Holocaust Memorial Day in Fukushima

Yes, I know it's not Utsunomiya, or even Tochigi, but that's OK. Some things should be talked about (regardless of where they take place) and this is one of them.

 Candles and moon

Ice candle

Monk by the fire

To find out more about this ceremony, visit this post on our other blog. And I wrote about the museum here.

"spring" Otariya at Futaara Shrine

Looking at the fire:

Priests getting ready to do whatever it is they do:

Paper lanterns ready for procession:

Mikoshi - a portable shinto shrine:

And the procession going downtown:

More photos from this event and a brief description can be found on our BudgetTrouble blog here.

We have moved!!!

But no worries, all your comments moved along with the blog.

The new url is here:

Tochigi Daily Photo

See you there! Actually - here, because that's where you are right now. :)

Here are our new digs... (No, not really, just my MIL's rock garden)

Roadside buddha

very nearby our house.

Tokyo Interior fire escape

(no, it's not in Tokyo, it's just the name of a home furnishings store)

New Year door decoration

time to take it down...

New Years Day Banner

Happy New Year!

Crowd at Futara shrine waiting to pray:

Cops maintaining law and order:

Washing hands before praying:

Praying at the shrine:

Tying omikuji:

Happy New Year! Can we go home now?

And the best part of New Year in Japan? Kids get money!

Adorable cash envelopes. :)

To read more about New Year's Day in Japan, go to this post on my other blog.

More lights in Otawara City

they were pretty:

not as magnificent as in Ashikaga, but still, very nice:

and the best part - they were free:

still, was it worth an almost 2 hr drive? nah, maybe not:

This season's theme was "dance":