This blog...

I've been thinking a lot about this blog lately.  I don't post much these days. 

Before I moved to Japan, this blog was J*Style which was about Japan mostly Japanese fashion something I tried to emulate.  After I moved to Japan, it became Lost in Japan which was about me navigating the confusing landscape of a country I had dreamed about from afar, visited, but never lived.  I tried to impart my wisdom via experience about the culture and travels through Japan.  This blog was never very popular and as much as I want to say that doesn't matter we all want what we write to be read (at least I'd say we do if it's published on the internet).

I feel like I have little new knowledge to impart to anyone on the subject of Japan.  Writing this blog feels more like a chore to me than something I actually enjoy doing.  I feel like I could change the format of this blog to general whinging about life but then that's pretty much what I do on FB and Twitter, so why do I need another site to do something I already do somewhere else?

I also feel like Blogger has gone the way of the dodo.  I think that many people have WordPress instead or used alternate blogging sites like Tumblr or microblogging sites like Twitter and Facebook.  Technology has left no time for people to read blogs.

I can't bring myself to remove this blog.  I don't have much interest in keeping it running or changing the format though I may occasionally post about Kit Kats or Lipton Tea.  Meanwhile, I think I'll just leave it here.

Kit Kat Time! SPECIAL EDITION!

The internet has gone crazy for Kit Kat's newest creation.  See here, here, and here for just a few examples.

Why I didn't rush out an immediately buy these, I did pick some up yesterday while I was at the コンビニ but they're not exactly flying off the shelf.

Here's some information about the 日本酒 Kit Kats:

• They are white chocolate.
• They have actual alcohol powder in them (0.8%).
• They are not recommended for children (it says this on the package).
• 日本酒 is what you might call sake.

First, I was overwhelmed by the smell.  These smell like actual sake (or that odd guy on the train at 2:15 in the afternoon).  They taste like it too (albeit a sweet version of it).  So congrats Kit Kat, you did what you set out to do, alcohol chocolate.

Here's a disclaimer.  I don't like sake.  I ate this for the blog (actually choked down is more like it).  I'm not a fan of these.  Maybe if you like sake, you'll like these.

(I'm a bit sad that this wasn't #50 on the list.)

Here's the list:

1. Cheese
2. Bitter Almond
3. Ramune 
4. Berry Pomegranate
5. Apple Vinegar
6. Peach
7. Green Tea
8. Tiramisu
9. Wasabi
10. Vanilla
11. Sakura Matcha
12. Strawberry
13. Raspberry
14. Vanilla Ice 
15. Caramel
16. Pumpkin Pudding
17. White
18. Cinnamon
19. Citrus
20. Japanese Chili
21. Blueberry Cheesecake
22. Purple Sweet Potato
23. Rum Raisin
24. Brown Sugar Syrup
25. Orange
26. Hazelnut
27. Condensed Milk Strawberry
28. Passion Fruit 
29. Strawberry Cheesecake
30. Baked Kit Kats 
31. Hokkaido Red Bean
32. Orange Peel
33. Kobe Pudding
34. Dark
35. Apple
36. Red Bean Sandwich
37. Cheesecake 
38. Cookies & Cream
39. Chocolate Mint Ice
40. Sweet Potato
41. Premium Hazelnut 
42. Butter
43. Orange Cocktail Noir
44. Green Tea & Kinako
45. Pistachio & Raspberry 
46. Chili & Passion Fruit
47. Strawberry Maple 
48. 日本酒 (or Sake)

Kit Kat time!

I'm getting on a plane soon to head back to my home in the Land of the Rising Sun so I thought what better time than now to review the last of the Chocolatory Kit Kats.  Also, I'm taking a break after shoving a good chunk of America into my suitcases.

These are the final two purchased from the Chocolatory.

The top one is Chili and Passion Fruit.  Nestled in dark chocolate, the chili flavor provides a slight kick, and it's not too overpowering and pairs nicely with the sweetness of passion fruit.  I really liked this one.

