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Although the city hosts
Although the city hosts six jillion “hair and make” salons, I do not belive it is possible to get a spur-of-the moment hair cut in Tokyo. Yesterday in Omotesando, a ritzy part of town, I was seized with the desire to have my hair cut. I looked for a salon and found one called “Voice”…
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Grocery store lunch options
Grocery store lunch options you’d never find in America: slab of salt-grilled salmon on rice cabbage salad in a large-sized clear drink cup breaded, deep fried oysters french fries slathered with honey and sesame steamed mustard blossoms
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Fabric stores are truly
Fabric stores are truly international places. The range of products represents the textile production centers of the world: lace from Belgium, cotton gauze from India, wools from New Zealand, shijira from Japan, gingham from America. But even more universally, the shoppers, looking inward, quietly calculate yardage or compare colors in their mind’s eye. Some go…
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Who knew there could
Who knew there could be so many foodstuffs made from plum? We sampled and sniffed delicate plum tea, sweet plum wine, pink plum flavored steamed buns, bitter pickled plums, sour plum-flavored sesame seeds, plum-infused garlic, bright fuschia plum scented daikon pickles. The foods, combined with the blooming plum trees, two enka (Japanese lounge music) singers,…
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Finally, I’ve seen a
Finally, I’ve seen a plum blossom. Now I know spring has arrived. We wound our way through a labyrinth of alleys towards our dinner destination yesterday and there it stood, shining bright pink under the glow of a streetlamp. What a delicate and beautiful herald of the new season. Today we’re going to take the…
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One group, a dozen
One group, a dozen ideas. Digital Eve Japan is the reincarnation of the Japan Webgrrls group. Our affiliation changed, but the goal remains the same: women sharing their information technology knowledge and skills. Last night’s launch party attracted an interesting mix of people: a music talent manager, a nurse who is also a database developer,…
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We were our own
We were our own miniature parade and side show. Susan, Laura, Katie, Tod & I went to dinner together last night. Susan is a lanky redhead; Katie & Laura are her blonde daughters. Laura, in her stroller, was the float in our parade. As we waited for the light to change at an intersection, she…
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Two dictionaries, three textbooks
Two dictionaries, three textbooks and a pile of papers and notes took up most of the surface of my desk yesterday. I spent six hours writing the draft of my entry for this year’s speech contest. My language school, OLJ Academy, hosts an annual contest for its students. This will be my third year presenting…
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For the past two
For the past two weeks, every shop in Tokyo has displayed its Valentine wares in anticipation of today, the national chocolate gift-fest. Women all over the country will present the men in their lives–husbands, boyfriends, bosses, coworkers–with elaborately wrapped chocolates. I’ve not seen any lace covered, heart-shaped boxes, but everything else is available: gold paper…
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This week’s big news
This week’s big news in the foreign community: a disappearance turned into a grisly murder when Lucie Blackman’s severed body and cement-entombed head were found on Friday. Lucie was a young British woman working in a hostess bar in Roppongi. She disappeared in July last year after phoning a friend to say she was going…
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