Happy 2025!

It's the first day of 2025 and with some free time on my hands, I decided to take a closer look at this blog. It's been a while since I've read my posts, and I always wonder what I'd think of my writing after a while. To my surprise, it's not as cringeworthy as I thought. In fact, I actually enjoyed rereading some of my own thoughts about various stuff, and I'm pleasantly surprised that they're not half as bad. So, I guess I'll keep this blog up and try to write more often -- when have I said that before? In any case, I'm inspired to keep posting about my thoughts and ideas, sharing what I've been up to, and maybe rereading what I've written now and then. 

Speaking of what I've been up to, I'm spending another New Year's in Japan. Yesterday, my wife and I went to Manazuru, a fishing town about an hour and a half from Yokohama, where we are staying. The train ran along the coast on the way there, and there were mountains on the other side, including Mount Fuji. After a delicious curry lunch at a nice place just across the street from the station, we walked about 18 minutes toward the water to pick up the osechi that she had ordered. It was gusty, but it was a quiet hike past private homes and tall walls, and with a lot of hawks flying overhead we wondered what they were preying on. As we got there a bit early, we went down to the beach and found ourselves in a quiet cove; a light surf softly lapped the shore as the wind blew the dry sand into the water. There was just one other person when we got there although Google maps had said the beach was busier than usual. There was a lot more uphill on the way back to the station, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. The weather was beautiful for a winter's day, and we came across what we later learned was the only butcher in town. We ended up buying some meat to take back so we didn't have to stop by the busy shops once we got back to Yokohama.

Mount Fuji by train on the starboard side! It's always exciting to get a glimpse of Fuji San.

A tea pot at the curry place where we stopped for lunch. The restaurant was small and quaint with two tatami rooms. The food was so delicious we ordered two more dishes to take with us, and the owner and chef was very friendly. You'll find them at saamaany-curry.com

Our osechi this year. One side was vegan with "meatloaf" made with lentils. My favorites were the purple yam, sweet potato, and beet purees, as well as the rolled chicken slices. They gave us extra yuzu fruit to compensate for the packaging, which was not exactly like the image shown online. It was not necessary, but we were grateful. You can find them at willd.jp  

An empty beach in a quiet cove. A highway stretched above the water from one end of the opening to the other, and there was an island just a few breaststrokes from shore. I bet swimming to the island and around it is a fun local activity in the summer.