Today is Seijin no hi, Coming of Age Day, in Japan. Until recent years this national holiday fell on January 15 but it’s now celebrated on the second Monday of the month. Twenty is the age of majority in Japan; the age at which a young person can begin smoking, drinking and voting. Though they legally come of age on their birthday, local governments hold special ceremonies on Seijin no hi to honour all those who have turned or will turn twenty during the current school year which runs from April to March. During the ceremony, local officials give speeches and those who are being honoured receive small gifts. This is a very formal occasion. Young men usually wear suits and women often dress in kimono. Parties with friends often follow the ceremony.

We went into Tokyo after church yesterday to have lunch with Matt and Robin’s friend, Kumiko, who is visiting from Kyoto. Though it’s not unusual to see a few women out and about in kimono, we saw many more than usual yesterday. Kumiko told us that families were probably celebrating the coming of age of their children.

For us, today is just another work day. We often work on national holidays and receive other days off in lieu.

After reading my recent post about our day at Yokohama, my father sent the following message. I found it very interesting so I thought I’d share it with the rest of you.  Thanks, Dad!  It’s nice to have you as a guest on the blog.

For those of you who’ve been wondering or asking why there’s snow falling on my blog, it’s an option that WordPress made available for the Christmas season. I thought it was kind of cute and since it might be the only snow we see this winter, I decided to accept it. All I had to do was find the right screen and then check the box next to “Show falling snow on this blog”.  Had it been any more complicated than that, I assure you that it wouldn’t be there!  It will disappear on January 4, 2009.

Following Augustine is one year old today!  It all began with a short post on December  7, 2007 announcing that Richard and I had accepted teaching positions in Japan and were preparing to spend a year abroad.

The blog has been a wonderful way of sharing our adventure with friends and family back home as well as others who have come across it along the way.  It has been a blessing in other ways too.  I have always loved writing.  In my younger days as a stay at home mom, I did some freelance writing and had a few articles published but once I went back to teaching, there didn’t seem to be enough time to keep it up.  Sharing my love of reading and writing with my students seemed to fill the gap but writing the blog has definitely rekindled my love of writing.  Sometimes it’s easy.  The words seem to flow, tumbling over one another in a rush to get onto the screen.  Other times, they don’t come as easily.  Sentences are written and rewritten as I struggle to picture for you the wonderful things that we’ve been experiencing.   As in other things, I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I don’t like to hit the publish button until it sounds just right to me!

I’m also a person who has a tendency to live for the future.  I love planning things and looking forward to whatever it is that’s coming next.  I don’t suppose there’s anything terribly wrong with that but writing the blog has forced me to learn to live in the moment and to experience everything with my eyes wide open.  Even as we are in the midst of discovering new and interesting aspects of life here in Japan, I’m thinking about how to share them with you.  I’ve discovered that I love living this way and I hope that this is something that carries over into my life back home when our time here is done.

Mt. Fuji is a highly revered Japanese icon. People travel long distances to try to catch glimpses of it. Unfortunately it spends a lot of time shrouded in cloud.

Because we live on the upper floor of a hilltop apartment building that faces in just the right direction, we sometimes have the awesome privilege of seeing the mountain from our very own window. It’s about 120 km away and the city of Tokyo lies between us. Our view of the mountain is almost obscured by buildings and power lines so it’s pretty amazing that we can see it at all.

The very first morning that we awoke in Japan was a bright and sunny one and there stood the mountain in all it’s majesty! Little did we realize how rare that sight would be. Once the humidity of summer arrived, it wasn’t seen at all. Lately, however, as the cool crisp air of autumn arrived, the mountain started showing itself again. We have seen it five of the last six mornings!

Because of our work schedule, we’re seldom home when the sun sets but this week, on days off, we’ve seen Fuji’s silhouette against a spectacular sunset twice! Many people who have spent their entire lives in this country have never been so fortunate.

I’m not sure how well the mountain will show up in these pictures but I hope you can catch a glimpse of what we’re so privileged to see.

Japan has 13 national holidays throughout the year. Most retail stores remain open but schools, companies, government offices, banks and bank machines are closed.

November 23 is Kinro Kanshi No Hi or Labour Thanksgiving Day. Because the 23rd fell on a Sunday this year, today is a day off in lieu. Established in 1948, this holiday is an occasion for honouring labour, celebrating production and giving one another thanks. While the Japanese don’t have a holiday comparable to Canadian or American Thanksgiving, prior to 1948 November 23 was celebrated as a harvest festival known as Niiname-sai.

