february 5

I have Monday-Wednesday next week off, and thus tomorrow begins the long-awaited February Break. Originally I had wanted to go to the Snow Festival in Hokkaido (northern Japan), featuring giant sculptures made out of snow. But fall break taught me to be careful about traveling, and going to Kobe for the Luminaria taught me just how much Japanese people love both being a tourist, and seasonal activities. So I put the snow festival plan to rest.

Kendall and I wanted to do something together, and the plan that emerged is basically me accompanying her on her research trip. We are first going to Tokyo, where we will go to some seminars on kampo, a traditional medicine practice that originated in China (like a lot of things about Japan). Then we will head to Ueda in Nagano, where we will stay with her old host family from when she came to Japan two years ago. We will go snowboarding on Monday and Tuesday, and then I am returning to Kyoto on the night bus Tuesday night.

Not much else to say. The winter is a test of endurance. But spring is approaching sooner than I think.