“Hikkoshi” – Moving

June 22, 2020 By issie

The Japanese word for “living somewhere new”.

Moving to a new place is definitely stressful for everybody. Even if you’re just moving down the street into a new house, it can cause quite a bit of anxiety. Now, imagine you’re moving nearly 6,000 miles away, and starting a new job the next day…stressed yet? Yep, I thought so. Moving to Japan from England was definitely a scary adventure, but a totally worthwhile one, and one that definitely changed me as a person for the better. Right now I cannot imagine living anywhere else! So let me take you back to where all of this first started…

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“Itadakimasu!” – let’s eat!

June 22, 2020 By issie

The Japanese words spoken before eating, roughly translated: “Let’s eat!”

Japan should really be nicknamed “The Food Capital”. This country has the most Micheline stars in the whole world, and once you have eaten your first Japanese meal in a local restaurant, you will completely understand why. If you come to live here like me, its pretty likely that you will gain at least 15 pounds…like me as well. There seems to be a preconceived notion by western people regarding Japanese food, in that it is only rice, raw fish and noodles. (more…)

“Gaijin” – a foreigner

June 22, 2020 By issie

The Japanese word for foreign people or “outsiders”.

Tokyo is a place of fantasy and mystery; an amalgamation of the old and ancient traditions crashing with the new wave of western impact, like a wave crashes on the beach. It is a constantly mesmerising experience to explore the streets of such a city. You cannot come to Tokyo expecting something that resembles London or New York. It is like every city put together at once, but then also nothing like anything else in the world. (more…)