One Year!

This month, we have been in Japan one full year! On March 9th of last year, we were touching down in a land neither of us had ever been to before and the rain was pouring.... and continued to pour for days, and then when the sun finally came out, we were rewarded with cherry blossoms! We have seen and done a lot in one year, and I know our Japanese adventures are very far from over. We have fallen in love with sakura (cherry blossoms), ramen, gyoza, curry, Mt. Fuji, tanuki, large-billed crows, the trains, flowers that bloom all winter, and how polite and friendly everyone is. We have been humbled by living without a car and relying completely on walking and public transit. We go through shoes like crazy! It makes me think of pioneers on the Oregon Trail, who did nothing but walk for miles and miles every single day. Although we never have to ford rivers or battle scurvy, a typical day of running errands consists of walking at least 5 miles, 2 of which is just going between our house and the closest train station.

We have made so many new friends and have formed bonds that will no doubt last a life time. We have learned a bit of Japanese and have pretty much mastered the train and bus system. We have tried tons of new food and have loved almost all of it! We learned that Japanese homes lack insulation and are very thin walled - we can watch TV in our house and hear our neighbors eating dinner (literally cutlery touching the plates as they eat). We have also mastered the insane garbage schedule and rules (we have 4 different trash cans).

It took several months, but we have fully settled in here and it now feels like home. Kentucky will always be home of course, but Japan is like home away from home. We don't feel like outsiders or strangers. We can't wait to see what else this lovely country has to offer!