Typhoon Trami
- Lori
- September 30, 2018
It’s 9:40pm in Osaka on Sunday, September 30. The wind is howling and the rain is going sideways. Typhoon Trami has arrived. About 3 days ago, we began to hear that it’s projected path was headed towards Osaka. Hearing this news brought me back to Hurricane Lane. The hurricane that was projected to hit western […]
Read MoreRenting a car
- Lori
- September 26, 2018
After signing the lease on the apartment, the next step was to plan how to move our stuff from the AIRBNB in Nishinari-ku to our mansion in Yodogawa-ku, which is about 12 km away (how far way IS that?) A taxi was out of the question since Michael would be at work and the boys […]
Read MoreChicken or the Egg?
- Lori
- September 25, 2018
What’s the first order of business once a family of four lands in a new country? Find a new place? Open a bank account? Get cell phones? We figured finding a place to live would be the first order of business. Due to the fact that the majority of landlords require a guarantor (a Japanese […]
Read MoreHouse Hunters International Conclusion
- Lori
- September 22, 2018
We left off with Michael and Lori deciding between: House #1:Dated, 2 bathroom Osaka Castle mansion House #2: 1st floor rural, outdoor living House #3: Modern living in an urban setting. All of them had their pros and cons. But as most of you know how the show goes, they cross out the one they […]
Read MoreIKEA
- michael
- September 21, 2018
Ah IKEA… I once decided to make my own entertainment center based off an IKEA design using 3/4″ plywood. It took me probably 16 hours longer to make and cost more in raw materials than the IKEA version did. Granted, you can’t put a price on the experience of crafting a piece of furniture with […]
Read MoreOur Own House Hunters International
- Lori
- September 17, 2018
Earlier this summer, I sent in an application to HGTV’s House Hunters International (much to my dear friend Blythe’s delight) to be on the show, but sadly, only received a auto-response saying they receive too many requests to respond individually. ☹ No matter–I’ll create my own version here! One thing to note: It surprises me […]
Read MoreLooks like we made it!
- Lori
- September 13, 2018
Boy, what a journey it was, schlepping 8 checked pieces of luggage, 2 car seats, a stroller, 4 carry-on items and 4 personal items on that Delta Airlines flight. It didn’t help that the boys fell asleep just as we landed into Chubu Airport (of course!), so Michael and I had to carry most of […]
Read More…and we’re off!
- Lori
- September 12, 2018
We have tickets flying into Osaka Kansai International Airport. The only problem is that Typhoon Jebi (typhoon #21) has left Kansai Airport inoperable for all but a handful of flights on Peach Aviation. Since we are booked on Delta Airlines, we are pretty certain that our flight will get canceled, so we are considering a […]
Read MoreThe First “Lasts”
- Lori
- September 5, 2018
We received the COE paperwork earlier than expected (yay!) which means we are able to pick up our passports on Monday! After we dropped off the paperwork and passports to the Japanese Consulate, Michael and I both looked at each other with an “oh my, what have we just done?” expression on our faces. Knowing […]
Read MoreKFC
- michael
- September 3, 2018
Every so often, the desire to fill my stomach with delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken becomes an urge I can no longer ignore. Like Spock and the Pon farr, Lori knows that it will only get worse until that itch gets scratched. Leaving for Japan has me worried about a lot of things, not the least […]
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