childhood memories

This is a story about when I was small and lived in a community of tiny half-dilapidated apartments. There was a post office adjacent to our community. My mother would often go there to fulfill the family’s daily financial tasks (In Japan, post offices used to have a bank function as well). Sometimes it was […]

The year I was thirteen, my maternal grandmother celebrated her 77th birthday. In Japanese tradition, a person’s 77th birthday carries a special weight and it’s typically celebrated in a bigger way than usual. When my grandmother turned seventy-seven, her family organized a large birthday party on a long weekend at a local restaurant inviting all

It was toward the end of my time at primary school. The school’s PTA decided to spend their extra budget to host a special party for Grade 6 children to celebrate their upcoming graduation. One afternoon, we were called to the auditorium, and there we played many games with our teachers and parents. After having

When I was seven or eight, in Japan, ticket gates of railway stations were still operated by human hands. At each gate, a station staff would check and punch a hole on the ticket one by one. I used to love having my ticket punched whenever I travelled by train. On the way to my

When I was little, I used to accompany my mother for her shopping. My mother rarely bought anything for herself, but there were many occasions when she shopped for others. A few times a year in Japan, there are official gift-giving seasons when people send slightly expensive gifts to those who have daily blessed them

When I was between the age of seven and nine, girls around me started having opinions about the “best” hair care practice. We were not reading any fashion magazines or books at that age, and most of the things we preached to each other was based on what we saw or heard from adults around

My mother has a sister six years older than her. When my mother was a baby, her sister was the one who carried my mother on the back and looked after her while attending the house chore. Since the father was sick in bed and could not do a lot of physical work at the

One summer, when I was about eight, my maternal grandmother came to visit us for several days. During her stay, my mother took her out to the city centre for some special shopping and I accompanied them. Shopping together was one of their favourite activities. Since neither of them was a big shopper, going for

This story took place when I was eight or nine. That time, I used to look forward to Saturdays when I went to attend classes at a local music school. My main interest was not the music lesson itself was to meet my two childhood best friends there. Once our classes were over, we would

Throughout my young childhood, I used to visit my maternal grandmother’s house a few times a year for a long stay. My eldest cousin was still living in the same house, and I always looked forward to seeing her since she always found time to play with me even though she was quite busy working