Japan’s New Health Card System: Benefits and Drawbacks
Health insurance cards are going away for better or for worse After December 2nd this year health insurance cards will no longer be issued in Japan (although current ones will remain valid until their expiration date or December 2025, whichever comes earlier). At that point you have two options: register your health insurance details on […]
The Monday Read: No Sign of Winter
Don’t remember such a warm November before It’s been a gorgous November. In fact, it was 21 degrees this Sunday afternoon, which is pretty wild for November 17th. I am hoping to go skiing this year, so hopefully temperatures will come down a bit and we’ll get some snow. But I don’t hate this. I’m […]
The Monday Read: Arcs
Found a great new board game I ordered a copy of Arcs a while back after seeing some enthusiastic YouTube videos about it. It arrived last week, and I finally managed to play half a game with my granddaughter. Wonderfully nuanced. I got the gameplay completely wrong in this first game, instinctively trying to dominate […]
The Monday Read: Getting Away From It All
A change of air can be as good as a change in circumstances Sometimes it’s good to get away. For my wife and me, a quick trip to the edge of Miyagi, just past Ishinamaki and opposite the holy island of Kinkasan, is our favourite way to do that. What’s your favourite staycation? YouTube Thank […]
Generating Electricity at Home in Japan
Profiting from the Sun Thrilled to be able to run a follow-up guest post from Leonard about how his solar installation is doing. Take it away, Leonard! For my own ego, I would like to believe that at least six of you have been eagerly waiting for my follow-up article to the guest post I […]
The Monday Read: Mental Models
You need to update them from time to time I was in the supermarket the other day and noticed something curious: the two items in the basket have almost the same number of calories -the cinammon roll has slightly more! I would not have thought that before I went on a diet this year (since […]
The stealth company president
A chance encounter My wife has a superpower. Actually, she has two. One is that wherever we go in Asia, people think she is a local. It’s bizarre. They give her local menus, talk to her in Vietnamese or Thai or Korean, and immediately assume she belongs. The other is that she can talk to […]
The Monday Read: Shrines in Japan
A constant theme in Japanese life This is Shiogama Shrine. It is over 1200 years old and one of the most important shrines in Tohoku. It’s just down the road from us. I got married there. We go there a couple of times a year, for life events and to get blessings. We were there […]
Getting Married in Japan
Doesn’t need to cost as much as it can I just read an article that claims the average(!) cost of a wedding in Japan is 3.27 million yen. This seems like madness to me. Think of all the other things you could do with that kind of money. From the same article, this is a […]
The Monday Read: Glorious Autumn
My favourite season in Japan by far Spent today at one of Miyagi’s 自然の家s. These are public facilities for schools, groups, families, and others to spend time in, learn about, and enjoy nature. They are wonderful. The one we visited was quite old, but well maintained. It has dorm rooms for about a hundred and […]