About Me
A manga-style rendition of me drawn by one of my students circa 2006
This blog started out as a way to chronicle my various adventures living, working and studying in Japan. Its scope has expanded to all sorts of other random topics along the way. That’s part of the idea–I’m not a one-dimensional person, so why should my blog be? You’ll read about travel, photography, gardening, books, crafting, fashion, television and more–never a dull moment!
In Japan, the term モダンガール(modan gaaru) refers to Japanese women who followed Westernized fashions and lifestyles in the 1920s. These “moga” were Japan’s equivalent of America’s flapper; they were depicted as living in the cities, being financially and emotionally independent, choosing their own suitors, and being model consumers. In any case, I’ve always thought that these women were a really interesting group living at a really interesting time in Japan. And I liked the play on words. :)
A note about content: The writing and photography featured on this blog is my original work unless otherwise noted. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from me is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to A Modern Girl with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
If you wish to use my photos on your own site or get larger versions of them, please contact me. If you receive permission to use my photos, you must credit me when using the photo elsewhere and provide a link back to this blog or to my Flickr site. And this credit should be visibly connected to the photo(s) that you have used (i.e. if you’ve used my photos and those of others somewhere, don’t cite all of us in a batch after the fact, but give each photographer credit for the specific photo he/she took). You can use this code if you like:
© <a href=”https://amoderngirl.wordpress.com”>A Modern Girl</a> and <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/people/kristi-san/”>kristi-san</a>
Happy reading!
hi, visit my blog and read an interesting malay story. maybe you will need a translator.
Hi Kristi,
My name is Carla and my partner, Eugene, and I have recently written an ebook on living in Japan. You can find it at http://www.howtoliveinjapan.com
We are just contacting you to see if you could possibly do a small post or even just put the link to our page up on your blog.
We’ve been following your blog for some time now and we would really appreciate any help.
Currently we are living in Tateyama, Chiba teaching and the ebook is just a guide to things that we had no idea about, but wish we did before moving to Japan.
Kind Regards
Carla and Eugene
Hi Kristi,
My name is Billy Martyn. My brother John and I are launching ABCLoop (www.abcloop.com) in early October, a Tokyo based social networking site that connects the English-speaking community with local Japanese that want to learn English and find English speaking social and professional events.
We are fans of your blog and would like to meet with you over coffee to introduce ourselves and discuss the possibility of collaborating. Will you be available sometime between October 8th and 20th? Please let us know.
Thanks,
Billy
Billy@abcloop.com
Mobile: 080-6401-9694
Hi Kristi-
I’m the editor of Expat Arrivals.com (http://www.expatarrivals.com), a site devoted to developing comprehensive destination guides aimed at easing expat transitions abroad. I came across your blog while doing research to enhance the Japan portion of our site, and I was hoping I could convince you to share some of your expat insight. We’re constantly looking for contributors, and in exchange, we can give our writers promotional profiles where you have the opportunity to promote yourself, your blog and your business. Would you be interested in adding some content to Expat Arrivals? I know you’ve yet to arrive in the country, but sometimes tips on preparation are the best kind of info! Thanks for your time and consideration, I look forward to hearing from you!
Best-
Stephanie
Hello!
First and foremost, thank’s for a very entertaining blog!
I’ve been reading it for a while, but I have yet to contribute anything, so it’s
due time for me to make up for it! =)
I’ve found this quite amazing guy named Man. He’s a gaijin (Swedish I think)
who raps in perfect Japanese!
This one is his “Nagoya state of mind” which is a freestyle cover of
Jay Z feat Alicia Keys – Empire state of mind.
As far as I know he is the only non Japanese person who raps in Japanese (at least
at this level)
I haven’t seen any new artists like him since Monkey Majik and Gero,
so I would love it if you did something on this guy!
Anyways, thanks for an awesome blog!
Cheers!
//Marin
Dear Kristi,
I love your blog, and am contacting you regarding research for a new book I’m writing for ThingsAsian Press. I am looking for insights and quotable comments from individuals who have worked in Japan. I’m gathering information on a variety of fields, such as teaching, technology, office-based business, consultant services, visual arts, music, culinary arts, martial arts, entertainment, fashion, volunteer work, etc.
