2025

A Chinese IT engineer in Japan reflects on job-hunting amid worsening China–Japan tensions, explaining why he left China’s restrictions and politics for a freer tech environment, his mixed feelings about identity and prejudice, and his hope to build a stable life despite limited options.

A personal site using Astro, Sanity, and Cloudflare Pages hit long build times as content grew. To avoid redundant rebuilds from frequent Sanity webhooks, the author built a deferred build system on Cloudflare using Durable Objects as a webhook relay with configurable delay, URL, and token via headers, creating a reusable webhook delay trigger for multiple projects.

An easy, home-friendly guide to building ramen broth inspired by Fukushima, explaining why ramen is labor-intensive in Japan and how to DIY a simple version. It outlines two main stocks—meat-based (bone broth) and seafood-based (kombu, shiitake, dashi, katsuobushi)—and suggests mixing them in a 3:1 ratio for depth. It covers seasoning sauces (soy/mirin, spices) and topping ideas (braised meat, vegetables), plus the assembly steps: cook noodles, add lard and sauce, pour stock, add toppings. Emphasizes layering multiple umami sources as the core secret to a flavorful broth. You can skip from start to finish with a practical home method.

I upgraded from Remix to React Router 7, switched to Magic Link login, and added Map Mode. I boosted performance and refactored the CMS to SvelteKit with AI endpoints and gpt-5; Unsplash uploads are automatic.

Since moving to Japan, I've shifted from Chinese SNS due to account bans and unappealing content, especially on platforms like Weibo. Domestic SNS often focuses on trivial celebrity news rather than substantive issues. Now, I rely on foreign media like WSJ and The Economist to stay informed about global and domestic events, despite the challenges. Learning Japanese has been part of this transition.