Where there’s a Willer…
I find it hard to sleep on public transport. Always have. Too risky. I’m not the kind of person who can miraculously wake themselves up two minutes before the right stop. The only transport I can sleep on is planes – there’s only one destination to worry about. Even so, it’s hard to shake the […]
An un-elf-y pastime
Selfies. We all take them (and probably too many of them). I hold my hands up to that – with my iPhone clutched tightly in one of them. This Christmas, my beloved Mum’s gone one better. We’ve moved on from emoji-filled text message wars. Seeing as texting me is now 10 times as expensive, there […]
#CCBC is taking the #PPAP
We’ve all seen ‘Pen Pineapple Apple Pen’ by now, yeah? This song’s been permanently on the lips of every Japanese schoolkid for weeks. I heard it on repeat in the changing rooms at the pool, in the park, on the bus, at karaoke… My summer’s been fun, suffice to say. I’ve even had the occasional […]
Too much of a good thing
This week, I moved from Kansai (western Japan) to Kanto (eastern Japan). Osaka and the rest of Kansai has been really good to me. In the way grandmothers are good to you because they constantly ask you to eat more cake. I stuffed my face with all of the fried, baked, generally not-all-that-healthy things the […]
Staying warm from the bottom up
When it gets cold – and it does, rather quickly once October’s over – Japan’s many drugstores, department stores and variety shops have plenty on hand to keep you cosy. Heated carpet? We’ve got that. Microwaveable foot blanket? Step right up. One thing you’ll see everywhere is kairo, bundles of little heat packs you can […]
It’s tea, Jim, but not as we know it
I’ve been inspired to write this because I’ve been chosen to do a reading at the upcoming launch of Kamihikouki Magazine’s seventh issue. (I guess it’s unlikely I’ll see many/any of you there, but come if you can.) The theme of the issue is ‘tea’. So, the theme of this post is ‘tea’ too. A […]