The bottom one is Strawberry Maple.  The chocolate is strawberry flavored and to be honest I couldn't taste the maple at all.  It just tasted like strawberry to me.

That's it for me.  See you next time from Japan!

Here's the list:

1. Cheese
2. Bitter Almond
3. Ramune 
4. Berry Pomegranate
5. Apple Vinegar
6. Peach
7. Green Tea
8. Tiramisu
9. Wasabi
10. Vanilla
11. Sakura Matcha
12. Strawberry
13. Raspberry
14. Vanilla Ice 
15. Caramel
16. Pumpkin Pudding
17. White
18. Cinnamon
19. Citrus
20. Japanese Chili
21. Blueberry Cheesecake
22. Purple Sweet Potato
23. Rum Raisin
24. Brown Sugar Syrup
25. Orange
26. Hazelnut
27. Condensed Milk Strawberry
28. Passion Fruit 
29. Strawberry Cheesecake
30. Baked Kit Kats 
31. Hokkaido Red Bean
32. Orange Peel
33. Kobe Pudding
34. Dark
35. Apple
36. Red Bean Sandwich
37. Cheesecake 
38. Cookies & Cream
39. Chocolate Mint Ice 
40. Sweet Potato
41. Premium Hazelnut 
42. Butter
43. Orange Cocktail Noir
44. Green Tea & Kinako
45. Pistachio & Raspberry 
46. Chili & Passion Fruit
47. Strawberry Maple

Kit Kat time!

Greetings!  Today I'm talking Kit Kats.  The husband and I made a special trip to the Kit Kat Chocolatory in Ikebukuro.  There we picked up some unheard of Kit Kat flavors that I'm happy to review for you today.

First pictured is Green Tea & Kinako.  I really liked this one.  I'm a big fan of kinako and this shone through and complimented the green tea flavor nicely.

Next pictured is Pistachio & Raspberry.  Unfortunately, I couldn't taste the pistachio flavor at all.  The raspberry is very overpowering.  It wasn't bad.  I was just disappointed.

Stay tuned for two new Chocolatory flavors!

Here's the list:

1. Cheese
2. Bitter Almond
3. Ramune 
4. Berry Pomegranate
5. Apple Vinegar
6. Peach
7. Green Tea
8. Tiramisu
9. Wasabi
10. Vanilla
11. Sakura Matcha
12. Strawberry
13. Raspberry
14. Vanilla Ice 
15. Caramel
16. Pumpkin Pudding
17. White
18. Cinnamon
19. Citrus
20. Japanese Chili
21. Blueberry Cheesecake
22. Purple Sweet Potato
23. Rum Raisin
24. Brown Sugar Syrup
25. Orange
26. Hazelnut
27. Condensed Milk Strawberry
28. Passion Fruit 
29. Strawberry Cheesecake
30. Baked Kit Kats 
31. Hokkaido Red Bean
32. Orange Peel
33. Kobe Pudding
34. Dark
35. Apple
36. Red Bean Sandwich
37. Cheesecake 
38. Cookies & Cream
39. Chocolate Mint Ice 
40. Sweet Potato
41. Premium Hazelnut 
42. Butter
43. Orange Cocktail Noir
44. Green Tea & Kinako
45. Pistachio & Raspberry

Kit Kat time!

Hello, today we're talking Kit Kats!

It's a special day because I've passed the 40 mark on Kit Kats sampled!

First is Sweet Potato:



It's recommended that you bake this Kit Kat which I did but not before trying it pre-baked.  When baked it loses a lot of it sweet potato flavor for some odd reason as the sweet potato flavor was stronger before baking.  It was good baked though, so you can decide what to do with these if you can still find them.

Here is Premium Hazelnut:



Oh my was this delicious!  One of the most delicious Kit Kats I've ever had.  Even one of my coworkers was so surprised by how yummy this was.

Next, two special Kit Kits from the Chocolatory store in Tokyo Station which my wonderful husband bought for me.



