I know. I KNOW. My goal was to passionately blog about my life in Japan and motherhood and it's still a goal but over the past three or so years I've found a new goal has sort of taken over. The goal has been to be more present day to day, especially realizing how fast Yoshitora is growing. While many of the days have been long, the past three years have flown. So much has happened. So much is…
The doorbell rang, pin pon! Who could it be? I grabbed Yoshitora and ran to the door. The camera was ready. It was Santa and Rudolph! They were making their Christmas Eve rounds and decided to pay a special little boy a personal delivery for his first Christmas. The bewildered Yoshi didn't really know what was going on, but Santa didn't miss a beat. He informed Yoshi that tonight was Christmas Eve…
Photo: Ayana Wyse A few months before Yoshi arrived, I threw out this question on Instagram and Facebook and got a lot of questions in return. I answered them all individually at the time but thought I would compile a bunch of them here on my blog as well. Q: How is the health care? A: Really good! Apparently, it’s among the best in the world. This chair is next-level scary, though. Q: Are…
We both sighed heavily. We were next in line but the senior woman ahead of us and the cashier were having a lively chat, disregarding the time it was taking to finish checking out. My husband, Yasu and I weren’t in any particular rush ourselves, but waiting was frustrating. Yasu mumbled something about them needing to hurry up before catching himself. “Wait.” He said, “they aren’t wrong. We’re…
Missfit the Pug September 6, 2005 - June 18, 2022 She was at home, comfortable and I couldn't have asked for anything more from the Best Girl. She spent a very significant part of my life with me; most of my 20's and 30's including my move to Japan. In Japan, she got to spend her retirement in Osaka, eating delicious food and taking luxurious naps. She stuck around long enough to comfort me during…
It’s the best time of the year here in Japan - sakura season! Coming from Toronto where there are only a couple of crowded spots to see the cherry blossom trees, living in Japan has made me spoiled. Here, the cherry blossoms are everywhere; in parks to parking lots - I can see them no matter where I look. One of the most time tested traditions is hanami (admiring the blossoms) and this is usually…
What goes up must come down and what grows inside must come out. Yeah, I couldn’t think of a way to say that without it sounding weird but - Ebi chan had to make their way out eventually. I was well aware of what would happen but the physics of fitting a baby through *there* still eludes me. And doing it the Japanese way - meaning without any pain meds was daunting. But alas, as an athlete trains…
It’s said that a “Hollywood birth” rarely happens in real life. You know the story; the water breaks in a dramatic gush, a race to the hospital, and a baby pops out very soon after. Sometimes the baby is even born on the way, in the taxi, for example. And someone, typically the father figure, faints. Leave it to me to check off almost all of those boxes. This isn’t common because most of the time,…
Image by Saeko Hoshino from Ace Hotel Kyoto Introducing: Yoshitora (優虎) Fujii January 6, 2022 at 8:24am Weight: 3114 grams/6lbs 14oz Yoshi 優 = Superior, Kind/Tender Loving Tora 虎 = Tiger Over the next couple of weeks I'll be posting about the third trimester, how I prepared for labour and delivery, my childbirth experience and more - so please stay tuned!
