Bye Bye January 2024

Bye January, the month that promises so much and hello February, the month that makes me realise that the promises were all empty.

Kasai Rinkai has loads of daffodils out at the moment near the big wheel.

We got a new futon! I don’t want to be dramatic, but when we first moved here, we bought a very cheap futon and have been using it for the last 7 years. When I say it was flat, I mean, it was almost pointless sleeping on it, we probably would have felt just the same level of comfort sleeping on the floor! ...

golden week 2023

昭和の日 290423

I cleaned and did homework today. I have a Japanese lesson each week where (at the moment) I review N1 vocab and then read a couple of newspaper articles with my teacher. Then for homework, I review and Anki words I don’t know. Last week we read about exchange students and difficulties getting jobs with regards to Japanese language ability and then about ChatGPT and concerns unis have about it.

憲法記念日 030523

A beautiful spring day in Tokyo reaching 22ºC. We stayed local this year and today was really local. We enjoyed the new greenery that’s sprouted up ...

we have too much food: the hoard

I’ve come back to Tokyo after two months in Manchester to too much food. We already had too much food when I left, but now we have even more.

a cupboard stuffed with food

One of my aims for this year is to eat down our food supplies (read hoard). In modern life many of us have everything we need and much more. Many of us live in a world of abundance. Yet at the same time, there are many in our societies who have too little and need more.

a cupboard stuffed with food

We rarely waste food. I was brought up by my mum who was very good ...

weekend catch up bits and bobs

tray with morisoba

I went for my hair cut on Friday and got back to my station around 11:30, so my husband and I decided to go for soba. There are two soba places we really like – one is cheaper than the other and that’s the one we tend to go for. I had もりそば・morisoba which doesn’t have nori on the top (I don’t like it that much).

We subscribe to a weekly organic vegetable box from Shiga Kajiwara Farm・四賀梶原農園 and have done for the past 4/5 years. It comes every Tuesday and I think it’s really good value at ¥3,000 including ...

june memories and july wishlist 2022

two peonies in a vase, one is blooming, the other isn't. A daruma is sat next to the vase.

Normal temperatures are a distant memory. In Tokyo, rainy season ended 22 days early this year and we have had record-beating temperatures of 34/35 daily. Add the humidity into that and it’s felt like 39/40/41. It’s so hot – I really wasn’t made for these temperatures.

june wish list

  • Study hard for N1
  • Start studying Italian every day
  • tidy the back room
  • finish up sewing my skirt
  • finish up sewing my dress
  • keep on top of vegetables from the veg box

june memories

I got a couple of peonies this month. I don’t normally buy flowers (I had quite severe ...