When I was nineteen, I was living in Tokyo preparing for the university entrance exam. University entrance exams are a big thing in Japan, and especially in Tokyo, there are countless schools dedicated to help students with their exam studies. Students take lessons from morning until evening, and the school encourages them to study more […]
The person at a fast food restaurant Read More »
The year when I was four, I spent a long period (could have been a few weeks, or a month) at my maternal grandmother’s place when both my parents were busy taking care of my little brother while he went through his heart operation. In my grandmother’s house, there was a room with a Buddhist
A magical sal tree Read More »
In Japan, there is a major chain called 100-yen shop. You can think of it as the Japanese counterpart of a dollar store. It started becoming popular about the time when I entered primary school. The very first branch of 100-yen shop opened in my hometown when I was six. At the time, my family
I have a small scar on my chin that was made when I was four years old while I was playing in the playground with my friends. In Japan, there is a thing called a basket swing, which is a swing with two facing seats hung from a metal frame and is a very popular
About a decade ago, at the end of my first stay in Canada as a college exchange student, I made a trans Canada bus trip with a friend. She was an exchange student from France, whom I had met and become friends with at the campus dining hall during our eight-month study period. We somehow
The Greyhound Bus Trip Read More »
As long as I’ve known her, my paternal grandmother is a keen collector or free prizes. According to my father, she has had this love ever since he has known her. When there was an announcement of a free give away on the back of some product, she always took the time to fill out
When I was the age between four and five, my father made a business trip to Tokyo several times a year, and he would often bring back a small souvenir for me and my brother. The moment he reached home, he would come to find us in our tiny house with the sentence “I’ve got
My father’s souvenirs Read More »
In Japan, there is a fast food chain called MOS Burger. It’s inspired by the American burger chains like MacDonald’s and KFC but with more focus on the quality of food and drinks, and the burger chain is particularly appreciated by families with young children. When I was six, my family moved to the suburb,
The treat I never got to eat Read More »
One autumn when I was about ten years old, I was visiting my grandmother’s house with my mother. My uncle and his wife (whom I call my aunt in this story) also lived in the same house, and even though they were usually very busy and I didn’t get to spend too much time with
Chasing after baked sweet potatoes Read More »
I’m not a person awfully invested in make-up items, but there is one lipstick by Giorgio Armani in my drawer. It’s a lipstick that I bought at the end of my stay in Rome two years ago. In the entire history of my life, I had purchased a lipstick only once and that was a
