Frugal Japan
Living frugally in an expensive world

　　Apparently, Softbank is giving away 8GB iPhones for free with a two-year contract. However, it seems that there may be a new iPhone launching soon, so if you are not desperate to own an iPhone right now, it could be worth it to wait and see what the next big thing is first before [...] [ ... ]

　　Last year, we invested in a futon dryer (futon kansouki) which is essentially used on those days when you can’t air the futon, dry out shoes and boots, and even dry your clothes. We also used it to heat up our futon before going to bed. We have a wool-like fluffy mat under our sheet, a [...] [ ... ]

　　A frugal way to keep your bed warm during cold night is to use a Japanese hot bottle called “Yutanpo”. I found the following website talking about Yutanpo : http://nihonhacks.com/in-the-home/keep-yourself-warm-with-yutampo/ By the way, the Nihon Hacks website has a lot of frugal ideas th [ ... ]

　　I have lived in Japan for a number of years, but I still can’t get used to how cold it gets INSIDE my house in the winter. I try all kinds of things to reproduce the warmth of a house in Canada, but all to no avail. Or, rather, I do know of [...] [ ... ]

　　Wendy, founder of Frugal Japan, reports on her move from Japan to the US. I learned a lot over my last three months in Japan, and fully intended on making a very in-depth report on how to dispose of one’s items and move frugally. Unfortunately, my move ended up being not very frugal, despite  [ ... ]

　　Okay. I’ll get right to the point. It’s hot. Darn hot. And expensive. If you’re a slightly detail-oriented (i.e. anal) frugalite like me, you already know from tracking your monthly electricity expenditures that the seasonal peaks typically come in January/February and July/August. [ ... ]

　　So, it’s now almost April, which in Japan means: time for the new school year and fiscal year to start. Before our son was born, I had little appreciation for just how expensive this time of year can be for families, but now I know – school fees and supplies can really take a whack [...] [ ... ]

　　So, the new Japanese phrase for the day is: ‘dantou,’ the kanji for which literally mean ‘warm winter.’ That, according to the weather experts, is apparently what we are enjoying in 2007. You’ve probably seen the shocking pictures on the evening news: cherry blossom bud [ ... ]

　　Cookpad.com is a community-based, Japanese cooking website featuring tens of thousands of recipes in easy to understand Japanese, with pictures. Rate your favorite recipes or add your own to the mix – its all free. (Note that cooking from recipes is a great way to study Japanese!)  [ ... ]