This is the first post in 2023 and I would usually start with あけましておめでとう (akemashite omedeto or Happy New Year!) but for my family this year, we avoid wishing everyone a happy new year. These are all ‘normal’ and accepted custom in Japan but as a Native Expat who have lived in Australia between 12-29 … Continue reading (Happy) New Year?! Slightly different new year for Native Expat
2022's last post from Native Expat is about the ski trip to Niseko and an onsen trip to Lake Shikotsu in Hokkaido.
My team who have never seemed too sporty and many people in my company have caught the World Cup fever ⚽️ especially after Japan making through the Group early Friday morning. 🎉 Not just in my company but the nation seems to have supported Japanese soccer team in Qatar no matter the time as posted … Continue reading World Cup and Covid-19 fever in Japan
My friend wanted to go skiing so we decided to revisit Nozawa Onsen in Nagano from Friday night to Sunday for 2 days ski trip just before the snow starts to melt. Out of the many ski resorts that are easily accessible from Tokyo, we decided to visit Nozawa Onsen again as we enjoyed our … Continue reading February skiing weekend at Nozawa Onsen
There are many ways to enjoy the seasons in Japan including hanami or cherry blossom viewing in spring, the seasonal events including new years in winter and lastly but not least, enjoying food that is prepared or harvested during a particular season. Seasonal sweets are often created by each 和菓子 (wagashi) stores. Since last year, … Continue reading Winter and spring wagashi (Japanese sweets)
February 11 is 建国記念日 (Kenkoku kinenbi) or Japan's National Foundation Day (more on that from my previous blog where I explained the history about this day). The long weekend made it a perfect opportunity for us to venture afield to explore Japan. As I searched for (relatively) affordable last minute ski trip, I came across … Continue reading Flying off to Furano for skiing
I felt like I haven't visited a gallery in a while and honestly, I don't have any excuse when Tokyo offers a lot of galleries and museums throughout the 23 wards. Last weekend, I visited PLAY! Museum at Tachikawa. About PLAY! Opened in 2020 June, PLAY! museum's theme is word and art. They hold 2 … Continue reading Immersive picture book experience at PLAY! museum
Last weekend, we visited Komazawa area to watch Japan's domestic rugby competition, Top League played against Tokyo's team Toshiba Brave Lupus and Nagoya's team, Toyota Verblitz. As we haven't been in the area before, we wandered around before the game kicked off at 12pm. About Komazawa area Komazawa is one of the areas in Tokyo's … Continue reading Rugby viewing at Komazawa, Setagaya
Last weekend, instead of snoozing through most of the morning, my husband and I hopped on our bikes to the Imperial Palace for a jog. A loop around the Imperial Palace is an iconic 5km run popular from beginners to experienced runners (I saw a guy running wearing a "100km finisher" Tshirt during my run!). … Continue reading Iconic Imperial Palace Run’s Interesting Inception
Living in Japan offers an incredible array of food options.Looking at Japanese cuisine options alone, there are so many varieties that even after living in Tokyo for nearly 3 years, there are meals I haven't tried yet. The other day, my friend invited me over to her house for dinner. Being winter, she suggested もつ鍋 … Continue reading Chomp up what gets chucked in Japan
Native Expat 