Several summers ago, during my visit to Japan, my family went to a local hot spring not far from my parents’ home. This was a place where we used to regularly visit for a quick relaxation since when I was young. It was no fancy place. Though they had a good collection of baths including …
Several years ago, I happened to have six free months to spend in my hometown in between my studies. The initial plan was to stay at my parents’ house, but it soon turned out that it was difficult for me to live with my parents as an adult every day without having any social commitment. …
For as long as I have known him, my father loves shopping. Not of any kind, but specifically, small shopping. He loves to buy his daily necessities at a cheap price, such as stationary items and night snacks. Back in Japan, one of his favourite stores is the 100-yen shop, the Japanese counterpart of a …
In October 2018, I caught a really bad cold. With the outside temperature quickly dropping and my student life at university getting busier as the Fall semester reached its turning point, I didn’t take a good care of myself. One morning, I woke up with sore throat, high fever and no voice. As I got …
When I was in high school, I used to attend a cram school taking extra lessons in science subjects to enhance my overall study progress. A few evenings a week, after my regular school classes, I travelled to my cram school near the train station and attended the lectures. The teachers I had at the …
During my final year at college in Tokyo, I worked part-time at a small local bookshop. The bookshop was located right next to my university campus, and since I used to live nearby, the job was a perfect fit for me. I said “local bookshop,” but that’s not quite right. Even though it was located …
It was when I was a college student in Tokyo. One day, I had an appointment to meet my friend at a train station. My friend did not live in Tokyo, and she needed to change trains a few times to come to our meeting place. When I got to the station, I received a …
When I was nineteen, I was living in Tokyo preparing for the university entrance exam. University entrance exams are a big thing in Japan, and especially in Tokyo, there are countless schools dedicated to help students with their exam studies. Students take lessons from morning until evening, and the school encourages them to study 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 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 …
