Between April 1994 and April 1996 my wife and I lived in Tokyo, Japan. I was employed by NTT (Nippon Telegraph & Telephone) as a researcher and the two years were very filled and joyful for us -- we had a baby daughter, made many friends and encounter many new experiences. During this period Japan also witnessed both the Hanshin Daishin (Kobe Earthquake) and the Sarin Subway Attack by Oum Shinrikyu.
In order to communicate some of our experiences in Japan to our friends as well as make sense of them to myself I began writing a sort of "electronic newsletter". In the two years I wrote a total of 5 newsletters coming in at just under 30k words. The topics covered range from onsen (hot baths) to service stations, seeing a live band, giving birth in a Japanese hospital, Japanese television, pornography etc. There's something there for everyone :-).
It occured to me that these newlsetters might be of interest to more than just our circle of friends. Hence I've put them up on the web. I thought about that decision for a while as in some ways they are personal, not only as a record of our lives but the lives of those about us. I hope those people concerned won't be offended.
Though its nearly been a year now since returning to Australia I've yet to write about our final experiences in Japan nor what we felt and found upon return. There's a lot I want to say and I'll get around to it soon (with some prompting) I'm sure. So keep tuned for a 6'th and final instalment in the series.
Newsletters from Japan - Feedback Welcome!