Category Archives: Uncategorized

We Japanese still use cash a lot. Not as much as pre covid but significantly more than the States or Europe. In July new designs for the 10,000, 5,000, 1000 yen notes were released. Great excitement! It has taken a … Continue reading →

Typhoons always inject excitement into life in Okinawa. Typhoon prediction is not an exact science. Sometimes typhoons announced as mega awful turn out to be gentle. Typhoons predicted to be minor storms are sometimes howling craziness. Typhoon Pulasan was expected … Continue reading →

My hearing is impaired. I recognize the symptoms. Ear wax! I go to a nearby Ear Nose and Throat clinic hoping to get it removed. ” So sorry Neil san, reservations full. You will have to wait.” ” How long?” … Continue reading →

The door bell rings and outside there is a smiling man. He shows me a lot of accreditation stuff and a sheet in English stating that he is from the Okinawan Electrical Safety Organization and is here to check my … Continue reading →

It has been awful. So hot, so humid that going outside is misery. This means that very little is done unless you are in an air-conditioned space or in the car. It is like hibernation in reverse. This means that … Continue reading →

Coming into Japan, the Immigration Officer points out that my Permanent Resident Card will soon expire. I go to the Immigration Office in Kadena. I dread much bureaucracy but they tell me to come back with my passport, a recent … Continue reading →

I have been back in Japan for just over a week and have done very little. This post is just to jog my memory in 10 years time, being that I am still alive of course. The foundation for my … Continue reading →

Which is, of course, Japanese for ‘hot.’ I am back in Okinawa and go through the well trod procedures for establishment. First comes a car. I do not own a car but rent from the genial Kiyuna san. Straight down … Continue reading →