- Elba Ramalho performs for Tokyo at the Brazilian Festival
- The outdoor beckons. North Face takes kids trekking in Hokkaido
- Exciting events happening in Yokohama
- The Salesman
- RICHARD THE STORK
- Logan 2017
- The Light Between Oceans
- HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY
- WHAT A WONDERFUL FAMILY 2 (KAZOKU WA TSURAI YO)
- Nikuon June 3 & 4
- Curry Festival 2017 at Yokosuka, June 3 & 4
- Stop by for beer and German sausages at Hibiya Park Oktoberfest 2017 (June 2-11)
- Japan’s next generation bicycle tires don’t need air
- Say Mother’s Day with a European style floral arrangement
- Award-winning short film ‘The Sad Monk’ in theatres
- Tokyo U-14 International Youth Football Tournament 2017
- Picnic Cafe Wangan Zoo Adventure
- Beauty and the Beast 2017
- Food delivery at hanami spots
- Fun events at Huis Ten Bosch This Spring!
Finding Mr. Right
Italian mom writes a book about her experience dating a Japanese man before finding Mr. Right.
Love doesn’t always come about in quite the way that the storybooks lead us to expect. As Claudia Frambini has experienced herself, a lot of things could go wrong with dating someone from another culture.
Claudia did not come to Japan looking for a husband. She came for a sightseeing visit with Daniel, her 21-year old son from a previous marriage.
But days before the trip came to an end, something unexpected happened. She met a Japanese man and fell in love. Weeks later, Claudia and her Japanese boyfriend found themselves spending time together cruising between Japan and Italy.
“We dated for about a year and a half. He would come to visit me in Italy or I would come to see him in Tokyo,” confides Claudia.
Although Claudia and her ex boyfriend were optimistic about the future, things did not ramp up to the next level. “We struggled with a number of issues, mostly cultural differences,” she admits.
“For instance, when the two of us are in Italy, we would hold hands and kiss in public just like anybody else. But when we are in Japan, my boyfriend automatically switches to being a different man - uncomfortable with public displays of affection,” cites Claudia.
Claudia describes the huge cultural gap between the Italian and Japanese way of life as ‘alienating’. “We Italians are very family-oriented. We like to discuss issues. We talk a lot. Constant communication is very important to us. Silence destroys relationships. We are very open with expressing our feelings which, over time, solves most problems. Italians do not interiorize their feelings and ideas.”
Finding Mr. Right who happens to be the opposite of the one she dated the first time was the bright spot in her life. She is now happily married living a cross cultural life in Tokyo. Her love of her Japanese husband and Japan have helped her see things positively. “Japan is a very beautiful country. I really like the Kyoto temple and my favorite district in Tokyo is Asakusa,” says she.
Claudia writes the episodes of her true-to-life experiences in her new book entitled Tokyo All’ Improviso (‘Tokyo all of a sudden’) dedicated to women who dream of finding love in a foreign land.
“In my book are many references on cultural difficulties between Italian and Japanese cultures which I hope will inspire women interested in the subject.”
The book is due for release in December and will be published by Rupe Mutoyele of Parma, Italy. Although the book is in Italian, Claudia hopes to publish one in English version in the future.
Native Tuscan Claudia Frambini is a former beauty queen, model, actress and TV presenter in Italy. She lives in Tokyo with her husband and partly with her son who attends school in Italy.
