All posts by Julie Wilson

  • Snap up this cosy affordable kid’s fleece with a Doraemon motif

    As temperatures slowly drop and Japan gears up for another fall/winter, families will be struggling to afford to heat their homes all day long. If you want to save on heating bills, Uniqlo has alternative solutions. I’ve...

    • Posted September 29, 2022
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  • Grilled peppers make a delicious appetizer or a toast topping

    I love roasting bell peppers in the oven with potato wedges. Roasting brings out the sweetness and aroma that makes your grilled peppers succulent and delicious. It is necessary to cook 2 bell peppers for one person...

    • Posted August 29, 2022
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  • Places in Tokyo where horseback riding is free for kids

    Apart from being known as a sport, did you know that horseback riding can also improve your child’s motor skills and intelligence? Researchers at Tokyo University of Agriculture discovered that when you’re on the saddle, vibrations are...

    • Posted August 23, 2022
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  • Solamachi summer matsuri returns after a pandemic hiatus.

    Dust off your yukatas and getas because matsuris are back. After a 2-year pandemic break, communities in Japan welcome back summer festivals that people turn to for entertainment and stress relief. The Tokyo Solamachi Summer Festival in...

    • Posted July 20, 2022
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  • This new café inside a park serves fantastic snacks anytime of day.

    Café 33, a charming casual café opened this month right near the Imperial Palace’s Kokyo Gaien National Garden. Tucked away in the serene, lush greenery of Kitanomaru Koen (Kitanomaru Park), this low-key cafe’s green and white minimalist...

    • Posted July 18, 2022
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  • More food price hikes to affect families this summer.

    Our food bill has been creeping higher since the last food increase announcements in October last year. With food and energy prices going up at the same time, my family is beginning to feel the pinch even more...

    • Posted July 1, 2022
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  • This treasure trove of irresistible chocolates is a must-try!

    Being in love is just as euphoric as eating chocolates – because the natural chemical the body releases when you’re in love, is also found in cacao. Word has quickly spread that a chocolate store in Shinjuku...

    • Posted February 18, 2022
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  • Japan Study Team Confirms Mom-to-Baby Transmission of Cervical Cancer

    According to a 12-member Japanese study team, confirmed cases of infant lung cancer were found as a result of a mom-to-baby transmission of cervical cancer during birth. The findings is the first time in the world. Two...

    • Posted January 7, 2021
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  • My children are crazy about this Disney movie on Netflix.

    A very entertaining and memorable animated musical fantasy comedy-drama movie that I recommend parents to watch on Netflix with their children this holiday season is none other than “The Princess and the Frog”. It’s nothing like the...

    • Posted December 28, 2020
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  • Supercentenarians who have survived the Coronavirus threat are all women.

    One of the facts scientists have been saying is that Covid-19 hits older people the hardest. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA said the risk of dying due to covid-19 is 630 times...

    • Posted December 25, 2020
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  • Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture’s coronavirus test is significantly quicker..

    WHO-endorsed Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAAT), a method that detects the SARS-CoV-2 virus by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), is one of the most commonly used coronavirus tests. In a NAAT method, the specimen collected from the upper...

    • Posted July 7, 2020
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  • Japan-US joint study: Coronavirus spreads easily between cats.

    A joint study by Professor Kawaoka Yoshihiro of the University of Tokyo and Associate Professor Peter Halfmann of the University of Wisconsin Madison led to a discovery that cats are not immune to the novel coronavirus. The...

    • Posted May 15, 2020
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  • French Bistro-style restaurant opens in Kyoto

    Benoit, the longest-running French-style bistro created by celebrated French chef Alain Ducasse, opens its first restaurant in Kyoto on March 22. A bistro in France is generally a place where one can have quick and simple meals....

    • Posted March 21, 2020
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  • Empathy is compulsory at Denmark’s schools for kids 6-16 years old.

    For many years, children have become too comfortable with the ‘reward system.’ Children compete with other kids in academic subjects or sports in order to make it to the honor roll. Highest achievers are rewarded with plaques,...

    • Posted February 27, 2020
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  • Fan or not, square-toe shoes are back, mommies!

    Square-toe footwear goes far back to 300 A.D. Japan. Japan’s  geta, a type of sandal made of wood and elevated several inches from the ground, is traditionally worn with kimono. We thought this style has died a...