Pictured you see Orange Cocktail Noir and Butter. 

Now the butter was good.  I'm not so sure it tasted like butter.  Maybe butter you've mixed with sugar when you're baking cookies or something.

The Orange Cocktail Noir had a very strong flavor, very strong orange and very strong dark.  It was okay, not my favorite.

Here's the list:

1. Cheese
2. Bitter Almond
3. Ramune 
4. Berry Pomegranate
5. Apple Vinegar
6. Peach
7. Green Tea
8. Tiramisu
9. Wasabi
10. Vanilla
11. Sakura Matcha
12. Strawberry
13. Raspberry
14. Vanilla Ice 
15. Caramel
16. Pumpkin Pudding
17. White
18. Cinnamon
19. Citrus
20. Japanese Chili
21. Blueberry Cheesecake
22. Purple Sweet Potato
23. Rum Raisin
24. Brown Sugar Syrup
25. Orange
26. Hazelnut
27. Condensed Milk Strawberry
28. Passion Fruit 
29. Strawberry Cheesecake
30. Baked Kit Kats 
31. Hokkaido Red Bean
32. Orange Peel
33. Kobe Pudding
34. Dark
35. Apple
36. Red Bean Sandwich
37. Cheesecake 
38. Cookies & Cream
39. Chocolate Mint Ice 
40. Sweet Potato
41. Premium Hazelnut 
42. Butter
43. Orange Cocktail Noir

Lipton Tea...

Hi folks!  I'm writing to you from a cold and rainy December day in Tokyo.  No worries though because it's my day off so I've got a heating pad on my back and I'm drinking hot tea and sitting under the covers.

Meanwhile, let's talk about some cold teas.

First, I tried White Peach Mix Tea:



It was okay.  I really felt that the grape flavor was way too overpowering.

Next is from the Premium Series.  Generally, I tend to dislike the Premium Series, but this one is an exception.  Chocolat Milk Tea:



If you really love tea forget it, this tastes exactly like chocolate milk although I read the ingredients, and it does have tea in it.  It's so yummy.  If you're in Japan now, pick this up for sure!

The list:  

1. Milk Tea
2. Maple Milk Tea
3. Lemon Tea
4. Peach Tea
5. Earl Grey Milk Tea
6. Green Apple Tea
7. 50/50 Tea & Lemonade
8. Tropical Fruit Tea
9. Chamomile Citrus Tea
10. Roast Milk Tea
11. Jasmine Lemon Peel
12. Grape Tea
13. Straight Tea
14. Apple Tea
15. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
16. Matcha Milk
17. Tea Cappuccino
18. Mikan Tea
19. 50/50 Tea & Nectar
20. Luxurious Milk Tea
21. Muscat Tea
22. Plum Honey
23. Cream Milk Tea 
24. Grapefruit Tea
25. Orange Marmalade Tea 
26. Royal Milk Tea
27. Golden Pineapple Tea
28. Italian Fruit Punch Tea
29. Honey Milk Tea
30. Green Apple with Honey
31. Thailand Lychee Tea
32. Sweetened Condensed Milk Tea 
33. Turkey Apricot Tea
34. Milk Caramel Tea
35. Navel Orange Tea
36. French Pear & Apple Tea
37. Creamy Milk Tea
38. American Tea Lemonade
39. Hojicha Latte
40. Gold Kiwi Tea
41. Bitter Caramel Tea Latte
42. Green Tea & Muscat
43. Green Tea & Peach
44. Extra Black Tea Latte 
45. Green Tea & Citrus:
46. Caramel Tea Latte
47. Peach & Mango
48. Mixed Berries Milk Tea 
49. Lychee Tea
50. Winter Tea Punch
51. Winter Tea Latte
52. Earl Grey Orange Tea 
53. White Tea Latte
54. Hyuganatsu Tea
55. Lychee Mix Tea
56. Royal Tea Latte
57. Green Fruits Tea
58. Wanashi Tea 
59. Pineapple Mix Tea
60. Apricot Mix Tea 
61. Sweet Pumpkin Tea Latte 
62. White Peach Mix Tea
63.  Chocolat Milk Tea

The Top Five:

1. OG Milk Tea
2. Green Tea & Peach
3. 50/50 Tea Lemonade
4. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
5. Peach & Mango

Lipton Tea: Special Edition!

