A little peak into the beauty we are surrounded by on a daily basis. This is a short bike ride we took to our nearest gym, back past our apartment (you see a flash of me pointing at a Soviet style look alike block) and to the beach, about 100m away from our door. Pretty…
Category: Country living
Without a Song
It took me some time to work out why Japan sounds different to the UK. The different sights, smells and tastes are all so obvious. There are the notable sounds like the language, road crossings, pachinko parlors and electric cars (the latter can creep up on you at any time, even when you swear you…
It Chills My Bones…
In Shimonoseki, the winter is similar to the UK, perhaps even a little warmer. The average low temperature is 6 degrees but it sits around 10 degrees most days. Unlike the UK, the sun is also often shining framing the mountains and beautiful beach near our apartment! Bliss. Yet, the Japanese winter can be a…
Ramen Delights
Ramen is a delicious Japanese favourite food, particularly on a cold winter night. It consists of a tasty broth, noodles, two slices of pork, a sprinkle of spring onion with a few extras, including tasty pickled ginger. It is simple, hearty, good-for-you Japanese food. Some places make the broth by boiling pork bones and using…
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…
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…
When Nature Calls
Japan may-well have a population of 128 million but be only 1.56 times the size of the UK, but wow, does it have nature! Countries of the world could learn a thing or two about keeping your streets and rivers clean and allowing nature to take flourish. Due to the landscape of Japan, the mountains…
Growing to Love Our New Home
When we arrived in Shimonoseki, there was no doubt its rural charm was a little shocking to us. We had been used to a life of city living: cafes and bars galore; six buses an hour; an extensive tram system; and hundreds of restaurants at our door step. In Shimonoseki, we didn’t seem to have…
Our Japanese Ghost Story…
Happy Halloween! Dan and I celebrated the, in no way British, holiday in Tokuyama. A lovely city with bars aplenty! However, for this blog we are going to focus on our Japanese ghost stories. Twice we have found ourselves in rather creepy, very old, empty historical buildings that we are certain must be haunted by…
The Beat Cafe
Dan and I have found our little piece of paradise on our local beach. The beach itself has an interesting history as it used to be a blue flag beach that was very popular with families (it has sandy shores, clear water and a calm tide). Then a few years ago there was a boat spillage…