2008 Archive

matsuri2007_1.jpg

It was that time of year again--time for the Autumn
Festival.  I live in a rural part of
Kanonji, away from the main downtown area. 
The district is called Furukawa-Cho. 
In Kanonji, a lot of the districts near the city center will have their
festival on the same day, later in the month of October.

I arrived in Kokubunji in the summer feeling hot, tired, nervous and depressed. This seemingly quaint town was to be my home for a year; these interesting people who would not look me in the eye and who treated me like some kind of V.I.P. were to be my colleagues, companions, and neighbours. What was I doing here?

I have lived in Japan for nearly 20 years. Like a lot of foreigners, Japanese people often ask me to tell them what my first impression in Japan was.