Today is a national holiday in Japan. Known as Ocean’s Day or Day of the Sea, the holiday was established in 1995 and first celebrated in 1996 because, until that time, there were no public holidays between May and August and the government felt that workers needed a break. Because Japan is an island nation, it was decided that this would be a day of gratitude for the blessings of the sea and a day to hope for the continued prosperity of the country. It always falls on the third Monday of July.

Though many have already taken advantage of the beaches by this time, today is also the day that they officially open for the summer season and many people will spend the day at the beach. Unfortunately, though I would love to be one of them, our schools are open today and I’ll be in the classroom instead. For me, it will have to be a day of remembering the beauty of the ocean and reminiscing about my recent coastal experience at Nojimazaki.