Before Japan, I wasn’t actually that sure I was a passionate mother.  I didn’t spend the time on it that other moms did.  I assumed they were better. I thought I was missing something….and then I was invited to create a vision board….and the fairies came…..

As an ex-New Yorker, I have had a brand new handbag swiped off the back of my chair in a London hotel, a mobile phone snatched off of a posh restaurant table and my family home in Switzerland broken in to while my children were sleeping upstairs. Losing my mobile phone in the centre of Tokyo - a shocking revelation ensues. 

Coming from Switzerland, we are very used to snow. Everyone drives four-wheel drive automobiles, the trains and trams leave and arrive on time all winter long and families own multiple shovels. I cannot remember school ever being cancelled in the years we were in Zürich. That is why the past twenty-four hours have felt like a magical holiday for us.

As an expatriate, one of the most typical and frequent questions I am asked is “Where are you from?”. This is a natural and open question, but it always causes me to hesitate.

It is not only obvious differences between city and suburb or Asia to Europe. There are real and vast deviations that our children have to navigate. For them, life is exhilarating and, a the same time exhausting. And this experience is as personal as it is individual.

I believe that we should all have a bucket list, or three. You know the saying that hindsight is always twenty-twenty? In a (very) weird way you are creating that retrospective look into your past.

Ever since I was a little girl, picking wild flowers in the forest behind my parent’s home, I’ve been pleasantly obsesses with green.

Here are my go-to places in Tokyo for my "fix".

Living as an expat is and will be an incredible experience. But how to harness the magic? I decided to write a bucket list as a brainstorm and a plan. 

This it the first piece I wrote when I arrive in Tokyo. It was written for and published on Discover Out Loud. For me, it is an important barometer. I refer to it often to check myself...am I being true to me, have I changed my perspective.....?  It is a good map through this time of discovery. 

“Tokyo-style”? I am set to define it! Date night is a vital, gratifying ingredient to my experience over the next years. High heels, evening handbags, makeup….I have even, finally, bought a jewellery cupboard so there are no excuses why I don’t throw on those gorgeous pieces I collected for so many years at Swarovski...

Amongst the glamour of Ginza, I felt almost happily small-town, wandering around a shopping mecca which turns into a small village two days a week.  

And, although street performers are strictly forbidden, Cleo didn’t let that stop her. She rocked a Venetian mask the whole afternoon - a crowd pleaser, indeed!!

You can take a class, research on the Internet, get advice from locals - but whatever, however, you should have a plan. It is not fun and it is an scary topic, but here's what we've done to prepare ourselves. How does this compare to your plan?

I feel the need to write, to capture these moments, to explore my more creative sides. Moving to Tokyo has started a journey - and this is my space to capture that journey. 

The visit of Johan’s parents, our first house guests in Tokyo, seemed so much more important. It felt like a chance to take stock of all we have gained through this move.