Valentine's Day In Japan

 Valentine's Day in Japan is very different to the holiday in the West. Instead of couples exchanging gifts, having romantic dinners or getaways or sending a card to your crush, women give chocolate to men.

This charming tradition has a surprisingly modern origin, dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. Up to this time, Valentine's Day wasn't widely known then confectionery companies began promoting the idea of giving chocolate on February 14th. Early campaigns targeted women, encouraging them to express their feelings through sweets. By the 1970s, it became a nationwide custom.

There are different categories of chocolate.

Giri-choco (義理チョコ)- "Obligation Chocolate" This always made me smile; the idea that you feel obligated to give a gift to someone is very Japanese. This is a big thing at workplaces, bosses, and co-workers are given some chocolate. It's polite and friendly, a way to show appreciation and keep a sense of harmony at work.

Honmei-choco (本命チョコ)- "True Love Chocolate" This is the romantic chocolate, given to husbands, boyfriends or that crush you've had for months. Some ladies go to the trouble of making something themselves!

Tomo-choco (友チョコ) "Friend Chocolate" In the 2000s, giving chocolate to friends became very popular. It's fun, casual and a great way to share sweets with friends. My kids would come home from school with Tomo-choco.

Jibun-choco (自分チョコ)-"Self Chocolate" Many people treat themselves to some special chocolate. Why not?

This is Hannah tomo-choco, her friend gave it to her yesterday.

Hannah's tomo-choco

I know this sounds unfair, the ladies are the only ones giving presents. Not to worry, March 14th is White Day, when the men buy for the ladies!

As is often the case in Japan, the holiday has nothing to do with the Christian idea. Whenever I tell my students that Valentine's Day is named after a Christian saint, they are shocked; to them, it's just about romance and chocolate!

Plans Changed

 I was hoping to go to Home Centre this morning, but David was called into work last night, by the time he gets home, most of the morning has gone. Hopefully, he won't have to work tonight, so we can go tomorrow morning. One good thing about this Home Centre is that they open early, 8:30, so we can go and maybe get what we need without losing the whole morning.

The doors to the tatami room are a disaster. 

The bottom part is because of the cats. Even before the cats started their artwork, the doors had small holes in them, some from when we taught here, years ago, some from my kids, and I think my mother-in-law put her cane through them a few times. The top part looks bad as well; it just doesn't look cared for, with a neglected feel about it. 

The doors to where the Buddhist altar was

Although this one isn't really scratched up, it still looks worn out and needs a refresh.

One friend suggested taking the doors out and having an open area. I like that idea, but in the summer we will need to run an air conditioner, so that's not really feasible. 

I would love to change the doors out completely, but that will take more money, something to plan for!

I'm still trying to tidy my room. Hannah is coming on Friday, the futon that she uses is covered with clean laundry that needs to be put away. We are going to a museum on Saturday, with Christopher. The Fukuoka Art Museum has a special exhibition of Ancient Egypt on loan from the Brooklyn Museum. Hannah has a whole itinerary planned for the day, museum, cat themed bookstore, lunch at Burger King, and then shopping! I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I'm going to have to pace myself!

At least it's slightly warmer than the past few days, which really helps!

A Day Off

 Today is a national holiday, National Foundation Day. This holiday commemorates the legendary founding of Japan. It marks the ascension of Emperor Jimmu to the throne in 660 BC.

I'm not sure why, but we couldn't use the community centre today, maybe there's some event for the holiday. So no classes! I know I'm not teaching that much, but having an extra day off feels very special!

The past few days have been extremely cold, so cold that the only way to do any chores in the house would be to wear a coat and gloves, so I gave up. This morning was slightly warmer, but it was pouring down with rain. I managed to get a few things done. I hope to finish tomorrow!

This afternoon, I gave myself permission to have a nice, relaxing, cosy afternoon. Just me, a cup of cocoa, a few books and Sam, who has decided that my bed is his!

Sam on my bed.

I always think that I have to earn my day! That I have to do something useful to contribute to the home, either by working and bringing in money, or by keeping house or cooking.

I feel guilty if I take time for myself to do nothing that helps others. I feel guilty asking the kids to pay for things, even though they live here, use the power, gas, water and eat the food. I should be able to provide for them. I've come to realise that that is no longer realistic. Once we open our English school here, I hope that I can get some students, so I can teach as well. I enjoy it if I'm not burnt out. To make enough to live and save to improve this house, we need to make about 30,0000 yen a month, about £1450. That's about 40 students, I couldn't teach that many myself.  

