The Japanese authorities accepted a postcard with my children's names on them (ie. a birth announcement) for my first two, and didn't look at anything for the second two. There's a form to write in...

I think that some good points have been made. Reading to your child every day should be the goal of every parent. Before bed, while dinner is cooking, sometime but you need to make it a daily...

Your child is insured while on school property or in the bus if there is one. One of my children broke his leg at school and not only did the school take care of everything, including follow-up...

My kids have their own rooms at the moment, although babes are in our room until they sleep through the night. Littlest one (13 months) has recently moved out although it is much easier with babies...

With information.

You're welcome.

None at all as far as I know. The school calls me or my husband to ask us to tell my son's friend's parents about important stuff, and that is as much as is done. There are no JSL classes within the...

I'm not sure about the "thus", as it was your choice not to raise him bilingually rather than a given.

There are a couple of kids in my children's schools who moved to Japan without speaking...

Shite, now I want #5.

The leaking part doesn't last very long though. If you have two kids, 2 years apart, the 24-7 part really only lasts 10 years or so. After that they get their own interests and are at school clubs...

Thanks YT, I am a bit sensitive because it was stupid. I want to go back a decade and smack my own face. But plenty of people told me how stupid I was being not marrying my now-husband, especially...

What are you on about???

I did not imply that my child had no residency status at all.
He had Japanese citizenship from his father. He had his own family register (now part of his father's). He...

Why do I need to qualify?

Do you want me to tell you it was one of the stupidest things I've ever done? Of course it was. Do you want me to tell you why? That's really not anyone's business. ...

My kids are bilingual, the eldest two are in elementary school and fully biliterate. I don't feel at all the way Ume does. I'm the mother and the speaker of the heritage language, and we have to...

My first child was born out of wedlock, and most certainly was put on my health insurance. Even as it says above in that legal thingamajig you copied and pasted, the problem is for children who have...

Of course they can. What ever gave you this idea?

This is all that needs to be said. If you are flying JAL or another Asian airline you will be okay. If you booked on ANA, my condolences, as they will actually be Air Canada.

On an Asian...

If you're an "activist" with your own column in the Japan times, your complaints are "I don't have any friends" and "I am not getting laid".

Because that happened for the 60 years of commercial flights before the TSA went nuts?

Try Costco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRv4GQ5lqo0&NR=1

Those poor children.

No. Customs wants you to declare the number of cigarettes you are taking into Japan over the limit.

Sounds like a midlife crisis which could happen in any country. Take up surfing or another new hobby.

It sounds like you don't have a gaijin card and re-entry permit, so you need to go to the foreigner's line as they will have to do extra processing for your visa.

Btw, have you figured out your...

I would gladly pay for something that is the same as Hulu US. Up-to-the-minute updates of tv shows that have aired in the US. As it stands, everything on that site is available at the video store. ...