6 Tips for Becoming a Freelance Writer in Tokyo, Japan
I am a Texan freelance writer living in Tokyo. I like to tell people that I am a freelancer, because that’s the easiest way to express the fact that I have several part-time jobs (a very diverse income...
View ArticleComic: “We Need To Talk…”
One of the many wonderful, interesting, and frustrating points about being married to a non-native English speaker is the fact that cultural misunderstandings like this happen all the time. In the...
View ArticleThings I Don’t Understand about Japan: The “Group Dancing” culture
About a year ago, I started this “Things I Don’t Understand About Japan” series, to express and explore significant cultural differences between America and Japan – especially differences I have...
View ArticleLiving in China and Dating a Korean Long-Distance – WHAT? (Surviving the...
Today’s Guest Post is from Linda from the blog “Linda Living in China.” She writes: 2014 was gonna be the year when everything would finally come into place in my life. I started dating a Chinese guy...
View ArticleComic: Is Hanabi (firework festival) in Japan worth it?
Japanese people love hanabi (花火 – watching fireworks). I’ve been to dozens of festivals all over Japan that involve throwing on a yukata (summer Japanese “kimono” of sorts, but it’s only one layer, is...
View ArticleSwallowtail Butler Cafe in Tokyo: Good Times and Attractive, Japanese Butlers
When I first moved to Tokyo, the “maid cafe” craze was in full-swing. Actually, to clarify, the “maid cafe” craze still IS in full-swing, but all of my foreign friends are semi-long term residents in...
View ArticleComic: “Stop ruining our Anniversary!”
So this happened on our 6 month wedding anniversary at the beach in Kamakura. Well, sort of. Really, I screamed like a little girl and threw what was left of the container at the bird. And then all the...
View ArticleVIDEO: Tips for Travelling with your Lover (without killing them!)
The husband and I just got back from a wonderful (yet stressful) trip to Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe for Obon yasumi (a famous holiday in Japan). While we were there, we did a lot of talking and people-watching…...
View ArticleComic: Doing Laundry Every Day is Stupid
Most families in Japan do laundry every single day. Most families in America do NOT do laundry every day. See how this could be a potentially awkward cultural difference? Ryosuke’s mom wakes up early...
View ArticleComic: “… Just ONE more wear!”
So the last comic I did was about how I think it’s stupid to do laundry every day (especially since we are two adults, with no children). Most families in Japan do laundry every day; most families in...
View ArticleVideo: Last Week to Order my Book! (My Japanese Husband Thinks I’m Crazy: The...
I wrote a comic book. Or, more specifically, I am in the process of writing a comic book. I have 3 comics left to draw, 10 pages to edit, and one cover to finish tweaking. “My Japanese Husband Thinks...
View ArticleComic: Life is Hard…
I’ve been working around the clock to finish the book on time. I’m going to try to ship everything off to the printers on Friday! “My Japanese Husband Thinks I’m Crazy” is an autobiographical comic...
View ArticleComic: Why Doesn’t Aunt Grace Take Showers?
So this happened last time I was visiting Ryosuke’s parents. His brother has three kids – and I’m one of the first non-Asian foreigners they’ve ever met. The middle son (age 4) is convinced I don’t...
View ArticleComic: Onsen Date in Tokyo
I get that “onsen dates” are kind of weird – given the fact that the men’s and women’s bathes are completely separate (of course), but Ryosuke and I love going on “onsen dates.” There is a huge...
View ArticleTop 10 Reasons I want to Write a (Comic) Book (about my life)
1. It hasn’t been done before. I know what you’re going to say. Everything has been done before. There are no “new” ideas. Yes, there are a couple of books written from the perspective of a white,...
View ArticleVideo: Countdown to the end of my Kickstarter Project (to fund my comic book)
Well, it’s finished. The month-long campaign to fund my autobiographical comic book “My Japanese Husband Thinks I’m Crazy” on Kickstarter.com is finally done. After spanning 32 days and achieving 200%...
View ArticleThe Downside to Filling your Apartment with Things you Bought on Tokyo...
“I hate you,” Ryosuke informed me for the third time in the last twenty minutes. It’s 2:00pm and, together, we’re taking up most of the handicapped section on a Tokyo Metro train. “I know,” I replied...
View ArticleThe Red Panda and the Puppy: Our Happily Ever After
This week’s guest post comes from Katrina. She writes: My fiancé and I met on February 4, 2013. It was the first day of my semester at a technical college that was doing a partnership program with my...
View ArticleComic: Too late
So, the postal service in Japan takes a bit of getting used to. We have a small mailbox (about the size of a shoebox) in the lobby of our building. Whenever anyone sends anything bigger than that...
View ArticleVideo: That Festival where Women wear sparkley Bikinis and Headdresses in Tokyo
Ryosuke and I went to “Sanba Matsuri” (サンバ祭り). It was fun, much more fun than I expected. I always love it when the real thing ends up exceeding my expectations. Fun facts from Sanba Matsuri: Brazil...
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