About Me

Photo: @seri_shoots

My three favourite things are music, travelling and ~~food~~ romance. After my baby, that is.

I figured if anyone could start a blog combining these things, it could be me. Why not? I want to share my adventures with anyone who will listen. From making friends in a Kyoto sento, to getting into a fight in a Hong Kong bar, becoming a contestant on The Price is Right in LA or DJ'ing an all night Halloween party in Tokyo, I've been told I have enough stories to last a lifetime. But I feel like I'm just getting started! Or at least I was until the dreaded COVID-19 hit. But I didn't let that stop me from exploring some close to home spots of Japan and starting a whole new life chapter with my family.

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, I moved to Osaka Japan in 2019. After 3 years there, I went deep into the Japanese mountainside, close to the sea to live a peaceful family life.

I'm navigating all new terrain (and language!) as a resident of Japan, wife and mother. Needless to say my blog has pivoted to reflect the life of a foreign mom in Japan, peppered with travel stories and adventures.

I hope you'll enjoy reading about my adventures and learn fun ways to make your own.

I'm also a DJ! Starting October 15th, I'll be taking up a monthly residency on the 3rd Saturday of the month at Ace Hotel Kyoto. I'll be spinning vintage r&b, soul, and a little bit of rock 'n' roll on 45rpm vinyl records.

If you want to read some of my DJ tales or see some of the cool things I've done, please check out www.djmisty.com

P.S. Why Fujiiyama Mama? Well, my last name is Fujii (with 2 i's!) and Fujiyama Mama (with 1 i) is one of my all time favourite songs. It was originally done by Annisteen Allen, and made famous by Wanda Jackson. I happen to love both versions!

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Yoshi's First Holidays!

The doorbell rang, pin pon! Who could it be? I grabbed Yoshitora and ran to the door. The camera was ready. It was Santa and Rudolph! They were making their Christmas Eve rounds and decided to pay a special little boy a personal delivery for his first Christmas. The bewildered Yoshi didn't really know what was going on, but Santa didn't miss a beat. He informed Yoshi that tonight was Christmas Eve and that Yoshi had been a very good boy. So good that Santa had brought him a special gift. He reached into his sack and pulled out a large present. We took pictures, and I profusely thanked the incredibly wholesome Santa and Rudolph for making this night so special. Christmas isn't a huge deal in Japan. It's not a holiday and is celebrated more like Valentine's Day as opposed to what I'm used to in the west. Typically couples go out on a date while families keep it low-key with one or two presents for the kids and a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Jesus is largely a

Inaka Life

We both sighed heavily. We were next in line but the senior woman ahead of us and the cashier were having a lively chat, disregarding the time it was taking to finish checking out. My husband, Yasu and I weren’t in any particular rush ourselves, but waiting was frustrating. Yasu mumbled something about them needing to hurry up before catching himself. “Wait.” He said, “they aren’t wrong. We’re wrong. We need to slow down, like them. That’s inaka life.” I nodded in wise agreement. It was the first of many times we’d been reminded to slow down since moving out to the Japanese countryside. It’s been two months since moving to Eiheiji, Japan; famous for its temple and the slogan “Zen: Do you feel it?”. We arrived from Osaka without an ounce of zen in our bones and made the decision that needed to change. That wasn’t the only thing due to change though; two city folks moving out to the country meant a lot of adjustments were going to have to be made. Our local train station, very differ

Yoshi's First Cherry Blossoms

It’s the best time of the year here in Japan - sakura season! Coming from Toronto where there are only a couple of crowded spots to see the cherry blossom trees, living in Japan has made me spoiled. Here, the cherry blossoms are everywhere; in parks to parking lots - I can see them no matter where I look. One of the most time tested traditions is hanami (admiring the blossoms) and this is usually done by gathering under the cherry blossom trees to indulge in food and drink. It’s one of my favourite leisure activities and this year I was able to bring Yoshitora to indulge as well. I didn’t explore as many places as I did in previous years but went to two pivotal spots in Osaka; Mt. Showa and Osaka Castle Park. Photo: Brooke Fromm-Sarto First, Yoshi’s papa and I took him to Mt. Showa, a man made mountain not too far from us. Built in 1970, Mt. Showa is 108ft tall, offering a great view of the city as well as the nature within. This was Yoshi’s first chance to see the blossoms up close a

Fujiiyama Mama

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