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  • 2009
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    • January
      • Acceptance
        01/19/09
        We're outsiders here, there's no getting around that. The word for foreigner gaijin literally means "outside person". Even people who have obtained Japanese citizenship find that they can't be fully accepted.

        On the other hand, it's possible to be a part of

      • Fish on Fridays
        01/16/09
        I finish work early on Friday afternoons, during the time that Matthew has a break between classes. We've developed a little ritual going over to the snack shop in the mall and buying a couple of taiyaki.



        Taiyaki are filled, baked treats in the shape of a sea bream. Th

      • Snow Day
        01/15/09
        Today's our first day of serious winter weather in Kitakami. It's the kind of day where snow either falls peacefully or blows madly throughout the day. It's the kind of day when the temperature flirts with zero, but decides thawing isn't worth it and backs off a few degrees. I

      • The Benefits of Being Late
        01/09/09
        Much like last year, we joined our neighbors at the local shrine for hatsumoude early on New Year's morning. During the course of our visit, some of them invited us to go over to the ward's community center for mahjong later in the day. We'd played mahjong once before at the ward�

      • Festival of the Seven Herbs
        01/06/09
        Traditionally, January 7 is a significant day in Japan. According to Shinto custom, adopted from ancient Chinese custom, January 7 is jinjitsu (person's day), a day when criminals are spared from punishment. More applicable to the general population, January 7 is also the day of nanakusa no s

      • 108 Bells
        01/04/09
        In Japan, New Year's Eve is full of rituals to prepare for the passing of the old year and the crossing into a new one. One of these rituals, joya no kane, occurs at Buddhist temples. Joya no kane is the ringing of the temple bell 108 times on New Year's Eve. As we understand it, each o

      • Dawn of a New Year
        01/03/09
        The new year dawned with spectacular weather, which some people have taken as an auspicious sign for the year.



        We weren't actually up at dawn on New Year's Day, so this photo is from the second. But the weather was gorgeous both days, so we expect New Year's Daw

  • 2008
  • 2007