If you are interested in participating in this project, please respond and I will send you a questionnaire. The reward for your efforts will include writer’s credits and bio, plus six copies of the published book.
Looking forward to your reply….Celeste
Hello
I and two partners are looking for writers who are interested about Japanese history, culture, politics, modern life, and so forth.
I will say more if you are interested.
Lee Jay
Very nice blog!! Lovin’ it!
Pingback: 2010 in Review | A Modern Girl / モダンガール
Hey Kristi,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I found yours through the post a week project on WordPress and had to subscribe, since I lived in Tokyo (near the New Otani Hotel) for 6 months in 1988, right before I started grad school. I still miss Japan, and would love to get back there some day. I did a lot of hiking when I was there (using a book called Day Hikes Outside Tokyo, I think) and found exploring the countryside that way a really amazing compliment to living and working in the city itself. I look forward to following your blog and seeing how gaijin life in Tokyo has changed and stayed the same since my day. Where in the city do you live?
Beth
P.S. Would love to know if the The Taj restaurant (right around the corner from Akasakamitsuke subway stop) is still there. We LOVED their food and ate there at least weekly, our one main exception to eating Japanese food consistently during our stay (the other was the lunchtime run to Wendy’s near work when we messed up and worked through the limited lunchtime window when all the Japanese restaurants were open for lunch After that it was either cucumber sandwiches at a coffee shop or Wendy’s til dinnertime).
Beth, thanks so much for the comment! I’m enjoying your blog as well. I actually live a bit outside Tokyo in Ichikawa (Chiba), but I get into the heart of the city fairly often to do interviews, work in my office, and of course, to have fun. :) I’ll try to remember to have a look for that restaurant the next time I’m in Akasakamitsuke!
Hi Kristi,
We contact you because we believe the following could be interesting information for your site visitors.
We are a small indie developer company for creative iPhone apps, and we have recently developed and released an iPhone educational game about Katakana and Hiragana. You can find info about it at http://www.underplot-apps.com/page/178/Match-Kana/ .
The idea behind Match Kana is to help Japanese learners practice the Hiragana and Katakana syllabaries. It’s a simple matching game, but recognition and practicing the important Hiragana and Katakana glyphs is an important activity and since it’s presented as a game makes is also lot of fun.
Match Kana is available on iTunes and can be downloaded for FREE here: http://itunes.apple.com/app/match-kana/id412656918?mt=8
Kind Regards,
Niki Genov
Underplot Apps
http://www.underplot-apps.com
Hello.
I’m impressed your blog.Because you know a good thing when you see Japanese culture.
I live in Saitama Japan and I am Japanese.
But I recently started to blog about Japanese things in English.
I look forward to following your blog.
hi there?firstof all i thought u were japanese but clearly ur not(uv mentioned that in one of ur blogs) where r u from and why did u get so interested in japan?
im starting my own travel blog sorta thing soon and i bumped into urs when i was checkin out for some blog sites!!!Iv found it pretty interesting(esp the beatles one) and will be visiting it more often….ciao!! rekz
Rekz, thanks for the comment! You’re right, I’m not Japanese, I’m actually Filipino-Italian-American. I became interested in Japan after I started studying the Japanese language, and it’s been a real adventure since then!
My (full)name is Sakaguchi Benjamin Akeala Belew.（坂口ベンジャミン明ベルー）
I am a half Japanese, half-American composer and artist that resides in Indiana. After hearing the devastated news of the earth quake, flood, nuclear radiation etc. I created a video with my composition “Aria” to send hope to my home land and the people.
Please take a look. And if you do, thank you for your time in doing so.
Sakaguchi Benjamin Akeala Belew
Dear Modern Girl
Would you be interested in trading links with our site? We’re japan-watch.com, your one-stop source for news and information on Japan’s markets, economy, and politics.
our url:
http://japan-watch.com/
thank you, -rvehill
rvehill@gmail.com
I have been reading your blog about Japan… It’s great! I love the photography.
