From the vaults

January 27, 2011  |  0  |  Category: Daily life, With pics

Avid readers of these pages will recall the terrible tragedy that occurred on Christmas Day 2010, namely, the loss of Felix’s favourite soccer ball into the murky depths of the Seto Inland Sea.
Well, we’ve recently come across dramatic footage of that very moment and the aftermath, captured for posterity by Ruby with her new Christmas Read more...

Annual report card

January 17, 2011  |  1  |  Category: Daily life

Time flies when you’ve having fun, and already one whole year has passed since our arrival here at Japan-by-the-Sea. Which means it’s now time to bring you the much-anticipated annual report card.
The first thing to say is that the situation hasn’t really changed much since the half-yearly report in July. Eleni is still doing Read more...

Akita 3

January 15, 2011  |  0  |  Category: Adventures

We’re back now from the land of Man Versus Snow, and what an adventure it was. Such an eye-opener to see a very different way of life; it’s like another country up there. When we got home last night it felt as if we’d been away for ages, even though it was a mere eight Read more...

Akita 2

January 13, 2011  |  2  |  Category: Adventures, With pics

It was snowing when we arrived in Akita a week ago and pretty much hasn’t let up since. According to Eku, normally it snows for a few days and then the weather will fine up for a while. That softens the snow and gives everyone a breather from the endless shoveling. But the non-stop snowfalls Read more...

Akita

January 12, 2011  |  1  |  Category: Adventures, With pics

I’m writing from chilly Akita up in northern Japan, where we’ve come to stay for a week with our longstanding friend Eku, who along with her now departed husband Shige was a surrogate parent to us during our Young Person years in Tokyo.
Akita is snow country, and this year Japan has been having record snowfalls Read more...

First week of the hols

January 10, 2011  |  1  |  Category: Daily life

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this blog and I do apologise… but it’s because we’ve been having altogether Too Much Fun.
Since I last wrote just after Christmas, we’ve had three days of skiing, been to visit friends in Okayama, had our first Japanese multiplex experience, sailed into the New Year, caught some Read more...

Christmas wrap

December 28, 2010  |  2  |  Category: Daily life, With pics

Well that’s another Christmas out of the way. At least now it’s safe to go back into the department stores again, which is always nice.
First there was the opening of the presents in bed. (This photo was taken with Ruby’s present. You guessed it: a camera.)

There followed a frenzied session of cooking by mummy and Read more...

Chill out, Japan

December 24, 2010  |  2  |  Category: Culture

Japan is a fascinating country, with tons of interesting stuff to see, do and eat. It could be a great place to live but there’s just one problem: the Japanese don’t know how to relax and enjoy themselves.
They just work too damned hard. Consider these examples:
Exhibit A
Mayumi, a longstanding friend of Eleni from over 20 Read more...

Holiday time

December 20, 2010  |  1  |  Category: Daily life

Only three more days of school until the holidays! The last day of school is the 22nd; the 23rd is a public holiday and the education system has very generously decided to give children the 24th to themselves as well and then the kids will be FREE TO HAVE FUN… not really. Avid readers of Read more...

Japan Fail

December 14, 2010  |  4  |  Category: Daily life

Last year, when I was in the throes of planning this trip to Japan, I had a massive long list of personal goals for the two-year cultural odyssey.
I was going to engage a writing teacher and practice my characters and learn how to write Japanese properly at last. Over the last 15 years I’ve forgotten Read more...