A few of the blogs I had in the past, including the ones I ghost-wrote for others, had good visitor numbers. But I didn't think I would ever write a blog again - or write in general. Like Japan, writing was one of the dreams I had slowly given up on. It is a long story. I am originally from Germany, but I have lived most of my life in New Zealand and the UK. After I left New Zealand, life went downhill for a variety of reasons. My only Japanese friend was in New Zealand. For 12 years, I had no proper contact with Japanese people at all. After all, people always told me to not be silly, find a proper job, forget about moving to that strange place - be sensible, be intelligent. People tried to change me in all three countries. They told me I am too quiet and too nice. They told me I should have other interests, they told me writing is not a proper job, etc. I wanted to be in Japan since I was a child. It all started with a movie about samurai. I just thought they ...