Happy Holidays!

This week we are celebrating not one, but two national public holidays.  Monday was "Respect for the Aged Day".  For real.  It's a day to celebrate old people.  You're supposed to be extra nice to the elderly around you.  We were told that stores sometimes give senior citizens discounts on this day and I read that the Japanese news will do pieces on really old people.  Chad even got the day off to celebrate old people.  It's been a holiday since the 60's but was moved to the third Monday of September to fall in line with the "Happy Monday System", which was a law that moved as many holidays as possible to Mondays so everyone could have a long weekend. 

Tomorrow (Friday) is the Autumnal Equinox as it falls on Japan Standard Time.  Chad gets another day off.  Apparently a long time ago this holiday was celebrated as part of Shinto but it was made more secular after WWII.

Also I am pleased to announce that on this long weekend Tokyo D'Esposito will welcome a guest blogger with an exciting story provided I can nag him into doing it!  Be sure to check it out!

and (because I know everyone only looks
at the pictures) a strange flower that is
showing up all over my yard.....
not very autumn-ish, is it?