Stories From Japan- Sumimasen

Story Time!!!!

This story is back from when I was studying abroad in Japan. It was our first night in Kyoto, Japan, and we were exploring the city. It was getting dark and we were getting a little hungry. In Japan a lot of places will have either displays or signs outside their restaurant to show samples of their food. My newly acquired friends and I decided to try a restaurant around the Shijo area which is the shopping district of Kyoto. I think the restaurant is called Kyoto. The food looked good and I was being as adventurous yet so I wanted someplace that had American food. We had to walk up some stairs to get to this place.

Anime Analysis: Death Parade

I’ve been asked many times to do anime reviews. I’ve declined these requests because I find reviews to be a pain. Why should I give my opinion on something when people aren’t really interested in my opinion? And not only that, I need to try to sound smart in my review because my pure enjoyment of the anime alone doesn’t count. There are tons of anime that I really like that have a lot of problems in it, but people seem to think if there are a lot of problems with it, then it’s no good. This is why I can’t do reviews. That and it feels like I’m back in my freshman English class critiquing a story for each element such as plot, character, setting, and so on.

I would rather write on a deeper level when it comes to anime because anime is more than a cartoon. Anime has the ability to each people values and lessons in life. I know many anime that has inspired me in ways reality can’t. So instead of anime reviews, you’ll be seeing anime analysis posts from me, starting with this one.

TokyoTreat Review

This is by far the best snack/candy subscription box I've come across. It's going to be hard to get any better then TokyoTreat. I would usually give you the good, the bad, and whatever else I have to say about this box but there's really only good to TokyoTreat. I'm reviewing TokyoTreat with having experienced two months worth of boxes, the April and May box. I write these reviews solely to help people decide on what they should spend their money on, and if you need to spend your money on a monthly subscription box full of Japanese snacks then this is a box well worth it.

Let's get started!

I fully enjoyed these boxes from TokyoTreat. As you may or may not know, I've already done a review on the popular, well-known Japan Crate. In review, it was an okay box but I felt it wasn't worth the money. The snacks and candies were not thought out well enough in my opinion. TokyoTreat fixes all of this and has brought new light into snack boxes for me. The candies and snacks in TokyoTreat are more thought out for the consumers and are realistic snacks people eat in Japan. It's well diverse in its types of candies and snacks, from chips to dyi kits to flavored candies. There will always be something for everyone.

Now, like all snack subscription boxes there are sizes. TokyoTreat has small, regular, and premium. Just like when I tried Japan Crate, I bought the premium box for TokyoTreat. It is well worth it. You get all the snacks from the small and regular boxes plus all the candy included from the premium box. The premium box also contains a drink, a special merchandise of some kind, and a dyi kit. For $35.00 and free shipping that's a pretty good deal. If you're not game for spending $35.00 a month, I totally understand. The small boxes are $15.00 and the regular are $25.00. With these boxes you can only get a few snacks and a regular gets the dyi kit. No drink and special item for these two boxes. I suggested this before but it could be a good idea to share with a friend. You could both split the cost of the box and share all the snacks. Whatever can't be shared can get claimed by a good game of rock-paper-scissors.

The snacks!!! I am in love with these snacks TokyoTreat chooses. The snacks are ones that are popular in Japan and taste delicious. In the April box, my favorite snacks were the custard flavor Koala's March from Lotte and the yakisoba flavored Baby Star snack. For May, there were a ton of green tea flavored snacks. There was no way to go wrong with these. In addition to the green tea snacks, for those who may not be green tea fans, there were other great snacks in the May box such as Raspberry Kit Kats and the different flavored Umaibou snacks. The drinks were great too! April had the Sakura Pepsi which tasted like bubblegum cola and May had Green Tea Soda. The two were okay tasting but I was more thrilled about getting that experience of trying these drinks without having to be in Japan.

And for all of you who are into the "weird Japan" related snacks, they even cater to you. Unlike like other boxes it's not filled with only the "weird Japan" snacks. TokyoTreat supplies that one snack that would be very adventurous to none Japanese residents. In April they supplied dried nori (seaweed) and wasabi crisps and in May they had spicy cod snacks. I say "weird Japan" because that's what a lot of people think of these flavors, but in reality these flavors are normal over in Japan.

So overall, I loved this Japanese snack subscription box, TokyoTreat. I've kept the monthly subscription that I signed up for. My husband and I look forward in seeing what will come to us. And as a bonus, the pamphlet that comes in the box is really nice too, showing the descriptions of all the snacks and even has little Japanese folklore stories inside. Like I said before, you really can't go wrong with TokyoTreat!

I hope you enjoyed this review. I think it's pretty helpful for those who are looking for the perfect snack subscription box. Follow me on all my social media for more Japan related things! Thanks again!

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Moms in Japan

The lifestyle in Japan is changing with the times. Women are starting to focus on making a career than settling down. Some women even do both career and motherhood. But there are women in Japan who value motherhood as a full time job along with many other responsibilities. In the spirit of Mother's Day I'll share the tasks mothers have in Japan. In no way am I saying they are superior to mothers in any other country because that's just ignorant. This is solely to educate about Japanese culture in a Japanese home. I got to hear a lot about the Japanese household life from my tour guide when I went on a tour in Japan, and I'd like to share this bit of knowledge with you.

If You Like New Orleans, You'll Like Japan Pt.2

So a long while ago when I first started blogging I did a really popular topic called "If You Like New Orleans, You'll Like Japan." If you haven't checked it out yet click here. This article drove it home for me because I consider New Orleans and Japan my homes. They are places that I hold dear to my heart. New Orleans is my physical home, it's where I live and build my life. Japan is my emotional home, where I connect well with society and the way of life (this will be another topic I'll talk about in the future).

I wrote the first part of "If You Like New Orleans, You'll Like Japan" as therapy, this is called Japan Therapy after all. I miss Japan all the time, so I decided to write a blog post for myself in order to cope with not being in Japan. I figured that writing similarities about Japan and New Orleans would help, and it did.

Now, I'm writing this part two for a lot more people than myself. I'm writing to those of you who went to Japan to visit and are missing it like I am. I'm writing to those who aren't knowledgeable enough about Japan to realize how amazing of a place it is. I'm writing to those of you who live in New Orleans like I do but don't know just how close your city is in relation to Japan. I started this blog as therapy for myself, but now I've been on this mission to educate people about Japan. And if you don't live in New Orleans but love Japan, maybe this will give you a reason to visit New Orleans sometimes. Both are very unique places.

Let's get down to business.