Today there was heavy snowfall in Tokyo area. I was literally waiting for this day for a long time (since 2018) and finally today my dream come true. This is meiji jingu area. Looks so beautiful

雪山

Was walking past a park in Arakawa the other day and came across this interesting statue.

I think the name is read as Honda Takatomo (本田 貴侶) but it was difficult to find any information. I kept finding stuff showing the same statue but instead of "聖なるもののリピドー" they all show "聖なるもののリビドー"

I'm not sure what the differences are though.
Perhaps there are multiple statues in different locations?
All the ones I saw referred to this statue in Arakawa though so maybe there's a misprint or something?

Also I'm not sure what "リピドー" or "リビドー" means, but if anyone has any idea about what the statue's meaning is I'd love to hear it!

Either way it's a nice looking statue. I always enjoy finding things like this around different parts of Japan, they really add to the atmosphere of the city.

息子の誕生から100日を記念して、自宅にてお食い初めを行いました。料理もなんとか、手作りすることができました。本人はまだなんのことやら分かってはいない様子ですが、とても素敵な日本の文化だと思います。

例年以上に降った雪の、屋根の雪おろしと屋根からジャンプする子供たちです。最初は怖かったですが、数をこなして勢い良くジャンプもできるように!

北信州に積もった雪の中、新幹線が通り過ぎます。

船橋大神宮

日本の行事 初詣・船橋大神宮

日本の行事 浅草寺

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
At the end of 2021, it snowed so much that the train was suspended. However, I came across such a lyrical landscape.
I'm very lucky!

【2022 初日の出】
冬の高ボッチから…

I didn't have enough space to write it the other day, but after visiting Fukuda Inari Shrine the other day in Nishi-Omiya, Saitama we stopped by a café called Mango Tree Cafe, a small Thai restaurant on the way back to the station.

We'd already eaten, so we just wanted to sit down and relax from all the walking and to catch a break from the cold. We ordered some frozen drinks and a mango ice cream which all tasted quite good. I think the ice cream was the best but I didn't get a picture of it.

I ordered the watermelon frozen juice and it was pretty nice, but they had something called "manaonade" (アンチャンマナオネード) which I guess means "blue tea" or "butterfly pea flower tea-ade" (lol).
It's a type of herbal tea I guess but it seemed interesting. I was considering getting it, but I'd never heard of it before so decided to stay on the safe side and just get the watermelon.

I'll probably try it next time as I know this place is a chain restaurant with other locations in Tokyo. Plus I never really eat Thai food, so it'd be something nice to try for a change

[English／日本語]
Happy New Year to you all! I hope to see you again this year.

In Japan, the new year begins on January 1st. What do you do at the beginning of a new year in your country? This time, I would like to introduce the Japanese New Year.

1) Nengajo（New Year's card）
A letter sent between January 1 and January 7 to wish someone a happy new year is called a nengajo. Recently, many people have been using social networking services instead of letters. Also, New Year's greeting cards cannot be sent to family members or relatives who have passed away in the previous year. Please be careful with this.

2) Hatsuhinode（First sunrise）
The sunrise on the first day of the year is called the "first sunrise" and is considered to be a very good omen. Did you see it?

3) Hatsumode（First visit to a shrine）
A New Year's visit to a shrine to pray for the safety of the year is called "Hatsumode". At Hatsumode, people draw omikuji (fortunes) to tell their fortune for the year and buy good luck charms.

4) Otoshidama（New Year's gift）
Onyedama is money that children can receive on New Year's Day. It is a fun event for children.

5) Osechi cuisine
Osechi-ryori is a New Year's feast. Each of these treats has its own meaning. For example, prawns have a meaning of "long life" because of their bent waist. Also, yellow food is believed to bring good luck with money. This is eaten from January 1st to the 3rd, which also means that you don't have to do any housework for the three days of the New Year.

6) Hstuyume（First dream）
What kind of dream did you have at the beginning of the year? In Japan, it is said to be good luck to dream of "Mt.