Hi all!  It's officially fall!  The weather is cooler.  People are actually wearing knit caps for a reason.  And pumpkin things and fall flavors are popping up.  Japan doesn't get as crazy about fall as America does (pumpkin pasta sauce anyone? Yes, that's a thing), but there are a few fall flavors in stores.

Normally, I don't review Lipton in the bottle but I thought this deserved a special mention.

Now I wasn't sure about this but holy smokes Sweet Pumpkin Tea Latte is quite delicious.  I even love the Halloween decor on the bottle.  If you have the chance, try this.  It's so good!

Next, Milk Tea is not new but they have some cute packaging for Halloween.  I can't help it.  I just love it.

Adorable.

The list:  

1. Milk Tea
2. Maple Milk Tea
3. Lemon Tea
4. Peach Tea
5. Earl Grey Milk Tea
6. Green Apple Tea
7. 50/50 Tea & Lemonade
8. Tropical Fruit Tea
9. Chamomile Citrus Tea
10. Roast Milk Tea
11. Jasmine Lemon Peel
12. Grape Tea
13. Straight Tea
14. Apple Tea
15. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
16. Matcha Milk
17. Tea Cappuccino
18. Mikan Tea
19. 50/50 Tea & Nectar
20. Luxurious Milk Tea
21. Muscat Tea
22. Plum Honey
23. Cream Milk Tea 
24. Grapefruit Tea
25. Orange Marmalade Tea 
26. Royal Milk Tea
27. Golden Pineapple Tea
28. Italian Fruit Punch Tea
29. Honey Milk Tea
30. Green Apple with Honey
31. Thailand Lychee Tea
32. Sweetened Condensed Milk Tea 
33. Turkey Apricot Tea
34. Milk Caramel Tea
35. Navel Orange Tea
36. French Pear & Apple Tea
37. Creamy Milk Tea
38. American Tea Lemonade
39. Hojicha Latte
40. Gold Kiwi Tea
41. Bitter Caramel Tea Latte
42. Green Tea & Muscat
43. Green Tea & Peach
44. Extra Black Tea Latte 
45. Green Tea & Citrus:
46. Caramel Tea Latte
47. Peach & Mango
48. Mixed Berries Milk Tea 
49. Lychee Tea
50. Winter Tea Punch
51. Winter Tea Latte
52. Earl Grey Orange Tea 
53. White Tea Latte
54. Hyuganatsu Tea
55. Lychee Mix Tea
56. Royal Tea Latte
57. Green Fruits Tea
58. Wanashi Tea 
59. Pineapple Mix Tea
60. Apricot Mix Tea 
61. Sweet Pumpkin Tea Latte

The Top Five:

1. OG Milk Tea
2. Green Tea & Peach
3. 50/50 Tea Lemonade
4. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
5. Peach & Mango

Lipton Tea...

Happy 60 teas!  Wow.  I can't believe I've sampled 60 Lipton teas in only 3 years.  By that math I hope the number will have doubled in the next 3 years.

Anyway, two new teas for you.

First is Pineapple Mix Tea:

So they claim to have passion fruit, lemon, and pineapple in there.  I don't know.  I can't taste them.  The pineapple taste overpowers the other flavors but not in a bad way.  The taste is actually light and refreshing.  It was nice!

Next is Apricot Mix Tea:

This one claims to have apricot, mango, and orange.  I couldn't taste anything except apricot, and it's got a light, refreshing apricot flavor.

