Minimalism - Online Income - ESL - Japan
One of the first blogs I ever subscribed to was LifeHacker, a blog jammed with tips and tricks to increase productivity. When it comes to living in Japan, the equivalent blog would be NihonHacks, a collection of time and money-saving tips for foreign students, visitors or “lifers”. Top Tips and Tricks from NihonHacks NihonHacks is the work of Thomas Hjelm, a former exchange student and current JET teacher in Hyogo. […]
We hopped in Mami’s little pink car and took a drive out to Gujo city with our friend, Mr. H, for some traditional new year mochi making. Mochi can be described as “steamed rice pounded into a glutinous cake and used as a staple ingredient in a variety of dishes, including desserts”. This seasonal activity is a Japanese custom I hadn’t experienced until today, so I was quick with my camera to […]
After reading Thomas’ post about finding Christmas Trees in Japan on NihonHacks.com, I decided to get one for myself. Unlike Thomas, who treated himself to a real “Golden Crest” tree from a home center, I wanted a fake Christmas tree that I could use every year. Get your Christmas tree now for half-price! Christmas in Japan is a funny affair. It usually ends on Christmas Eve to give the shops […]
Japan is facing a crisis. The population is aging and by 2050, one in three people will be past retirement age. Meanwhile, the birth rate is currently at 1.25 babies per woman, much lower than the 2.1 needed to keep the population stable. The result is a workforce too small to support the huge number of retirees. Who will do all the work? Will there be enough tax money to pay […]
On September 6th, 2006, Prince and Princess Akishino gave birth to their third child. It was an important event because at 39 years old, it was looking unlikely that the couple would have another child, and had it not been a boy, Japan would have had no heir to the Emperor’s throne. The birth of Prince Hisahito finally ended the debate over whether the country should allow female succession. The Japanese […]
One book I enjoyed reading before I came to Japan was Lafcadio Hearn’s Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. It was published in 1904 and is a collection of weird and ghostly tales from Japan. Since it’s Halloween, I’ve picked a story called Ubazakura, which couldn’t be more appropriate for a blog about Japan and babies. Ubazakura Three hundred years ago, in the village called Asamimura, in the district called Onsengori, in the province of Iyo, there lived […]
Our third visit from Mr. Life Planner was by far the most interesting. Mr. Life Planner works for Sony Life Insurance and part of the sales pitch includes a detailed “Life Simulation”, which is really intended to prove the need for their life insurance. Previously we had given him details of our monthly expenses, earnings and expected future purchases, and he came back with a variety of graphs, charts and […]
I’ve probably only been to Tokyo a dozen times in my 10+ years in Japan, but given the chance I’d love to go again. If I were a rapper, I’d put my baseball cap on backwards, wave my hands around and describe Tokyo like this: Here we go, to To-ki-yo, where’s the gents? It’s so immense, intense, can’t pay the rents. Feelin’ crowded, astounded, tradition surrounded by concrete towers, 24 […]