A week including the three days immediately before and after vernal equinox day is called Higan. During Higan, the spirits of ancestors are recalled, Buddhist rites are carried out and family graves are visited.
My parents-in-law, having an ancestors’ grave in Utsunomiya, visited the grave last week all the way from Tokyo.
My wife and I visited Tagesan Fudouson temple in Utsunomiya and had a short lecture of the temple by the higher rank priest there. I visited the temple several times before, but it was the first time for me to have had the historical and religious explanation of the temple. It was very interesting.
It has been warmer and warmer these days. The cherry blossom top season is just around the corner. 
The first nine years of education, six years elementary school and three years junior high school, are compulsory in Japan. My elder daughter Emi has graduated a junior high school last week. I thought that someday the day would come, but it really came to her.
She goes to a senior high school in Utsunomiya coming April, so our life style does not change much.
But, my friends’ twin daughters go to a high school in different prefecture. The fifteen-year old sisters will live together in different town apart from their parents… sigh. I understand their father’s feelings very much and sympathize him.
The sisters are also my friends. I play tennis with them once or twice a week for more than one year. They used to quarrel each other in every occasion. I thought it was annoying, but to think about that it’s impossible to play tennis with them makes me sad.
I want to congratulate my daughter and the sisters on the graduation and wish their wonderful high school days.
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We had a very noisy day from morning till late evening on the last Saturday. Since, construction workers began building a new condominium across our home. We are living on the 4th flour in a condo. I heard that the new condo would be a 14 stories building. Currently, we have enough sunlight but I am afraid we will not be able to have enough of it.
On January 1st, the day Emi didn’t have a class, we went to Fukudaya department store to buy Fukubukuro (Japanese: 福袋, lucky bag, mystery bag).
Buying Fukubukuro is a Japanese New Year's Day custom. Shop owners make bags filled with random contents and sell them for a substantial discount, usually 50% or more of the list price of the items. My family members except me like buying Fukubukuro very much. Buying Fukubukuro was the only pastime of this New Year’s vacation for them, especially for Emi.
Today, on January second, I went to a gym to exercise and to attend a Yoga lesson. It was good for my loosened body. I check my weight and found myself 2 Kg heavier than usual. I’ll resume working on January 8th. I may gain more if I continue spending days without any exercise. lol
It says, "I wish you a Happy New Year" in Japanese.
When I lived in Tokyo, about 20 years ago, I once rode a hot air balloon with my colleagues. I remember that it was also freezing cold in the morning.
I had come all the way from Tokyo to Watarase Swamp in Tochigi prefecture midnight. In the next morning, we prepared the flight before dawn and lifted off just when it was dawning. We watched the sunrise from the sky. It was amazingly beautiful.
I thought it was cold when we were flying because of the wind. But I could not feel the wind blowing while flying. Do you know why? The reason is simple. The hot air balloon flew at the same speed as that of the air or the wind.
Anyway, I was just a spectator of the race this time. I could not enjoy the view from the sky, though I enjoyed watching colorful balloons in the beautiful autumn sky. It’s worth getting up early on Sunday morning!
Hijiribashi bridge from the platform of Ochanomizu Station
View from Kanda station
Locomotive park in front of Shinbashi station
