by Tanja Kinnen

Before moving to Japan with my husband, I was working as a marketing manager in Luxembourg, my home country. I probably would have pursued that career path, if we had stayed. However, when we relocated to Tokyo through my husband’s company, I soon realized that finding a similar job might be difficult. A couple of months of applications and job interviews without success proved that I needed to become creative.

Being an active person and my professional career being important to me, I couldn’t imagine myself being a housewife or waiting for a perfect job to come around. Throughout the next two and a half years I switched jobs and activities a couple of times before finding my perfect fit.

I first started to work as a private English teacher, but after a few months switched to Berlitz and became a German and French teacher. I stayed on for a year, but realized that even though teaching was something I liked, it wouldn’t keep me satisfied for long. Thus I moved on to study Intercultural Communication at Waseda University.

Having five years of professional experience in my pocket, the studies turned out to be very theoretical with little application to the business side of things. At the same time, I found out that I was pregnant, and thus took a semester off to focus on our new family addition.

Three months into being a new mom, I heard that Mom in Balance Tokyo, a young startup that offers workouts, specifically designed for pregnant women, postpartum and beyond, was looking for a new owner. I felt immediately that this could be it – I got a good friend on board as my business partner and applied. We got selected and have now run the business for almost a year with as much enthusiasm as in the first hour.

Being an entrepreneur has its challenges, but it also offers a lot of flexibility, which is fantastic when you have a small child. You can adjust your schedule easier compared to working as an employee. However, it also means that you are never really “off” work and somehow you always think about the business. Still, with all the pros and cons, being an entrepreneur with Mom in Balance Tokyo is fun, fulfilling and it fills me with happiness – I feel that I have found my “thing” at last!

Looking back at my personal and professional journey in Tokyo, I realize that FEW has always been a part of it. I got involved with FEW quite shortly after my arrival in Tokyo when a friend told me about the association. I became a regular member in my first year and later served in the FEW Board of Directors for two years. After leaving the board, I am still a member of FEW and also a FEW Sponsor with our company.

The FEW community, with its members from all over the world and different personal and professional backgrounds, has been a huge inspiration along the way and a great resource for ideas, knowledge, and connections. FEW introduced me to a lot of women in similar positions, pursuing their careers and running their own businesses. I feel that the community supported me in daring to become an entrepreneur in a country that is far away from home. Most probably, this remains something I wouldn’t have done if I had stayed back home.

Women of FEW is a photo essay project that aims to share inspiring and powerful stories of our diverse Members through text and photos. This project is done in collaboration with our Sponsor, TopTia Photography. Are you and FEW Member and interested in sharing your story? Please contact our Sponsorship Director at sponsorship[at]fewjapan.com for more information.

The post Finding the Inner Entrepreneur in Japan appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

by Liz Noh

When people ask me what I do, I say, “Not much. Actually, I’m a former journalist, turned accidental housewife”. I’m embarrassed about it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m lucky that I don’t have to work, thanks to my wonderful husband. I’m grateful that I can live the life that most people dream of. But even so, it’s been a struggle for me.

It all happened about five years when my husband and I were living in Zurich, Switzerland. We had just gotten married. That’s when I became a trailing spouse and an accidental housewife.

The bright side was that we were together at last. We had been seeing each other for several years. But the last three years of our relationship, we were living oceans apart. But it was worth it. I’m very happy in my marriage. I love my husband dearly. He’s kind and sensitive, and he respects and supports me in whatever I want to do.

My greatest fear was that I could become lazy. I tried to keep busy.

Liz Noh

Living in Zurich was exciting. I got to explore a beautiful new city and country, meet new people and travel in Europe. The thrill lasted about a year. I became bored and frustrated. My husband traveled extensively for business and that made it worse for me.

With all due respect, I’m sure being a housewife is a noble profession. But if you don’t have kids to raise, how hard can it be? My husband always had clean clothes and our place was always clean. Even though I hate cooking, I made delicious and wholesome meals occasionally. I took care of all the household matters like paying the bills, keeping our bank accounts in order.

Yet, I had a lot of time on my hands. My greatest fear was that I could become lazy. I tried to keep busy. I learned about the history of Zurich and Switzerland. I took German lessons for a couple of months.

Then I took up knitting. That’s when I met other accidental housewives. We bonded in our common plight. Picture us at a Stitch and Bitch group, knitting and crocheting at Starbucks. Those women were younger than me, in the prime of their careers. Back in their home countries, they had professions — lawyer, pharmacist. One woman had a PhD in math. Another woman was an aviation lawyer and a former pilot in the U.S. Navy. Their lives changed too when they followed their husbands. It’s interesting that women still do that in this day and age.

It’s not easy to find work in Switzerland when you’re competing with Europeans who can speak several languages, including English. You can’t even work at McDonalds if you don’t know German, French or Italian.