In fact, I’ve been reading blogs from every country on this planet looking for writers that would make great contributors for an online magazine my daughter and I are developing. I like what you write about. We could help each other.
My name is Patrick McCormick and our magazine is called “The e-Buffet”. Our prototype is online now. I hope you will take a look at it. It’s only been a month and we have assembled a remarkable group of talented artists and writers. It has become a Creative Collaboration and we are growing stronger every day.
There are several excellent reasons for our early success recruiting this talent. First, it is a great opportunity to promote your own blog or website. Second we do not charge our contributors or make them work for free, we actually intend to pay them. The creators of The e-Buffet will take ten percent of the total gross revenue each month and place it into a pool to be split by the contributors. Admittedly, we are a start-up business and do not have deep pockets, so the pool will be small at first. However, with the type of artists we are attracting, I predict our readership will grow quickly.
So, I like your work and I offer you the same opportunity that I have given the others. If you get in touch with me now, you can still place some of your material in the first issue due out June 1, 2011. Oh, the first few months you can submit articles and photographs that have all ready been published elsewhere. I believe that makes this one of those “Win, Win” opportunities.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Patrick McCormick
Dear Modern Girl, welcome to the world.
Hello Modern Girl,
My name is Peter Dyloco. I’m a Hong Kong born, 17 year old student who has been living in Toronto for the last 8 years of my life.
My life goal is not only to move to Japan, but reform it from the inside out. Simply said: I want to become a Japanese politician. Too often have I read news articles about the aging Japanese population, the oh so fragile economy and the ballooning public debt. The political inaction doesn’t help. It pains me to see Japan falter in such ways, especially knowing that Japan can certainly do better.
I’ve begun my mission through my blog, http://savingjapan.net, a blog dedicated to suggesting solutions to the problems facing Japanese society. Would it be possible to exchange links for our sites? That would be very much appreciated.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Peter Dyloco
Thanks for the comment on my blog. Your blog is fantastic took. I look forward to reading more from you. I lived in Kyoto for years and years (can read about me and Jenny here http://cumbrianvixens.wordpress.com/about/ ) Motoko
Very Nice Pics. Thanks for sharing amazing pics of japan……keep posting !!!
I liked the header image very much. I humbly suggest you to use Pilcrow theme.
Pingback: Exploring Japan by Bike « 茶有の者 – A Man with Tea
Hi Kristi,
I couldn’t find a contact address – so am leaving a quick comment instead.
I stumbled across your site (lovely pictures btw) and wondered if you and your readers might be interested in a new book I recently finished that focuses on the wild places and wild life of inaka Japan, called ‘For Fukui’s Sake’?
Like you I was a JET and I spent a lot of my time exploring and adventuring in the more remote and rural parts of the country.
If you were interested in mentioning the book on your blog, I would happily email you a copy for your perusal.
There’s also more info on my site: http://www.ForFukuisSake.com
All the best
Sam
Hi Kristi-san,
I’ve found your blog at Haikugirl’s Japan ( http://haikugirl.wordpress.com/ ).
Your blog is familiar with the Japanese style than Japanese. Because you know “moga”, but I did not know it very much. :)
Thank you,
I nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award. Here are the details: http://photographerwilltravel.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/the-versatile-blogger/
Thank you for creating an entertaining blog!
hey modern girl
i’m woode wood, a singer/songwriter based in austin, texas. i’ll be visiting tokyo in 2012 and have been reading dif blogs familiarizing myself with the japanese. thank you for writing yours, it has been informative. here’s what i do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q_Qc1rYt4w
thanks again…..
woode
As a blogger on Japan, you may be interested in ”Big Sound Temple” by Ben Stevens – the world’s FIRST ever novel to be written entirely in ‘Japlish’. It is available on promotion as a free download on Amazon UK/US. Just search ”Big Sound Temple Ben Stevens”. Thank you.
