Swiss traditions reimagined through Japanese life If you’ve ever visited Japan, you’ve probably encountered the country’s legendary high-tech toilets. And if you haven’t, somebody has almost certainly told you about them in the tone normally reserved for spiritual awakenings. 'Heated seats!' 'Automatic lids!' 'It plays waterfall sounds while you do your business!' Western travel articles and blog posts love describing Japanese toilets as 'like operating a Boeing cockpit,' whi

Swiss winter nostalgia meets Japanese life I’m writing this from Nagano – roughly 230 km away from Tokyo – where we are spending our Christmas and New Year's Holidays. When people hear Nagano, their brains immediately start projecting skiing montages: powder snow, mountain peaks, and some heroic skier flying through the air in glorious slow motion. Understandable, since Nagano Prefecture is often referred to as the "Roof of Japan", surrounded by enough mountains to make a Swi

Swiss politics and identity through cultural symbols There are moments in life when you realise just how differently countries operate. Take car licence plates, for instance. Here are some facts about Swiss number plates that may surprise you. 🏷️ 1. Licence Plates for Life – Like Marriage, But More Binding In most countries, plates belong to the car. Easy. Logical. Efficient. Predictable. Switzerland looked at that idea and said: “Nein. Too easy.” In Switzerland, your plates

Swiss traditions and identity viewed from Japan So, here's a fun fact: around 11% of Swiss citizens live abroad. That's right – roughly one in ten people born in the land of cheese, Toblerone, and punctual trains have packed their bags and said "Thanks, but I'm off." And the trend is up. Now, this might come as a shock. After all, Switzerland is often seen as an Alpine utopia (albeit an expensive one!) – a place where cows wear bells, mountains look like postcards, and everyt

Swiss citizenship debates from a Japanese vantage point Being in an international marriage comes with its fair share of complications, and no, I’m not talking about clashing cultures or language barriers - after all, plenty of couples share a nationality and still can’t agree on the correct way to load a dishwasher. No, I’m talking about the practical implications of navigating two different passports. On paper, both my wife and I are the proud holders of travel documents

Swiss traditions, food pride, and cultural nostalgia When you hear "Fondue", you probably think of the Swiss classic: cheese fondue – dipping bread into a pot of melted Gruyere and Emmenthal, with a splash (or two) of white wine and Kirsch liquor, all bubbling away at your table. But come Christmas and New Year’s, the Swiss swap their cheese for meat, diving into the world of meat fondue, a tradition now as Swiss as yodeling. But while cheese fondue’s history is well-document

Swiss craftsmanship and cultural pride across continents As my Swiss passport was due to expire in a few months' time, I thought it best to get a new one ahead of time. Always be prepared, is one of my mantras. These days the process of renewing a passport is very straightforward: I just had to fill in an online form and submit to the Passport Office in Switzerland, and within less than 24 hours I got confirmation that they had the necessary confidence that I am indeed who I

Beyond cheese: Swiss cuisine explained from Japan As I enter my 28th year in Japan (and my former life on 'planet Switzerland' is drifting more and more into the obscure past), I have been reflecting on the fact that some of the questions I face when meeting new people in Japan have never changed over the years. Japanese people generally show great interest in other countries and cultures, and especially so, it seems, in Switzerland. Switzerland enjoys kind of a special statu

Swiss folklore meets Japanese winter traditions 6th December will be Saint Nicholas Day. In Switzerland, on and around this day you will spot two distinctly different figures walking up and down the streets and visiting houses, one with a bushy white beard and usually clad in a Bishop's robe with a mitre and staff (though sometimes dressed in a red-hooded frock with a tippet), the other rather sinister-looking, in a black robe, with a dark beard and a face covered in coal dus