It was a mellow day at home with the family. The highlight was a walk around the neighborhood with my sister-in-law, Alejandra and a visit to our local Shinto shrine. On the days after the New Year, the Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are full of people paying respect to their ancestors and praying for a good 2018.
The Kasuga Shrine in our neighborhood had serve-yourself amazake drink station. Amazake is a fermented rice drink that is sweeter than sake and has less alcohol. The fermentation process gives it lots of nutrients. It is traditionally served at shrines and is regarded as a winter drink in Japan.
I forget how nice and peaceful it is to live in our neighborhood of Onohara-nishi. Seeing it through the eyes of a visitor helps me see the landscape with fresh eyes. There are plenty of farmers’ fields mixed with parks and traditional Japanese homes. It was a beautiful winter walk this afternoon.
I did some school work in the morning and went for a bike ride around Expo Park. Nadia made a delicious dinner of salmon. The kids played at the park for most of the afternoon.
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