わたなべ四季便り

What a sacred wakame seaweed!

Setsubun is a festival held every year on February 3rd. We throw roasted beans around our house saying "Oni wa soto! Huku wa uchi!" (Devils out! Happiness in!) At the end, we eat as many beans as our age to wish for good health. We prepared lots of fortune Sushi Roll.

I went to a fire festival "Tondo" to take our new years decorations. We believe what we burn at Tondo will get back to the gods. While watching the fire, I wish for good health for the year.

I wish you a year filled with peace and happiness.

The peak of autumn foliage usually comes in mid-November but this year, trees seem so confused by the climate change. Most of Japanese maple trees turned yellow, orange and red in early November and soon after, sadly we could find lots of withered leaves. We all felt so disappointed by the fact because for us Japanese enjoying autumn foliage is one of our biggest events.

Surprisingly, Japanese maple trees in my neighbor finally decided turn their colors. I couldn't believe they were still waiting for the right moment. All right, you are on the right track!