These days, in times of social distancing and pandemi coping strategies, washing hands is a topic constantly talked and written about; in the news, among friends and family, on noticeboards and in bathrooms (I even saw a youtube video of the Governor of Tokyo showing people how to wash their hands, which impressed me greatly). […]
Tokyo is under state of emergency and my wife is on maternity leave from today – a beautiful symmetry in the middle of all worry and despair. She has dutifully been going to the office, taking great care to stay as safe as possible. お疲れさま my love. Now finally our maternity leave begins and we
What has happened? If I had stepped out of the door after just having woken up from a two months’ sleep, I would not have known there was a pandemic going on. The supermarket was as crowded as before, there was a queue outside the café, there were too many people outside the station. Have
So spring is here. Last week I felt like I had been punched, all of my body seemed to have allergic reactions – spring has already come. After a few days of antihistamines I started to feel like myself again, and now I have one more reason to wear a mask, masks that sometimes are
If you commute long enough it is inevitable to start recognizing the people on the train. We are following our habits, and our habits have the habit of placing us next to one another time and time again. So there is the man with a broken arm often occupying a corner priority seat. Then there
The last few days the winds have been strong and cold. It feels a bit like winter has finally come, although no snow, just clear skies and chilling winds. I worry about my wife’s stomach – her favourite coat is now too small and she cannot button it. I insist she wears a thick scarf,
Apples. I do not eat apples. I am allergic to apples. I like apples but I cannot eat them. They mess with my stomach. Last time I ate apples was in Sweden, I was invited to potato salad. And when I tasted apple in it, I was too coward to leave the potato salad on
Coming from Sweden with no history of mask-wearing except for doctors and dentists, it takes time to get used to all people wearing masks in Japan. In stores, on trains, on the streets – especially in winter there are many many white masks walking around. The reasons, as I understand them, are to not infect
Today is my birthday. And I am angry. I am sure there is some connection, but today I am just… I am simply angry, angry at people. And a little bit at my wife too. Those morning commutes on an overly surrealistically crowded train, where young people sit on priority seats, sleeping, playing games, ignoring
Ok, it was inevitable that someday I would write about my number one complaint with Japan (come to think of it I actually have a few, but let me focus on this one for now). It was inevitable and apparently today is that day. In the train station there is a new commercial for washing machines
Japanese is a difficult language. Even easy things have a tendency to end up being difficult. My wife says that I like to complicate things, that I am happy when I do, but I feel rather more happy when I manage not to. I think. Which is not that often. (Maybe this means my wife
When does something become a habit? After one time? Hardly. Two times? Three? Five or ten? Does it even matter? Not really I think – it is all about feelings. So when I feel like it has become a habit to every night prepare the rice for the morning. And then in the morning make