About Me
Hi, I’m Kay! Thanks for stopping by my life and travel in Japan with kids blog.
I’m a long-term resident of Japan who moved here all the way from Canada in 2009.
Back then, social media wasn’t really a thing, and I had to rely on information I got from locals about life and travel in Japan. In a sense, it was pretty cool because I had an unfiltered view of Japan and had hardly any expectations regarding the places I would visit, which is why I was constantly blown away by all the beauty I saw across the country.
I thought I would move back to Canada after a few years so I traveled to as many places in Japan as possible, from the snowy landscapes of Hokkaido to the crystalline blue waters of Okinawa. I fell in love with Japan during this time… and fell in love with a local from Hiroshima as well!
Fast-forward to 2014 when we tied the knot and moved to Tokyo. My husband and I worked as typical salarymen/salarywomen while continuing to travel throughout Japan (we’ve been to 40 prefectures already!) and sometimes abroad in our free time.
Then in November 2018, my husband and I were overjoyed to find out that we were expecting our first child. However, despite that I had lived in Japan for many years, being pregnant in a foreign country came with many questions and concerns, so I decided to start this blog to share my journey from a mother-to-be to a new mom, and now the mother of a preschooler in Japan. I’ve been fortunate enough to have this platform to share the stories of other mothers who have given birth in Japan as well.
Now that my daughter is older, I’m also excited to share all the fun places we travel to in Japan. I hope that this information helps both those living in Japan and visitors with little ones, too! My goal is to help make traveling in Japan as stress-free as possible for parents because with kids it can be challenging at times (but also oh so rewarding, I love looking back at photos of my daughter from all the places we’ve been)
I should point out that we moved from Tokyo to Osaka back in 2021. For an explanation of why I’m not changing my blog name despite now living in Osaka, check out this post!
If you’re a parent or a parent-to-be and have any questions or need support, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can also contact me for freelance writing or J-E translation opportunities.
Where I’ve Lived/Traveled in Japan
📍Hokkaido
📍Tohoku
- Aomori
- Iwate
- Miyagi
- Akita
- Yamagata
- Fukushima
📍Kanto
📍Chubu
- Niigata
- Yamanashi
- Nagano
- Shizuoka
- Aichi
📍Kansai
📍Chugoku
- Hiroshima
- Shimane
- Okayama
- Yamaguchi
📍Shikoku
- Ehime
- Tokushima
📍Kyushu
- Fukuoka
- Oita
- Miyazaki
- Kumamoto
📍Okinawa
- Naha
- Miyakojima
FAQ
Why don’t you show your face or your family’s?
A long time ago, I used to have an active social media account about my life in Japan and I shared EVERYTHING. My face, my husband, my name, my work, etc. (I might be doxing myself, so if you think you know me, don’t be afraid to say hi!)
And then my daughter was born and I started to rethink things, especially after a friend of mine went through a rough time with some unpleasant people on the net.
I believe in protecting the privacy of my child since she’s not old enough to give consent. However, I still want to be able to share helpful information for parents living or traveling in Japan with kids, so I try to take as many steps as possible to ensure my daughter’s privacy. This includes not sharing photos or personal information about myself either.
But you’ll see that many of my photos, including on my Instagram, feature me or my family, our faces are just hidden.
I am a real person and I have met readers IRL and we’ve become friends.
Can I trust you?
I don’t share anything that I haven’t experienced or researched myself. As mentioned before, some of my readers have become my friends and I would never, ever want to risk our friendship by giving untrustworthy information. Not to mention that there are kids involved!
Do you have sponsored posts?
None of my posts are sponsored as I want to provide my honest, bias-free opinion and reviews on products related to pregnancy, and child-rearing, as well as my experiences traveling and living in Japan with my family.
Do you accept guest posts?
I accept guest posts as long as the content works with my blog. Please feel free to contact me if you have an idea.