After New Years I went to Stockholm with my son Maarten to see where he lives. He does cancer research at the Karolinska Institutet for his Masters for 8 months. He lives again in one room after living in a bigger apartment, but it is still quite big. It also snowed in Stockholm ... Continue Reading
New Years Eve celebrations in Holland are as divers as the people, but with the recent economical situation a lot of people go back to old traditions like having the party at home, watching TV or playing boardgames together. My sister-in-law Inge, my son Roland and niece Esmee. ... Continue Reading
Yesterday, I arrived in the Netherlands. I will spend the Holiday Season here with my family. And it was snowing! What a beautiful way to start the Holiday Season! Continue Reading
It is evening and I hear the frogs croak really loud like a whole orchestra! I arrived here in Miharu, Fukushima last Tuesday to work, throw some pots, at Kusakabe-san’s place and fire a kiln. Miharu means “Three spring”: the first 3 blossoms in spring are: plum ... Continue Reading
Coming-of-Age is a young person’s transition from adolescence to adulthood. Since 1948, the age of majority in Japan has been 20; persons under 20 are not permitted to smoke, drink, or vote. Coming-of-age ceremonies, known as “seijin shiki”, are held on the sec ... Continue Reading
Odawara Castle is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture. It was the stronghold of various daimyo, powerful territorial lords during the Muromachi period of Japanese history. Odawara Castle had very strong defenses, because it was situated on a hill, surrounded ... Continue Reading
The Tsukiji fish market is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors. On the picture, where you see t ... Continue Reading
On New Years Eve we also went to the Hongakuji temple on our way back home. This temple is beautifully decorated with lighted lamps “akachochin” (red lamps) and “shirochochin” (white lamps). This is the Ebisu-do Hall built by the 1st shogun Minamoto Yorit ... Continue Reading
This is a special time in Japan and a lot of people take their days off to visit family and to go to the shrines and temples. Even banks and post offices are closed for several days, so, you have to be prepared. (We ran into this problem 2 years ago and in Japan a lot is paid by ... Continue Reading
After Nikko we traveled to Mashiko. We had to wait a while in the city Utsunomiya to transfer, where we did some shopping and sight seeing.We saw beautiful big neon signs: “Coca Cola”!!! And of course, we found some beautiful Japanese girls! After riding the bus for ... Continue Reading
