Celebrating Beauty, Abundance, and Possibility

Minamisanriku, a resort town stricken by the 3-11 tsunami January 23, 2012 marked the beginning of the Lunar New Year (also known as the Chinese New Year). It was also the season’s first snow in the Tokyo area. We were at the Alishan Organic Cafe in Hidaka, Saitama celebrating the beginning of the Year of the Dragon with dear friends over steaming hot pots and hearty traditional Chinese New Year fare. As we prepared to head home after a sumptuous dinner, it started snowing.... Read More

Draft Dodgers: House-warming Made Easy

Just as summer’s setsuden or energy conversation efforts required creative solutions to keep cool, winter winds call for similar ideas to keep warm. The draft dodger, a stuffed tube of cloth laid at the base of doors, on window sills, or wherever a slight gap lets a chill breeze in or warm air out, is an easy to make (and more often than not attractive) way to do just that. As temperatures drop at home, my mother still pulls ours out of storage and sets them out around... Read More

Two wheels better than two legs

I love my bicycle  - probably in the same way that some people love their cars. To me, my bicycle represents freedom – the freedom to get from A to B quickly and carry loads of stuff without the hassle of having to look for a parking space .  It is so much quicker than walking and so much less stressful than driving! Once you switch from walking to cycling you can never go back -everything takes far too long by foot afterwards. And the best thing is, I can transport my... Read More

Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble…

This week I tried another cleaning experiment – also using vinegar! But this time using baking powder as well. A quick explanation to start with: in my kitchen, I have a variety of cleaning cloths which have different functions and all of which are in various stages of their lifecycles. Firstly, there is the standard sponge which is good for making lots of foam but which looks like it might disintegrate soon. Secondly I have a scrubbing brush, which comes in handy when I don’t... Read More

How to use your Green Cleaning Kit

Washing, cleaning and household chores take up a lot of our time and energy and there has never been a larger variety of cleaning products of offer. It can be very confusing, however, to know which products really work and which are really necessary. Moreover, prolonged exposure to the harsh chemicals which are contained in most commercial cleaning products is bad for your health and the environment. But help is at hand with this unique set of 7 products that you can use to clean... Read More