This morning marks the beginning of our O-Bon ( お盆) holiday.
O-Bon is a Buddhist "holiday" period when families gather and invite the spirits of their ancestors into their homes by hanging lanterns outside their doors. At the end of the holiday they set floating lanterns into a river to lead the spirits back to the other world.
How many families continue this tradition I'm not sure, but these days O-Bon is a time for the living relatives to get together and spend some time catching up, or just relaxing, or, of course, travelling and going to resorts and other hot spots. The dates of O-Bon celebrations vary in different parts of Japan, with Tokyo (and therefore many other places) being in August. Hence, August is the most crowded and expensive time to travel either domestically or internationally.
Like many other places, our company is closed for the week and we are on holiday. Though it seems like we only just returned from a vacation we are already sorely in need of some R&R! We usually go camping or travelling around Japan during O-Bon, but this year we're sticking close to home; we'll go for a few long bike rides, probably do a day of hiking or so, and we were lucky enough to get some last minute reservations at a quaint minshuku (simple Japanese inn) at Shizunami Beach later this week. Just what the doctor ordered!
1 comment:
Wow - I guess you have been working so hard this vacation kind of sneaked up on you :)
Enjoy your rides - take lots of pictures - drink some beers and maybe catch a ball game.
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