Hi,
My name is Malte Zeeck, and I am with InterNations.org. I really enjoyed reading your blog! I think expats in Japan and around the world could really gain some great insights from this page. The quality of the blog in general is very convincing, which is why I would love to feature you and your writing on the Recommended Blog on Japan section on InterNations.org
Not only do we feature and link to your blog prominently; we also would like to hear from you directly in our questionnaire! We have also designed a link badge for your blog.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact me via email: maltezeeck@internations.org
Best,
Malte Zeeck
Great blog you have got here.. It’s hard to find excellent writing like yours nowadays. I really appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Hi,
Great blog!
Speaking of ladies, esp Japanese ladies:
I am the author of “Simon and Hiroko,” a dramatic love story located to a large extent in Japan, which has gathered several appreciative reviews and blog interviews.
I wish you’d take a stab at it too:-)
I lived two years in Tokyo and I enjoyed the place very much.
Cheers.
Marius Hancu
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6472280.Marius_Hancu
sorry, the link for Simon and Hiroko is
Hi! I’ve nominated you for a Beautiful Blogger Award: http://nihoninlondon.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/beautiful-blogger-award/
Very nice article. I certainly appreciate this site.
Continue the good work!
Wow, wonderful blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is excellent, as well as the content!
Greetings from Idaho! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to check out your blog on my iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the information you provide here and can’t wait to take a
look when I get home. I’m amazed at how quick your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .
. Anyhow, very good blog!
Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as
I provide credit and sources back to your blog? My blog site is in the exact same
area of interest as yours and my visitors would truly benefit from a
lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this alright with you.
Appreciate it!
Hi! I am interested in a possible collaboration with this site!
Please email me @ ks@priorityonejets.com
Thanks!
Kate
Hello,
I really like the material on your site and I would like to collaborate with you to drive traffic to it. Can you contact me when you have a minute to discuss?
Best,
Yan Sen
Hi Modern girl, love your post on cupcakes! But just to let you know Bellas Cupcake have a fabulous shop/bakery in Shirokane Takanawa-a really cute little shop, like walking into an english cottage tea shop… Beautiful.. Its open Tuesday to sunday 9-2:30pm in addition to the cupcake truck. You should definitely visit the shop.
Sarah
Hey!
I am moving to Tokyo in a few weeks and just discovered your blog. Great insight and wonderful photography! Thanks for sharing.
Diana
I’m glad that you found it useful! Tokyo is a really great city–I hope you enjoy it!
good articles
Kristi, your blog is really fun and thoughtful. It’s a new favourite of mine!
I’m so glad that you’re enjoying it–thanks for stopping by!
Hey, just wanted to say I was also doing JET in Niigata around the time you were there (maybe?). I was in the Itoigawa area from 2008-2010. It’s rare when I meet another JET also from Niigata (and I didn’t know them, haha). Niigata is the best, I miss it so!
Anyway your blog is wonderful… I’m still looking around!
Always nice to meet a fellow Niigata JET! I was in Kamo (near Tsubame/Sanjo) 2005-2006, so a little before your time. They cut back dramatically on the number of JETs there when I left–my position and pretty much all of the other prefectural positions were eliminated or shifted to Interac, I think. But yeah, I enjoyed my time there!
Hi! My name is Katie Adler and I have on online radio show Live w/Katie. I am a voice over artist in Tokyo! My show is Thursdays, 22:00 Japan time and it one hour done through Skype—voice only. englishwithkatie.com
The blog site is my old site…here is my new site… http://englishwithkatie.com/live-w-katie/
Hello Kristi-san,
My name is Kagayaki Son and I am writing to you as a representative of Widsley Inc., Tokyo based IT start up company, specializing in digital marketing and web development.
We will be launching a new web service called Japanize! (http://jnize.com/). The main concept of this service is to provide an useful information from bloggers who feature any Japanese cultures, so that readers will get familiar with them.
Since your articles are really interesting, I’d like to ask if we could reprint them on to our web with all your credits (such as original article URL and your SSNs and stuff if you like.) After launching the service, we will put an online advertising and we can traffic a certain amount of readers back to your site as well.