    • Posted February 25, 2020
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  • The SARS-CoV-2 can also spread through poops, suggests new study.

    The novel coronavirus strain SARS-CoV-2 (the virus’s official name that causes the COVID-19 disease), has now infected nearly 76,000 people. The most common transmission route is through respiratory droplets and contact with infected patients. But a new...

    • Posted February 21, 2020
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  • A look inside the most magical Harry Potter playhouse in the world.

    Adorable grandparents Dave and Ruby Dunlop from Ontario, Canada, had a 35-sqm Harry Potter-themed playhouse built on the back garden for their grand daughter. That’s almost the size of a luxurious living space by Tokyo standards! The...

    • Posted February 20, 2020
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  • Popular places in Japan for Autumn foliage viewing

    Nanzenji Temple Dubbed as one of the great Zen temples of Kyoto, Nanzenji  in autumn has its own quaint charm.   On a bright November day, the dark reddish brown tone of the trees lend a good contrast...

    • Posted November 29, 2019
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  • Toddler dies after swallowing a disc battery.

    Brianna Florer, a two- year old girl from Oklahoma died a few days after swallowing a button battery. She is one of the many children to die from a similar accident. When she started throwing up blood...

    • Posted November 25, 2019
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  • Who needs a hotel when home is anywhere you park it?

    Most families keep a bucket list of places to visit, have fun and make memories. There’s just one problem – travel and hotel fees in Japan are expensive. But what if you can just take off in...

    • Posted September 14, 2019
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  • Awkward Language Faux Pas You Didn’t Know

    There are many things Japan does accurately better than anywhere else from train arrival and departure times to timepiece precision.  Ironically, language translation is not one of them. Loan words derived from the English language have found...

    • Posted May 13, 2018
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  • Is it possible to predict if your baby will be left-handed or right-handed in the womb? “Yes,” say Italian researchers.

    Many famous people are born lefties such as ex US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, musician Paul McCartney, artist Leonardo de Vinci and international boxing champion Manny Pacquiao. Social science claims lefties are more intelligent than...

    • Posted December 8, 2017
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  • Latté Art Comes in Rainbow Colors at Roar Coffee House and Roastery

    Coffee geeks in Tokyo are crazy about Latté Art, a decorating technique that creates different patterns in a coffee cup using frothy milk and a skilled hand.   The addition of art to milk-based coffee invented by...

    • Posted November 11, 2017
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  • “Too much sports drink is bad for children,” says Japanese pediatrician

    Our bodies lose water and ions when we sweat.  Many manufacturers of ion supply drinks claim sports drink replenishes the body with the right balance of ion and water. But excessive drinking of hunger-suppressing sports drinks could...

    • Posted October 24, 2017
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  • Why Singing bowl therapy is good for you

    Just as our computer’s hard drives need occasional defragging for peak performance, so does our body. Sound therapists believe that the body contains energy frequencies and that sonic frequencies can be used to realign incongruous energies. According...

    • Posted July 27, 2017
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  • 4 ways that enrich a couple’s relationship

    Gary Chapman, speaker and author of best-selling book, The five love languages says getting creative with how you express love and appreciation to others can greatly improve relationships. ACTS OF SERVICE.  Do meal prep for your partner...

    • Posted May 31, 2017
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  • World’s Best Chocolate Cake

    The dizzying number of industry competitors in Japan isn’t enough to stop Spanish patissier bubó BARCELONA from setting up shop in the land of the rising sun. The reason? It makes the best artisanal chocolate cake in the...

    • Posted May 21, 2017
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  • It’s the season for Miyazaki mangoes! Open your mouths wide, your wallets even wider.

    Despite Japan’s wabi sabi culture of accepting imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness, it is also as we know it, a country of zany fruits. Japan’s “Taiyo no Mango”,  a sun ripe apple mango variety from the Irwin mango...

    • Posted May 16, 2017
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  • Zara Home, a treasure trove of soft furnishings and home essentials

    The season to change the color motifs at home from warm to cool, breezy tones is upon us. There are lots of choices when it comes to buying soft furnishings in Japan. From the laid back country...

    • Posted May 12, 2017
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  • Be a Love Linguist for a long-lasting relationship

      hen something goes wrong in real-life relationships, it is easy for some especially those in a cross-cultural marriage to put the blame on cultural differences. Just because love is universal doesn’t mean your husband or wife...

    • Posted April 22, 2017
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