The language of friendship, at the worldwide cafe

The boys next door are leaving. I heard mumblings a few weeks back, and now it’s confirmed. Such is life in transient Singapore, where the expats come and go so fast the locals tend… Continue reading →

Twas mimsy, and the slithy snow

There are words to describe the snow we found at Nozawa Onsen, but I don’t know them. The problem isn’t that I speak English, as opposed to a language better adapted to the… Continue reading →

Kawazuzakura

  Dear Sharon, Greetings from Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival 2014! In your comment, you asked me to show you more of this part of the trip, so here’s a picture of a very… Continue reading →

The Quest for Kiriake Springs

It was an astonishing journey – a wild goose chase across Nagano Prefecture along icy, mountain roads, in a hired minivan slightly shorter than the prevailing walls of snow – but we were… Continue reading →

Kawazu, Nozawa Onsen, Tsumago and Tokyo

Ask me if I’m tired. I’m sorry, I faded out for a moment there, did you say something? When I originally sketched out the itinerary for this trip, it was fairly simple: fly… Continue reading →

Bathing and Cooking Eggs in Japan: not as unrelated as you might think

I’m not sure we should have visited Japan. Now we’re home, life seems awfully laborious. It started with the taxi from the airport – we had to open and shut our doors, instead… Continue reading →

Web Resources we used when Planning our Family Holiday to Japan

The crew over at And Three To Go are off to Japan in a bit over a month, and I promised a rundown of our most useful web resources. I didn’t promise her… Continue reading →

Miyazaki for Kids: So Much Better Than Slicing Your Hand Off In An Ice Sculpting Incident

Kids make it hard to concentrate. Even when they’re not interrupting directly – which is rare – part of your mind must remain free in case your five year old strolls through carrying… Continue reading →

Innocents Abroad: A Guide to Japanese Etiquette for Families Travelling with Young Kids

If this was 1897, my panic-buying instinct would be Mark Twain. Because reports of its death have been exaggerated. Here’s what I’ve accumulated so far in the lead-up to our Japanese holiday: At a… Continue reading →

Hiroo Onoda, the Forty-Eight-Hour Fever, and Everything We Now Know About Surviving Natural Disasters in Japan

Hiroo Onoda fought World War II for 30 years, starting in 1944.  To put that in perspective, it’s about five thousand, four hundred and seventy-five times longer than P spent battling his recent… Continue reading →