How To Survive New Year’s In Japan

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Seriously. The fear is real. New Year’s is one of those times in Japan when it’s a real liability to be thousands of miles away from people who might loan you embarrassing essentials or feed you in a pinch, because everything – and I do mean everything – shuts down from December 31 to January 3. Some shut down even longer!

And not just oh-no-how-are-we-going-to-survive-the-extended-family-visit-without museums and movies. We’re talking no supermarkets. No restaurants. No drugstores.

And (according to the panic-inducing notice I saw just yesterday in the elevator) no housekeeping or front desk services for the entire week at the place where I stay. Which means if the two rolls of mingey, single-ply in my bathroom run out, NO TOILET PAPER AND NOWHERE TO BUY IT.

Good thing I loafily took the elevator instead of the stairs yesterday, or I wouldn’t have known to stock up until it was TOO LATE. (Do you think this could be a sign from the gods that exercise is bad for you? Asking for a friend.)

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Happy Year of the Boar, everyone! Have fun, be safe, and I’ll catch you on the other side….

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When well-supplied with the necessities, Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Tokyo

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When Detective Kenji Nakamura’s phone rings with the news that his mother’s death wasn’t an accident, his life begins to unravel…read more