It's the home stretch! So close in fact, I could pop any minute now. I’m writing this at 38.5 weeks pregnant which means Ebi chan is fully cooked and ready to go. And I’m just about ready to evict this not so little shrimp from my womb because my belly is enormous and heavy. Carrying this extra weight is exhausting but in the grand scheme of things, this has been a fairly easy pregnancy and for…
I t wasn’t a typical or traditional babymoon by any means, but then again I’m not the type to do things traditionally for the most part. It was a solo babymoon for one, because my husband had to stay in Osaka to look after our pets. It was also not a destination I would have chosen if I could have babymooned anywhere - but all the right circumstances led to my little break in Tokyo. And it was…
A lot of people ask me what it was like moving to Japan; overcoming culture shock & differences, as well as how I met my husband and fitting in here since it’s such a homogeneous society. I talk about all of that along with my experiences DJ’ing here and what prompted me to help organize a massive Black Lives Matter march in Osaka. Give it a listen if you want to hear all about my life so far in…
Ahhhh I’d reached the sweet spot of pregnancy. I’m realizing just how sweet it is now that the third trimester is right around the corner with the awkward belly and the exhaustion that comes along with it. But trimester two started off beautifully. Just as the 14 week mark hit, like clockwork and seemingly overnight, all the morning sickness stopped. I was hungry again and wondered what cravings…
Continued from Part 1 As much as time dragged, two weeks passed and I found myself back at the hospital in the rocket ship chair. This time, the doctor didn’t open the curtain and I was too nervous to ask. She poked around my bits again and went “ah ha! Baby is there!” which was the best three words I’d ever heard in my life. I turned my attention to the tv beside me to check out my new favourite…
I’ve never been a big fan of travel by sea but the first trimester of my pregnancy felt like I was constantly on a rocking ship, with all the sea sickness that came along with it. In Japan, morning sickness is called ‘tsuwari’ and I found myself moaning that word aloud more often than I would have liked. As much as sickness plagued me as it does many pregnant women it also came with a certain…
Self-care is crucially important anytime and even more so while pregnant. Creating a new human and a brand new organ is exhausting but these are the seven Japanese things that have been instrumental in getting the job done: 1. MegRhythm Carbonated Leg Patches These are crucial. I still spend a lot of my time on my feet and anyone who's been to Japan knows you walk a LOT here. I've been walking a…
With the discovery that I was pregnant, I knew I was about to begin one helluva ride. Being in a foreign country with a foreign language meant this was about to be a crash course in Japanese and the art of going with the flow. It started out easily enough; buying a pregnancy test. That was pretty straight forward and not unlike buying a test back in Canada. All I had to do was go to the pharmacy…
It finally happened. After almost two years of living in Japan and being married, Yasu and I are about to begin an adventure of a lifetime; parenthood! It started out like any other month when you’re trying to have a baby - the days lead up to your time of the month and you’re playing the “period or pregnant?!” game. The first month I played, my period was ten days late. Usually, I can set a watch…
The last post is about things I love - but here are two things I'm terrified of; Ferris Wheels and zombies. So when Japan's tallest, The Osaka Wheel, added four haunted zombie cars, you'd better believe I climbed aboard. Why? Because scaring myself is fun and because I had done extensive research into the ride's earthquake proof measures and learned it was impressive . A little back to my fears…
Hello Kitty, sweets and buffet. These are three of my favourite things and combined is a dream. Because it’s Japan, this dream came true at the Hilton Osaka. Every year, the Osaka branch of the hotel chain offers up a Hello Kitty Summer Sweets Festival and this year my favourite cartoon cat was partnered up with her Sanrio mate, My Melody. Designed to be both delicious and highly instagrammable,…
photo: Shimpei Hanawa Obachaaan are what truly make Osaka unique. The word obachan in Japanese means aunt and can be used for your literal aunt or a term of affection for a middle aged woman. But, Osaka Obachan are different. They use this meaning and like everything in Osaka - take it ten steps beyond. The stereotype for the Osaka Obachan is a well loved figure. She is a middle aged auntie or…
We all know there are so many things you can only find in Japan , like unlocked bicycles, Hello Kitty pylons and beer for kids. Now that I’m here full time, I’m realizing how many things are near impossible to find as well. Things that are common in other parts of the world are not necessarily common here. Let’s look at some: 1. 2-ply Toilet Paper Turns out, you can get toilet paper that smells…
We did it! We made it official!! Yasu and I finally got our butts down to City Hall (and on my Birthday, too!) to seal the deal. It was really easy. Turns out I'd done a bunch of extra work back home in Toronto that I didn't need to. I wrote an affidavit stating I was legal and free to marry. Then I had it and a copy of my passport notarized by a lawyer. THEN I mailed that to the province of…
The title of this is totally supposed to be sung out loud like James Brown's "Living in America" by the way. I live in Japaaaaaaaaaaaaan!! I actually can't believe it. After three epic visits and falling in love, I'm here. Hopefully for good, cuz my love and I are fully "90 Day Fiancé-ing" it and this girl is gonna live happily ever after thankyouverymuch. Not gonna lie, a LOT has happened in…
The party began at 2pm, and ended at 6am. That was just the first night. With 40 bands and 16 DJ’s across two rooms, it was still a tight schedule. The second night was a little more loose; starting at the leisurely time of 5pm. It still went until 6am, and the after party stretched even later into the day but we made it. The 2018 Halloween Ball was a success! Tokyo’s underground garage scene is…