October 2025

cleaning day

Every October, there is autumn cleaning going on everywhere. The parks are getting their final trim of the year and people are tidying up what is left of the summer from their gardens. Now that the temperature has dropped and nature’s extreme growing power has slowed down, it really feels quite satisfying to clean up […]

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last bath of the year

It has been hot this summer. It has ben hot this fall. Even with my limited experience of life in Japan I have felt it to be a special year, and when I talk to others many say that they cannot remember a summer like this. So what does a 5-year-old boy want to do

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undokai

Every autumn, our son’s kindergarten organizes a sports day for the children. The practice for this day begins after the summer holidays and the children work hard every day to prepare for the sports day when parents and relatives come to watch and join in some activities. This year our son, now being in the

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work for two

Ever so often, when I try to convince my son of doing something he does not want to do, like putting the LEGO that is spread out all over the floor, into boxes before going to bed, we end up in a never ending loop of questions and answers. He asks why, I explain, he

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