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Thoughts from Kyo(to)
The past few days, I visited Kyoto, the old capital of Japan, that is now only ‘lending’ the capital right to Tokyo, until the turmoil sets and old ways are restored. Being the symbol of geishas, maccha tea and drinking by the river, Kyoto is an amazing city retaining the past atmosphere; which means 1.5…
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MIFA festival & stuff
[Featured Image: Puppets from Indonesia] Every year, for 13 consecutive years already, MIFA (Meguro International Friend Association) organizes a cultural-exchange festival with traditional clothes, dances, food, handmade items and so on. I had the chance to be there as a volunteer teaching my country’s alphabet, and got to participate at the scheduled events at the…
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I’m gonna boot you out, 鬼、shoo!
Today (February 3rd) was not a usual Saturday. Today was the Setsubun (節分), which marks the start of spring. As it is celebrated at about the same time as Lunar New Year – there is some historical connection there- it involves purifying rituals. Because, you know, at the start of a new year you usually…
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State the obvious: urbanization kills gardens
This is my hometown, a thriving seaside resort destination. How beautiful the vegetable gardens used to be! The landscape was much sparser and only a limited number of houses stood there. At least, the two main roads and the red-tiled rooftops remain the same. [source: FB @george.papamitros – θυρεατις γη (βορεια κυνουρια – αρκαδιας)]
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Cloudy with a chance of hearts
[Featured Image: Valentine VR Paradise – a virtual reality store to do all your chocolate shopping, experience it here] I’ve been living in Japan for quite a while now. I am lucky enough to have experienced Golden week, Tanabata, Obon, Halloween, Christmas and New Year’s. The only thing I am missing yet is the Chinese New…
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Running late? Prove it.
Today was a cold, cold day. The coldest day in Tokyo in a period of 48 years, the news read. If you have to work in the morning, you feel the cold piercing through your skin even colder. And then you realize that the trains are late as hell, because a train wagon stopped in…
belleelene 