In our little garden we have a Japanese maple tree, or momiji as it is called in Japanese. It is my favorite tree, I adore the small star shaped leaves that shift from green to orange to the most intense shade of red in autumn. Coming home after having picked up my son from the […]
When our son was born he got a kimono from my wife’s aunt. It is a kimono that is often used when a family goes to a shrine in November to celebrate their son’s health and well being (a Japanese rite of passage called shichi-go-san named after the age seven-five-three when children are celebrated like this, boys
I have probably said it many times already on this blog, but I cannot keep myself from saying it again – I just love autumn in Japan. The colors, the skies, the way the wind feels on the skin, the sun shining at an angle, shining trough the leaves making them sparkle in all shades
Our son’s kindergarten is situated a little way up a mountainside. It is close to nature, a place to experience play, a place to run around as much as little legs can handle, and freedom to discover who you are. My son loves running around, and sine he started kindergarten I have also created new
Typically October is a month with beautiful weather, blue skies and comfortable temperatures, in short weather perfect for hiking. Every year the community society where we live organize a hike up the nearest mountain in the end of October and just like last year we joined the group. Early morning we met at the local
It feels like yesterday when my son and I were walking past the rice fields on our way home from kindergarten while looking at the little tadpoles swimming around the all but non-existent rice plants. It was late spring and there was a long hot summer lying before us, nature outings, trips to the beach,
Summer in Japan is festival time, and especially so this year. Because of the corona pandemic many festivals have been canceled for a few years, and this summer they finally start to happen more full scale again. There are all kinds of festivals such as dance festivals, festivals celebrating local deities, and of course the
It is getting hot now. Often too hot to be outside without feeling like I have stepped into a sauna. Not a dry one, but one with high humidity that makes me want to change my clothes as soon as I step into it. The Japanese summer has arrived and I am both looking forward
What better way to end a beautiful spring Saturday than to, together with my wife and son, enjoy the sun setting over the sea? Well, the only thing I can think of when writing this is watching that sunset while taking photos in a magical place and hearing my son joyfully playing in the sand.
Sometimes I find that words can be a distraction when writing. With the view of Mount Fuji still in my mind, and the weight of my son still on my lap, tonight was such a time.
Being lovers of nature as well as the old and new world, we are so fortunate in where we live. While a shorter walk takes us to the train station or the shopping center, a short bicycle ride takes us to the nearby beach and mountains. And a thirty minutes drive will let us reach
The warm summer days in Fukuoka do not suit the active life of a two-year-old who wants to be out playing all day. It is a long wait for him between the morning outing (sometimes we go to the community center in the mornings, sometimes to the local shopping mall, if the sun is behind