May this year be a wonderful one for all of you!

あけましておめでとうございます。今年も宜しくお願いします。

日本は1月1日から新しい年が始まります。みなさんの国では新しい年の始まりに何をしますか？今回は日本のお正月について紹介します。

①年賀状
1月1日から1月7日までの間に送る、新年のお祝いを伝える手紙を「年賀状」といいます。最近は手紙ではなく、SNSなどで済ませる人も多くなっています。また、年賀状は前年に家族や親せきがなくなっている人には送ることがきません。みなさん気を付けてくださいね。

②初日の出
1月1日に昇る太陽を「初日の出」と言います。この初日の出はとても縁起のいいものとされています。みなさんは見ましたか？

③初詣
お正月に1年の無事を祈るために、神社にお参りをすることを「初詣」と言います。初詣では1年の運勢を占うおみくじを引いたり、お守りを買ったりします。

④お年玉
お年玉はお正月に子どもがもらうことができるお金です。子どもたちにとってはお楽しみのイベントだと言えます。

⑤おせち料理
おせち料理はお正月に食べるごちそうのことです。このご馳走には一つ一つ意味があります。例えば、海老は腰が曲がっているため、「長生きできる」という意味があります。また、黄色い食べ物は金運が上がるとされています。これは1月1日から3日まで食べるもので、お正月の3日間家事をしなくてもいいという点もあります。

⑥初夢
みなさんは1年の始まりにどんな夢を見ましたか？日本では「富士山」「鷹」「ナス」の夢を見ると縁起がいいとされています。

今年がみなさんにとって素晴らしい1年でありますように！

岐阜県本巣市で行われる 『馬かけ祭り』
毎年8月1・2日に行われる長屋神社の例祭である。神社創建時の頃から行われるという。岐阜県の重要無形民俗文化財に指定されている。

稚児の舞、山車が曳かれる。祭りの最後には、羽織袴を重ね着した乗り子が馬に乗り、花傘や扇子を開いて境内を回駆け回る、馬引き神事が行われる。重ね着した羽織は徐々に脱いでいき、花吹雪を撒き散らす。

コロナ禍で2年間中止ですが地元の高校生が走る姿は勇ましく映ります。

日本の行事 成田山新勝寺

Wanted to do Hatsumode this year but didn't want to go anywhere crowded, so I decided to go out to Saitama and find a small shrine to visit. Ended up at this tiny shrine in Nishi-Omiya called Fukuda Inari Shrine (福田稲荷神社). It was super small and not a single person was there so it was like we had the whole place to ourselves.

There was no real path leading up to the shrine so we had to walk through a plot of land that wasn't being used but it ended up being a really cool place.
The approach to the shrine was really mysterious and once you get past the second torii gate you can see a bamboo forest surrounding the whole area. It was really neat as I couldn't see any bamboo from the outside and didn't really know what to expect when I visited.

The shrine itself looks almost deserted but somehow still well maintained.
I wanted to go inside to look at the pictures better but obviously I can't so I just admired them from afar.
The temizuya/chozuya (or at least I think it was that, maybe this would be considered a chozubachi?) didn't have a ladle to wash your hands but maybe it has to do with corona.

Anyways, it was a really nice little shrine and is a great place if you're looking for a mini adventure outside of Tokyo.
Or if you want to do Hatsumode and avoid the crowds completely lol.
Also, happy new year!

【春、満開】
日本の春の行事と言えば、、なんと言ってもお花見！！福島県二本松市にある安達ケ原ふるさと村では、満開の桜と五重塔が作り出す絶景を楽しむことができます！

日本の冬

五箇山

富山県にて

雪中の神社

富山県

日本の冬

雪中の山小屋
岐阜県にて

動物も通っていない景色を撮りました

日本の冬
白川郷
岐阜県にて
２０２１・１２・３０

日本の冬

吹雪中の白川郷
岐阜県いて
2021/12/30