As I’ve seen time and time again in my first year living in Japan, the Japanese pave the way in many different areas. Gun violence is almost unheard of, the bullet train is a nonchalant mode of transportation, and their regard for others around them is unprecedented. It’s no different when it comes to environmental …
Recently, I’ve become much more aware of the environmental impact my daily actions have on the earth. Living a more sustainable lifestyle has always been a vague notion in the back of my head, but a switch flicked on in my head and it’s suddenly one of my top priorities. I think it’s the combination …
Since K has started working at one of the bases down here and is gone more, it’s inspired us to get out and explore more of the island on our weekends together! We signed up for a base sponsored tour of a semi-local attraction called Bios on the Hill–a tropical forest park that included a …
While out walking around town, we stumbled across a Chinese restaurant called Ryu’s Dining that immediately drew us in. The stunning artwork and overgrown foliage around it made it look like a little Hobbit house! We got there for an early dinner and were immediately greeted by the owner, who is also the chef. He …
After labeling my pregnancy as potentially high risk, my OB in Tokyo recommended that my care be transferred to a hospital on the island of Okinawa that has more resources than our smaller hospital at our home base. My next door neighbor (and good friend) offered to take care of our hamsters, K’s unit gave …
I’d been following a page for our base on Facebook for awhile called P.A.W.S., or Pets Are Worth Saving, that makes trips to a local animal shelter once a month to play with the pets there. It seems like our base operates so much off of Facebook pages–I made myself a new Facebook just so …
A couple of weeks ago, K and I decided to jump in the car and go to a mountain town that’s about an hour away from home. Now that I’m progressing into the second half of my pregnancy, I prefer having the comfort of our own car rather than having to rely on public transportation …
In honor of it being New Year’s Eve, I wanted to share with you an interesting tradition I recently read about in our Stars and Stripes newsletter. “The boogeyman is going to get you,” we often heard adults tease us as children. But on the Oga Peninsula in northern Japan, children are told that the …
Last weekend, we headed into Tokyo to see some Christmas lights! The LED Christmas illuminations in Japan have gained popularity in recent years, some receiving so many visitors that they’ve had to extend their time frame all the way through February! History Lesson Christmas isn’t as big of a deal in Japan as it is …
After what seemed like weeks of rain (my first introduction to Japan’s rainy season), we’ve finally come into some beautiful sunny weather! Every day recently, we’ve woken up to the sun shining in our windows with temperatures ranging from the 60s to the 70s. With such gorgeous fall weather, I was itching to get out …
