winter in the inaka

celebrating holidays and sharing updates in kamikatsu

in this week’s newsletter: life lately in japan, celebrating the holidays with community in kamikatsu, participating in japanese traditions, and finding rest along the way

dear penpals -

(a very late) 明けましておめでとうございます! [a·ke·ma·shi·te·o·me·de·to·u·go·za·i·ma·su] (meaning: happy new year!) sending you the happiest of all happy new year wishes as we start (14 days into) 2023!

since i last appeared in your inbox, i have both traveled to a new country for the first time (new vlog coming soon!) and chosen to stay within the comforts of home this winter. i have loved both the excitement of traveling and the coziness of being wrapped in a blanket burrito (trying my best to survive the inaka cold).

it has been a few weeks of adventure, of laughter, of celebration, and rest. and i’m excited to share some pretty big and exciting updates that have been going on since i last posted!

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christmas in kamikatsu

i came home from traveling just in time to celebrate the christmas holidays with my community in kamikatsu and i’m so glad i made it home for this. typically, christmas in japan is quite different from the west, where it’s more-so celebrated on the 24th, very couples oriented, and, for some odd reason, a day to eat KFC chicken hahah.

although growing up, my family rarely had any christmas traditions, we wanted to share the family and community oriented piece of the holidays with the locals here. so, for the past few years, people from around the village would gather on christmas at the cafe to share a meal and spend time with one another… and i’m glad i got to be a part of it this year.

we had a potluck (i ate WAY too much food as evident in the top right photo hahah), did a zero-waste secret santa gift exchange, and chatted well into the night. we laughed, we drank (some a little too much), we cried (and that’s okay), and celebrated together. maybe this moment, with these people, is the start of making new traditions. to everyone pictured in these photos, i’m so glad to call you my community.

photo credit to the ever so talented イマジンさん!

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new year’s in japan

after spending the holidays with multiple gatherings, multiple parties, multiple hangouts, my exhausted and tired body was ready for some rest. like christmas, i never grew up doing anything “special” to celebrate new year’s eve. i’m definitely the one who is happily in bed before the clock strikes midnight, but after much push to make this day special, i (barely) made it to 2023.

celebrating the start of a new year is a big thing in japanese culture, we definitely love it more than any holidays combined, and growing up we would do our best to bring some parts of this tradition back home in canada. but it was such a special way to start 2023 by going back to my roots, going back to tradition, and celebrating it - really celebrating it - for the first time.

we packed our car with extra blankets and snacks, drove to hiwasa to visit the 薬王寺 [ya·ku·o·u·ji] temple, paid our respects, learned about traditions, and even got our fortune for the 2023 new year! we then took some well loved time by the ocean to journal while having the laughter of children and the mighty ocean waves as our soundtrack. we went on a hike, climbed the edge of cliffs, and attempted our 温泉 [o·n·se·n] (meaning hot springs) version of the polar bear dip.

being in japan for the first time to witness all the seasons, all the traditions, all the holidays holds a special place in my heart. as an adult, i appreciate the dedication my family had to visit my grandparents during summer break, but there’s something powerful, beautiful, heart-warming and heart-breaking, to be able to see this country, these people, nature, and life as it ebbs and flows with each passing day. and although my fingers are freezing while typing this newsletter, i’m thankful for this winter season that i get to experience for the first time.

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surprise update: i’ve moved!

no, not out of kamikatsu, only just a few minutes walk away from my sister’s place and even closer to the cafe, but it’s a place that i’m happy to call my own for the next little while. welcome to tiny home! the tiniest of all tiny homes!

it was an immense struggle negotiating with the kamikatsu town office to rent this place, but i think because of all the paperwork, the documents, the back-and-forth discussions, and the immense headache that went into this process. having this place makes me appreciate tiny home even more.

i vacuumed, i dusted, i got down on my hands and knees to scrub every inch of this home. i drove to the city to furnish this place, got way too excited over storage boxes and kitchen cutlery, and slowly finding my rhythm of living (a bit) more independently.

i’m glad i listened to that silent tug on my heart telling me to plant my roots a little deeper in this place, in this village, in this country. and i’m excited to see how i’ll keep making this place my new home for the next little while.

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mantra for 2023

i’m not someone who makes goals or resolutions for the new year, but since a few years ago, i started using a yearly mantra (a word or phrase spoken to yourself in repetition to inspire, motivate, affirm, and ground you) and always love finding out what each year’s mantra will be.

this year i landed on “i am resilient to try and try again” and with that one of the things i wanted to try (and try again) is actually keeping up with a daily sketchbook. if you’ve read my 2023 stationery line up post (long newsletter here) one of the things i wanted to do was sketch more. so, for accountability purposes, i’m ending each newsletter with my weekly sketches here. it’s a part gratitude - part sketching journal of the smaller, daily moments in my life that continues to bring me joy.

thanks for joining me on this art-chive journey.

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