This Month in Pictures: May 2018

Hello all! I realise it’s been a while since I’ve posted, so here’s a little update on what we’ve been up to the past few weeks. First, it’s been hot! So we had to hit up the best place in town on a hot day: Yagiya, which sells kakigori! We met up with our friend

Wheat Field Wanderings

こんにちは！ It’s Golden Week in Japan, a time of the year when several holidays (Showa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day) fall close together, which usually means one or two long weekends! This year we happened to have Monday, Thursday, and Friday off; usually this week is a prime time to travel

Spring in Tatebayashi

こんばんは！　Back home, my favourite season was always fall. I loved the changing colours and the crisp air, the pumpkins and excitement of Halloween. Since moving to Japan, though, I’ve fallen in love with spring. I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as a long line of sakura trees swaying in the breeze as petals flurry down

This Month in Pictures: February and March 2018

Hello all! It’s been a hectic couple of months, so I haven’t been able to update much lately – the biggest reason being that we now live in a brand-new apartment! And when I say brand-new, I mean the complex was still being built when we signed the lease! I noticed early on that apartments

Winter in Tatebayashi

Hello everyone! Just last Monday we had a snow storm sweep through our region of Japan. Here in Tatebayashi, snow is pretty rare; the temperature rarely dips below -3C/26F, and it’s very dry. About once every ten years or so a big snow storm hits; the most recent was four years ago, our first winter

2018 Tatebayashi Daruma Festival

こんばんは！ Just a small post today – January and February are always slow months for me. My favourite hobby is knitting or writing while nestled warm and cozy underneath our kotatsu (heated table), so I don’t actually get out to do much until the spring weather hits! But every January Tatebayashi holds a Daruma Festival,

New Year Reflections

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Year’s Eve! I’m back at work now, but with nothing to do, woo-hoo! I’ve been reflecting on our lives in 2017 and thinking about what goals I want to set up for myself in 2018. 2017 was a great year for Paul and

Autumn in Tatebayashi

Hello all! Hope you’re doing well. I noticed this week as I was biking to school that the beautiful Japanese maples are now in full colour, so this morning I went to work early and spent half an hour taking pictures at my favourite spots! Every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I bike past and over

This Month in Pictures: September and October 2017

Hello all! It’s finally gotten cooler! Huzzah! Here’s just a quick post of what we’ve been doing this past September and October. The weather has been absolutely perfect! Here’s after a rainstorm we had in September: Last weekend we had a typhoon with heavy rain and some crazy wind that blew down this tree at

Tatebayashi Men-1 Grand Prix

Hello everyone! Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted; I’ve been a bit sick and out-of-sorts, but I’m finally starting to feel better. On October 1st we went to Tatebayashi’s annual Men-1 Grand Prix. Men is the Japanese word for “noodles,” and it is a noodle-lover’s paradise! There were stands from different restaurants all over –