5 Lessons Learned from 5 Years of Blogging

Keep it up! Your blog has been so enjoyable ever since I found it a couple of years ago. Thank you for all the work and time you’ve put into sharing and teaching all of us. You’re an inspiration!

Gam-ba-te!

Hi Nami,
One of my favorite accents is the Japanese accent. It is the cutest thing in the world. In fact, your accent may be your asset because people prefer to learn from someone who sounds local (ie. a Japanese chief for Japanese recipes). Most importantly, your English is very clear and I never had problems misunderstanding you.

Finally, you look very natural on camera so I hope you will stop worrying about it next year! Haha

-Carrie

Dear Nami,

What I have learned:
Not to email you any longer! HA! (Sorry for being a pest!)

What you should know:
There is a song by John Legend called “All of Me.” (Google it.) After reading your post, the first words of the chorus of this song came to my mind:

All of me (“me” meaning all of us who can’t wait for your next post!)
Loves all of you
All your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections

Have fun…leave some of the edited out takes in…none of us is going to be perfect and we don’t expect it of you…be yourself because you’re the reason we all tune in! As Billy Joel would say, “I (We) love you just the way you are.”

(I made Chicken Tonkatsu as an appetizer this last weekend and everyone wanted the recipe…thanks!)

All the best,
Don

Hiya Nami!

Thank you for these inspirational 5 lessons. I’ve enjoyed reading them and i did read them with a big smile on my face. For a beginning blogger like me, this is a huge help. I also know how difficult it is to switch languages. I am from the Netherlands, but was raised 2 languages due to me being half Australian. (Half my family lives there from my father’s side) Other then english i also know german and now learning Japanese. I say do not worry at al about your accent. It is not disturbing at all, after all your videos are about Japanese food. How can we not like your precious accent and your Japanese background!

Smiling and talking the same time seems impossible now, but honestly it is just the ” flexing” of your face muscle’s. My tip is to just practise it each day in front of the mirror, and soon you will see you’ll get the hang of it!

One last thing. IF you ever need help with virtually managing your posts and email.. I’d be delighted to give you a hand. I have the time and means. I have also worked as a secretary for 4 years as i have my degree for it. Just contact me in case you change your mind about the virtual help. I will do it with pleasure, and most important at all. For free, since i enjoy helping people.

Lots of Love
Skye

5 years! Congratulations!
I don’t think you need to smile all the time while doing a video. Your pleasant, calm and gentle manner is enough to involve and hold your viewers. Then you can save your smile for the ‘whew, that’s a cut!’ End. I don’t think many people expect you to smile all the time; it’s unnatural (sorry Mr JOC ????) keep up the great work and thanks.

I enjoy you just as you are! Thank you for the time spent sharing your delicious recipes and I too, appreciate the step-by-step images!

Wow has it been five years already? Your blog just keeps getting better and better. I appreciate all the hard work you and Mr JOC go through to put together the absolute best blog out there. Arigato Nami and Mr. JOC!

Nami,

First of all, congratulations on a very successful and growing 5 years of blogging. I think you and Mr. JOC have created a beautiful website, youtube channel and great videos. It’s time for a printed cookbook, no? 😉
These are great tips! and about your accent: it’s who you are and I think it’s lovely.
xo, Debra

Hi Nami,
Congratulations with your 5th anniversary and special thanks for all the recipes.
You are doing a great job and don’t worry about your English which is very good as even I can understand every word.
Your blog helped me very much as I try to cook washoku.
Greetings from Belgium…in the rain

You go girl! Love your blog, and your recipes….and your travelogues! Here’s to another 5 years…and another and another. You get the idea, <3 ya!

Congratulations on the five years! How time flies. 🙂 I am always so impressed by your efforts regarding Lesson #1. Hardly do I ever expect a reply to my comments, but I am always delighted when I see a message go to my inbox. I often wonder how you manage to do it with your blog’s growing readership and popularity—and really, what a great problem to have!

Congrats on 5 years of blogging! I think I’ve known you since the time you started. Thanks for these valuable and helpful lessons you shared with us. I always learn a lot from you. Good luck and looking forward to more of your recipe posts, Nami!

Nami, I think you are doing a good job. Sharing your recipes with us and continuing to do so.

Keep up the good work

cheers
gina khoo

This is the first time I’m leaving a comment, but I’ve been following your blog for a very long time! You’ve helped me recreate many Japanese dishes I could only admire before. I’m surprised to hear that most food bloggers discourage step-by-step photos. For me, that’s the main reason I continue to follow your blog.

Whenever I have to smile when speaking I try to pretend I’m speaking happily to a friend. If you are happy when you are speaking, the smile will come naturally!

Thank you very much for creating this blog and sharing Japanese food with everyone!

5 stars. I agree. Your step-by-step photos are very helpful, and I think your manner of speaking makes the recipe videos all the more authentic. Keep up the good work!

Hi Nami,

I don’t comment as much as I use to, but I do continue to read your blogs. I think you’re doing a fantastic job. Keep up the great work and always stay smiling. ^_^

P.s. the step-by-step photos and videos are VERY helpful.

Hello Nami

Thank you for the blog of your first five years. You worked hard and really did a good job. I appreciate your excellent food photography. Keep up the good work and will keep following your recipes and travel tours.

Congratulations on 5 years of blogging! I am soooo happy that I found your blog! You work so hard on your blog and in the videos. I just wanted to let you know that your hard work is appreciated.

p,s, – You’re doing great with English – it’s a tough language to learn!

