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Hi from Japan, everyone! I have some news and I’d like your input.

Currently, I am developing a 3-lesson online course for tourists to study Japanese before they come here. I’ll be covering pronunciation (which is pretty simple!), basic vocab, greetings, and how to ask questions in shops and restaurants.

My credentials: I have been in Japan for 22 years, and passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test at N1 level in 2008. I have over 30,000 hours of conversation practice in Japanese, and 10 years’ experience working for a Japanese company. I have taken courses at translation and interpretation schools, in addition to courses provided by the national broadcaster NHK. I have 10 years’ experience teaching, including running my own school, as well as experience composing questions for language exams held nationally.

If you’re interested, I hope you’ll contact me at finditforme[at]lanternjapan.com (or on WhatsApp) and let me know what you’d like to see in the course. I want to develop these lessons carefully, and make them reflect what you want to study.

So, reach out to me at finditforme[at]lanternjapan.com and tell me what you want to know!!

Last weekend I went bathing and shopping in Karuizawa, a serene and beautiful resort town in Nagano Prefecture.

It’s a great place to buy Japanese goods, with stores selling honey, chopsticks, kitchenware, and local snacks.

The highlight of the trip was relaxing in a hot spring, green trees ringed around the rising steam. If you come to Nagano, I would recommend renting a bike, visiting an onsen, and stocking up on souvenirs!

I was at Don Quijote yesterday.

For anyone that doesn’t know, Don Quijote is a noisy, maximalist general goods store that tries to sell everything. It has a bunch of the usual stuff like snacks and cosmetics, though if you venture to the right corner on the right floor you could probably find a tennis racket for your dog.

So, at DQ yesterday I found these crackers with strawberry icing for the princely price tag of 59 yen. They’re like a hybrid of a Saltine cracker and a Pop Tart. Highly recommended, as is a visit to Don Quijote if you visit Japan!!

I hope you all are doing well!

This week I’ve been dealing with interesting enquiries. There have been people looking for martial arts equipment and Pokemon cards, so I’ve literally been out in the sultry Tokyo heat hunting Pokemon down!

One common theme in the contacts I’m receiving is people leaving or losing things they’ve bought here and needing me to go pick them up. I’m happy to do that, so if you want something collected or replaced, I’m here and ready to help! And, having spent a lot of time in Akihabara yesterday, I can tell you there’s a whole world of trading cards and toys out there!!

On a personal note, something I love about LANTERN is the chance to talk to people. I’m having all kinds of interesting chats with customers from Asia, Europe and North and South America. This is exactly what I wanted LANTERN to be: a service built on human interaction, with flexibility and personal warmth...

So, Japanophiles, reach out and ask me to find something! It’ll be fun!

A couple of months have passed since I launched this site and enquiries are coming in. Thank you to everyone who’s been in contact, and those who’ve been placing orders!

Summer is in full swing here in Japan, with temperatures parked over 30 Celsius (that’s 86 Fahrenheit for my American friends). This country has a wide range of cool summer products, from UV-blocking parasols to portable fans and cooling technology you can wear on your neck.

Japan also has comfy lightweight clothes such as yukata and jinbei (an airy cotton garment ideal for lounging around in the house), as well as beautiful fans to put breeze on your face.

These items make life here special and I can send them to you fast at a very low mark-up. Message me on WhatsApp or email and tell me what you want.

Our service is flexible, friendly and human, with no automated responses or annoying chat bots!

Baking Ginza concrete, rice balls, and jingles on the train platform. Oceans of browsing tourists in the shopping district. Two-day showers. Sun and humidity on your neck like a sweaty tag-team. The gently overwhelming charm of Tokyo’s cluttered curiosities.

Anyone who’s been here knows what I’m talking about...

I came to Japan in 2004, worked for 9 years as an English teacher, and learned the language fluently. It took a while to get down as the grammar, vocab, and everything else are totally different to English. I was employed, after that, by a Japanese company, working in an office. That’s what really taught me the culture: a 9-6 gig as a salaryman in Kawasaki.

And then I quit the wage cage. For a while I did odd jobs: warehouse work, documentary subtitling, admin at an old folk’s home. I even cleaned train stations for a few months, which was one of the happiest times of my life.

Now I’ve been here 22 years. I know the language, the culture, and a chunk of the history. I started Lantern because I love people, and I like to be outside. I enjoy hunting things down, talking to shop owners, finding out what customers want.

Japan is full of second-hand stores, antiques, and interesting snacks and cosmetics.
What I’m hoping is that you’ll tell me what you want, and let me find it and send it to you!!