Author Archives: SK

8 Years in Japan: Highlights and Lowlights

Posted on October 19, 2022 by SK

This October marked 8 years since I first set foot in Japan. I remember that day clearly. I landed in Osaka at around 8pm in the night and took the express train to Kanazawa, transferring at Maibara. I remember thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Life in Japan, Motherhood | 2 Comments

Nail Update: I’m Healed!

Posted on October 14, 2022 by SK

It has taken 5 months, but finally the broken nail I blogged about here has healed. Please read that post for the information on when it became broken (over 25 years ago), how it got broken (door slam), why it … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Life in Japan | 2 Comments

A Day in the Life of a Working Single Parent in Tokyo

Posted on September 7, 2022 by SK

This post is inspired by K, who runs the resourceful blog “Tiny Tot in Tokyo” and did a post about their day here, and also by Pippa, who wrote about her day in this post here. In case you are … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Life in Japan, Motherhood | Tagged | 5 Comments

Young Leaves

Posted on August 7, 2022 by SK

My apartment building used to be called “Young Leaves Heights” (若葉ハイツ ). Many old and rundown apartments in Japan have fancy names like “Heights” and “Corpos”, “Maisons” and “Palaces”. My apartment building is pretty old too, but it got renovated … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Life in Japan | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

14 Months of Maternity Leave (and Childcare Leave)

Posted on July 25, 2022 by SK

From March 2021 to April 2022, I was able to enjoy 3 months of maternity leave plus 11 months of childcare leave, thanks to Japan’s generous leave policies (at least on paper). The reason I say “on paper” is because … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Motherhood | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Broken Fingernail

Posted on June 17, 2022 by SK

For more than 2 and a half decades, I have lived with a broken nail. I remember it being accidentally slammed between the hinges of my grandmother’s door. It must have hurt a lot but fortunately, I don’t remember the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Life Update Post You’ve Been Waiting For

Posted on May 2, 2022 by SK

It is May 2022. We are lucky to be alive in the pandemic. But, where to begin this life update? First of all, if you had met me in late 2019, you would have that known I was looking for … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Life in Japan, Motherhood | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Why I May Never Fly Ethiopian Airlines Again

Posted on February 27, 2022 by SK

(In these days of TikTok and Instagram reels and transient tweets, are there people who still read blogs? The original social media? Remember forums and chat groups? Ah, the golden days of the internet.) I spent the latter half of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Japan, Travel | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Getting a Japanese Passport for Your Child (Foreign Unmarried Mother)

Posted on August 26, 2021 by SK

Did you know that it’s very easy for your child to become stateless? It used to be that if a non-Japanese woman gave birth in Japan, if they were not married to a Japanese person at the time, their child … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Life in Japan, Motherhood | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

How Did You Manage? Crossing Continents With a 2-Month-Old.

Posted on August 7, 2021 by SK

(This post should have been up two months ago. I’ve been trying to make sure this draft sees the light of day and here we are, finally.) “Madam, how are you going to manage?” Inquired the Indian lady at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Travel | Tagged , , | 7 Comments