Daniel

Car completely covered in snow.

My first true snow day..that is a lot of frozen water.

A whipped cream, Oreo and orange slice cake. Yes really.

On Friday instead of English lesson the kids made a cake. Not sure I would have picked this combination of ingredients but the kids liked it.

Selfie of the front of the Izumo Shrine with the Tori gate and shrine name in the background.

Me under the large beaded rope at the shrine

Made it out to Izumo this weekend and went to the shrine there. Great trip. #japan #livingabroad

Your wife is an artificer with some levels in garden witch.

YouTube video by DanInInaka It Snowed!! - Living In Japan Episode 11

It Snowed!! - Living In Japan Episode 11
youtu.be/rxNI5NmuX

An update on things and some footage of it snowing outside my apartment. #japan #livingabroad

Snow from my apartment doorway

Today it is full on snowing. Quite an experience for someone from southern Texas. #japan #livingabroad

Foggy view of mountains

Today I visited the other middle school in town and had a great time meeting some new students. Glad I made the journey over here. #japan #livingabroad

Selfie with Christmas lights in the background.

Enjoyed an event at Shishi town center they called ‘Illumination’. Basically Christmas lights they put up around the playground area. It was a ton of fun and got to chat with some of the locals I hadn’t met yet.
#japan #livingabroad

Snowy town photo

Selfie in front of my school.

First snow of the year and first time for me living where it snows. Driving wasn’t too bad, though I worry when it builds up.
#livingabroad #japan

Bath tub with water and sliced yuzu in it.

Feeling a little under the weather today so taking advantage of some of my coworkers gifts and doing a yuzu bath.

Sign from the Coffee hot spring with instructions not to drink the bath water even though it smells good.

My birthday present was a trip to Yunessun, a hot springs water park in Hakone. They have some oddly themed baths and some entertaining signs.

A drawn birthday card with an illustration of me done by a child.

My kids are great. One of the best presents I’ve received for my birthday.

It was quite tasty. I used dashi stock, mirin, soy sauce and sake for the sauce.

Sliced daikon and pork being simmered in sauce.

One off students gave me a daikon for my birthday so here are the first attempts at cooking with daikon.

#japan #livingabroad

Several Japanese drums laid out for use in a gym.

Tuesday night is Taiko drumming night. Enjoying practicing with the community, and looking forward to getting to perform what I have learned at a festival.

Two separate servings of okonomiyaki on the table grill.

Took a trip into Miyoshi to shop for a winter coat for me. While there we stopped by the station for lunch and my fellow ALT tried Okonomiyaki for the first time. Delicious.

#japan #livingabroad

An ongoing game of Settlers of Catan.

This is my first Thanksgiving not at home with my family, thankfully my fellow ALTs were putting on their own celebration with a pot luck dinner and board games. Greatly enjoyed spending time with them and getting out of my small town for the day.
#japan #livingabroad

Truly Mother Nature is inconsiderate.

A shot from inside the car showing the windshield is iced over.

Yesterday I was talking about fall colors and today I wake up to this? Japan, I’m already scared of the snow, don’t make it come so quickly.

#japan #livingabroad

Trees with fall leaves seen through the front window of a car.

I often joke about Texas only having 2 seasons, summer and not summer.

Living someplace with a real fall has been an interesting experience. I am very surprised at how quickly we went from vibrant green full tress through the reds to yellow and losing leaves.

#livingabroad #japan

Japanese buildings in the countryside with a cloudy road.

The weather today is the beginning of the shift into cold. Will be changing out for snow tires later this week, still absolutely georgeus, even after 4 months here.

#Japan #livingabroad

Today I was invited to read at my local library. The librarians were incredibly nice, we took some time to practice our language skills (me my Japanese and them their English). Reading to the community’s children was a blast, despite some initial hesitance on their part. They also gave some snacks.

Personally I always come back to Chrono Trigger. It was a game I spent hundreds of hours on as a child and was the furst game I played where tue ending changed based on my actions. Yes it’s a minimal amount compared to now but back then it was mind blowing.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a local shrine celebration where they performed a traditional Kagura dance. What an experience.

#japan