Unlike most schools, our private English school often remains open on national holidays and we are given other days off in lieu. It’s often easier for our students to come for lessons on days when they don’t work or go to school and it enables our school to set up a calendar that ensures that every class meets the same number of times over the course of a year. Today, however, we do have the day off which has given Richard and I a two day break. On occasions like this, we usually have big plans but today is a do nothing day for us. Rich has a bad cold and I’m nursing a sore back. Neither is serious but perhaps these are indications that we ought to take it easy and relax for a change. Of course, the fact that we have four days off later in the week and have made exciting plans for three of them, is motivation to rest up and get well.  One of my adult students has invited us to spend three days and two nights with her & her husband at their weekend home in Onjuku, a small seaside community on the other side of the peninsula that we live on!  Rie has a busy and exciting itinerary planned out for us.  This is an amazing opportunity and should be lots of fun!

Today is my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary! What an amazing milestone. They’ve never been ones to make a big deal of anniversaries but somehow this one deserves recognition. There won’t be a big celebration as the family is scattered and unable to be with them. Instead we’ve tried to do the best we could to honour them from a distance. Mom doesn’t get out much anymore so I suspect that they’ll be celebrating quietly at home. I hope they enjoy looking back over their long history together. I know Mom still enjoys telling the story of how they met at a Halloween party and Dad still teases her about the fact that she took so long to answer his marriage proposal that he nearly threw the engagement ring off the wharf. Like any couple, they’ve had their share of heartaches but they’ve weathered them together. They’ve also had many wonderful adventures as they traveled the world together. What a wonderful example they’ve set for those of us who follow.

Don and Beatrice Stewart Married Nov. 17, 1948

One of our earliest outings after arriving in Japan was an afternoon visit to Shinsho-Ji, the Buddhist temple at Narita. As we strolled the beautiful grounds, I decided that I wanted to return in the fall to see the trees in their autumn splendor. The last few days have been chilly and gray but today was warm and sunny; a perfect day to spend outdoors and the area was every bit as gorgeous as I thought it would be. We didn’t spend much time in and around the temple itself, preferring to spend our afternoon enjoying its peaceful surroundings.

Omotesando, the narrow street that stretches between the train station and the temple area is an interesting stroll. Packed with little shops and good places to eat, it’s a popular spot for tourists. As we walked it today, we talked about the fact that, while we still have much in common with the tourists, we no longer feel like one of them. Imagine our surprise when, on the way back from the temple, we met one of our Japanese friends from church! We knew that she worked at the Narita airport but didn’t realize that she lived in town. Clearly that encounter confirmed our feeling that we aren’t simply tourists here.

We had another interesting encounter on the train on the way home. There are always many people on the train from Narita who are coming from the airport. Suitcases often fill the aisle and I’m always curious about where their owners have been. In Japan, it’s considered rude to speak to strangers and most of the time we don’t, but when I noticed a Remembrance Day poppy on the lapel of a fellow sitting nearby, I couldn’t help commenting. It turned out that he was returning to Japan after spending the past year studying French in Montreal. His English was also good and we enjoyed hearing about his experiences in Canada and his impressions of Canadian people. It sounds like he enjoyed our country every bit as much as we’re enjoying his.

There are definite signs that winter is on the way.  Lots of people are wearing winter boots, scarves and toques but that’s hardly a good indication since these items are often worn with shorts and many have been dressing this way since the end of August!  Winter attire seems to be much more about fashion than function.

Though daytime temperatures are still very comfortable, it does cool off quite a bit at night now.  We put the fans away and brought out the heaters and some of our winter bedding recently.  This week the kerosene truck began making its rounds of the neighbourhood.  On the other hand, oranges are ripening on trees all around us, flowers are still blooming and new crops of vegetables are coming up in gardens and on vegetable farms so is it really winter?

One clear sign that the season is upon us is the fact that, even here in Japan, the stores have started decorating and gearing up for Christmas.  I found myself singing along to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer while I grocery shopped today!

Winter will be very different for us this year.  We definitely won’t be experiencing the -20C to -30C temperatures that are the norm back home in Alberta.  The climate is much more humid than we’re accustomed to, however, so we may feel colder than we would at similar temperatures back home.  We may or may not see snow but if we do, it won’t be the dry powdery variety that we’re used to and it won’t stay around for very long.

