If you happen to be a seven-year-old autistic boy who has been obsessed with numbers since birth, this may seem like a great toy. And for the most part, it is. There are 20 keys and 20 locks, with each key only able to open the corresponding lock. This makes for endless hours of amusement. …
So last night I finished teaching an 1.5-hour-long class on Zoom to find that Little Prince, who had been happily prancing about the house like his royal self when I last left him, was now zonked out in bed with what my husband informed me was a 38.6 degree fever. Two years ago, this would …
Disclaimer: Gaijin Mommy is not your average sento reviewer. For an English language review with extremely useful, factual-type information, I recommend you check here. Ok, so the most important thing to do before visiting Daikoku-yu is to check this easy-to-understand schedule. Luckily, the only truly important part to note here is in the bottom left-hand …
Read more “The Great Shitamachi Sento Crawl, Part 1: Daikoku-yu”
Daikoku-yu is one of my favorite sentos. Sentos are kind of my thing lately. Over the past few weeks, I’ve passed under the public bathhouse’s new noren banner several times, though I never thought much of it. I’m not a big anime fan, so I didn’t realize that it was a one-of-a-kind work of art, …
Read more “Pray for Daikokuyu. (Or don’t. They’ll probably be fine.)”
Dear Gossip/News Bloggers of Japan, First of all, let me express my gratitude. I perhaps came across as a bit bitchy in my last post about the Kana Washino murder. And to be fair, that was my intention. But at the same time I am grateful to you. You scroll through the dark depths of …
The other day, a popular Japanese news blog revealed that, according to information obtained on Shohei Komori’s twitter profile, the suspected murderer describes his preference in women as “でブス専”. In other words, the man at the center of an unproven love triangle that left his wife jealous enough to kill her rival, Kana Washino, wrote …
Back when Little Prince started Japanese youchien last April, whenever the 3-year-old got frustrated or otherwise overwhelmed by big feelings, he would pull the masks off all his teachers’ faces. Of course I was duly mortified when the vice-principal told me this, but at the same time the school’s staff insisted that it was because …
I was actually considering sending Little Prince to Japanese elementary school in a couple of years’ time. Unlike Young Sir, who is best suited to his small alternative-style elementary school, Little Prince is very sociable and could enjoy the large class sizes. But that was before I crossed paths The Morning Machine. I don’t know …
Mr. Yoshida (not really his name) lives two doors down from us. I see him at least once a day. Sometimes I pass him at 7:30am, as I whisk Young Sir off to to first grade on the back of my bicycle. Other days it is 9:30 am, walking Little Prince to the kindergarten bus …
Last week Japan’s uninspiring prime minster, Yoshihide Suga, surprised nobody by announcing that he would not seek reelection by his party at the end of the month. Suga’s lackluster career as PM began about one year ago, when Shinzo Abe resigned due to his terrible IBS, and Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party needed a place …