5 Japanese Home Remedies for a Cold It’s holiday travel, cold/flu season. Coming down with a cold is never fun, but it’s especially miserable if you’re on the road, away from home. Noises are too loud, lights are too bright, and everyone is on your nerves. You know the feeling… I got the Worst Cold … Read more
Some people ignore the astrological phenomenon when the messenger planet of communication, travel, and electricity seems to move backward. Some laugh it off, some dread it as a time of disruption. Me? I welcome it. When Mercury goes retro, I embrace activities with the prefix “re-“ like rethink, revise, remember, and— REFLECT It’s the one-year … Read more
“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” — a Japanese proverb Japanese society is full of rules. Rules explicitly stated, and rules that are just in the air. When I moved to Japan, I unknowingly broke every rule. At first, people cut me some slack — I was a foreigner, fresh off the plane. … Read more
I hope you’re having a wonderful 2019. I welcomed the new year with a traditional soul food meal of black-eyed peas, greens, and chitlins. (I usually don’t eat pork— much—but it’s the year of the pig…) My husband, from Kyoto, ordered Japanese osechi—a Godzilla-sized New Year’s bento box with black beans, dried fish, seaweed. It’s … Read more
Tokyo Firewall is set in Japan at the end of the year. In one scene, a character is getting dressed for a Bonenkai party, a traditional celebration when friends gather to forget the past year’s troubles. Much alcohol is consumed… In the spirit of Bonenkai, as this year draws to a close, may you let … Read more
I need to book tickets to travel to Tokyo from Philadelphia, and because I’m cheap a savvy traveler, I’m trying to get the best deal. Nonstop flights out of Newark can be cheap. But getting to Newark airport from Philly is a Preparation H-worthy pain in the ass. A 90-minute drive in light traffic, assuming … Read more