Hannah in Japan

Hello again from a humid, rainy Tokyo. The weather outside is disgusting, but hopefully it will clear up next week when my friend from New Zealand comes to visit. Recently I've been working a bit of overtime and trying to avoid the heat, although it is starting to cool off a bit. So after living in Japan for a year and a half, I've learned a fair bit about the people, the culture, and the language. Living in another country makes you look at things through a completely different lens and you can start to see how the culture shapes people's behaviours which I think is incredibly interesting, and it also changes your original perception of that country. It's not always what you see all over the internet and in TV shows and movies! Without further ado, let's get into a list of things I've learned about Japan. 1) Japan is a lot bigger than you think! When you think of Japan, you probably think of a small island country, and I will say that it is small in compariso...

Hello again from Japan, where it's currently the end of the Obon break, and we've just had the first typhoon of the season. Tokyo was spared the worst of the storm, but weather is unpredictable at the best of times, so who knows if there will be more on the way soon. I've just returned from a trip to the very north of Honshu, Aomori prefecture, and let me tell you, it was so refreshing to escape the hustle and bustle of Tokyo for a few days. Not only was Aomori not as busy as Tokyo and other major tourist destinations in Japan, it also wasn't as hot, which was such a blessing. I arrived on Sunday afternoon and checked into the hotel. My friend Rhiannon was unable to get on the same shinkansen as me due to tickets being sold out, and she was scheduled to arrive later in the evening, leaving me a couple of hours to wander around before then. We were staying in a hotel on the main street, so I set off to explore. That afternoon there was live music playing, and the atmosp...

Hello again from Tokyo, where summer has finally hit like a tonne of bricks and temperatures are getting into the thirties every day. I'm very much looking forward to a break from this Saturday until next Thursday. I'm excited to see what Aomori has to offer, and go further north in Japan than I ever have before, and I hope it will be slightly cooler too. In today's post I wanted to cover a few things you can do in Japan during the hot, humid summer that don't involve melting in the heat, so let's get started. 1) Museums! Japan has a heap of interesting museums covering different time periods in Japanese history, different cultural aspects such as art and more! I'd highly recommend checking out a couple of museums to learn more about Japan while you're here. An added bonus is the air conditioning when it's 35 degrees outside. 2) Odaiba TeamLab Borderless. This is an interactive digital art exhibition which will blow your mind! Check it out  here ! It ...