A good friend called Ema
At many a shrine, rows and rows of wooden votive plaques are hung up in various places. They’re called ema (the kanji literally mean ‘picture horse‘.) Visitors write their wishes, hopes and dreams on the ema in the hope they’ll come true. Aww. How optimistic. I wonder how many trees have been sacrificed to the […]
Things look different around here
They say the camera adds 10 pounds. I don’t remember eating a camera. Hello! Yes, this is me. Living it up in Japan. As if you’re not sick of me telling you. I’ve been here three months now, and at a conservative estimate I’ve put on three kilos. It might even be four by now. […]
It’s all about perspective
“This balcony has got to be bigger than my entire bloody flat.” Is what I thought when I arrived at a friend’s birthday party the other week. Considering the balcony was holding a massive paddling pool, a hammock, chairs, a sofa, a fridge and a barbecue, I’d put money on being right. Seriously, look at […]
It’s a pizza cake!
I’ve introduced you all to my Mum before. The woman I’ve been waging emoji war with for months on end. She has even more talents than just the incomprehensible texting, I assure you. When it comes to birthdays, Mum doesn’t muck about. Her mantra is ‘you’ve got to make sure people have something to unwrap’. […]
Sun, sea, sand and sacrifice
There are many sure-fire signs of summer here in Japan. None of them involve actual sunshine. We’re talking flash sales at department stores, people wearing sunglasses indoors, endless frozen drinks… And watermelons. The watermelon, or suika, is the spherical summer symbol that you can look directly at without damaging your eyes. At many a summer […]
I’m a diner, let me out of here!
Whenever someone asks me about ‘strange’ or ‘bizarre’ restaurants in Tokyo, I direct them to prison-themed dining experience The Lock Up. The site’s in Japanese but I think you can get the gist. Three of us intrepid explorers visited this hideaway in Shibuya recently, at my insistence. Sorry guys! It’s in a basement, at the […]
