Hi there!
I’m Momo, a Japanese mom raising three Japanese American children in the States. I’m so grateful that you found and visited my website!
It’s been 10 years since I moved here from Japan with a student Visa. Since then, I’ve graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree, got married and been blessed with three wonderful children. It’s been a hard but very rewarding decade of my life to say the least.
I experienced a lot of cultural differences and a big identity crisis after moving to the States, which resulted in staying away from my own roots. At one point, I tried so hard to erase any Asian-ness I had in order to be seen past my race and heard as an individual. However, I slowly started reconnecting with Japanese culture after I became a parent. I had this desire to celebrate Japanese holidays with my children because celebrating the holidays with my family was a big part of my childhood, and I wanted my children to experience the joy I felt as a kid in Japan.
My love for my family in Japan has grown tremendously since I started sharing the culture with my family here in the States. The time and effort that goes into celebrating holidays, preparing foods and everything that goes in between have helped me realize how much love my family had for me. The more I realized how loved I was, the bigger my desire of sharing the same type of love with my children grew. And the strong love and desire have grown into “Light Between the Lines,” where I share my life story as an immigrant, how I celebrate Japanese and other cultures with my Japanese American Family (mainly through holidays and foods), and how I’ve learned to completely embrace who I am and my mixed cultures.
I hope this website is a place where you can learn more about Japanese culture and grow curiosity and love for different parts of the world and their cultures. I truly believe that understanding where people come from and their culture helps us be more open minded and loving towards others.
Thank you so much for being here, reading my blog posts and sharing your story with me through comments and emails. I’m honored to share my story, culture, recipes and how I navigate my mixed cultures with you!