Welcome Spring in Japan 2/3

My Japanese calendar has rabbits in every month's picture, since 2011 in the Year of the Rabbit. This is February's . . .


Traditional Japanese first day of spring is February 3 - Setsubun - and I wanted fresh flowers to remind me since we have had a VERY cold & long winter this year. I have worn socks for about 6 weeks now! Some winters I have not worn socks at all! So, I went to a local market and bought these tulips & iris, strawberries, eggs & cherry tomatoes for about 1100 yen - $13.50.


May sound expensive, but all are fresh & local. The strawberries & tomatoes are vine-ripened, perfect & delicious! The eggs (10 instead of 12 - metric system!) are firm with dark golden yolks, indicating they are from healthy, active chickens who have NOT been pumped full of hormones & antibiotics . . .

Watch a cute & brief video about Setsubun - made by a primary teacher so perfect to share with children: RIGHT HERE!


We're probably YEARS behind everyone else, but we *finally* bought a big screen LED TV & Sachi really LOVES it! We watch lots of nature shows on Japanese TV. Of course, we had to practically rearrange the whole house to make room, but at least now I can see it from the kitchen while I prepare dinner- Yay!