no words
Sometimes I find that words can be a distraction when writing. With the view of Mount Fuji still in my mind, and the weight of my son still on my lap, tonight was such a time.
the sea
Being lovers of nature as well as the old and new world, we are so fortunate in where we live. While a shorter walk takes us to the train station or the shopping center, a short bicycle ride takes us to the nearby beach and mountains. And a thirty minutes drive will let us reach
getting cold
As the the temperature started to drop and the colors of the trees started to shift towards the warmer tones of the spectrum, I started to plan our nature outings to enjoy the colors of autumn. However, the autumn colds has coincided with the colors so my son and I have had to postpone our
the world of thomas
A year ago I had never heard of Thomas the tank engine, as far as I remember. Now I am familiar with not only Thomas but many of his friends thanks to my son. He tells me about James and Percy and Hiro and Rebecka, and his Thomas puzzle we bought last week has already
arts and cratfs
My little boy has really started to enjoy exploring different ways of expression, and I am so happy that the things we can do and explore together become more and more numerous. At home we have started to enjoy water colors in addition to crayons, and also my baby has become interested in sewing. We
metaphysics
I never thought that having a little toddler at home would be to have a teacher giving me lessons in metaphysics, or a zen monk introducing a koan to me. That is one of the things I appreciate most about being a father, the constant need to challenge habits and old patterns of thought which
100 yen cuteness
In Japan so called 100 yen shops are very popular. They are stores that sell almost anything you need for your home and most items cost 100 yen. I guess they are the dollar stores of Japan. You can by paper, pens, cleaning and washing supplies, storage solutions and hobby materials. They have office supplies
a magic place
It starts with the name. Raizan, thunder mountain. I cannot imagine a more awe inspiring name for a mountain, and it is easy to imagine how people who gave the mountain its name felt that this is a mountain to fear and revere, a mountain of deity. Raizan is located a short drive from our
magic happens
Sometimes I wonder if there is a kind ghost living in our house or if our baby has some kind of special powers. A little red wooden toy car had been missing for weeks. I had been searching for it everyone including the bathroom and I was convinced that it must have somehow ended up
shinkansen
After having been to Sweden, going by train and bus and airplane, my son was so enthusiastic about public transportation that we decided to go on a little train ride in Fukuoka. He loves his trains and on the local train to downtown Fukuoka he wanted to get out of the pram and proudly sat
images of sweden
I have only started to collect my impressions of our son’s first trip to Sweden. Finally he could meet all of my family – my parents, my European brothers and sisters and their partners and children. It was the first time for me as well to meet a nephew and a niece, so it was
only in japan
With no wife there with us, my son and I still managed to leave Sweden and get back to Japan safe and sound. He was sleeping a lot, so I was having a lot of time admiring the ceiling of the airplane. All those little LED lights in the bluely lit up roof that made