Category: Life (past)
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My 46th Year 🎂 With Work-Life Balance
Building on the crisis-induced clarity acquired last year, my 46th year starts with 5-day birthday holidays. I celebrated today with a charming flower tea in Yokohama at Monkey-Magic Teahouse Chaso, appreciating our era of freedom and long healthy life in good company 🙂 I resumed meditation and played more with my cats (running & cooking…
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My 45th Year ⚖️ Work-Life Balance Crisis
Through a powerful realization about work-life balance midway, my 45th year was transformative beyond significant professional milestones. These achievements came at the expense of my well-being despite my peaceful environment in Japan but I already feel the positive impact of first intentional changes honouring both aspects of my life. A Pivotal Moment Of Clarity A…
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Japan’s Climate Crisis ⚠️ Reshaping The Nation
The worldwide climate crisis is profoundly reshaping Japan from daily life to cherished cultural traditions to vital food production. The dramatic transformations I witnessed here in 20+ years require attention & adaptation. This week, Japan reached 41.2℃ for the first time in recorded history, notably heated by the Foehn effect (Japan’s mountainousness worsened extreme heat…
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Rotemburo — Outdoor Hot Springs In Japan
I’m a big fan of rotemburo (露天風呂) outdoor hot springs in Japan, and warmly recommend them especially after hiking or cycling. Rotemburo views vary with: Some rotemburo are just “ponds in nature” but those part of facilities are typically partly roofed and thus suitable during rain & snow. In Kurokawa-onsen village, I even discovered an…
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Winter In Japan
Winter is wonderful in Japan; probably my favourite season here! It’s perfect for slow & rejuvenating baths in hot springs surrounded by snowy mountains, gathering with friends (+ random encounters) at seasonal bars, photos with huge statues at e.g. Sapporo Snow Festival, frozen lakes, the gravel-like sound of waves in partially-frozen seas… And for all…
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Kura Sushi — With Plant-Based Foods
Surprisingly, the standard menu of Kura Sushi chain restaurants in Japan includes diverse plant-based sushi and desserts. We just savoured: Kura Sushi operates 543 restaurants in Japan. Its 61 restaurants in the USA and 56 in Taiwan have different menus. In the frame of the 2025 world expo in Osaka, Kura Sushi launched an Expo…
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Expo 2025 World Cuisines — Everywhere In Japan!
Today, world cuisines of 70 countries appeared at Kura Sushi chain restaurants all over Japan as part of a 2025 World Expo campaign. For practical reasons, each restaurant only features one world cuisine in addition to the standard menu. You’d currently have to eat at 70 restaurants to taste all the dishes… Still, that’s great…
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On Bluesky As SebastienPlus
I just created my Bluesky account “SebastienPlus“. My first post was: Hello Blue Sky! Excited to join the community 🙂 I’m Sébastien Duval, based in Tokyo. My passions include unearthing unique Japan, rejuvenating hot springs, delicious vegan cuisines… and helping develop regenerative tourism. Like-minded? Let’s chat! I’m looking forward to this fresh start on social…
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Vegan Food In Japan
Vegan food in Japan is difficult to find for international travellers who do not speak Japanese unless they stay in hubs such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. However, high-quality vegan food is easy to find and prepare for bilingual residents. Vegan Dishes Somen Thin Noodles Somen thin noodles served cold and dipped in sauce are…
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Matoi-no-kai – A Rising Music Community
Matoi-no-kai’s founder and his team charmed me during the Ziqqurat concert this afternoon at Saitama Arts Theatre. Their captivating performance audaciously blended traditional Japanese music, reflections about civilization, and elements of the Book of Genesis common to the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. And despite a busy sweltering summer (“only” 36℃ outside today), this…