Japan is renowned for its dislike of tattoos. You’ll often see signs indicating they are banned from various places like gyms and onsens (Japanese public baths). It links back to organised crime and the stigma has failed to be shaken off by tattoo loving westerners or alternative Japanese youth. So what better place to ink…
Category: Life in Japan
Terry the Turtle
Since arriving in Tokyo I have got back into running for enjoyment. So a couple of times a week I head over to our local park and take a few turns on the running circuit. At the moment Japan is still in it’s summer season with the temperatures regularly reaching 30+ in Tokyo. This means…
103 to 201
Why not make the big move to Tokyo a little more complicated? Just follow our failsafe method to ensure ultimate complications and maximum time spent in various bureaucratic nightmares. 1. Relocate to the worlds’ largest city without the help of an employer. 2. Move into a box disguising itself as an apartment. 3. Go to…
Part 6 (Of Lessons Learnt Living Abroad) The Final Lesson
Part 6: It is a privilege. Lesson number six, which concludes my current reflections, is a simple one. It is a privilege to move abroad and have the chance to absorb a new culture. Lots of people may hope to move abroad in their future, and for some, they will. Others are not able to…
Making Our Japan Story Your Japan Story
Coming soon…itineraries, advice, guidance, and top tips for travelling Japan based on our experiences living here! Want to explore more of the ‘off the beaten track’ in Japan? With that we can help! Love coffee and fancy going on a coffee tour in South Japan? We’ve got advice to help you out! Moving to Tokyo…
Urban Sprawl
So the big move has happened…we are now residents of Tokyo! It’s not been without its challenges, but after two weeks of settling in, today I finally felt like it was all worth it for the first time. This is partly because I found the local vintage shopping district, which is absolutly fabulous, and because…
Part 5 (Of Lessons Learnt Living Abroad)
Part 5: You can re-evaluate the type of person you hope to be. When you are living abroad you will start to really understand what it means to be you and who you actually are. We all present a certain person to the world, and sometimes this person differs from who we feel we really…
Goodbye Shimonoseki!
As my JET programme contract ended on the 31st July 2018, the time has come to say goodbye to Shimonoseki. Fortunately, ALTs like to leave in style, and so there have been a few enjoyable trips and gatherings to mark our time in Yamaguchi. Firstly, we visited Karato fish market for some top notch sushi…
Laced Coffee
We recently hired a car to take a final road trip around Shimonoseki. We had plans to visit the 1,000 year old tree and bask in it’s ancient glory. The tree was dramatic and rather sizable. We travelled with Kate and Joe who have seen the tree before but were keen to visit it one…
A Very Japanese Pastime: Karaoke
Karaoke. We have all heard of it, but only some of us have tried it. Let’s face it, Karaoke isn’t a very British pastime. If you ever come to Japan though, it has to be up there on your list of things to try. Unleash the Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, and Morrissey in all of you….