The list:  

1. Milk Tea
2. Maple Milk Tea
3. Lemon Tea
4. Peach Tea
5. Earl Grey Milk Tea
6. Green Apple Tea
7. 50/50 Tea & Lemonade
8. Tropical Fruit Tea
9. Chamomile Citrus Tea
10. Roast Milk Tea
11. Jasmine Lemon Peel
12. Grape Tea
13. Straight Tea
14. Apple Tea
15. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
16. Matcha Milk
17. Tea Cappuccino
18. Mikan Tea
19. 50/50 Tea & Nectar
20. Luxurious Milk Tea
21. Muscat Tea
22. Plum Honey
23. Cream Milk Tea 
24. Grapefruit Tea
25. Orange Marmalade Tea 
26. Royal Milk Tea
27. Golden Pineapple Tea
28. Italian Fruit Punch Tea
29. Honey Milk Tea
30. Green Apple with Honey
31. Thailand Lychee Tea
32. Sweetened Condensed Milk Tea 
33. Turkey Apricot Tea
34. Milk Caramel Tea
35. Navel Orange Tea
36. French Pear & Apple Tea
37. Creamy Milk Tea
38. American Tea Lemonade
39. Hojicha Latte
40. Gold Kiwi Tea
41. Bitter Caramel Tea Latte
42. Green Tea & Muscat
43. Green Tea & Peach
44. Extra Black Tea Latte 
45. Green Tea & Citrus:
46. Caramel Tea Latte
47. Peach & Mango
48. Mixed Berries Milk Tea 
49. Lychee Tea
50. Winter Tea Punch
51. Winter Tea Latte
52. Earl Grey Orange Tea 
53. White Tea Latte
54. Hyuganatsu Tea
55. Lychee Mix Tea
56. Royal Tea Latte
57. Green Fruits Tea
58. Wanashi Tea 
59. Pineapple Mix Tea
60. Apricot Mix Tea

The Top Five:

1. OG Milk Tea
2. Green Tea & Peach
3. 50/50 Tea Lemonade
4. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
5. Peach & Mango

What happens when you drop a gaijin in a lake?

Sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn't it?  Well, what happens?  Does she sink?  Float?  Swim?  Who knows how many times people have attempted to toss a gaijin in a lake?

Today was a day of firsts.  Normally my blog is pretty boring because most days I sit on my butt and watch TV since I've spent the bulk of my cash traveling. 

Sunday (today) my husband invited me to go wakeboarding on Lake Yamanaka with a couple of doctors.  Sure, I said.  I've waterskied before (although last time I did that I was in my teens I think).  It's what you do in Arizona.  You gas up the boat and go to the lake.  I couldn't even tell you how many times I've been to the lake.  No biggie, right?  Here's some caveats you should know.  I've never been in a lake in Japan.  (I've walked around one and been on a lake cruise.)  Additionally, I've never been wakeboarding before.  Also, before today I had never met a brain surgeon.  Yeah, the doctor who invited us was literally a brain surgeon.  No joke.

Anyway, they took the boards out of the car.  It looks like a snowboard (which I've never been on either).  I took one look at that thing and I said, "Oh yeah, I can't get up on that."  I said that out loud. 

Once on the boat the doctor proclaimed I'd go third.  After the other doctor aka super wakeboarder (I was expecting this guy to do flips but he didn't), and my husband who kindly reassured me that he didn't get up right away the first time he went either.  Okay, so how bad can it be?  I received two mini wakeboarding lessons or a wakeboarding crash course.

When it was my turn, I was standing on the wooden platform strapping the board on and my husband accidentally pushed me into the water.  They tried to hoist me back up to standing, and I was just like forget it and put the board on in the water.  When they tried to run the boat nothing happened because prior to me getting in the water they had run over a buoy and the propeller was stuck and rope was wrapped around it. 

"Oh yes!" I thought.  I don't have to embarrass myself after all.  We'll all go home because the boat is broken.  Well, some Good Samaritan from a nearby boat strapped on his goggles and dug the buoy out.  Crap. 

