The Tokyo With Kids website officially went live on April 22nd 1999. But we are forever under construction. Please send us your ideas, photos, or write an article. Information is freedom! Pass on what you know!
Japan, and Tokyo,
can be an overwhelming place when you first arrive, and on many individual
occasions after. The biggest reason is probably the language barrier, though
cultural differences in thinking runs a close second. There are so many things
to learn, and the answer to the question always presents itself a day or two
after you REALLY needed to know it.
The idea for this
site started with the Tokyo Area Babysitting Bulletin Board, a list of babysitters
sent out by fax and email. For a short history of the beginnings of this web site,
you can read the article published in The Tokyo Weekender.
There were so many calls for additional information, from how to ride
the subway more cheaply to what kind of daycare is available, that we
realized we need a central place to network, available to many
different kinds of families. A place where newcomers and oldtimers
alike can learn new things.
Your input is going
to keep this site vibrant and pertinent. Please take time to get involved in the
discussions and feel free to contact us at info.at.jwk[at]gmail.com. What you
already know could be really helpful to someone else. Together we can make being
a part of Japan's international community a great experience!
Surf's up in Tokyo!
Spread the word! Link to this site!
Find out how!
Get your kid's picture on TWK!
If you would like your kid's picture on the TWK site, please write to
us at info.at.jwk[at]gmail.com and include your child's photo!
Are you pregnant or have you had a baby in Japan? We want to hear from you!
We are looking for information on all aspects of pregnancy and birth in Japan. Questions or information on doctors, hospitals, home birth, birth stories, finding maternity stuff, internet sites and mailing lists on pregnancy and birth, breastfeeding, books you liked on these topics, and anything else you can think of.
Help sooth the fears of other moms-to-be by contributing what you know to our pool of information!
Send us your story at info.at.jwk[at]gmail.com.
Site Chronology:
16 April 1999 -
We are featured in Tokyo Weekender article.
19 April 1999 -
We get listed in Yahoo!
20 April 1999 -
First template for rotating gallery developed.
22 April 1999 -
Site goes live. Realize site design hampers local search function. Begin work on redesign.
24 April 1999 -
We get listed in Infoseek
29 April 1999 -
We get listed in Asiaco.com
5 May 1999 -
Finish redesign and upload.
7 May 1999 -
First Newsletter goes out!
9 June 1999 -
Linked to on Hachioji International Friendship Club website!
18 June 1999 -
In_Tokyo discussion list started.
Linked to on TokyoQ!
Mentioned in Tokyo Weekender article.
24 June 1999 -
Linked to on Counseling and Support in Japan (in English)!
5 July 1999 -
Named Site of the Week in Global Online's English Newsletter!
13 July 1999 - Site of the Week on internetjapan.com!
29 July 1999 - We get listed in Lycos
23 September 1999 - Okaasan discussion list started.
5 February 2000 - Mentioned in Tokyo Classified Issue 306 Feature "School Daze"!
16 February 2000 - TWK's TCAT Information page mentioned in Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition article: "International Locales Offer Remote Luggage Check-In"
3 March 2000 - Listed at japanreference.com
April 2000 - Last month with Emi on board. "I am going to sputter and die without you!" Cornelia
July 2000 - Mentioned several times in the second edition of the book Japan With Kids by Diane Wiltshire.
July 2001 - Mentioned as a good web resource in Being A Broad in Japan: Everything a Western woman needs to survive and thrive.
October 2001 - Mentioned as a good resource several times in the annual TELL calendar publication for 2002.
11 Feb 2002 - Mentioned in the Nikkei Weekly page three article on the public daycare system used by working mothers.
October 2002 - Mentioned in Metropolis issue #392 Tech Know column.
26 October 2002 - Linked to from thedailynewsgrabber.com
25 April 2003 - Editor's Pick of the Month at http://www.childresearch.net/
January 2005 - ACCJ Journal (American Chamber of Commerce in Japan) page 38 (Though we are offered as a reference in their special advertising section, we did not pay for this privilege. They have pinpointed us as a top resource on the subject of international schools.)
March 2005 - The Japanzine "Best of the Web" listing of cool Internet sites.
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Cornelia Kurz
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Research and Public Relations for TWK
Arrived in Japan April 1992 One daughter born in Tokyo in 1996

Favorite Quote:
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Mark Twain
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Emi Asada
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Webmaster and technical half of TWK until April 2000.
Arrived in Japan Jan 1995. One son born in Tokyo in 1997

Favorite Quote:
Life is what happens to you while you are planning to do
something else.
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Kit Pancoast Nagamura
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Feature articles and Sketches for TWK
One son born in Tokyo in 1995

Kit first arrived in Japan in 1982 on a fellowship from
Brown University and I.B.M. Back in the U.S., she took her Ph.D. in
literature and won various teaching and writing awards, but always hoped to
see Japan again. Settled here since 1991, she now lives in Tokyo with her
husband and son. In November 1999, Kodansha published her third book written
in Japanese. Writing for her is like breathing for the rest of us. When you
meet her, the red hair and sparkling blue eyes promise a quick wit. You
will not be disappointed.
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Laurel Seacord
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One terrific volunteer translator!

In June 1998, after completing graduate school in Japanese literature, Laurel
came to Japan and completed an intensive Japanese course in Tokyo in 1999, while
her son attended public daycare (hoikuen). She is currently working on her
Ph.D. dissertation in modern Japanese literature and as a translator, proofreader
and copywriter. (send job offers here!)
Her son has been attending a Japanese Public School since April 2000.
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