I felt guilty that I wasn’t contributing to my marriage financially. I felt like a freeloader. So I tried to be the best housewife I could be. But I cringed when I had to write down “housewife” as my occupation on official forms.

Liz Noh

I became a knitting fiend. Each project was like a job. I made so many scarves, hats, shawls in the three years that I lived in Zurich that I can’t count. But it’s something that I enjoy doing. There’s something about creating things with your hands.

The irony is I should have been happy living the dream. Who wouldn’t, right? But I wasn’t. I struggled with the fact that I wasn’t making my own money. I’ve been working since I was 18 years old. I felt guilty that I wasn’t contributing to my marriage financially. I felt like a freeloader. So I tried to be the best housewife I could be. But I cringed when I had to write down “housewife” as my occupation on official forms. Occasionally, I would have meltdowns about it. And through it all, my husband has always been understanding and supportive.

It wasn’t exactly my dream to be a housewife. I come from a long line of strong women. My grandmother worked. My mother worked and retired with her own pension. My parents were hardworking immigrants. I was born in Seoul, South Korea, but my family moved to Canada when I was seven years old. I lived most of my life in Toronto. I’m Canadian of Korean origin.

I had a life before. I was a newspaper reporter and a magazine writer. I was a researcher and news producer at CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster. Some of the stories I produced have won awards. I attended G7 Summits as a journalist and as an academic analyst. I’ve been in press conferences with world leaders. I’ve worn army boots. That’s right, when I was in the army reserves in Canada. I lived abroad on my own.

One day in 2007, I left my job at the CBC and life as I knew it to seek a new life in Asia. My first marriage was long and miserable. I was so depressed and stressed out. I was tired of supporting a deadbeat, alcoholic spouse. Thank the gods, we didn’t have children. I finally left and never looked back. I call it my prison break. My only regret is that I had to leave my dogs, Mickey and Katie, a beagle and a collie.

Good things happen when you venture into the unknown. I made a new life for myself in Tokyo. I was an editor for NHK World, the English channel for Japan’s public broadcaster, and Kyodo News, a Japanese news service. I freelanced for Voice of America.

I made new friends. They were expatriate women like me, who came to Japan from far and wide in search of work and adventure. The yen was high and life was good. It was like the TV show, Sex and the City, Tokyo version. Well, sort of. Those were the days!

I also found the man of my dreams, my current husband. A Canadian and an American met in an Irish pub in Tokyo of all places! It really does happen when you’re not looking. It’s like the universe brought us together. That was almost 12 years ago and we’ve been together ever since.

One of the hard things about being an expat is saying good bye. It was bittersweet leaving Japan in 2012. Little did I know then that I would be back in Tokyo five years later as a trailing spouse.

It felt good to be back in my old stomping ground. Living in Tokyo the second time has been very different. I live in a nicer home than the little shoebox apartment that I lived in before. I could have gone back to my old jobs at NHK or Kyodo News. But why go back? No, this time, I’ve been doing things that I didn’t have the time to do when I worked. I took intensive Japanese classes. I started drawing again. I still knit. I reconnected with some old friends and made new ones.

Just as I’m getting settled, I have to move countries again. The life of a trailing spouse will take me to New York in April. I know. Poor me. Some people would die to live in New York. But there goes my plan of being a volunteer at the Olympics. It’ll be bittersweet leaving Japan again.

Through my struggles as an accidental housewife, I’ve learned an important lesson. Having the luxury of not having to work for a living, I’m more compassionate toward working people, especially the ones trying to eke out a living and supporting families. In the next chapter of my life in America, maybe I’ll reinvent myself as an activist for social justice and women’s rights. So the next time someone asks me what I do, I’ll say, “I’m in a transition period.” Or I could just say that I’m retired. That’ll do.

Women of FEW is a photo essay project that aims to share inspiring and powerful stories of our diverse Members through text and photos. This project is done in collaboration with our Sponsor, TopTia Photography. Are you and FEW Member and interested in sharing your story? Please contact our Sponsorship Director at sponsorship[at]fewjapan.com for more information.

The post The Struggles of an Accidental Housewife appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

Teaching is my passion. Inspiring children to love learning and be thoughtful and kind is magical. In my 24 years of teaching I have never underestimated the privilege it is to teach children to read and write – both skills they need and use for the rest of their lives. My passion led me from Heathrow to Narita.

I moved to Tokyo for two years. In August 2001. Almost the minute I arrived I fell in love with the city and everything it offers – well perhaps not quite everything but almost! A two year contract turned into five years. Then a promotion to Deputy Headship and another six years flew by. When the opportunity to become Head Teacher presented itself, I grabbed it. Being a Head is the best job in the world – most days! To say it was a challenge would be somewhat of an understatement but seeing the children thrive and happily skip into school each morning made all the newly acquired white hair more than worthwhile.