Okay, so five time I tried to get up.  The fourth and fifth time I came close to standing.  I received some helpful advice (all in Japanese). 
 
"Relax!"
"Don't try to stand up so soon!"
"Bend your knees!  Bend!"

Sigh.  On the fifth fail as the boat circled back around, I heard "last chance" so if I didn't get up I failed miserably and could suffer embarrassment for the rest of the day.

Try six.  By some miracle I got up.  Seriously, it was a miracle.  When I got up to standing, of course, everyone on our boat cheered (maybe mostly from relief), and I heard the whoops and shouts of a nearby boat which was huge for my ego.  I kindly replied back "YEAH BITCHES!"  It was glorious.  Now, I don't know if they were cheering because they witnessed the whole embarrassing debacle or if it was because I was a girl (the lake was almost entirely devoid of female wakeboarders) or if it was because I am a(n out of shape gaijin).  Either way it was nice to have fans.  They pointed and waved at me later.  "Look it's the gaijin!"  I flashed them a peace sign.

Here's a picture of me being awesome:

You'll notice the boats in the background which stopped to watch me.  Like really?  Water celebrity.

And here's the gorgeous Mt. Fuji which only appeared for about ten minutes:

This was like unbelievably fun.  (However, I guarantee you that I'd be singing a different tune had I not gotten up on the water.)  Here's the bottom line: wakeboarding is like super hard.  Especially, if you're a(n out of shape) gaijin like me.

On Being a Woman...

On Being an American Woman in Japan.  

On Being a Woman in America.  

On Being a Woman...

Beautiful Women

Obviously, I live in Japan.  It's the land of beautiful women.  It's 95º and 80% humidity and the woman standing next to me on the train looks flawless.  Her skin is dry and bright.  Her make-up is flawless.  Her clothes immaculate.  It's almost like she teleported from station to station, and she never stepped foot outside.  Meanwhile, I am not wearing any make-up, and I'm wiping the visible sweat from my brow and fanning myself with a small handkerchief.  I don't understand this phenomenon, so I went to an expert on the subject: my gay hairdresser.

"I don't understand Japanese women," I said.  "Like they always look perfect.  Aren't they ever hot or sweaty?"

I was still trying to cool off after an hour in the chair.

"I think they carry make-up with them.  They are always going to the bathroom for touch ups," he said.

"Why don't they ever sweat?"

"I think they are the opposite.  The women I know are always complaining about being cold.  I think there's something wrong with them.  Poor circulation due to dieting all the time."

I think there's a lot of pressure in Japan to be beautiful.  I buy fashion magazines.  There are some with ads for diet pills in the back pages.  I look at the before and after pictures.  I can't seem to see any problem with the before pictures while the after pics look emaciated.  I look at the population of women around me.  It's very easy to see which ones are young and unmarried.  They are the girls who are very fashionable and always look pristine.  The "moms" (married with kids) always dress super casually.  These are the only women in Japan I see wearing jeans.  It's like they have succeeded in "catching" a man and no longer need to paint on their beautiful faces.  Every single Japanese girl friend who I say looks beautiful vehemently denies it though.  You do.  You look beautiful.  Maybe it's modesty.  Maybe they think they are still not beautiful after all that work.

The Land of S

Shopping in Japan is a real pain especially for America girls who are not a size S or M in America.  If you're an L or XL or bigger than that, shopping in Japan gets tricky.  There are many stores here which only sell one size.  That size is Japanese S which is about an American XS.  Even the stores here are telling women they need to be skinny.  This is terrible because I see women of all shapes and sizes.  I wonder silently where they buy their clothes.  I hate this trend in Japanese stores.  Maybe it's a sales strategy.  Maybe that size sells and larger sizes won't.  Maybe the larger sized women are sitting in a corner eating cabbage and crying and therefore aren't shopping until they can fit into that size.  Okay that last part was an obviously exaggeration.