While the outdoor conditions will be much milder than we’re used to, the same won’t be true indoors.  Like the majority of Japanese homes, ours has no insulation and no central heating.   We can’t just turn up the thermostat and stay warm.  We do have several sources of heat though.  Here in the dining/computer room a built in unit acts as air conditioner in the summer and heater in the winter.   We also have a portable kerosene heater which usually sits in the kitchen and an oscillating electric heater which warms up the tatami room where we sleep.  Right now, we only need to use these to take the chill off first thing in the morning and to provide a little extra warmth in the evening but I’m sure that the time will soon come when they’ll be running much more steadily.

Halloween has come to Japan in recent years but more as a commercial and decorative event than anything else. I suspect that Tokyo Disneyland, which isn’t actually located in Tokyo but right here in Chiba, has had a lot to do with introducing the celebration to this part of the country.  Disneyland has a Halloween theme throughout October each year. Some larger stores and malls also advertise Halloween events which promise candy to children in costumes and English language schools have promoted Halloween by decorating and holding children’s costume parties. Masquerade is definitely something that appeals to Japanese people but trick-or-treating hasn’t caught on yet and though pictures of jack-o-lanterns and plastic replicas abound, there aren’t any real ones here.

Some Japanese, having been taught that the origins of Halloween date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain during which ghosts of the dead were believed to return to earth, have equated it with their own Obon celebrations which take place during the summer. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist holiday. Families gather to honour the spirits of their dead ancestors by visiting and cleaning the family graves and the spirits of the ancestors are thought to visit the household altars during this time. Personally, I think we do the Japanese a disservice if we teach them that this is what Halloween is all about.

As a child growing up in Powell River on the coast of British Columbia, I loved Halloween. In our home, costumes were never decided on until after school on Halloween day. At that time, with my mother’s help, we dug through old clothes and came out dressed like hobos, gypsies or pirates. As soon as supper was over, we gathered with the other children from the houses closest to our own and trick-or-treated up and down our street collecting a wonderful bag of goodies. In those days, it was safe to accept homemade treats and my mother was known for her delicious popcorn balls. The only way my siblings and I got to taste them was if we trick-or-treated at our own door. My mother would, of course, pretend not to know who we were! Such silly fun and such good memories. The only year that mom didn’t make popcorn balls was the year that I was six. She was in hospital following the birth of my baby brother. I remember helping my father fill bags of candy for the trick-or-treaters and I also remember the hideous looking rubber mask that he bought for me! Incidentally, that baby brother turned fifty a few days ago!

When we kids returned from trick-or-treating, our families gathered across the street from our house in the parking lot behind Bowes Hardware for a giant bonfire. Mr. Bowes always saved some big packing boxes to feed the fire. Hot chocolate was served and as the fire died down, we had our own fireworks show! What a wonderful and exciting evening!

Unfortunately, as a young teacher living in Sedgewick, I learned to hate Halloween. What had once been a time for harmless pranks in rural Alberta had, in our community at least, become a night of vandalism which was directed mainly at schools, churches, businesses and the homes of teachers and RCMP officers. Large groups of teens prowled the streets creating havoc. Year after year, our home was pelted with eggs and other nasty substances. The paint job was totally destroyed but there was no point in repainting when we knew that the new surface would only last until the next Halloween. Fortunately, the generation that celebrated Halloween in this manner has grown past that sort of thing and in recent years, Halloween has once again become a night for the younger children to enjoy. A couple of years ago, we finally had the house repainted.

After dreading Halloween for so many years, it’s been difficult to recapture the delight that it once held for me. As a teacher, I participated in many classroom Halloween parties but I found it difficult to enjoy them knowing what the later hours of the day would hold. Now, I’m teaching at a Japanese English school and my job description includes an entire week of Halloween parties! Because the classes meet only once a week, the event goes on all week so that every children’s class has a party. Teachers are required to wear costumes. Awhile ago, while shopping in a nearby mall, I came across a costume that I couldn’t resist so for the first time in my life, I have a store bought costume! Each day this week, I appear as a big fuzzy jack-o-lantern! Richard was being a bit of a grinch about having to dress up but I dug through a bin of old costumes that have been left behind by previous teachers and found him a clown costume complete with big red squeaky nose! The kids, of course, think our costumes are great and we think they are adorable. Minnie Mouse and Disney heroines such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Belle from Beauty and the Beast are popular amongst the little girls and we’ve seen witches and pirates of every description. We teach them a few Halloween words, play some games, have some fun without cracking the textbooks and send them home with a bag of candy. Halloween really is for children!

Here’s my favourite costume of the week.  Isn’t he just adorable?

And here’s one little guy who wasn’t feeling well but didn’t want to miss the party.  He slept through most of it!