On Winter: No lie, the winter in Karuizawa has been a challenge. As I type this on the 31st of March 2025, which is meant to be Spring time and cherry blossom season in Japan – outside the window of Sawamura Roastery it is currently snowing. Yes, snowing 😂

When we first moved to Karuizawa, the locals and foreigners continuously warned us about keeping warm and insulating our homes. Winter started by mid-November and here we are at the end of March! My sister-in-law calls this “weather whiplash” similar to Nova Scotia, Canada and that’s a perfect saying!

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel with temperatures increasing in 3-4 days’ time. I will update more on the winter experience in Karuizawa!

On Moving Away From The Big City: It is a stark difference moving from the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia of 9 million people, to the beautiful town of Karuizawa, Japan of some 20,000 people. It is 0.2% of the population I’ve lived in for the most part of my adult working life!

There are things I miss about living in the big city, such as the opportunities and hustle bustle of life. But after a hectic past few years, being in Karuizawa has forced me to live a slower pace of life. In the big city, there were traffic jams which take up such a large chunk of your day. The best part of living here is how fast and easy it is to get around!

On Community: Despite Karuizawa being a small town, I am thankful that there not only Japanese locals, but quite a number of foreigners who live within the vicinity either for work or are enjoying retirement life.

I am thankful for the new friends we have made in the past 8 months that have made it easier to adapt to this beautiful town. One constant is being part of the Karuizawa Pickleball Club, run by EVERYDAY SOCIAL every Wednesdays (7-9pm) and Saturdays (11am-1pm)! While I have only picked pickleball up for a few month, I have enjoyed the fun, exercise, and mixing with the locals.

On New Experiences: When my husband and I moved to Japan, we decided that we would be open to trying new things, and explore the beauty of Japan. This includes getting over the shyness of being in public bath onsens!

Ever since I started opening up my time with an international academia here in Karuizawa, I have had the opportunity to deliver human rights guest lectures to Global Politics, and Humanities classes. In terms of outdoor activities, I climbed mountains, camp outdoors, learned how to ski and enjoyed the slopes in and surrounding Karuizawa at: Asama 2000, Palcall-Tsumagoi, Sugadaira Kogen Pine Beak, and Karuizawa Snow Park. (I can safely say I’m great at being a beginner skier! 😂)

On Missing Home & Transitions: I do miss home like my family and friends in Malaysia very much, and enjoyed the purposeful humanitarian work I did in an international humanitarian organization for more than 10 years.

It has been a challenge with some days harder than most, and while I won’t dwell too much on it in this post – I am still grateful for this opportunity to be able to live abroad as we start our married life!

Also, we have been so blessed with friends and family visiting us in Karuizawa every month since we’ve moved here. As Karuizawa is only located 1 hour 15 minutes from Tokyo Station, on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line (and accessible with the 3-day travel JR TOKYO Wide Pass) – this makes it very easy to come visit! 😊