I have been in Japan since Christmas Day on my winter holiday with my family and have been savoring every second of it.
Just Japan Stuff has been in somewhat of a state of limbo since my family and I left Japan in August of 2017 to work in Beijing, China. I still have no regrets about taking the job I did. I work at an amazing place and it was definitely the right move to accelerate my teaching career.
On the other hand, I have missed life in Japan a lot. I miss the food, culture, sense of comfort as well as the amazing sights I would see daily.
My family is of course from Japan (I’m from Canada) so we always have a foot in the door so to speak.
We came to Kobe on Christmas Day. The Kobe portion of our holiday was for our two children. We stayed in a hotel in our old neighborhood so they would have the chance to play with their friends.
We then moved to Osaka where my wife’s family live.
I have been out every day exploring back alleys, restaurants and the bustling downtown areas of Osaka and Kobe with my camera. If you follow my Twitter feed over @jlandkev you will see just how insanely active I have been over there.
I even hosted a meet up on December 27th at the Harbor Tavern in Kobe, Japan. Several awesome people came out to say hello. I even had the chance to interview Rob from therealjapan.com about his great travel website!
I have been excited by this visit “back home.” I am now focused on moving back here in the next few years (career-wise I am working on a “long-game”. I am also excited to get back into podcasting.
The Just Japan Podcast was a real treat for so many people. Many fine folks reached out to me about how much this weekly podcast about the place they care so much about, Japan, meant to them.
I’ll be back in Beijing on January 4th and within the next few days after that, Just Japan Podcast 169: The Real Japan will drop.
I’m excited to be producing Japan-content again. I’ll be back here in June for a few weeks to catch up with family and friends again.
Until then, stay tuned here as well as my Twitter feed @jlandkev and Instagram for lots of Japan stuff (don’t forget YouTube).
Happy 2018 Everyone!
The writer:
Kevin O’Shea is the host of the Just Japan Podcast and the Just Japan News Podcast. He is also the guy behind JustJapanStuff. Kevin is a Canadian educator who lives in Beijing, China with his family. Kevin called Kobe, Japan home for 10 years.
Follow him on Twitter: @jlandkev
Instagram: @jlandkev
Facebook: Facebook.com/justjapanstuff
Email: justjapanpodcast@gmail.com
Just Japan Stuff 
Happy New Year Kevin and family.
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Good to see how enjoyable your visit was!
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It was great. Lit a fire under me to start podcasting again and get back to Japan.
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Enjoyed reading this update Kevin.
Was a pleasure finally meeting you at the Twitter meet-up in Kobe.
And delighted to be the guest on the return of the Just Japan Podcast.
Love the photo selection too!
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Good to hear from you again! Wishing you tons of success and good memories in China in 2018!
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So glad you are able to make the trip a couple of times a year until you can get back long term. It’s sooooo important to have a place you love to call home.
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