Ollie

Why Japan's Rainbow Is So Hard To See - Tokyo Prism 3CK When it comes to LGBTQ+ visibility, Japan is an outlier. Despite having a large LGBTQ community, very few are out of the closet.

I have been pondering the paradox of Japan's low LGBTQ+ visibility and come up with a few possible theories in my latest blog.

Let me know what you think:

tokyoprism3ck.com/2025/09/japa...

Podcasters: 'Here's how to overcome fear, with a cliff diver.'
Me: '...I'm just trying to handle my fear in everyday life.' 🫠
Are the people we're told to look up to getting a little too extreme? Can superhumans ever be truly inspiring?

I sometimes wish I could travel in time and redo my life from eight onwards then I remember my Mom and many people were heavy smokers and I realize I would have to endure that everyday.

Good people of Tokyo. June 2. Lovely Chinese lady at the my lunch restaurant working hard but enthusiastically to communicate with a Thai client who’s Japanese was shakey at best. She then turns to another young client to ask if the AC was not too strong for him. Love that kind of service.

TCK and aging parents. What are TCKs supposed to do when their divorced aging parents are both in mental decline and all three of you live in three different countries. I also a have no siblings to call on to share any burden.

Look, I’m all for Mother’s Day. Shower Mom with love if that’s your vibe. But does it have to be so public? Not everyone has a great relationship with their mother. Some don’t have one at all. So before you post, ask yourself: am I virtue signaling?

Watching an NHK documentary on 「駐在」in Malaysia. Couple of them complained locals are often late to work. Then without any sense of irony the program showed the complainers living minutes away by foot from work.

I’ve tried everything—Canadian Multilingual layout, WinCompose, even adding French accents to the IME dictionary—but nothing works smoothly with a JIS keyboard. I just want to type easily in Japanese, English, and French. So frustrating!

Found live roundworms in our pet puppy who is still not properly toilet trained. So not surprised (tho freaked) when I found what looked like a worm in my stools yesterday. But doctors are incredulous here. Now I am no longer sure what I saw. Test results next week. Feeling confused.

Just came across a lovely poetic French idiom we should use in English “L’arbre qui tombe fait plus de bruit que la forêt qui pousse” which translates as “The falling tree is louder than the growing forest” but means “Bad news travels faster” with “good things often happen quietly and consistently”

My partner doesn’t mind when I talk to him about news but he doesn’t keep up so its one way. His friends seem to think politics and any activism is uncouth. I was taken aback once when they complained how icky it was that a Taiwanese friend was excited about a people’s movement at the time.

One frustrating part of living in Japan, surrounded mostly by Japanese people, is that political conversations are taboo—so I don’t really have a safe space to vent in private. (For the record: socials are not a safe space).

The legal question was never whether MLP would be found guilty but whether she would be allowed to run in elections while she appealed or not. I don’t think she should as well as anyone else in her position. Unfortunately there are precedents where politicians were found guilty but kept their job.

Recherche un(e) bénévole pour enseigner le japonais à une mère réfugiée francophone et ses enfants à Tokyo. Une belle occasion de faire la différence ! Si quelqu’un est intéressé ou connaît une personne qui pourrait l’être, merci de m’envoyer un DM !

My partner’s company say they are ending remote work. But except when he’s sick (and still working!) he’s so focused that even ‘What’s for dinner?’ feels like an interruption. Not sure he’ll be any more productive in the office—especially since he usually starts work during his commute time.

Third round of calcific tendonitis in two years, when calcium deposits inflame your tendons/muscles, causing intense pain. Fun. Especially when it shows up somewhere new each time. Non-medical folks confuse it with “just stiff shoulders,” but trust me, it’s agony. Thankful the painkillers work.

I’d love the start of spring and cherry blossoms in Japan… if it didn’t come with a side of hay fever. At this rate, my meds are leveling up faster than my partner’s Pokémon!

Finished filing my taxes　（確定申告）four days before the deadline. There must be a word to describe the immense relief you feel after completing this Herculean task. I’m also impressed by how AI was able to answer my tax questions better than the e-tax FAQ, even without me entering any personal data.

As a #trilingual #TCK I still find toggling through multiple #keyboards one of the most frustrating things of the #digital world. Why can’t it be as easy as in our heads? That hurdle often stops me from quick #texts unless I am already using that #language.

While I am flattered my friends now think I was a looker when I was young (and post my old photos online), it reminds me now how I am no longer young and how deep in denial and unhappy I was back then. Reminder to all still young now: enjoy the youth you have while you still have it.

YouTube video by Wayfarer Studios A NICE INDIAN BOY | OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)

There’s something about this film that just hits right buttons for me—even though I don’t have Indian parents (and I am not Indian). (Well, I have one gay French dad living in Chennai with his BF so I guess that counts?) It’s also the TCK experience, just without the travel. youtu.be/wkbyxebDrjA?...

They now sell quarter lettuces (for 69 yen)? I know lettuce is relatively expensive but are people really buying three leaves of lettuce for that? 今は1/4分のレタスを（69円で）売ってるの？レタスは比較的高いのは分かるけど、たった3枚の葉っぱにその値段を払う人って本当にいるの？

Finally opened in Japanese theaters. I saw it on broadway and read the original book, yet had forgotten so many details. Also didn’t realize the 3 hour movie was part one of two.

It is not in all Tokyo taxis but if you see this sign, it means the seats are heated. Fabulous idea in the winter. 東京のすべてのタクシーにあるわけではありませんが、このサインを見かけたら、シートヒーターがついているという意味です。冬には素晴らしいアイデアですね。

Mom, after she panic calls me about an IT issue 10 times while I am on a call with a client: “I would call my usual friend but he’s at work”. 🙄

US based friends. are you giving him a 100 day honeymoon period? Or is everyone just too stunned to coordinate anything yet?

Oh dear. I’ve somehow convinced an entire group of Spanish speakers that I actually speak Spanish—when in reality, I’m just really good at nodding at the right moments. Thanks to my French, I can catch the gist of conversations, but let’s be honest… I’m completely clueless. Dinner should be fun!

Today I saw at least three non-local video content creators filming in my neighbourhood. It ain't a famous part of Tokyo nor known to tourists but I suppose if you are not a resident it has its exotic vibes. Still 3 in one day? Did I miss the memo?

I would be one of those French nationals failing the test for sure.

Update on that job that got canceled due to those Executive Orders— they’re letting me invoice for the work I had already completed. I’m relieved it was just a one-time contract for me, but honestly, I’m now bummed for the (actually nice) full-timers I worked with who are losing their jobs.