So why on earth did I leave in July 2018? Well it was time. Time for a new challenge for me and time to meet a need in the community I have seen for many years.  So many families are looking for extra educational support in a range of areas and I am keen to meet those needs.

Setting up QUEST TOKYO has been a steep learning curve so far and I know that will continue. Joining FEW and particularly the FEW Start Up Club over the past 18 months has been invaluable; I have met so many inspiring and supportive women. I hope I can offer something useful back to the community in the months and years to come.

The post How I got Here: Kirsten O’Connor appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

My professional background is banking/finance, but because we keep moving I had the chance to reinvent myself many times. I have worked for a hedge fund company, been a translator, a writer, an accountant and an Executive Director of a foreign Chamber of Commerce just to name a few.

All along the desire to start my own business kept growing and I mulled over my ideas for quite a while before taking the step out into the spotlight.

I joined FEW not long after I arrived in Tokyo and I have never looked back. Meeting creative and entrepreneurial women from all corners of the globe gave me the confidence to start my own venture.

Turquoise Port is a combination of my love of travel and interior design. I import home decor, art and accessories from a number of southeast Asian countries as well as India. All of my products are handmade, in quite a few cases I know the artisan personally. Having lived in Thailand and Malaysia I came to appreciate artisanal craftsmanship. I focus on products with modern designs made using traditional methods.

Whilst being an entrepreneur, especially in a country where I don’t speak the language, is hard work, it is not impossible. Turquoise Port will soon be one year old and I am loving every single minute of my journey.

Find out more about Alex’s Turquoise Port at

Website: turquoiseport.com

Instagram: turquoiseport

Facebook: turquoise port

The post How I got here : Alexandra Morrow appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

A few years after meeting my husband, I became pregnant with our first child, and we moved to Manila for his job. It took me some time to get used to being a full-time parent in a tropical country. Then, we moved to Bangkok, where I joined a mothers group as a volunteer for the charities commission.  We moved once more, this time to Tokyo. After giving birth to our second child, I found the opportunity to start a business of my own: my goal was to start a local branch of NOOX Designs, which designs child-safe fabric souvenirs for ‘tiny grown-ups.’

After conducting my own feasibility research, I joined FEW and the FEW Women’s Start-Up Club. The resources and women from these groups helped me find inspiration, motivation, support and practical information to launch my business. I then started ordering my own stock and creating sales channels.

I really enjoy having my own business. Although of course it can be hard to start from the ground up, I also find it challenging and satisfying. It’s such a pleasure to realize that I have accomplished something great that I initially had no clue about!

Unfortunately, my family and I will be moving from Tokyo at the end of this month. I cannot take NOOX Tokyo with me, but I would LOVE it if someone else in Tokyo would take over and enjoy the role as I have. If you would like to run your own business and have the freedom to manage your own products and time along with the support of a group of ladies across Asia, please check http://www.nooxdesigns.com and contact me for more information!

You can learn more about NOOX and contact Armanda at: armanda.nooxdesigns@gmail.com .

The post How I Got Here: Armanda Smit appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

I’m now at nearly two years in Tokyo, and I’m a full-time Japanese language student in the mornings and working in digital marketing and social outreach at a startup called Baamboo in the afternoons/evenings/weekends. My work with Baamboo doesn’t even feel like a job – I’m incredibly passionate about our mission. We connect NPOs/NGOs with skilled volunteers to help them scale their growth – I’m an avid lifelong volunteer myself, so this work fulfills my need to help drive impact on a social level.

Currently I volunteer with Kizuna Baby, where I go to a local hospital and massage infants on a weekly basis. I also volunteer with Hands on Tokyo on various local projects, and an international organization called Love Without Boundaries, where I write child welfare reports and create online content.

Once I joined FEW, my mindset skyrocketed. I suddenly found myself in a room with these brilliant successful women who were still challenging themselves and striving for greater success – they may have “made it” in a conventional sense but they weren’t resting on their laurels. That inspired me to continue to act, to drive myself on an intrinsic level to stretch my mindset and challenge my internal beliefs about what success meant.

Being around and interacting with these passionate women has given me boundless energy to continue running full-speed down my own path. I have so much gratitude for FEW Japan and all I’ve gained from it!

Hear more about Mari’s unique experiences in community service, along with tips on how you too can get involved in volunteering at our members-exclusive April 22 Mentoring Moments Senpai Brunch: Giving Back and Getting Involved in Your Community.

The post How I Got Here: Mari Kiyota appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

The only problem was that I had to go back to Helsinki to finish my studies. Arriving from +30°C Tokyo to +10°C Finnish autumn was a reverse culture shock, and so were the language and customs. Cabin attendants, bus drivers, cashiers at the cornerstone supermarket – everyone seemed so rude compared to Japan.

