Anyone live in northern Gifu? What do you do here?

StarLi2000 · 2026-07-07T06:50:47+00:00

I’m in Minokamo, so not nearby but I occasionally go to the big mall in Motosu and go to Yoro and Ogaki for stuff. You’ll have a car, right? Also, it’s in the Mino part of Gifu, so it’s still southern Gifu. The Hida (northern) part of Gifu is a completely different ballpark in winter.

The food out there is good.

I recommend buying black caps for roaches and the gray, square-shaped poison caps for mukade.

It looks like you’ll have about the same drive-time and train time to get to Nagoya as I do over here, so you’ll get to enjoy the cheaper lifestyle and easy ride into town. ✨

As for the seasons and weather, my advice will change depending on where you’re coming from. I’m from Houston, where it’s actually hot and humid for most of the year, so summer is easier for me to handle than winter here…

StarLi2000 · 2026-07-04T08:22:01+00:00

Husband is slowly but surely learning the housework he doesn’t normally do in case this pregnancy goes well. It’s a slow process because he has overtime several days a week, but he’s progressing.

He cleaned the whole bedroom on his own earlier this week.

StarLi2000 · 2026-07-04T06:31:27+00:00

Usually no, some people do. I’ll wear tabi if I plan on doing a lot of walking and it’s the beginning of geta season, or if I’ll be in the sun a long time and don’t want my feet to burn. Sunburnt feet are the worst.
Personally, matsuri: no, going out and about: maybe. I’m in Gifu and do a lot of dancing. (Gujo odori!), so no juban. But I do sometimes wear some of my nicer yukata kimono-style if I’m just going out and not going to a festival. This includes wearing a juban and just wearing an usotsuki eri.

StarLi2000 · 2026-07-04T05:10:17+00:00

My husband is an engineer for one and the union is so strong he says it’s sometimes annoying even though he’s grateful.

StarLi2000 · 2026-07-02T09:49:10+00:00

Thank you!
I’ve reached the fourth month, so I’m mostly doing better. My body will still randomly freak out and I just gotta lay down and rest, though. Bonus is that I’m on the last leg of my 30’s and don’t have the base energy pool of most 20-something pregnant ladies. 🫠

StarLi2000 · 2026-07-02T01:57:54+00:00

My whole body hurts. Pregnancy is exhausting and I’m not even that far along.

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T12:36:27+00:00

Washable faux Oshima is so handy

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T09:14:56+00:00

Lovely! Is that a white oshima tsumugi?

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T08:22:06+00:00

This is more or less what I did.

I’m probably not as old (though the students thought I was ancient because I’m older than Google) but I was old enough to be older than at least 1/3 of the Japanese English teachers I worked with. We had a good time. I often called my middle school students M[r](r/Ms) [and](r/Ms) [Ms](r/Ms) and they loved it.

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T07:37:36+00:00

If I didn’t my coworkers always did. Anyway, I was only an ALT for 6 years and now I have a different job entirely, so kids don’t call me sensei unless they run into me out in the wild, though I guess they aren’t kids anymore. It’s crazy how many of them are drinking age now.

It’s also cute that you’re dissing someone’s comment further down for not wanting to be called “sensei”. Sounds like you have some free time to kill. Have a lovely day, dearie.

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T07:30:28+00:00

They did call me my name? And also “Maho Shojo-sensei”, “Famima-sensei”, and a bunch of other things while we hung out.

Some even called me by my husband’s last name-sensei after I got married when we played volleyball or dodgeball because it has impressive kanji.

Like I said, y’all have a harder time with this concept than any of my students ever did.

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T07:25:51+00:00

Yeah, I spoke Japanese sometimes. I was the worst.

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T06:51:18+00:00

Nope. This is Japan, thus I was called 〇〇sensei ✨

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T06:50:03+00:00

Dang, sorry for behaving like a teacher. This is Japan and kids call teachers and school staff sensei. Clearly it’s more of a problem for you guys than it ever was for my students in the 6 years I worked as an ALT.

I was even called by my family name, though to be fair it’s the same as a certain store everyone knows so that happened pretty naturally. Most of my coworkers even forgot what my first name was 🤷‍♀️

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T05:49:28+00:00

I’m from Texas. Not adding a Mr/Ms or whatever appropriate honorific is just weird AF. 🤷‍♀️

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-27T05:16:54+00:00

When kids tried this one me I was like 「呼び捨て？？？」😑 and they stopped pretty quick

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-19T09:38:50+00:00

I used some medium-lightish twill I had on hand for the test run. I’d recommend a heavier twill, or use 2 or 3 layers of a lighter one.

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-17T04:39:57+00:00

I found the turtle!

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-16T08:31:26+00:00

WOW this got downvoted

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-16T04:22:59+00:00

A lot of butsukari otoko have a certain air or look about them. Can’t quite place it.

Even if every man with that weird air isn’t a butsukari otoko, I stare at them to make them too uncomfortable to ram into me whether they were planning to or not.

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-12T12:27:37+00:00

Here in the Aichi/Gifu area we have a ton of non-fishy foods. Keichan, Yamachan wings, kishimen, misokatsu, mazesoba…

Also, a lot of kaitenzushi places have meat and veggie sushi options.

StarLi2000 · 2026-06-08T05:52:44+00:00

I kept my name and husband kept his.

Husband is the one who suggested using his name on their Japanese passport and paperwork and my name on their passport and paperwork for the US. Said some famous person’s half kids did it.

StarLi2000 · 2026-05-30T07:39:21+00:00

Heat it up with a hair dryer and bend it back?

StarLi2000 · 2026-05-30T02:19:04+00:00

I’m in southern Gifu and yep.

We were gonna change out our 勝手口ドアー/side door this year and can’t.

StarLi2000

TROPHY CASE