Tokyo is now in summer mode with the weather being constantly over 30 degrees and the sun rises before around 4:30am. Work has been busy and as June is one of the few months in Japan without a public holiday, I am longing for mid July when we have a long weekend. I have been … Continue reading Aomori is calling us
Nestled in the lush mountains of Ishikawa Prefecture, Yamanaka Onsen is one of Japan’s most historical and scenic hot spring retreats. The onsen town has been quietly healing Japanese since the Nara period （710-704) but the extended shinkansen that open a year ago in 2024 is making it more accessible to visit 山中温泉 (Yamanaka Onsen). … Continue reading Yamanaka Onsen: A 1,300‑Year‑Old Mountain Hot Spring Town
Last weekend, we drove an hour from Tokyo to Chiba near Narita Airport for some Texan barbecue restaurant that we found on instagram called T's BBQ. When I sent the photo of the interior of this container restaurant to my friend living in Texas, he was surprised with all the Texan stickers! No wonder it's … Continue reading From Texas to traditional Japan in 10 minutes in Narita
Tokyo Rockabilly: time slip to the 50's in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo Last week, one of my kiwi friends had a 40's birthday party with a Tokyo theme - Tokyo Rockabilly. I knew about them but I never really thought carefully so I did some research. What is Tokyo Rockabilly Every Sunday (weather permitting), in Harajuku’s … Continue reading Tokyo Rockabilly: time slip to the 50’s in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo
In the past blog post, I have mentioned how young Japanese may lack resilience where new grads were quitting their job on day 1, via a resignation intermediary company. However, there are many young and up and coming Japanese enterpreneurs and the one that stands out by far in many ways is 片石 貴展, Takanori … Continue reading Japanese game changers: CEO of Yutori
In this blog, I want to shine a spotlight on the suburb with a 'celebrity' status full of embassies, mixture of international yet old-school Japan vibe, 麻布十番(Azabujyuban). Where is Azabujuban? Azabujuban is located in Minato ward, right next to Roppongi and just a short walk or train ride from Hiroo, Akabanebashi, and Azabu-dai. Azabjyuban has … Continue reading Tokyo neighborhood highlight: Azabujuban
I have recently joined a picture book workshop where we create stories and illustrations. Our first project was creating our own version of Little Red Riding Hood. As there are literally thousand versions of Little Red Riding Hood, I wanted to change it up a lot and created a Japanese version. To create this, I … Continue reading Japanese culture highlights: Tanuki
The first half of Golden Week was spent in Istanbul, Turkey which had a connection to Japan mentioned in the previous blog post: https://nativeexpat.home.blog/2025/05/03/similarities-and-history-of-turkey-and-japan/ The second half of the Golden Week was spent in Sicily, Italy for a slower pace by the beach. The hilly cobblestone roads framed by low rise buildings allowed us a … Continue reading Sicily in Japan?
April 29 starts Japan’s Golden Week and we have came to Istanbul, Turkey. This is the first time I have visited Turkey and there are differences between Turkey and Japan including: Difference in religion where Turkey have more muslims and Japan have more Buddhists Istanbul have ferries as a common public transport to connect people … Continue reading Similarities and history of Turkey and Japan
For those taking extra few days off work (like me!), today is the start of 11 days off Golden Week in Japan. Find out about golden week from my previous post: https://nativeexpat.home.blog/2019/04/26/what-is-golden-week-and-the-cheapest-way-to-narita-airport/ 2025’s Golden Week is what is called “飛び石連休“ （Tobi ishi renkyu or skipping stones public holidays) as the Golden Week is on Tuesday … Continue reading Golden Week 2025 – not so golden?
Native Expat 