My husband and I recently visited the Jurassic Park-themed love hotel in Beppu, and we lived to tell the tale to Connect magazine! Click here to read the full article…
Every weekend when I go shopping, a fascinating cultural phenomenon hovers in my peripheral vision: Japan’s adoration for buttholes. I don’t mean in a sexual way per se, just a deliberate inclusion of a lovingly-rendered anus on all things cute. Fluffy plush puppies, huggable cartoon kitties—even the most minimal of character designs feature a puckered posterior starfish. Sanrio’s adorable Pompompurin … More A hole new world
At school, you’re a novelty until you’re not. Students swarm up to you giggling, in awe of your blonde hair and “small face,” attempting English questions about how old you are, whether you have a boyfriend, and some surprising ones like whether you’ve ever seen a ghost. But then you show up for weeks, months, … More Some sad and beautiful things about temporarily teaching in Japan
[Warning: graphic tumor image ahead] Before my open abdominal myomectomy, I went on a mad Googling spree. I wanted to know every little thing I would feel or think or need before and after my body was dissected for the very first time. And despite the bad rep of search engine k-holes, my frantic research … More My surgery story
It’s inching closer and closer to the date of my abdominal fibroid myomectomy, and the panic is real. I’ll be admitted to the hospital tomorrow afternoon, and the surgery is scheduled two days later. I’ve spent so much time looking forward to getting it over with, that I skipped over all the bad stuff. “Recovery will be nice,” … More Uterine fibroid myomectomy: commence freakout
久しぶり! Time for some TMI updates! On December 26th, I was just about to take the plunge and fill out my JET renewal paperwork. After months of tortuous hemming and hawing and a lovely pro-con list, I’d decided not to renew, and to head back to America in August 2017. But the same day I … More Video: My Gyno Adventures in Japan
I disappeared for a while because I’ve been feeling depressed and helpless, as something very, very, very, very, very bad has happened. I felt I should somehow acknowledge our country’s moral failing, but I’m out of words at the moment. So here it is: we have failed. Still, I’m feeling newly inspired by a series of recent … More I’m back! (also, ugh…)
Families in Japan recently gathered to celebrate Obon, a holiday honoring the spirits of dead ancestors. Grown children return to hometowns, generations reunite, and together they visit and tend to relatives’ graves. Some carry the spirits back home to household altars to spend a few days together, preparing meals for them (a fading tradition, I … More Bon Odori in Bungotakada
Gaijinette 