During our time in Osaka, we took a day trip to the very spiritual Mount Koya in Wakayama prefecture. This came the day after our time at Universal Studios Japan and could not have been more different! At Mount Koya we walked the 2km path to the very spiritual and important mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, where…
Category: Life in Japan
Cafe Hoots
On our ‘spring break’ this year we visited the second largest city in Japan, Osaka. In this buzzing metropolis, we engaged in the most touristy かわいい(cute) cultural activity possible: animal cafe visiting! Our first stop was the owl cafe, Owl Family Cafe Osaka. With a hoot hoot here and a hoot hoot there, we enjoyed…
Universal Studios Japan
Wow. What a day. I was thoroughly overstimulated and couldn’t sleep for hours after our day-trip to this famous Japanese theme park. The big not-so-hidden child in Dan was awakened as we explored Hogsmeade Harry Potter village and went on the Flying Dinosaur rollercoaster. Hogsmeade was wonderful and was really well-done by USJ! There were lovely…
Our First Ikebana
As spring broke over our cold old apartment in Japan, we were fortunate enough to be invited to sample Ikebana. A colleague at work had heard through the rumour-mill that Dan and I were interested in taking part in this traditional Japanese activity. She very kindly arranged for us to have an afternoon lesson, enjoying both…
Osaka and Kyoto
Osaka and Kyoto are a mere 15-minute Japanese bullet train apart. Osaka is a wild and wonderful metropolis of skyscrapers and bars. We enjoyed the views across the urban jungle from the Umeda Sky Tree building and sampled the delights of local nightlife by getting our portraits painted by an artist in a local bar….
Cirque du Soleil
In our adult lives, we have never witnessed the skill of the circus. I have vague memories as a child seeing jugglers and clowns and maybe a little trapeze, but the performances we enjoyed at Cirque du Soleil makes those clowns look like fools. We didn’t really know what at expect as the reviews for…
My New Addiction…
Conbini Coffee! I am finding myself with a little more desk time on my hands and so plenty of perfect coffee shaped time opportunities. I have never been a big coffee drinker. But, the coffee here has less caffeine and more flavour than any coffee I have sampled in the UK. Combine this with the…
Metaphor of the Day
The end of the academic year is near. An unusual clock ticking process in the second period wins the ‘metaphor of the day’ today. The end of the day is not in sight; we are in the second class of six and it is only 10.a.m. We are waiting on a student to answer her…
A Guide to a Date Weekend in Shimonoseki
This weekend was date weekend. We decided to spend some quality time together in our local area. It was time to get some of those `local, I’ll do it at some stage I promise’ things ticked off that list. The opener was a trip to the top of Hinomiyama, the local viewing mountain. We walked…
Ikebana
Ikebana is the traditional act of flower arranging in Japan. It is an art form conducted with discipline. Each design is about bringing nature, humanity, and blank space together as a collective piece. A teacher at one of my schools recently gave Dan and I tickets to visit an Ikebana display and experience it for…