It would be appreciated if you were interested in joining to our authors team.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Kagayaki Son
kagayaki.son@widsly.com
Looking To Recruit Partners
Hello.Modern girl!!!
Our company is called JOYZ JAPAN.
We are an advertising agency that specializes in micro-media (personal media, personal blogs, personal websites, small websites) to help deliver “real information about Japan” to people from overseas who plan to visit Japan.
On behalf of people who operate micro-media, we sell to clients in Japan ad space or PR articles on websites.
As an advertising agency that specializes in micro-media, we are the best in Japan.
We believe that blogs are the right media for providing real information about Japan, and think that we are making a contribution to letting the world know about how attractive Japan is.
We are currently looking for partners to write PR articles, contribute to portal sites, and sell banner ads on websites.
We believe that people in Japan who publish information should be able to earn money by posting information about Japan.
We would be happy if they could use the money that they earn to publish more good information about Japan.
The immediate goal of our company is to enable people to earn $10,000 per month by publishing information about Japan.
Won’t you please join us so that together we can tell the world about how appealing Japan is?
Registration form : http://joyz.jp/contact
Outline of the Work
Register from the member registration form
・Request small-scale work (it is okay to refuse)
・Publish information about events or good bargains (free tickets or invitations to special events)
↓
Partner contract (more than 10,000 page views per month)
Request work （We will pay the reward to you）
・Present the value of a premium offer (it is okay to refuse)
・Write or post ads
Inquiries: Joyz Japan Co.,Ltd.
WEB: http://joyz.jp/contact
I absolutely love your blog! I just recently fell in love with Japan and your blog is amazing! :)
Thanks so much! Japan is a fantastic place–I’m glad that you’re enjoying my blog!
Dear Kristi,
I read you blog and was impressed about Japan and it’s life inside.
At present time, I am looking for blogger from Japan which can post one time per week the article about fashion, design, travel in Japan.
If you are really interested in it, please email me))
Hello Kristi,
I wonder if you would be interested in receiving a free review issue of the Deep Kyoto: Walks ebook for your blog? Deep Kyoto: Walks is an anthology of 18 meditative walks about Japan’s ancient capital by renowned Kyoto experts like Pico Iyer and Judith Clancy. More than a guide book, it is a rich and varied account of life lived in Kyoto by those who call it home. You can find out more about it here: http://www.deepkyoto.com/about-the-book/
If you are interested and would like a free issue of the e-book, then send me your email address and I will get one to you right away. You can email me at m.0.luain23[at]gmail.com.
Best wishes,
Michael Lambe
(P.S. The e-book can be read on your smart phone, personal computer or on pretty much any kind of device)
Hey, would you like to share your posts on http://akihabara.tokyo – it is a one stop spon for cool news and life in Japan.
Dear A Modern Girl,
I work for a company called Site Engine based in Akihabara. As well as offering translation and other web marketing services, we manage a website aimed at informing and entertaining foreign tourists in Japan – http://japantourlist.com
We would be very grateful if you could allow us to reproduce some of your past blog posts related to Japan on our site. We would of course link back to the original page, and I can remove the photos showing you or your family/friends if you prefer.
With your support I can see our content expanding, reaching and benefiting so many more people like us who are finding more and more amazing things in Japan.
I look forward to your reply.
Dear Kristi,
My name if Fred, I am working for Motivist Japan. We are a Japanese company assisting foreign students to come study in Japan. We have been in the “Ryugaku” business for more than 10 years (less than a year for the “inbound” part). We try to promote Japan in general (not just to the studying part of it).
Here is our site URL: http://motivistjapan.com/
As you likely know, the Japanese government is working on attracting more and more foreign students (they aim to double the number of students to 300,000 by 2020, they also launched the Global 30 initiative) so education in Japan should be trending in the near future.
As I find your blog interesting, I’d love to get in touch with you to discuss a partnership.
Thank you in advance and happy holidays to you!
よろしくお願いします
Fred
Hi Kristi,
great and enjoyable blog, hope there will be more updates coming soon!
Best regards, Johannes