January 3, 2015 Today is traditionally the final day of the long New Year holiday in Japan. This is the day when many Japanese realize that staying at home with your family for two or three long days and cold nights is not always a great way to spend an extended holiday. (A common sentiment for many Americans, also.) Others wake up and look at those store-made party trays of half-eaten deep-fried foods, bags of stale soba noodles, and now odd-smelling off-color packs of sashimi and remember that they were purchased on December 31, are probably no longer truly edible and dont want to later require a trip to the hospital. And some people remember that they need to visit the local shrine; especially when nagging grandparents are warning that without a proper shrine visit the whole family is likely to suffer an entire year of unlucky and dire consequences. Today, many people will likely be going out to shop, go to a park or other entertainment place. Perhaps you should, too! The weather may not be ideal (cold and cloudy) but this is winter in Okinawa; and it is much better conditions than the snowy, icy, frigid weather most of mainland Japan is experiencing. This is also a favorite time for some people to go to touristy attractions because it is not blistering hot (do I need to remind you about summer weather in Okinawa?) ******************************* Most Farmers Markets are closed today, and likely the small independent ones will also be closed tomorrow because it is Sunday. All the grocery stores and shopping centers are open regular hours, and usually have a nice selection of produce even during holidays. Many stores also likely still have some special New Years foods available. At various times during the day the large shopping centers will have special entertainment events, primarily focused on keeping energetic children from running in combat style zig-zag patterns through the corridors full of shoppers. Hope you enjoy the day. Whether visiting a shrine, shopping, or just walking in a park, make it a great holiday! :-)
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 00:08:49 +0000
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