When I arrived in Japan I was full of wild and misguided confidence about my ability to learn Japanese. I fear I lost sight of reality a little in these initial days of new hope and home. It turns out, learning a new language is really tough and hoping you absorb it through osmosis is…
Month: December 2016
A Good Soak Works Wonders
We increasingly realise we live in a great location, despite how rural it is. It is beautiful, cheap, located near an onsen town, and we recently found Gorgonzola cheese and ciabatta fresh baked bread in our local supermarket. I am getting fat this Christmas! (For info, an onsen is a hot spring. You scrub yourself…
Turning THIRTY
Dan and I are both 30. When we met at 17, I could never have imagined what 30 year old us would look like. When I went off travelling at 18 and Dan stayed home with his band (can’t deny we were a cliché!) and then again when we went to university at 19, we…
Reflecting on Hiroshima
At the start of December we had a long weekend away in Hiroshima. We had visited this vibrant city on holiday in 2014, and thoroughly enjoyed re-tracing our footsteps. On Saturday we made the most out of the café culture and western friendly eateries. After months of matcha latte offerings and ramen a good slice…
My Bunkasai
A few weeks ago I went to my first bunkasai (cultural school festival) while Dan enjoyed a day at the sumo. Initially, I was ‘proper gutted’ that I would miss out on sumo for ‘work’… However, my bunkasai day started off well as arrived at school to find some students running about dressed as, what…
Japan; the Highs and Lows (So Far…)
It is December the 1st today which marks four months since I arrived in Japan…today is also a big day for schools across the nation, as it is the day the kerosene winter heaters get their big switch on. Japan does not mess around with the likes of safe central heating, oh no, it is…