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 …
Ever since I met my wife she has has long hair with various degrees of hair dye. At first she had a bit curled hair in a brownish tone. Later she went towards black and straight before getting pregnant and therefore letting the gray hair she wanted to hide grow, (much to my appreciation and …
In Japan, Swedish dental care is famous. Almost anyone in the dental profession I have met, hearing that I am from Sweden, comments on the good dental health in Sweden and the excellence of Swedish dental health care. Swedish dental products are on display in the super market. Looking at the image of Sweden that …
Tonight my son fell asleep lying on my chest; I cannot imagine anything more beautiful. His whole existence is beautiful – the pure innocence of a child. The trust he puts in us without even thinking about it – I was lying in bed thinking of what I possibly could have done to deserve it, to …
I cannot get enough of the mountains here in Japan. Every day I feel drawn to them, to see them, to feel them, to walk among them. It is almost like they talk to me through the air I breath, the cold winds that sweep around my face, the dense forests. The air at home when …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Today I take a little dive into the beautiful and (unintentionally?) sweet and funny English translations that can be found everywhere in Japan (please catch up on the story poetry on a mountain if you are curious). There is a spacious park area next to the river close to where we live. In these Corona …
Last week I was asked by the local newspaper Smålänningen from my hometown in Sweden if I was interested in a story about this blog, and much to my surprise I did not even hesitate before I said yes please. Old me would have tried to convince myself that it was a bad idea, that …
Raking leaves is really the only thing I do not like about autumn. When living in Sweden, raking leaves on a big lawn every fall was my least favourite chore. I found it boring, tedious, a necessary evil that had to be done before being able to enjoy the clean beauty of winter. So raking …
Being a foreigner in Tokyo, I have come to know the Immigration Bureau quite well; during my two years here I have already gone there five or six times. And now time had come to visit the Immigration Bureau once again to apply for an extension of my spouse visa. With the Corona virus affecting …