About Me

I always thought I was fat even when I wasn't.  I look at pictures of me in high school and think "My god what was I thinking?!?!  I wasn't anywhere near fat!  I was so so skinny!"  There must have been someone or something telling me I wasn't though because that thought of feeling fat crept into my brain and never left.  When I started my career I was 23 or 24 (that's a little over 10 years ago).  Looking at pictures of my then, it's the same thing.  "My god what was I thinking?!?!  I wasn't anywhere near fat!  I was so so skinny!"  Then I got bronchitis and the doctor put me on a steroid medication as a means of treatment, so I ate.  And I ate.  And I ate.  And I couldn't figure out why I was so hungry all the time.  By the time I figured it out I had already packed on pounds.  Oops.  But even then I wasn't at my heaviest.

On Moving to Japan

I was pretty ecstatic when I moved to Japan.  I mean, of course, I was.  It's my favorite place ever.  The first 6 months were really hard.  I was super depressed.  I didn't leave the house much.  I didn't have friends.  I was incredibly homesick.  I had left 30 years of my life behind.  I had heard all the stories about people lost so much weight when they moved to Japan embracing the Japanese diet.  I was excited for that.  I could lose weight effortlessly!  However, I didn't account for the Japanese diet not being vegetarian friendly at all, so I cooked things I would cook in America since I'm definitely not an expert on Japanese cooking, and I drank with coworkers every Friday night.  Also, I ate a lot of bread because well bread is delicious.  I tried to shop at trendy stores, but I couldn't because I couldn't fit into any of the clothes.  I am definitely not a Japanese S.  Maybe I was when I was 10.  My worst experience shopping was needing a skirt.  I went to many stores and tried to squeeze into skirts with elastic waists.  I couldn't.  I felt horrible and that I hated shopping (something I had never ever felt).  I've always loved shopping.  "Why isn't there a Kohl's here?"  I lamented.

Then I got a boyfriend and he loved me just as I was, so I became happy.  Sometimes when people are happy they tend to gain more weight.  Fat and happy.  That boyfriend became my husband.  I felt really lucky because I wasn't a skinny Japanese girl (who are literally everywhere here).  I would never ever be a skinny Japanese girl, but it's okay because I didn't want to be.  One thing I didn't understand though was that I was phenomenally more active in Japan than in America and I never lost weight.

On a Period of Inactivity

Maybe you remember this post.  It's where I fell down the stairs and was a hobbler for like 2 months.  I couldn't walk as well as I could so I hobbled slowly.  I stopped riding my bike and took the bus and never used the stairs because I was afraid.  I became a slug.  I hated it.  I hated every waking minute of being so unfathomably helpless.  Because of this I gained more weight.  I had an unpregnant pregnant belly.  It was ridiculous, and I was embarrassed when I stepped on the scale and saw what my weight was during my health check.  I didn't feel very good about myself again, so now I'm taking steps (sometimes literally) to try and feel better about myself.  It's a slow, slow process, but I don't expect miracles.

On Being a Woman

This is my story.  It's one of many.  I've experienced how difficult it is to be a woman in two countries now, and I can guess it's not any easier anywhere else in the world.  What I want to say is we need to support our sisters better.  The media doesn't help us at all ever.  It's constantly telling us we are too fat no matter what size we are, so it's up to us.  Real people of the world.  Not the media fallacy.  We need to support each other.  I'll go first. 

Dear women,

I support you.  I want you to be happy.  If you're happy with yourself, then I am too.  I don't care what size you are, what blemishes you have, and your stretch marks or scars don't bother me.  Love your skin.  It's the only one you'll ever have.  If you want to change your body, I support you.  Just don't hurt yourself.  If you want to stay as you are, I support you.  Just don't hurt yourself.  Please eat.  Don't starve yourself to live up to someone else's standards.  Have something sweet once in a while.  You work hard.  You deserve it.  Your struggle is real.  You are strong.  You are smart.  You are beautiful.  Love yourself.  

Sincerely,

Jamie