Wanna Try Something Crazy in Tokyo?
Living
I travel for work and I work to travel. If Iâm not on a travel writing assignment to some unreachable snowed-under onsen or staying the night in a temple and drinking sake with the monks, youâll find me taking photos of castles somewhere. I donât know what jet lag is, Iâm fine with dragging suitcases,…
Living
I never thought I would have such strong feelings about gelatin, but as I stood in front of the posh wagashi store in Ginza I cursed the misleading Jell-O jiggler commercials of my childhood, lulling me into a false sense of security. Surely gelatin isnât that difficult to work with, right? Spoiler alert: It was…
Living
I was lucky enough to have some time off between jobs last week and so happened to be in Tokyo. So what does one do when theyâre in the most vibrant city in the world with some time to kill? Well, I got myself a hotel in the middle of Kabukicho, the capitalâs infamous red-light…
Living
Brace yourself â summer is coming. Even if youâve dreamed of living in Japan your entire life, your first summer here is likely to fill you with regret. If the heat and humidity donât have you rethinking your decisions, then natsubate, or summer fatigue, certainly will. Donât get me wrong, summer is an incredible time…
Living
The Japanese diet is packed with superfoods, which are foods with incredible nutritional benefits. The best part? All of these foods are readily available at Japanese supermarkets. Unfortunately, I have not taken advantage of all these healthy ingredients in my own daily cooking. Even worse, due to the pandemic, like many people, Iâve been spending…
Living
So you wanna be a freelancer in Japan? If youâre reading this article, thereâs a high chance that you have experienced â or at least heard about â the horrors of working for a Japanese company. Rigid hierarchies, resistance to new ideas, aged-base superiority, sexism⌠the list goes on. Being a foreigner can earn you…
Living
As if a premonition or an uncanny coincidence, a few days before this âCashless in Japanâ challenge my wallet fell apart at the seams from the sheer weight of the coins crammed in it. Iâm by no means rich â these were 10 yen and 100 yen coins, change from countless cash payments. As the…
Experience
Wait, so Wolverine killed Bill, then Hawkeye came to avenge him, before he was confronted by Black Widow who stayed and got lost in translation? Or am I just furiously drifting between movies too fast? [Pause… Record scratch…] Let’s back up a bit, in a classic comedy movie fashion after a confusing opening. Tokyo Survival…
Experience
Whatâs better than watching anime? Living anime! Since Iâm lucky enough to live in Tokyo, the setting for a lot of great anime series, Tokyo Survival Channel challenged me to find 10 real life locations of my favourite anime in just three days. Not only that, I had to recreate the exact shots from the…
Experience
Nothing says Christmas like ending up in a love hotel dressed as an elf As the holiday season approaches and the end of the apocalyptically ambitious 2020 finally draws to a close, many people around the world will be celebrating differently from normal, or perhaps not celebrating at all. For the first time in my…
Experience
When I was a kid, winter used to be a special time. It was when my siblings and I could wear personalized sweaters and accessories that were knitted by our mother and grandmother. Partly because of this, I developed an appreciation for handwoven fabrics, organic cotton, and natural dyes that not only contribute towards sustainable…
Eating & Drinking
De gustibus non est disputandum (“In matters of taste, there can be no disputes.â) â Latin maxim A shared love of coffee and a challenge is what brought Tetsu Kasuya, the 2016 World Brewers Cup Champion, and me, Zoria, a coffee-obsessed writer, together for an afternoon in Chiba. While Tetsu has turned coffee making into…
Eating & Drinking
Did someone say, âThanksgiving?â Time for autumn leaves, family and friends, sweaters and wine, green bean casserole, and…no turkey. Sorry traditional Thanksgiving, but move over. Itâs time to make way for vegan Thanksgiving.