I attended Arthur Binard's lecture organized by the Buddhist group in Hiroshima. He is an American poet and translator, and has been living in Japan for 35 years.

Exposure to languages of various contries broadens

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Although I've always wanted to visit Hokkaido, I used to always end up choosing Okinawa over it, but this time, I finally made it to Hokkaido!

The first stop was Asahiyama Zoo, a place I'd been curious about for a long time. This zoo is known for pioneering "behavioral exhibits" where the viewing distance to the animal is very close. It's a rather compact zoo with a historical atmosphere compared to popular zoos on the main island like Higasiyama-zoo, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in educational value. For example, they made the giraffe area lower than where you stand so you are at the giraffe’s eye level, and during “feeding time” they make them come even closer to us. The staff explained some of the giraffe’s characteristics while we were up close and personal with the animals which made it far more memorable.

After the zoo, I hit the road and drove across the expansive landscapes of Hokkaido to see the stunning Blue Pond. The drive itself was an experience that offered breathtaking views of the countryside.

And let's not forget the food! Hokkaido is a foodie’s paradise, and I couldn't resist indulging in some local seafood and soup curry. Absolutely delicious!

What I also love about traveling is observing the local architecture. In Hokkaido, I noticed that most houses have chimneys and double-pane windows. It just screams "snow country," and noticing those small details makes the trip more enriching for me.

I'm already eager to go back. Niseko is definitely on my bucket list, and will probably be the destination for the next visit.

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In Japan we pray for a safe delivery on the day of the dog in the fifth month of pregnancy. What what whaaaaaat???? The day of dog?

There are many shrines, but each shrine enshrines a different God.

For example an Inari shrine like the famous Husimi Inari enshrines a fox.

We write Inari in Kanji as 稲荷.

So Inari Shrines are built to pray for a good harvest, and foxes prey on grain eating mice.

Suitengu 水天宮 is a shrine that pays homage to water, which is flushed from the body during childbirth for a smooth delivery. Suitengu is famous for safe childbirth and enshrines a dog.

therefore dogs are a symbol for an easy delivery.

Japan has 12 zodiac signs, as you know, and we also use them for days.

Nowadays they are rarely used except to pray for safe childbirth and so on.

So I don’t know the details, but there are 60 combinations with other things.

Don’t ask me what they are though.

Anyway… May 16th was the day of the dog and my daughter is 5months pregnant now so we went Suitengu to pray for a safe birth.

On top of that, that day was a “Taian” 大安 day known as rokuyo.

The Japanese calendar is so complicated!!!

For this reason it was extremely crowded.

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