Family

Family

“Living With In-Laws in Japan: Love, Boundaries, and Daily Diplomacy”

The Tatami Beneath Our Feet—Moving In, and All That Comes With It 🏡 When the Wedding Ends, the Household Begins In Japan...
Business

How I Deal with Freelance Loneliness — Especially as a Mom

🛤️When you’re surrounded by tiny humans, but still feel alone. 🌙“I should feel grateful, right?” That’s what I used to t...
Family

“How I Found My First Clients Without a Website: Real-Life Networking for Moms Who Hate Networking”

“No Website, No LinkedIn, No Problem: How I Accidentally Became a Freelancer” Let’s get this out of the way first: I amn...
Family

Oyakoko Stations: How a Rotating Living Room Can Rebuild Japan’s Parenting Communities

There was a time in Japan when parenting didn’t happen behind closed doors.Grandmothers sat on porches, toddlers played ...
Family

From One Table to a Village: How to Start a Monthly Parenting Meetup That Actually Works

In my last post, I introduced the idea of a simple community system called “One Table, One Theme, Once a Month.”It’s low...
Family

Beyond the Playground: 3 Simple Systems to Prevent Parental Isolation in Japan’s Communities

When I became a mother, I assumed the hardest part would be the night feedings or the toddler tantrums.But I was wrong. ...
Family

Cradle to Confusion: How Japan’s Parenting Support Compares to the Rest of the World

After my second child was born, I remember standing in line at city hall in Tokyo—still recovering from childbirth, baby...
Family

Solo Parenting in Japan and the Quiet Weight of Isolation

There’s a word we use in Japan that doesn’t quite translate into English:“wan-ope.”It’s short for“one operation”—as in, ...
Family

A Housewife’s Take on Japan’s Changing Society: What I See from My Kitchen Window

From the outside, my life might look ordinary. I wake up early to make my kids’ bento, separate the burnable and non-bur...
Family

Raising Kids in Japan: Blending Tradition and Modernity

Where My Parenting Journey Begins When I first became a mom, I thought I had to follow every Japanese rule by the book—n...