Japanesque contemplations

So how´s this for absurd? A drink specifically aimed for children and marketed to resemble beer at all cost?? How incredibly inappropriate is that??

"Even kids cannot stand life unless they have a drink," reads the product's advertising slogan

Reminds me of those chewingum sigarettes we used to have as kids... But there again we are talking Japan here where the contrasts in culture seem ridiculous to the foreign eye and Japanese Engrish with its amazingly inappropriate translations never cease to amaze and amuse.

With next October only a mere 9 months away I´m already looking into the realestate market ..... What can I say..It´s mad, mad, mad I tell you!! I knew apartments in Tokyo would be hard to come by and small but this wee one on the left had me speechless ;-) Then there is the whole system of presenting insurance money (amounting to 4 month rent or so) to the owner, non refundable! As well as the agency fees and everything...The apartments specifically aimed at foreigner that advertise avoiding all such fees seem somewhat dubious to say the least, leaving me sincerely hoping the University will assist even though having the kids along makes it doubtful...Then looking into English speaking schools for Ragnar was a minor shock as well, the average annual prize seems to be around 10.000 pounds! Wonder why homeschooling is starting to sound real good about now...

Am really looking forward to this trip and the experience, yet at the same time every time I come accross a japanese newsfeed I panic over my lack of language knowledge, as well as the amount of organizing neccesary to make the transition as painless and enjoyable as possible for the kids. It all feels a tad overwhelming at times, but hey :-D It´s not like one get´s a research grant like this every day, whatsoever in folkloristics and Japanese so it´s all more than worth it ;-) The kids will come out of it with even more experience and Elena, I´m sure, will have no difficulty picking up the language in this time. The last time I spent a year in Japan I changed considerably, wonder whether it´ll have a similar effect on me again ;-)