Before meeting my wife, I always thought of Japan as a country where punctuality was deeply embedded in society, the image of trains always leaving and arriving on time being the prime example. Coming from Sweden where a train arriving on time is a bit of an oddity, together with my affinity for punctuality, Japan […]
Getting older with a small child in the house is like getting the chance to once again grow up, to explore the world and see the universe with eyes not affected by the life lived. Almost everyday I marvel at the marvel our baby is – as if it is second (if not first) nature
Now it is two years since the first case of the new corona virus was detected in Japan; never had I believed two years ago that we would again find ourselves in a situation where the case count is going up and up, where the vaccines are not effective enough and the news is filed
Never did I think that suddenly there would come a new little life into our world; we have a small piece of soil, maybe a meter wide and a few meters long, between our parking space and the house and this little unused walkway has now become our little Japanese garden. For half a year
A new year always puts a perspective on time, I feel. The breaking point that a new year signifies is both happiness and anxiety, hope and regret, new beginnings and old ends. Looking back at the past year, looking forward to the one coming up, thinking about all that we have experienced, have not done,
Being in Japan for the winter holidays for the third year in a row, both my wife and I miss, apart from seeing our close relatives of course, the Swedish Christmas smorgasbord. My mother makes the most beautiful meal with all the seasonal delicacies including my favorite, pickled herrings, and I can only hope that
Today I have finally realized that there are stars everywhere. I woke up this morning by my sun (I was going to write son, and when I reread my text I saw that I had written sun instead, but in this case sun works equally well if not better so I leave it like that)
Once or twice a week, I take our son to different activities in the little town where we live. Tuesdays is the baby-activity in the shopping mall, where my son explores balancing on narrow objects, kicking small balls and picking them up and giving them to the teachers, dancing to music and interacting with other
I could not resist to follow up the last post with a story of how we have enjoyed our lussebullar, saffron bread. The second of Advent we climbed the mountain at the foot of which we live. Ever since we moved here I have been looking up at the mountain, wanting to stand on its
Having given up our hope to go to Sweden for Christmas, we decided to try to do what we could to keep a few Swedish Christmas traditions alive here in Japan instead. In Sweden, December is dark and cold and the light in the darkness for me is literally the different lights we use when
Finally the most beautiful time of the year is here. Before our son was born, I would take an early morning train and go to the mountains, searching for the autumn colors in nature, walking the trails with my camera and tripod and thermos with hot coffee. I would take an early morning train and
The last week was special in many ways. The beyond earthly beautiful funeral of my wife’s dad moved me a lot and has left a big impression in me. There was something very honest and beautiful in the way his life was celebrated and the way his afterlife was prepared, and I feel honored to