I've Been Writing Up a Storm! Check Out my Articles!

As of this year, I officially became a freelance writer! I've been loving every minute of it – the feeling you get from seeing your writing officially published! It's a pretty big goal for me, as one of my dream jobs includes being able to combine my passion for writing with my passion for Japan. (It's also nice to get paid for it, too!). Thus I've been writing up a storm over the past seven months, and I've already published a whopping sixteen articles! Unfortunately, since I've been so busy doing freelance writing, I've been less active on my blog, as I'm using most of my ideas for articles. But don't despair! I'll be posting more blogs, and you can count on my monthly Disney store updates!

If you haven't read my articles yet, please check them out on izanau.com!

Japan Trend Tracker: Radio Fish's "Perfect Human"​

Radio Fish's "Golden"​ New Hit

The Ultimate Simple Yet Effective Japanese Study Trick

The Cool, the Cute, the Bizarre, and Downright Scary in Japan

Time for another addition of cool/awesome/weird things I've stumbled across while living in Japan. If you're familiar at all with Japan, you know it's known for such things, from the latest cutting edge technology, animal cafes, and hilarious commercials. This is my third year in Japan, so I'm pretty used to things around here – sorry but no, you won't encounter any giant robots battling over the city skyline or cute alien girls trying to declare their love to you. Mostly vending machines and conbinis (convenience stores). But there are still things that have me stopping and staring at how cool/awesome/bizarre they are!

Strange

This is supposed to be a beauty product. So why does it so closely resemble an instrument of torture?!

Halloween is in Full Swing at the Disney Store!

As predicted, October brings us some awesome Nightmare Before Christmas products! This month is packed with new products, and I can't wait to share with you all the great new stuff!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Tsum Tsums! How did we ever live without their cuteness in our dull, dull lives?

Funny Conversations I've Had with Japanese People Recently

Since being back in Japan a month after an equal amount of time visiting family in the states, I've already had some pretty interesting conversations with Japanese people.

When I first came back to school, one of the female teachers I work with noticed that my face looked darker than usual. "You got a suntan!" she remarked to me with a smile. "Huh?" I thought. "Uh, no, not really..."

"Oh?" she said. "Your skin looks darker..."

I thought...And immediately recalled my stepmom saying something quite similar to me when I was back home. "Melissa, you look so white! I don't think that makeup is the right color for your skin tone..." "Really?" I had said in surprise. I'd run out of my American foundation, so I had been forced to buy some more in Japan. I bought what I thought matched my skin color...but apparently not.