About Me

Photo: @seri_shoots

My three favourite things are music, travelling and ~~food~~ romance. After my baby, that is.

I figured if anyone could start a blog combining these things, it could be me. Why not? I want to share my adventures with anyone who will listen. From making friends in a Kyoto sento, to getting into a fight in a Hong Kong bar, becoming a contestant on The Price is Right in LA or DJ'ing an all night Halloween party in Tokyo, I've been told I have enough stories to last a lifetime. But I feel like I'm just getting started! Or at least I was until the dreaded COVID-19 hit. But I didn't let that stop me from exploring some close to home spots of Japan and starting a whole new life chapter with my family.

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, I moved to Osaka Japan in 2019. After 3 years there, I went deep into the Japanese mountainside, close to the sea to live a peaceful family life.

I'm navigating all new terrain (and language!) as a resident of Japan, wife and mother. Needless to say my blog has pivoted to reflect the life of a foreign mom in Japan, peppered with travel stories and adventures.

I hope you'll enjoy reading about my adventures and learn fun ways to make your own.

I'm also a DJ! Starting October 15th, I'll be taking up a monthly residency on the 3rd Saturday of the month at Ace Hotel Kyoto. I'll be spinning vintage r&b, soul, and a little bit of rock 'n' roll on 45rpm vinyl records.

If you want to read some of my DJ tales or see some of the cool things I've done, please check out www.djmisty.com

P.S. Why Fujiiyama Mama? Well, my last name is Fujii (with 2 i's!) and Fujiyama Mama (with 1 i) is one of my all time favourite songs. It was originally done by Annisteen Allen, and made famous by Wanda Jackson. I happen to love both versions!

Comments

Zombie Ferris Wheel of Hell

The last post is about things I love - but here are two things I'm terrified of; Ferris Wheels and zombies. So when Japan's tallest, The Osaka Wheel, added four haunted zombie cars, you'd better believe I climbed aboard. Why? Because scaring myself is fun and because I had done extensive research into the ride's earthquake proof measures and learned it was impressive . A little back to my fears for a minute - zombies are a more of a campy fear for me, I don't take it seriously because I know they aren't real. If they were real, they would be the most horrifying things imaginable but Ferris Wheels, that makes a little more sense. You're up high in a box and have no way of getting down or off the ride until you've made the complete circle. Add in my massive fear of earthquakes and you can imagine why the idea of being on the top of a Ferris Wheel doesn't really appeal to me. Yeah, I have some dark thoughts. But I love being scared, so I bugged my h...

Best Bars: Cha Cha Lounge (LA)

If the flyer says DJ Jello, yes it IS Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) and that's not the only surprising thing. When he's dj'ing, he actually won't talk your head off , and he selects great music. Jello may be too busy to talk but he plays brilliantly obscure garage, soul and rock n' roll on vinyl. My homegirl Cece and I tried to sneak him into the photo booth, instead he was happy to pose for pics right there while he kept us dancing. No matter when you go to East LA's Cha Cha Lounge, this dive has everything you want and plenty you didn't know you wanted, but need. The Mexican themed bar has the perfect soundtrack every single night and checking their Facebook will let you know to expect punk, hip-hop, metal or any number of genres. There's ample dance floor space, and DJ's who make the most of it. The crowd has always been friendly, which is nice for a spot in the hip Silver Lake 'hood. Cha Cha Lounge checks all the right boxes to impress ...

Inaka Life

We both sighed heavily. We were next in line but the senior woman ahead of us and the cashier were having a lively chat, disregarding the time it was taking to finish checking out. My husband, Yasu and I weren’t in any particular rush ourselves, but waiting was frustrating. Yasu mumbled something about them needing to hurry up before catching himself. “Wait.” He said, “they aren’t wrong. We’re wrong. We need to slow down, like them. That’s inaka life.” I nodded in wise agreement. It was the first of many times we’d been reminded to slow down since moving out to the Japanese countryside. It’s been two months since moving to Eiheiji, Japan; famous for its temple and the slogan “Zen: Do you feel it?”. We arrived from Osaka without an ounce of zen in our bones and made the decision that needed to change. That wasn’t the only thing due to change though; two city folks moving out to the country meant a lot of adjustments were going to have to be made. Our local train statio...

Fujiiyama Mama

Search This Blog