Another day, another round of deskwarming. My school, like many others, closed suddenly on Monday due to Covid-19. Students are not allowed at school except to retrieve textbooks they want to study from or to take things home. Parents shouldn’t enter. Teachers…. still have to...
Hi everyone! This post is the beginning of my Kanazawa Series; each week I’ll post about something fun to do in Kanazawa. Look forward to exciting things! Kanazawa is known for gold. Alllll the gold. Gold everything. So it stands to reason that his would extend to food as well...
Hi everyone! Today marks about two months into flu season at my school, and we’ve suddenly come upon a problem: mask shortages! In Japan, masks are a much more common sight than in America, and people wear them for a number of reasons. The most common ones are either you’re...
While throwing something away at school last Monday, one of my coworkers struck up a conversation. 「豆」 (“mame”) He said, pointing to some beans on the table. “Eat some.” I obliged and immediately regretted it. These were Setsubun beans, dry roasted soybeans that...
This sprawling park at the foot of Mt. Asama (an active volcano) lets you walk on winding trails through a field of igneous rock. I have visited Onioshidashi Park twice, once in October 2018 and again in January 2020; the beauty of the strangely-shaped rocks and the majesty of the still...
While on our way back from the onsen of Akita, my husband Hunter and I visited Kamo Aquarium in Yamagata. This aquarium is known for its jellyfish — one of my favorite animals! Afterwards, we ate one of the weirdest things I’ve ever had: jellyfish ice cream. But first, a quiz...
Shiraito-no-taki (白糸の滝), or Shiraito Falls, is my third waterfall on the list of 100 famous waterfalls in Japan. After visiting, I can say it deserves its spot on that ranking! The name translates into ‘white threads waterfall’ for the many thin streams of water that tumble...
Edo Wonderland is easily one of my favorite spots in Japan and a definite highlight of my trip to Nikko. The buildings, the shows, the clothes, AH. So great. I honestly didn’t think it would be as fun as it was, and by the time my friends and I left, we were still finding things we...
Ready for a hike? This beautiful shrine is located on a hill, with over 1000 steps to the top! If you make it up these stairs, you’ll be rewarded with great views and the chance to see the resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu! History Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first leader of the Tokugawa...
In America, I always celebrated the new year with platters of meat and cheese, sitting on the couch and watching the ball drop on TV. That’s a liiiitle bit hard to do in the middle-of-the-countryside Japan, so this year, I celebrated in traditional Japanese fashion: hatsumode and...