Across from my house and a little up the road, blue hydrangeas are blooming as the rain continues to fall. It’s getting hotter and more humid by the day in Tokyo.
When you start off a formal letter in Japanese, it’s typical to start with a brief description of the season or weather. This is probably to lull the recipient into a false sense of security. Once the scene is set and your recipient is feeling relaxed, you can spring your real reason for writing on them.
In this case, it’s to tell you why you should read my blog about Japan, “Spam From Japan”. I want to tell you about Japanese movies, gothic nightlife and food in a way that’s fun to read even if you have no plans to visit, and I’ll give you travel tips and how to find the places I’m talking about if you do. I have a genuine love of manga, anime and Japanese pop culture and I make no apologies for that. Expect photographs. As the title might suggest, there’s no thought given to “brand identity” here. Just fun posts about what I love.
What’s different about my writing may be obvious immediately or may take more reading. Want to read about things like Tokyo Pride in a supportive environment alongside awesome reviews of cool stuff? Want a place that never uses the word “wacky” outside of scare quotes? Subscribe to this blog.
Hope that introduction wasn’t too jarring after your initial mental images of flowers in the rain. Now go out and enjoy those hydrangeas.
