This weeks quote is a Japanese folk tale about two frogs who want to see the world….sound familiar? I’m hopeful that we will have a wider field of vision than the frogs in this story….
The Two Frogs
Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made […]

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Some interesting stories came across my radar screen this week so here goes…
Here is an article from the Japan Times on how food additives destroy the taste buds. This article reminds me how great food can taste when we make it from scratch with quality ingredients and how the pace of life everywhere is […]

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To visit a garden in Japan is to take a step away from reality for a moment and step back in time. Many of these gardens are an oasis in the center of a very vibrant and bustling country. Once you step foot within their walls it’s really hard to imagine all of […]

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Learning Japanese can be a tough proposition, trust me, I know, but life in Japan when you can’t speak the language is fraught with uncertainty and some pretty amusing experiences (looking back that is!). Here is a portion of a comic strip from the Japan Times that illustrates the challenges well (click on the […]

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I am a big fan of arts & crafts in general and I have a special admiration for the Japanese approach of making an art form out of things that they use in daily life. The furoshiki is a great example - it is basically a square of fabric that can range in size from […]

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This weeks quote isn’t a quote at all but a Japanese proverb or Kotowaza that I think is very appropriate during this holiday season.

The literal meaning of the Kanji above is “a gold coin to a cat”. Translated it means don’t offer things to a person incapable of appreciating them. Click on the Kanji […]

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This week I ran across a number of links that are more humorous than newsy and they are below, but first…
I pointed out in my post earlier this week all the things that Chiba has offer visitors. Adding to my list is Web-Japans recent article on trends in food in Chiba Prefecture. […]

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Technology sure has changed since 1998 (our last time living in Japan). Here are some of the technology decisions that I will need to make, hopefully with some guidance from my husband’s employer:
Long Distance Calling - Should we use a callback service as described at dial-abroad.org or a VOIP (voice over IP) such […]

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There are a ton of things that I need to do before I head off to the land of the rising sun…but what are they? Here are some links that have helped me make my list.
JapanNewbie.com has a great article on how to drop everything and move abroad. Here is a […]

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Starting this week I will be getting you up to speed on all of the things that I need to look into and get done before heading off into the land of the rising sun.
I thought that I would start by giving you some information about where I will be living. The area is […]

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