So, in November the kids celebrated 七五三（しちごさん）shichi – go -san, which literally means 7 – 5- 3. In Japanese tradition, these are the ages boys and girls could wear a kimono for the first time and would mark a special time for them. So on a day in November boys ages 5 and girls ages 3 [...]
Posts under ‘Family and Friends’
Our First Undokai 運動会 Sports Day
There is a Japanese national holiday on the second Monday of October known as Health and Sports Day, a day to promote health and physical and mental well-being. Many schools, including ours, hold a sports day during this time, which is like a mini-Olympics with games and some little choreographed performances by each grade. [...]
Best Friends With Babies
The trio are all mothers now. We’ve been friends since the 4th grade and have gone through a lot together. We all live far away from each other but we finally had a little reunion in NYC. Hopefully we can do it more often. It was their first meeting but it didn’t take long for [...]
Bobby and Steve We looked after these two little guys while in New York. To this day when Arisa sees a picture of a cat or any cat walking by, she calls it Steve or Bobby.
What’s for Brunch?
The Popover Cafe, New York City I miss brunch. I can eat Eggs Benedict, waffles with sausage, or a stack of pancakes at any time of the day. But I do love a hearty breakfast served at noon. On our last weekend in NYC, my family took the kids and I to a yummy Sunday [...]
New York Stories
Last month the kids and I had the chance to visit my home state and stay at an amazing beach-front house on Long Island, which is just about an hour east of Manhattan. It was like being in a peaceful oasis so close to the city. Too bad it was winter in New York at [...]
Holiday Memories
The end of last year went by like a whirlwind. My folks were in town and Keiji and Arisa always enjoy quality time with their grandparents. Soon after they left we had to prepare for our trip and deal with boring things like getting my re-entry permit at Immigration office. It’s really only now that [...]
Shichi-go-san 七五三
Shichi go san, are the numbers seven, five and three in Japanese. Shichi-go-san is also the celebration for boys who are 5 years old and girls are 3 and 7 years old. After doing a little research I found that the tradition started around the Heian period (794-1185). The nobles considered these ages a very [...]