Dear Nami. You are doing very well in all things you are trying to accomplish. Just be yourself and continue to share all your knowledge with us. We are all here to learn and not criticize your accent or whatever negative things you have been told. Keep up the great work.

Dear Nami,

I have only just discovered your cookbook after returning from a 2 1/2 week holiday in Jqpqn where I ate almost exclusively Japanese food. I used to live in Japan 18 years ago but at the time my kids were small and I did not go out as much. No I am desperate to learn to cook some Japanese food (especially for my lunch box) and your website is perfect. Thank you for your efforts!

And as for smiling and speaking, I used to do a lot of media work and the key is to be yourself and put as much energy into your presentation as possible. So smile when it is natural (at the end of an explanation or when you encourage people to give one of your recipes a try). There is nothing worse than a forced smile in my opinion but maybe that’s just me and Americans see it differently (I am German and live in the UK).

YOU are fabulous. That’s all you need to remind your Self!
And…I LOVE the step by step tutorials 😉

Arigato and Gambatte!
Deanna

Hi Nami! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! You always teach us something new! Step-by-step photos (not to mention videos!) are something I’ve always found too difficult to even try… I truly admire you for these efforts!
I laughed a lot reading about your accent 🙂 Yes, some accents are really cute and the Japanese is one of them. (Frankly your accent is so tiny…. barely there… just enough to be….cute!).
5 years only??? With all the extraordinary dishes you have shared I feel as if I had known you for at least ten years!

Hi Nami San,
Reading your blog is very enjoyable. I never imagine I can make any authentic Japanese dishes until I came across your blog!

Your dedication and passion lead you to a very successful blogging career, please keep it up! I want to see more simple, yet elegant and scrumptious recipe!

Last but not the least: The first recipe I tried out was your chasu ramen (which was awesome!), and guess what, I found that the left over chausu can also turn into numerous yummy dishes when I’m short of time/energy, such as sandwiches (I finely chopped the chasu, then mixed with Japanese mayo and finely chopped custard green); chasu curry: chausu fry rice; …. etc, etc.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your recipe, the videos, the eye pleasing step by step photos….. Thank you!

Xoxoxo

Hello Nami, this is the first time I comment on your blog. But truly, you are my favourite food blogger in the entire Internet. Since justonecookbook is my top 10 most frequently visited pages, it always appears whenever I open a new window or tab – one click away!

The things I love most about your recipes are that they have picture-by-picture step and their actual deliciousness. I am not a big video fan (because they are usually too long, so in a sense I definitely find your videos beautifully made and easy to follow), only check when I have absolutely no idea how to do a certain step. And I’ve tried several weblogs already and none has the taste (really homely and warm and wonderful and superbly delicious) similar to yours. You are so close to your readers as well. One of my friends, who I introduced your blog to, once made chicken curry rice and posted it on her instagram. She was over the moon when you liked (or commented, sorry for my bad memory) on her photo.

Thank you Nami! I hope one day I can have a food blog of my own too.

Happy Blog Anniversary, Nami! Congratulations on 5 years! Your blog is one of the very first ones I ever read and still my favorite! All of your hard work is so appreciated! Thank you SO much for all that you do! Loved reading your lessons that you have learned! Blogging can be so time consuming and I’m glad that you have learned that you can’t respond to everyone. We all understand and completely support you. Your health and family are more important and we appreciate all of your hard work! 🙂 Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful recipe throughout the years! xo

Congrats on five years! You’ve done a lot in five years. I just found your site and wish I found it years ago! I’ll be here frequently. Thanks for sharing.

That is a very interesting post about your life experience with your blog. I am actually considering that (one day) I would perhaps make a personal website based around what I do and want to share as well. This includes cooking (but I am also a musician, enjoy travelling especially outdoors, love photography, geology). This would focus more on my interests and hobbies though as an aside from my professional occupation – I am actually working in becoming a full-time scientist (in everything associated with laser and plasma physics to be more specific, if you are interested to know) so I am not sure, at this early stage at least, how I can really commit myself to be a good blogger like you are.

As a small aside, I will actually be in California for a week in the first week of February in Livermore. This is actually for working reasons I am there but I have the Sunday, a bit of the Thursday morning and maybe the evenings in-between. As you live in CA I was actually wondering if you have any recommendations for someone to do during a short visit there. I might consider using Thursday to see more of San Francisco but I decide on that while I’m there.

Thank you for the post! It was nice and informative!

Hey Nami! I’m happy to see your blog grow, you’ve been working so hard, and make us enjoy great recipes for 5 years.
I wish you all the best:)

Oh me too with the smiling. I finally broke myself from frowning when I concentrate, since it was causing a deeper wrinkle between my brows, lol. With my TMJ I hold my jaw differently but have learned to smile with my eyes or “smize” as Tyra Banks says, lol. It does work though so all you non-smilers should give it a try!

Huge congratulations on having one of the most fun blogs on the Net . . . . love your smile, love your accent and love and use what you teach! Happy five years but DO hope you have learned enough to look after yourself and take time out for those beautiful children and a very caring husband. And I have spoken English for much longer than you but still get asked almost every time: ‘Where do you come from’? Enjoy being you !!

It’s okay, English is really great, but really odd! I like watching the comedian Victor Borge’s sketches on how awkward it was for him (from Denmark) to learn to speak English. XD He never spoke without his Danish accent, but no one ever minded that! 🙂

I am a third generation (sansei) Japanese-American from Hawaii. I wish I spoke Japanese as well as you speak Engrish. Congratulations on your fifth anniversary!!!

The step by step photos are super helpful, I can make sure I’m doing things correctly! Domo arigato!

I love your step by step pictures!!!! They’re ally helpful 🙂