About me - Vikingess Voyages

About me


- “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to.” -



Me as an Oiran at the Tsubame Sakura Festival
My name is Anette, a Norwegian girl from the coastal city of Bergen.
I'm an extroverted introvert who loves to go wherever the wind blows and to experience new stuff. I want to inspire people to follow their dreams, be more environmentally conscious, help empower women, come up with solutions to societal problems and all that stuff. But by the end of the day, I'm just another dreamer trying to be something more than a brick in the wall.

When it comes to my blog I mainly write about my travels, but also about big or small things that happen in my life. Some of the topics I write most about (or wish to write more about) include my travels in Japan and abroad, about Japan in general, how it is to be working in Japan, about learning Japanese, sightseeing and daily life in Tokyo, festivals both in Japan and abroad, and some posts about hotels, hiking and volunteering.


With over 7 years of experience in Japan, I hope my blog can be of inspiration for you - either you're considering traveling to Japan for a holiday, exchange or even want to work here.

If you have any questions please feel free to leave me a comment or send me an email. I can be reached at anettehansen@outlook.com, Google+ or Facebook.

Thanks for reading!
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32 Comments

  1. Hello Anette, your blog looks quite interesting. The thing is I will be interviewing at Rakuten in a couple of days and I'll definitely need your advice. Can you please help me with the same. Let me know at vedantsurendra@live.com
    Thanks in Advance,
    lots of love,
    Vedant , a final year student from India

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello,

    Could we use one of the photos from your pikachu post to help promote an event for teachers in the Seattle area called "What you need to know about Japan since 1945". We are a non-profit that offers professional development programs to social studies teachers in the Pacific Northwest, US.

    East Asia Resource Center
    jsis.washington.edu/earc/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,

      Thank you for the inquiry and for your interest in my photo from the Pikachu event. Feel free to use the photo; if it is online it would be great if you could add a reference to the original post.

      All the best,
      Anette

      Delete
  3. Hi Anette, I have been reading your blog and similar to Vedant above, I will also be having an interview with Rakuten in a few days. If you don't mind could you share your interview experience? Thanks! My email is melia.s.winata@gmail.com

    Thanks
    Melia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Melia! Thank you for your comment, I have sent you an email.!

      Delete
  4. Hey Anette, I really enjoyed your blog since I am very interested as well to apply to Rakuten. I am an Indonesian that graduated from Australia and now studying Japanese in Waseda University. In addition I worked for 1 year before. So my condition is a bit "not-normal". It would be nice if you can share some tips on the best way to apply to Rakuten(?). here's my email: harmoko.basuki@gmail.com
    Thank you in advance!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey Anette, I really enjoyed your blog since I am very interested as well to apply to Rakuten. I am an Indonesian that graduated from Australia and now studying Japanese in Waseda University. In addition I worked for 1 year before. So my condition is a bit "not-normal". It would be nice if you can share some tips on the best way to apply to Rakuten(?). here's my email: harmoko.basuki@gmail.com
    Thank you in advance!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Anette,

    I write for the UK Wolf Conservation Trust's magazine Wolf Print and I wondered if you could help. I am putting together a piece about the wolf mountain shrines in Japan, and came across your stunning images of the Mitsumine Shrine (Sight-seeting in Chichibu). Would it be possible for us to include a couple of the photos in our magazine? Namely, "A wolf statue guarding the entrance to Mitsumine shrine" and "The main shrine building - Mitsumine Jinja"? We would include whichever attribution text you needed of course.

    Please let me know if that would be possible. Thank you either way!

    Best wishes,

    Jessica

    (j.a.jacobs@hotmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jessica,

      Thanks for your comment, I've sent you an email to the mentioned address.

      All the best,
      Anette

      Delete
  7. Hej Anette!

    Mitt namn ar Christoffer och jag sag ditt blogginlagg om din tid pa Rakuten. Jag ar fodd i Goteborg men har bott har i Japan i 5 ar, och haller just nu pa att ga mitt sista ar pa universitet. Jag ar i full gang med att soka jobb har och Rakuten ar ett av det fortag som jag har tittat pa. Om du har mojlighet skulle jag vara jattetacksam om jag kunde fa stalla lite fragor till dig om dina upplevleser dar.

    Du far garna maila mig pa asp.christoffer@gmail.com, sa kan vi fortsatta konversationen dar. Tack pa forhand!

    Med vanliga halsningar,
    Christoffer

    (ber om ursakt att jag ej har mojlighet att anvanda skandinaviska tecken)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heisann Christoffer,
      Takk for kommentaren, har sendt deg email.!

      Vennlig hilsen
      Anette

      Delete
  8. Hello Anette,

    My name is Marc. How have you been doing? Are you still working at Rakuten? I just found your blog cause I've been struggling on wether I should decide on joining this company (cause they just sent me their offer). Is it okay to email you my questions? Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. btw, my email is : marc.pheenne.sandiego@gmail.com

      Delete
  9. Hello Anette!

