Graduates in Japan -12 office harassment types and surprising usage of their first paycheck

April 1 is the start of new year in Japan where many graduates started their life in corporate life. When I'm out especially on Friday nights, I have noticed a big group of black suit cladded young people partaking in 飲みニケーション "nommunication" or a Japanese corporate culture where colleagues build bond over alcohol. At the … Continue reading Graduates in Japan -12 office harassment types and surprising usage of their first paycheck →

Exploring the sprawling spring symphony at Showa Kinen Park

Today starts the long holiday in Japan called Golden Week (read more about what Golden Week from my previous blog) where Monday April 29th, Friday March 3rd and Monday May 6 are public holidays. https://nativeexpat.home.blog/2019/04/26/what-is-golden-week-and-the-cheapest-way-to-narita-airport The first public holiday is Showa Day commemorating Showa emperor's birthday (current emperor's grandfather) and last weekend, I visited a … Continue reading Exploring the sprawling spring symphony at Showa Kinen Park →

Nihonbashi Cruise: A Journey Through Time from Edo to Modern Tokyo

After I traced the story about Nihonbashi on my penshuji workbook, last weekend, I cruised under Nihonbashi in Tokyo on a 90minutes cruise experience. I found about Nihonbashi Cruise on an episode on Modern Love Tokyo on Amazon Prime and was curious to experience and the day finally came! Nihonbashi cruise offered a unique perspective … Continue reading Nihonbashi Cruise: A Journey Through Time from Edo to Modern Tokyo →

How to write well in Japan

Japan might be famous for lightning fast shinkansen and futuristic robotic for efficiencies but Japan is also a land of meticulous paperwork that may catch you off guard with its frequent form-filling rituals. Even after filling out details online to book a hotel room or when you visit a government office, you'll find yourself scribbling … Continue reading How to write well in Japan →

Foreigner perspective of Japan

Japan is one of everyone's hottest travel destinations (unless you're already here like me!) as I see foreign tourists everywhere I go. I have at least 3 sets of friends visiting Japan this year and many more who wants to. According to Japan tourism, JNTO, the number of foreign visitors to Japan reached 2,788,000 in … Continue reading Foreigner perspective of Japan →

Polishing, not washing rice

The other day, I visited a regional market that sells region's fruit and vegetable in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo. At the back of the market was a big rice corner.Initially, I wasn't interested in purchasing rice as Saitama isn't known for rice however, the process seemed interesting. Purchasing rice at regional Japan Agriculture market … Continue reading Polishing, not washing rice →

Intestine massage experience

Last weekend, I tried something I have wanted to for a while but was a bit scared - 腸もみ (chomomi) or intestine massage. Chomomi is a recent trend that's part of 腸活. Firstly, what is 腸活 (chokatsu, intestine activity) Chokatsu refers to activities to improve gut health. Often, eating probiotics like yoghurt and kimchi, exercising … Continue reading Intestine massage experience →

Girl’s Day’s hina doll explained

Tomorrow, March 3 is ひな祭り (hinamatsuri), Girl's Day in Japan. In the previous blog, I have mentioned about Oguro Saburo's cute wooden and modern version of dolls for hinamatsuri that children's can play with: https://nativeexpat.home.blog/2024/02/03/japanese-brand-highlight-u-plan-by-oguro-saburo In this blog, I'll share about the traditional 雛人形（hina dolls) decorated. About Hina dolls When a girl is born, often … Continue reading Girl’s Day’s hina doll explained →