地域・Local Area

March 28th

This is my first spring in a very long time where I haven’t had a child to prepare for a new school year and I feel like it’s snuck up on me somehow. One minute it’s winter and the next we’re well into spring. It doesn’t help that temperatures here yoyo from the low 10s to the mid 20s on a near-daily basis needing a winter wardrobe one day and t-shirts the next. It’s a busy time for work, and with more inclement weather it’s hard to get out hiking on a Sunday. My husband and I both suffer from seasonal pollen allergies and coupled with a wave of yellow sand it’s a tough season to be outside.

So whilst we may not be able to get out to the mountains as often and even though time is short, I still make sure I get out at least once a week for as long a walk as I can manage. I don’t live in an especially picturesque area but I still love to see what is in flower, what’s growing in the allotments, what insects are out and about and listen to the birds, before they’re drowned out by the cicadas of summer. Even if you’re surrounded by concrete, as I was for many years when I first moved to Japan, there’s invariably a park or wild spot somewhere to head towards. If the weather is favourable you should definitely head out and see what you can find.