State of Emergency continues in Japan and last Saturday was nature enforcing it on Japanese citizens, where it rained heavily all morning and afternoon 🌧🌧. Luckily, Sunday's weather forecast was sunny all day so we decided to get on our bikes to get some fresh air while we practice social distancing. Tokyo is very densely … Continue reading Tokyo cycling trip 🚴🏻♀️
From this week, Japan is now (finally) in a state of emergency for not only the 7 prefectures (mentioned in the last week's post) but for the entire country. Basically, the conditions remain the same with no strict enforcement but the government is asking people to reduce human to human interaction by 70-80% (aka working … Continue reading The last trip on a plane before covid-19: Skiing in Aomori
Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe has announced on Monday that 'state of emergency will be declared in Japan as early as April 7' 🚨. Nervously we continued to work from home and at 7pm on April 7, Prime Minister Abe declared 🚨State of Emergency 🚨for a month for 7 prefectures (out of 47) that were … Continue reading State of Emergency* (*conditions apply)
A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went on a beautiful nature getaway in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo at a glamping site called Private Garden the West. The owner kindly gave us two massive 筍(takenoko or bamboo shoot)🎍. 2 very proud bamboo shoot freshly harvested in Chiba Bamboo shoot isn't a common ingredient … Continue reading Back to basics: How to cook Bamboo shoot in a Japanese style
Last Wednesday (March 25), Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike strongly urged people to work from home, stay at home at night and during this weekend as Tokyo's coronavirus infection rate continue to rise. Similar to many other cities around the world, panic food shopping happened in Tokyo as well that night... All the essentials stocked out … Continue reading Glamping near Tokyo
From this week onwards, my workplace have commenced working from home indefinitely due to COVID-19 🦠 aka coronavirus aka pandemic that is spreading around the world. Australia seemed relatively calm until the last two weeks and not only is it spreading geographically but fear is everywhere we look. Social feeds and news feeds are … Continue reading Eating out highlights in Azabujyuban, Tokyo
Today, March 14th is White Day in Japan. It is a celebration that started in Japan and not many non-Japanese are familiar with this celebration. Although I have heard of it, I never knew people who actually partaken in it. So I've researched about the history and asked my husband to share his experience. Before … Continue reading Hidden Japanese meanings behind candies, marshmallow and cookies
Working in Japan, one of the unique features is the annual medical examination.As Japan's new working year is from April 1, my deadline for the medical examination was fast approaching so I went last Thursday, nervously. What is an annual medical examination? The annual medical examination is mandatory for a full-time employee and it is … Continue reading Japanese working life’s right of passage: annual medical examination
I was going to post about last Monday's Emperor's birthday public holiday🎂(his birthday was February 23, his first birthday as an emperor), how we went to Aomori for skiing ⛷and a little bit about Aomori for today's post🍎.However, life in Japan cannot ignore the effect of coronavirus or COVID-19🦠. The last couple of weeks Since … Continue reading Pause life, coronavirus is here
February 22nd, 2019 - exactly a year ago today was an emotional day for me. I woke up early next to my very first friend in Sydney who has been a friend of mine for nearly 10 years. 30 minutes later, another close friend rang the door bell so that we can all go to … Continue reading Looking back on a 1 year of moving back to Japan
Native Expat 