    I just read your blog post about the anual pickachu event in Yokohama. Me and my sister are going to Tokyo for the second time and on Obon week August 12-17. May I ask is the pickachu event always held at the same time every year. Me and my sister are planing on attending that event and is 2 days to much to spare for that event. We both grew up watching Pokemon and both love Pikachu. Also do you think the Sanrio Puroland is worth the visit? We also love Hello Kitty very much and would love to have a picture with her. We are also traveling on Obon week is exploring Tokyo (taking the subway, getting a taxi) and going outside of Tokyo very hard. We are also planning on going to either Hakone, Kusatsu or Karuizawa. Which do you think is the best choice? We would love a place that we can get out of the summer heat of Tokyo and also make us feel relax. Hope you can answer my many questions. <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cindy, thanks for the comment! The pikachu festival is always held in the beginning of August, and it seems Yokohama will host it annually until 2020. Last year it ended on August 15, so although this year's dates haven't been announced yet you might just be in time for the last days of the festival.
      I haven't been to the Sanrio Puroland so I'm don't know how good it is, but I'm sure you'll have a fun day if you end up going.
      For the trip outside of Tokyo it depends a bit on your main objective, but if you're planning on staying the night at a Japanese ryokan I would recommend visiting Hakone but staying in Yugawara (just make sure you have the transportation planned in advance) if you want to see Mt. Fuji. Hakone is quite expensive, and you'll get a lot better value for your money in Yugawara (just note that there's not much to do in Yugawara on its own).
      Kusatsu is also very nice to visit, but perhaps it is better as a winter destination as the boiling hot onsen is their main attraction.
      Karuizawa is a nice place to visit to escape the Tokyo heat, but summer is peak season so it might be a lot of visitors there.
      One alternative I could recommend for a 1N trip from Tokyo is Chichibu in Saitama. They have very nice ryokans and you can visit for instance the Mitsumine Shrine and do some light hiking in the area if that is of interest. It is not a super known destination among foreigners so you can escape the crowds there too ;)

      Delete
  10. Hi Annette,
    I will be joining Kyung Hee's Peace University. Found your posts very helpful. I have emailed you my doubts.
    Could you please help?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Raksha, sorry for the late reply! I've tried to look for the email but no luck. Could you try to send it to me again? Thank you!

      Delete
    2. Hi!
      I am using annettehansen@outlook.com
      Is that right?

      Delete
    3. Almost... There's only 1 n in Anette ;)

      Delete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Anette, I've sent you an email!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dear Anette ^-^

    I am so sorry for suddenly send your an email and also left message here.I happened your blog writing about Mercari, I follow step by step and I could sell many things there.

    Well, now the last step I would love to ask your suggestion for more information.

    To withdraw money, there are 2 types others Bank & Yuucho Bank?

    How they are different? Same fee, Same schedule? Which is better?

    Thank you so much for your kindly support in advance.

    ReplyDelete
  14. HI Anette,

    I am going to join a known Japanese company very soon and was looking for your advice about the present working culture in Japan or say Tokyo. Long working hours i heard are slowly waning away and people are getting more open , also trying to westernize a bit and looking like, things are better now but I dont have a first hand experience and all am I exploring now is via google, any expert insights on present situation ?

    Regards
    Prasoon

    ReplyDelete
  15. You can mail me @ prasoonprince@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello

    I just love your blog!

    I have one big question regarding travelling through Asia:I am really afraid of Dengue lingering around in all those countries.
    Have you experienced problems with mosquitos and diseases?

    Thank you in advance and keep on being amazing!

    Tatiana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tatiana, thanks for the comment!
      Things have been a bit hectic here these months, so I haven't been able to stay up to date on the blog. Sorry about the late reply.
      I've never had any issue with Dengue in any of the countries I've been to so far in Asia, although I tend to get bitten a lot by mosquitos. Of course, my advice would be to get a vaccine before your travels to be on the safe side.

      All the best,
      Anette

      Delete
  17. Hi Anette,

    I hope you are well. I am Alia, a visiting researcher at University of Surrey, United Kingdom.
    I would like to send an academic research participation invitation regarding your stay at the robot hotel. If you are interested, kindly contact me at: alia.rahman@surrey.ac.uk.

    Many thanks and take care :)
    Alia

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Annette, Thanks for sharing your insights.. I am a designer based in India and want to sell some of my products in Japan. Would you know how I should go about it? Thanks so much !

    ReplyDelete

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About Me

Adventures ofAnette


A modern day shield-maiden who loves to explore the unbeaten paths of the world. From her base in Tokyo, Anette takes on both rural and urban challenges, and goes by the motto "No challenge too big, no adventure too small"!
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