Today I gave myself a good talking to and decided that guilt tripping myself because I want to have a nice afternoon isn't helping me. I just get more stressed, end up pushing myself to do more things, make myself miserable and even more tired! I've worked for 35 years, I don't have a pension or savings (long story on both of those issues). I worked right after each child was born, I went back to work a couple of weeks after Hisao died, and I even went back to work the day after I got out of the hospital after having a mastectomy. I think I should allow myself to take things a bit easy!

I'm glad I had today, I'm glad I could read and doze. That I could play with the cats. Maybe these small down times are what growing old is all about.

Tomorrow is trying to figure out what to do with the doors to the tatami room that the cats have destroyed. I'm hoping we can fix them ourselves, as a professional job is very expensive.

Cold But Trying Think Ahead

 As I said yesterday, the winter here has been very mild, until yesterday!

Yesterdays high was 0 °C! Today it got up to 7°C. Still far too cold.

I really wanted to take a shower yesterday, I went to the bathroom, turned around and decided against it!

This morning, Mikey and then Christopher took showers. I asked them to leave the heater on so I could take a shower after! Even though the heater had been on for almost an hour, the changing area of the bathroom was still cold. There was ice on the inside of the window, even with the heater on!

I know I've said I prefer the cold weather, and I do, I also know that in a few months I will be moaning about the heat! But this year it's felt more difficult to deal with than before.

Last winter was a lot colder, but it didn't affect me so much.  I could get jobs done and do chores almost every day. I really don't know if it's being a year older, that my body has aged, and I can't deal with the cold, or more psychological, that I'm feeling colder because of this house and the state that it's in.

I really am trying to find good things here, even just Kevin outside makes me smile.

This is Kevin, in case you didn't read yesterdays post.

I'm trying to figure out what we can change, what we can afford. There is some help from the city. David said that it is mainly for elderly people to make the house safer. I know that I'm not that old yet, but surely making it safe now would be better than waiting until I have a fall or get heat shock because the changing room is freezing after the warm shower!

We have to make money. That is what I'm trying to think about. 

David wants to set up an English school here, and I think it's the best option for us. I can still teach, not little kids, I don't have the energy for that, but otherwise I'm alright!

David is going to start putting leaflets at the end of this month. The school year runs from April to March in Japan, so it's a good chance to get students. 

I keep telling myself we can do this. I'm trying to be positive about this, but as always, doubts creep in. All I know is that if we don't try, then nothing is going to change. At least we have to give it a good try!

Another thing I'm looking forward to is the spring vegetables that will be available soon. Japanese cuisine is very seasonal; each season has its own flavour. Winter is stews, one-pot dishes, ramen, foods that bring comfort and warmth. Yesterday, David made tonjiru, miso soup with pork over udon noodles, very warming and comforting!

Tonjiru soup with udon noodles

Spring foods are lighter somehow. There are a lot of popular sweet foods, like Sakura Mochi, a sweet rice cake wrapped in cherry leaves.

Also, spring cabbage becomes available, which is nice for quick stir-frys! Also, bamboo shoots, used in takenoko gohan, bamboo shoot rice, take a lot of preparation, but it's really nice.

I'm going to pull out some of my cookbooks and see what I can find!

Snow And A Cosy Afternoon

 According to the news, some areas of Japan have been hit by very heavy snow. The snow has been so bad that at least 30 people have lost their lives, hundreds have been injured, and thousands are without power in some prefectures.

When I look at the news, it's hard to believe it's the same country. The winter here has been very mild; temperatures in January broke records for the warmest January, some days it was up to 19C.

Of course, winter isn't over, but I didn't think it would get cold enough to snow! 

Snow has been forecast for the past week. Some days we would get a few flurries, one that lasted just a minute! So when I saw the forecast for last night, I didn't think it would be that bad, until I saw Mikey when he got home from his part-time job delivering newspapers.

Frozen Mikey

I looked out my window and saw this!

I think it snowed.

David sent me some photos from his trip home.

The roads were still clear, but you couldn't see the mountains! It feels very strange not to see the mountains. In Japan, even in the plains, you can see mountains; they are always there. When the weather is like this and the mountains are invisible, it is somehow surreal.

I stepped out to take a short video. I stayed on my front porch.

