The mountain Raizan and the Sennyoji temple lying on the mountainside – I feel strangely drawn to this place, especially so when it is raining. There is a calm, a stillness that is accentuated in the rain, and the colors, the sounds, the smells feel like they come from a magical place beyond this world. […]
As I wrote about last week it has been raining a lot, and the rain has continued. I have bad memories from times of heavy rain. When I was living in Sweden I experienced a big flooding in the village where I was living and houses were all surrounded by water from the overflowing river.
We got a message from a friend who lives near a little river half an hour away. There are a lot of fireflies here now, do you want to come? Of course we wanted to! It was Sunday, a beautiful evening, and we made our way to see our friend just as the sun was
Although we have already entered September, with summer holidays over and kindergarten’s second trimester having started, autumn is still nowhere in sight. It has been hot hot and this weekend when it was time for this year’s summer festival in the nearby park, was no exception. My son has been looking forward to this festival
A long holiday is coming to an end. Rainy days, too hot days – summer is interesting in many ways here in Japan (though we are still waiting for this year’s first typhoon) and the time spent indoors has been quite extensive. So to make everyday life feel new we have tried to make something
Summer holidays are here and so are summer colds. Even before the holidays started my son got a fever and while he has been sick, the two of us have spend our days indoors trying to make the time as interesting as we can. Since it has been 35 degrees outside, a week inside a
While the summer days in Kyushu are like a wet sauna, the evenings are actually quite enjoyable. Even going out with the trash after the dishes are finished is a pleasure, but nothing beats an evening trip to the beach. In July the water in the sea is on the warmer side but still cool
Every year come June me and my son are enjoying the ever changing rice fields. We always stop and have a look when we pass by, commenting on the water level, looking at all the little creatures living in the fields, talking about the rice field frogs that are soon to be born. Remembering my
Even though it has been a very hot summer, we have been trying to do a lot of fun’s things during this year’s summer holiday. Since 35 degrees and sun is not well suited for outdoor play in the park, we have explored fun activities appropriate for a hot summer. Thus we have visited the
Japan during summer is hot and humid and sweaty. To say the least. Cool drinks and air conditioning feel essential for being comfortable. It would have been nice with a cool shower every now and then as well, but that is a little more tricky – during summer in Japan the hot water use is close
I miss them, close ones that are no longer living among us. I have missed them especially the past week when the memories of the dead take center stage in Japan during the Obon holiday, the time to remember the ancestors when their spirits are said to come home to visit living family members. There
It is the middle of summer and the vegetables in our little garden are thriving like plants in a jungle. My mother-in-law is the one who takes care of it, grows the vegetables, gives the nutrients, does the weeding and harvesting – all I have to do is giving the garden water those days when the