Japan through Nihonjin Eyes

Sometimes that which is muddied in translation becomes something more than something lost; it becomes poetry; the essence of an even deeper meaning.

Case in point: Miko's chikyu-biyori... style JAPAN blog. Miko is a Japanese housewife in her early thirties living in Hamamatsu with her husband and two young children. From her profile:

I live with my husband, one girl, and one boy.
I enjoy washing, Sunday carpentry, gardening, and photography.

I studied French for school days and I have taken a trip to the
Europe sometimes.
The dream from my childhood is to "maji-talk" with the people in
the world freely.

My daily life is like this. I take kids to pre-school and pick them up
after school and do stand talking with a neighbors.
But I recently found out that my daily life is filled with lots of small
happiness episodes.

There are tens of thousands of blogs written and published by Japanese bloggers in Japan and around the world, and most of them are forgettable (in any language).

But there are relatively few Japanese blogs published in English that portray--intentionally or not--the deep love and affection many Japanese have for the nature, geography, and culture of Japan--with a quaint innocence and enthusiasm.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about Miko's blog that makes it stand out from other Japanese blogs I've read. Somehow, Miko's blog translates beautifully--even if the English is a little off. For a glimpse through Japanese eyes, check out some of the happiness episodes on Miko's blog.

And decide for yourself: is Miko a simple homemaker blogging for a hobby, or a shrewd Internet marketer hawking Japanese goods on eBay (every one of her pages does link to an eBay auction)?