About a decade ago, at the end of my first stay in Canada as a college exchange student, I made a trans Canada bus trip with a friend. She was an exchange student from France, whom I had met and become friends with at the campus dining hall during our eight-month study period. We somehow […]
The Greyhound Bus Trip Read More »
As long as I’ve known her, my paternal grandmother is a keen collector or free prizes. According to my father, she has had this love ever since he has known her. When there was an announcement of a free give away on the back of some product, she always took the time to fill out
When I was the age between four and five, my father made a business trip to Tokyo several times a year, and he would often bring back a small souvenir for me and my brother. The moment he reached home, he would come to find us in our tiny house with the sentence “I’ve got
My father’s souvenirs Read More »
In Japan, there is a fast food chain called MOS Burger. It’s inspired by the American burger chains like MacDonald’s and KFC but with more focus on the quality of food and drinks, and the burger chain is particularly appreciated by families with young children. When I was six, my family moved to the suburb,
The treat I never got to eat Read More »
One autumn when I was about ten years old, I was visiting my grandmother’s house with my mother. My uncle and his wife (whom I call my aunt in this story) also lived in the same house, and even though they were usually very busy and I didn’t get to spend too much time with
Chasing after baked sweet potatoes Read More »
I’m not a person awfully invested in make-up items, but there is one lipstick by Giorgio Armani in my drawer. It’s a lipstick that I bought at the end of my stay in Rome two years ago. In the entire history of my life, I had purchased a lipstick only once and that was a
At my primary school, each year, we planted and grew different kind of plants or vegetables in the school garden. In my first year at school, each of us was given a small planter and we grew morning glories. Each day we watered the plant and observed the way they grew. I wasn’t a dedicated
A bitter memory of a sweet potato Read More »
When I was small, my family would visit my maternal grandmother’s house for a few days after Christmas to help with the house cleaning. In the evening, I had a lot of time to spare with myself, and often sat in the dining room watching TV. This is a story that I once heard on
The story of a ramen shop Read More »
During the winter season in Ottawa, wherever you go, you can find a pop-up skate rink. When the weather is cold enough, you can even skate on the canal or on the lake. You can feel that skating is really part of people’s life here. Unlike Ottawa, in the region of Japan where I grew
Girl on a skate rink Read More »
Four years ago, I spent the Christmas holiday with my beloved former host family in Edmonton. After the Christmas celebration, I went out with two other girls (one current and one former homestays) to downtown for boxing day shopping. We walked through the shopping mall stopping at different shops that interested us, and came upon
