There have been so many things happening this autumn and I would have had to write a couple of posts per week to cover what I would like to share. But since I am on a one post per week pace, my autumn stories will focus on the highlights, albeit sometimes presented a bit late. But […]
If I had to choose between the seasons, I would choose autumn. The colors, the air, the cool after a long hot summer, nabe (Japanese hot pot), and most of all the mountains. When we were living in Tokyo I always took the train to go and enjoy the mountains outside of Tokyo in autumn.
Every October, there is autumn cleaning going on everywhere. The parks are getting their final trim of the year and people are tidying up what is left of the summer from their gardens. Now that the temperature has dropped and nature’s extreme growing power has slowed down, it really feels quite satisfying to clean up
While the summer days in Kyushu are like a wet sauna, the evenings are actually quite enjoyable. Even going out with the trash after the dishes are finished is a pleasure, but nothing beats an evening trip to the beach. In July the water in the sea is on the warmer side but still cool
It is not an understatement to say that my son is in to bugs. Especially so the pill bug, or ダンゴムシ (dangomushi) as it is called in Japanese. It started a year or so ago when they were searching for insects and bugs at kindergarten. My son came home and talked very vividly about dangomushi
Following the watermelon story from last year, time has come for a new story. A few weeks ago I wrote about the Japanese mythological being kappa and a red fish that I saw in the pond close by where kappa is rumored to live. When I asked my son to make a story about them,
I have made a habit of writing a blog post every week but sometimes, I have to admit, I find myself quite at loss as to what to write about next. Often there are things happening or occasions and occurrences I want to share, but there are weeks where I come up with a blank
It has only been a few weeks since we went to play at the beach. This time the weather was perfect, like a beautiful Swedish summer’s evening. The sand was cool and the water inviting for a barefoot stroll at the edge of the calm sea. Evenings like this always bring a sense of rest
It was supposed to be a beautiful weekend, warm but not hot, clear skies and the air full of spring. Our son had got a pamphlet from his kindergarten about an event in a little seaside village where children’s activities as well as a chance to go for a ride on a boat were on
When I moved to Japan I got convinced that moving to another country will, like nothing else, make you see things you have never seen, think about things you have never thought about, experience things you would never dream of experiencing. And I was stuck in that belief until I became a dad. Since then,
Picking up where the last post left off, on the second day of our little Oita week-end trip. After the first day’s hot springs and harmony, we embarked on a day with hot springs and hell. In Beppu, a town famous for its many onsen, there is a collection of seven hot springs called Beppu
What can be better than a beautiful spring day and a drive along the Itoshima coast line? Well, it turns out, a drive in pouring rain. Our family has a favorite beach where we often go to swim during summer, and every so often when we take a leisurely Sunday drive in the off-season, we