This afternoon I got comfortable on my bed. This house is awful to warm up. I had planned to do a few things, but freezing fingers put paid to that idea!

I have an electric blanket on my bed and another that fastens around my shoulders. I made myself a nice cup of tea, got my books and got comfortable! I want to do jobs, but I know that I'll just be miserable and in a bad mood if I try to do anything.  So, for today, it's hot tea, a few good books and maybe a movie, if I can find something good to watch!

I forgot to put a photo of Kevin. Kevin is a stone frog that is in the yard! He was covered in snow this morning!

Poor Kevin.

David found this when he clearing part of the garden.

Kevin on better days

I kind of like this!

Voting In Japan

 This weekend is a general election in Japan. The Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi announced this on January 19th, 2026.  Voting is set for February 8th, but you can vote before. David went yesterday because of his schedule.

The whole campaigning and voting system is a bit different here.

Campaiging is short, often just 12 days, because of this compressed timeline there is a burst of intense activity.

The first thing I notice are poster boards going up in various places. 

Board for candidates to put their posters

Each candidate is given a numbered square, only one poster per square is allowed. The boards are put up by the local election commission to make it fair.

Door to door campaiging is banned, the idea is that it would be to easy to influence voters by meeting them face to face. The candiates rely on the poster boards, public speeches and the one thing I hate, sound trucks!

photo by Hustvedt

This is a stock photo but these are the type of trucks that drive slowly around neigbourhoods. They call out the candidates name, saying something like "Please vote for Mr Tanaka" or "Thank you for your support". The noise is incredible. I always feel sorry for people working night shift who need to sleep during the day!

To be eligible to vote you must be a Japanese citizen for both national and local elections. I'm not allowed to vote, even though I have a permanet residence visa. You must be 18 years old to vote. The age was changed in 2015 from 20 to 18.

You have to register in the local registry which requires that you have registered address in that municipality.

Voting takes place in elementary or junior high schools, community centers and muncipal buildings.

One distinctive feature is the ballot itself. Instead of ticking a box or filling in a bubble, Japanese voters have to write out the candidates name.

I often wondered why campaign posters have the names written very clearly. Most candidates use easy kanji and any kanji that might be difficult to read or write is replaced with hiragana.

I'll be glad when this election will be over! The sound trucks drive me crazy. 

Also, we use a community center to teach in so during elections we can't use it. This time was alright but last year there was a local election that was held on a Thursday, we couldn't use the center for three days!

A Bit Better Day

 Even if it started off rather weird.

I woke up at 5 a.m., or rather, I got up at 5 a.m. I'd been awake since 3 a.m.; my allergies have started for real! Two hours of sneezing and snivelling was not nice! 

I made obento and breakfast. I took my painkillers and allergy medicine, both of which make me sleepy, but having both was a double punch! I dozed for a while, but I was feeling very strange. I felt my bed was vibrating, at first I thought it was an earthquake or maybe some big machine in the field behind the house. After a while, I realised it wasn't the bed but my body that was vibrating, at that point I opened my mouth and perceived that I was snoring, and that was what was making me feel vibrations.  I was asleep but aware of things at the same time, very weird.

I did manage to wake up in time to do a few chores, which I'm very happy about. Not a lot, but I want to keep on top of things. I don't mind a few dirty dishes or a bit of dust, but when it builds up, I feel overwhelmed and just don't want to deal with things. Doing something every day really helps!

I made ginger pork for lunch. I got distracted while I waiting for David, yes, I will admit I was scrolling on my phone. David came in and asked why I had only cooked one piece of pork. I had done two, we found the culprit, Fluffy! 

She looks so innocent! I had extra pork, so it wasn't a problem. David washed the sauce off, so she got to eat everything!

After lunch, I had a little walk around the garden. It's still a mess, but buds are starting to come out.

Plum Blossoms, maybe!

I don't know what these are, but they smell nice.

The side of the house we need to get cleared.

These little flowers are blooming all over.

More of these flowers.

I took a little video at the back of the property, behind the storage shed. I was looking at the fields opposite, it all looks abandoned. 

This afternoon I went to a local store with Mikey. One lady approached me, asking "Jackie Sensei desu ka?" "Are you Jackie teacher" As I said yes I reconized her as the mother of one of my students from many years ago. I asked after her daugher, who was a high school student when I was teaching her, she is now 45 years old, with a son in university! It was really nice to meet her, be be reminded of my former student!