lovely hiking, but we jumped back in the car and drove for two hours to Gifu prefecture. Our destination was the small town of Takayama, written in Japanese as 高山, meaning Tall Mountain. A quaint little place with a famous… [Read more…]
November 14, 2011
The final destination on this trip was the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shirakawa-go, written in Japanese as 白川郷, meaning White River Village. It gained UNESCO status in 1995 due to its unique and very distinctive triangular shaped farm houses with massive thatched roofs known as gassho zukuri that can last up to 70 years.… [Read more…]
May 8, 2011
Japanese onsen — hot springs — have a whole code of etiquette their own that is often hard for foreigners to understand. The Japanese approach onsen as an important ritual, and not just a daily wash-off of sweat and stink. A soak in a hot tub not only cleanses the body, but also the soul. If you… [Read more…]
March 20, 2011
It was just a regular day in Bangkok, and I had just finished talking to my husband on Skype. He arrived that morning in Tokyo and was visiting his parents who live in Saitama, which is just north of Tokyo. We said our goodbyes, and I went to buy some lunch. Came back… [Read more…]
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December 17, 2011
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