In one year, my Japanese had improved to a fluent level, so I started actively looking for a way to return to Tokyo. I found an internship opportunity in Tokyo, returned the next spring, and that year was a blast. Once again, I had to go back to Finland, but after graduating I knew what I would be doing. A job in Japan – that was my next target.

I quit my job to come to Tokyo to job hunt. I was lucky enough to find a job with a local company, where I worked for 3 years. After that, I changed to my current job as a producer of a recipe site. I’m planning content, writing articles and creating recipes – all in Japanese. It’s a job I thought I would never be able to do because of the language barrier.

I also found my new passion through my job: recipe creation and styling. I even attended a school here, and now I’m a certified Food Coordinator. I’m promoting Nordic food through my blog and social media, as well as having cooking lessons and lectures on Finnish food.

With FEW, I’ve found a gathering of very passionate women that inspire and make me try harder with my endeavors – seeing senpais doing their business passionately in Japan is empowering, and hopefully I can share some of that energy with you.

The post How I Got Here: Johanna Nousiainen appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

My husband and I first lived in Japan during our first year of marriage, teaching English in rural Yamaguchi prefecture from 1999-2000. Since that time we’ve lived in Northern Ireland, the Dominican Republic and Madagascar. And, of course, now we’re back here…and we’ve added three children to the mix.

It is a gift and a blessing to live around the world. I am daily humbled by the experience of being outside my home culture. The opportunities to grow, to see and to completely immerse myself in the unfamiliar are life changing. And, sometimes it’s hard. Life goes on back home whether we’re there or not.

This realization – that living a life overseas is filled with the constant duality of love and uncertainty, home and far away – is the guiding force that prompted me, in 2013, to shift my career as a psychotherapist into something more portable and to begin my practice as a coach, mindfulness teacher and writer supporting individuals living outside their home cultures.

With World Tree Coaching, I have one mission – to help people find home, no matter where they were. I believe each of us has the brilliance, the insight and the strength to go looking for and to find, exactly where we’re supposed to be.

As an expat myself, I share that journey. That’s why I felt so lucky to learn about FEW from a friend within a month of moving here in 2015.

I immediately knew this was a group I wanted to be a part of. And, when I think about my own personal and professional history, it’s not all that surprising to see why I have so enjoyed being part of the FEW community. FEW creates the very thing I hold most dear – a place to explore, to create, to connect and, ultimately, to find a sense of home.

Find out more about Jodi’s life coaching and mindfulness training at worldtreecoaching.com! And you can find her book, ‘The Expat Activity Book’ at Amazon here.

The post How I Got Here: Jodi Harris appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

It all began with ‘serious’ materials such as gold, silver, semi-precious and precious stones and my training in classical jewellery techniques, commercial jewellery production and diamond setting. Yet my love of vintage and the desire to inject colour into my work drew me towards using vintage kimono as the main material in my designs. I rarely solder anything these days and much prefer to work with the softer stuff.

I realised that having a a strong product was not enough to drive sales, so I spent time developing my brand, networking and essentially growing my tribe of #bikufans. My pieces are bought by women in business who are looking for unique statement pieces, busy mums who want to feel put-together on the school run and people who need gifts with a Japanese flair for friends and family back home who are tired of fans and chopsticks.

Just writing it all down, I can see how far I’ve come and I can see how far I’d like to go with developing the Bikudesigns brand. FEW networking events have been crucial in helping me make some amazing connections. The FEW Women’s Start-up Club is an essential part of my business plan for 2017-18 as well as my fabulous Mastermind group who help keep me on track and accountable for my goals.

To find out what’s next for Bikudesigns, follow Victoria on social media or subscribe to her newsletter for updates here: http://www.bikudesigns.com/

The post How I Got Here: Victoria Close appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

In 2012, I married the love of my life, who was born and raised in Kumamoto, Japan. My husband is a musician, a business man, a loving father, and also my business partner. After I gave birth to my daughter, who is now 3 years old, we decided to move to Tokyo and follow in the footsteps of my father, who had been in the furniture business for over 35 years. In 2015, we established our first brand, Paradiddle Lifestyle, named after my husband’s favorite drum rudiment. As the fun name suggests, we want to bring life into furniture business through a fresh, responsible approach to tailored, trendy design. In order to honor my father’s life work, we named our company to Bloomville, Inc. (est. 2015), integrating my father’s company name, Bloominglands Co., Ltd. (est. 1993).

In January 2017 , I discovered FEW and became a member. My goal was to learn from other women and mothers and expand my networking here in Tokyo. Throughout this year, FEW has offered me information I wouldn’t know where to look for and friends who I deeply cherish.

Learn more about Paradiddle here and Bloomville here.

The post How I Got Here: Alicia Narusé appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.