Photo: Alex Brooke

I apologize for the absence.

As you all know, Japan was hit by an earthquake of 9.0 on the Richter scale on March 11th. There were moments of great tension and sadness, but the serenity and courage of the Japanese people in face of this tragedy have been truly inspiring.

My love and respect for this country increases every day.

Click here to go to the website of the Japanese Red Cross.

Photo: Keyla Miguita

Today we are going to know a little about Maya.

I’m really happy to see her here on the site. She was one of the first people who started reading NFT, 1 year ago. We see  each other very often because we live in the same building, on the same floor. She is always very helpful.

Maya has Japanese and French parents and was born in Germany. She loves Bjork and The Dave Matthews Band, has a  cute daughter and is a super mother. She loves organic products and practical things. She makes the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten in my life and she doesn’t leave home without her camera because she loves capturing all moments of the life of her little princess.

Birthplace: Cologne.

Style: Casual.

Current time in Japan: 3 1/2 years.

Reason for coming to Japan: Love, work and identity.

Likes and dislikes of Tokyo:

consumers paradise, food varieties, contrast of old and new.

bad air, too many people, highways, terrible childcare system in Minato-Ku (central Tokyo area).

Favourite places in Tokyo: My bed, Shinjuku Gyoen, Isetan Department Store, Odaiba beach with it’s panoramic view over Tokyo skyline.

Favourite places in home country: My bed, Café Sur in Cologne, old cities, historic ancient cities, green parks and forests

Click here to go to her blog (only in German).

Learn Japanese Pod lesson #99 “Butsu butsu iwanai”

I’ve already posted here how much I like podcasts and how they enable to study almost anything I want.

Textbooks are good up until a certain point however you have to find a fun method to keep going. I think, podcast are cheap, fun and practical.

I have a list of podcasts to recommend, but let’s start with “Learn Japanese Pod”.

It is really good because you can learn a lots of useful and natural everyday expressions that you probably wont find in textbooks.

I have an immense pleasure to introduce you to this sweet girl, Lina.

Birthplace: Pamplona, Colombia.

Reason for coming to Japan: For visiting my uncle, studying japanese, discovering new things related to design and for living new experiences.

Likes and dislikes of Tokyo:

Everything is clean and tidy, although people seem to be shy they are very kind and helpful people.

It is easy to get to any place because of the train and metro system, which for me is one of the best in the world.

What I like the most is the fashion sense, they always look very elegant and classy no matter what, when or where, they always look great.

I like sushi, ramen, takoyaki, gyozas and the variety of food you can find in every corner.

People being different and wearing colorfull and bright accessories and clothes, walking around Shibuya and Harajuku.

Japanese design and architecture represented in every street, every building, every mall, every shop.

I don’t like extremely crowded places, some men still think women are less than them and very old people left alone.

Favourite places in Tokyo: Shibuya and Harajuku shops, Roppongi Hills, AXIS building, MUJI stores and Odaiba.

Favourite place in home country: The main park where I used to go skating when I was a child and where I can see people passing and doing different things.