warm feeling

Several years ago, I was visiting home in Japan when my mother suggested we should buy a new summer hat for me. The one I had worn for many years had gone missing just before my trip. “A good hat is important to protect your head and eyes from the sun!” With such enthusiasm, we […]

There were a man and a dog that I would see on my way to work every morning. Right when I came down the hill, I would spot them walking in my direction. The man was probably in his seventies, and he walked slowly as his small, white, fluffy dog took time checking out plants

Wednesday late afternoon is a moment I look forward to. After work, I walk down the street to an Italian grocery store and go to the cash counter to find my treat: a package of S-biscuits. They are S-shaped biscuits that are the least expensive yet the most satisfactory. A kind-looking elder gentleman, the owner

Several summers ago, during my visit to Japan, my family went to a local hot spring not far from my parents’ home. This was a place where we used to regularly visit for a quick relaxation since when I was young. It was no fancy place. Though they had a good collection of baths including

Several years ago, I happened to have six free months to spend in my hometown in between my studies. The initial plan was to stay at my parents’ house, but it soon turned out that it was difficult for me to live with my parents as an adult every day without having any social commitment.

For as long as I have known him, my father loves shopping. Not of any kind, but specifically, small shopping. He loves to buy his daily necessities at a cheap price, such as stationary items and night snacks. Back in Japan, one of his favourite stores is the 100-yen shop, the Japanese counterpart of a

In October 2018, I caught a really bad cold. With the outside temperature quickly dropping and my student life at university getting busier as the Fall semester reached its turning point, I didn’t take a good care of myself. One morning, I woke up with sore throat, high fever and no voice. As I got

When I was in high school, I used to attend a cram school taking extra lessons in science subjects to enhance my overall study progress. A few evenings a week, after my regular school classes, I travelled to my cram school near the train station and attended the lectures. The teachers I had at the

During my final year at college in Tokyo, I worked part-time at a small local bookshop. The bookshop was located right next to my university campus, and since I used to live nearby, the job was a perfect fit for me. I said “local bookshop,” but that’s not quite right. Even though it was located

It was when I was a college student in Tokyo. One day, I had an appointment to meet my friend at a train station. My friend did not live in Tokyo, and she needed to change trains a few times to come to our meeting place. When I got to the station, I received a