When I came to Tokyo, I felt like a curiosity. I remember early days standing in front of the traffic lights close to our apartment, waiting for green; often times there would be mothers with babies in strollers or in child carriers also standing there waiting. And more often than not, the little babies could […]
One year ago I was sitting on a bench in an empty car park outside a big children’s hospital in Tokyo waiting for news about my wife and our yet to be born baby. Today I am sitting in a beautiful house in Fukuoka with a sleeping wife and one year old son in front
Moving from a small apartment to a two stories house means a lot of life changes for a small baby. When dad goes up the stairs, our little son becomes very unsettled and wants to go with me to check that I am not leaving. When mum is going out to get a delivery at
All week I have been searching for a few moments to write a few lines, and I have not until now found that chance. In reality I would have liked to have a lot of time to write story after story – it has been that kind of a week – but for now a
I had almost given up my efforts to keep my clothes clean from yellow stains; instead, a few months ago, I narrowed down my home wardrobe to a few pieces that I did not mind too much getting all stained from everything having a baby in the house brings with it. Thinking about yellow in
So here we go again. Tokyo is under a new state of emergency. The Golden week holiday is here, and there seem to be a focus on making people not travel or unnecessarily spending time in crowded places in order to stop the increase in Corona virus infections. Hence, for the first time since last
Our son has started to walk. From one day being able to stand on his own to the next happily walking across the room with a toy in his hand – the speed of learning of a child is incredible. I wish I could mimic him as well as he is mimicking me – imagine
Our son has really started to show an interest in learning new words, and he understands more and more – when I ask him if he wants to go out in the baby car, he gets really excited and starts to crawl towards the front door. When I tell him that we shall vacuum the
I wonder if Japanese houses are built with cherry blossom in mind. Cherry blossom, sakura, one of the quintessential symbols of Japan, capturing the frailty of existence while celebrating life in the most exquisite way. During a few short weeks every year, the sakura season arguably exhibits unparalleled beauty in nature; in some ways I
The vacuum cleaner is a powerful home appliance. Not only does it clean floors, carpets, air cleaner filters and camera bags with cereal from a little accident during breakfast this morning, vacuum cleaners can also inspire both awe and fear in babies. When I was a child my younger brother really disliked the sound of
Sakura season is here. The cherry blossoms are celebrating life just as the state of emergency for the Tokyo area came to an end this week; I sense the hope in people as they gather in groups, anticipating the arrival of summer. In many ways it feels like previous years. Except for the masks; trying
I like to call myself a photographer. Before moving to Japan I worked with photography, and apart from my art photography, I still manage to do the odd photo jobs here. My family aside, writing and photography are my passions in life. I remember when I was a kid and my dad showed me his