2019年1月26日土曜日 - 
John - January 2019
I had a wonderful New Year holiday with my wife and her
family this year. As tradition dictates we went to her hometown in Ehime, Shikoku and visited her
family. They had booked some private wood cabins in the mountains for a Kanreki party as two people had turned
sixty. We had a marvelous
dinner, the red clothes were funny and we alsohad a bingo game with many small prizes, which everybody enjoyed. I always feel like a very lucky man every time I meet her family as they make me feel so welcome and they are all very kind.
We also had a great home party the next day where I tried kani shabu for the first time. I'm not a
big seafood man but it was delicious. Japanese TV at New Year is also very
interesting. The younger cousins loved the big music shows and it was
fascinating to see what kind of music and celebrities were popular in 2018.
Japanese game shows are always very entertaining. This time I saw one about
which product was generic
or super expensive, which was fun to play along to. At New Year I always enjoy
the Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya
Arahende!! - No Laughing Batsu Game
despite not fully understanding
everything that's going on.
Last year was quite a stressful year in many ways so I'm
hoping this year is more relaxing and that I can visit more of the beautiful
Japanese countryside. Last year I went to Nagano for the first time, which was
fantastic so maybe I can get back there this year.
Hopefully, everyone can have a good year
and enjoy themselves.
As tradition dictates：伝統が語り継がれているとおり
marvelous：素晴らしい
prizes：賞品
generic：一般的な
despite：～にもかかわらず
Hopefully：～だといいですね