Shane was one of the first people to register at JapanSoc, and has been active in the community ever since. Some of the many articles she’s submitted come from her own blog, A Typical Life. This is a site she started in November of last year, but Shane has been working hard to fill it with meaningful content, mostly related to Japan, as that is where she will be spending the better part of the next two years.
Bringing memories of Japan to her blog
It won’t be Shane’s first trip to Japan as she was here in 1994. You can read her Memories of Japan, including articles on the language barrier, eating out, and taking the train.
Getting ready for a return to Japan
Now, she’s gearing up for Japan again, and has written a Top Ten list of things she’s most excited about including sumo, 100 Yen shops, art and culture, crafts such as ikebana (flower arrangement), and baseball (as a Brit, I will never understand this!).
Comparing Japan 2008 to Japan 1994
I am looking forward to reading A Typical Life once Shane gets herself set up here. She’s already packing so it won’t be long now, and it will be very interesting to hear if Japan of 2008 lives up to her memories from the early ’90s. Shane has promised some exciting things for her blog, and I will be following along, anxious to hear her stories of fingerprinting at immigration and the demise of 100 yen shops in the wake of China’s bustling economy. 😉
If you like, you can find me on Twitter at @nick_ramsay. I'd love to hear from you!
Thanks Nick! I’m not sure if I am getting your emails but I will try to work on the JapanSoc button. My problem seems to be that I haven’t paid to open up the code in WordPress so I am trying to code it into each post separately. I can hardly wait to be self hosted…
By the way, I’ve never understood cricket….maybe you could explain it over a beer one day? 🙂 You’ll have to explain it to Rikuto at some point and my guess is we’re both at the same level in our understanding so it would be good practice…
Thanks again.
You’re welcome, Shane. Yeah, I’ve never used WordPress.com, only a self-hosted WP. I really feel it’s worth getting a self-hosted blog, and it sounds like you’re thinking along the same lines.
When are you going to Japan, anyway?
I should be on the ground in late February. Mihama, Chiba will be our home base but I am hoping to do some traveling whenever I can tag along with my hubby. I’m never one to miss a new adventure…
So can you suggest any good hosts? Searching around the web is a bit confusing and not many of my friends are that techy….unfortunately for me I am the techy one of the group and you see how well that is working (i.e. the non-working button). But I will learn – I am determined!
I use IXwebhosting and have found them to be average. Their 24 hour live chat support is good for when you run into problems, but otherwise, they’ve just been average. I think their prices are quite competitive – just remember that whatever host you choose, you need a plan that gives you database support. Without it you can’t run WordPress. If you go with IX, you’ll need at least the “Business Plan” because the “Expert Plan” doesn’t offer database support.
Thanks Nick – I’ll check them out….
Nick – We finally got our visas and I think that you might be on to something because my certificate of eligibility stated I was American and now there is a note in my passport saying I am really Canadian – I may have some good stories to share on immigration now 😮