Category Archives: festivals

End of an Era: Goodbye, Nursery School

Posted on April 17, 2018 by

And so it begins. The end of the start of the rest of my children’s childhood. By which I mean our youngest daughter graduated from nursery school / kindergarten. Thinking back, we’ve been coming to our local nursery school every … Continue reading →

Posted in coming of age, day care, education, festivals, Japan, Japanese, Japanese society, nursery school, parenting, school, separation anxiety | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Who was that Masked Flu Avenger?

Posted on March 16, 2017 by

Looking back now, I can laugh. The first week of February was rough. My wife had to work both weekend days, at the end of an already exhausting end-of-semester work week. I had also had little sleep. The previous month, my … Continue reading →

Posted in festivals, health care, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese society, parenting, school, sickness | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

O-shougatsu

Posted on January 3, 2016 by

New Year’s lasts one night of drinks and one day of college football in the US, but in Japan the holidays lasts for three days. Actually, for many the New Year’s holidays start on December 29th, giving the typical worker a … Continue reading →

Posted in eating, entertainment, family outings, festivals, food, hobbies, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, parenting | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Summer Festival: Beat your own drum!

Posted on July 19, 2015 by

Four months ago, we gave away our long-used/abused baby barriers. Yesterday, we helped our children celebrate their nursery school’s summer festival. Time flies… Once again, my wife volunteered to be a member of the Ai-go-kai (愛護会, literally “love protection association,” … Continue reading →

Posted in education, festivals, Japan, Japanese culture, Japanese society, parenting, school, summertime | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nursery Schools: Part II (Finally)

Posted on March 15, 2014 by

As I posted some time ago, we were fortunate that my oldest daughter was able to enter a city-approved nursery school. We were even more fortunate to have first choice on a new housing plot that wasn’t even technically on … Continue reading →

Posted in day care, festivals, Japan, parenting, school, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nenmatsu-nenshi

Posted on January 25, 2011 by

I’ve spent the past five New Year’s at my in-laws’ house in Kagoshima, in the southern island of Kyushu. “Family” consists of my wife’s parents, my brother-in-law (who works at a hospital and is usually on call and/or working throughout … Continue reading →

Posted in family outings, festivals, holidays, inlaws, parenting, Paternity leave, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hina Matsuri

Posted on March 9, 2010 by

Last Wednesday (March 3) was the Hina-matsuri in Japan. Hina-matsuri (usually translated as “Doll’s Festival,” sometimes “Girl’s Festival”) is celebrated by setting up a display of dolls in the house by families that have female children. Since our daughter is … Continue reading →

Posted in festivals, parenting, roles | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment