It feels the coldest time of the year is over and we are able to enjoy warmth of the sun shine more and more with every passing day.
This was the first winter in our current location in Iwate. Being cold was no fun. It made us less active. Brian was working until the end of January. With all the unknown elements of winter, we were just living one day at a time. All we can say is that we made it through!
Come March, it will be our one year anniversary since we moved here. It gives us more confidence as we have better ideas of what to expect in the coming years. That is a good feeling, and we only look forward to more new adventures.
Here are some pictures recapping our winter;
Brian started his new job at a sake brewery Iwanoi from November 2025. Despite his initial reluctance, I am sure he learnt a lot and had great time working along his wonderful colleagues.
Steaming rice;
Rice germinated with koji germs;
This year we decided to replace our plastic christmas tree with a real tree! The boys and Brian went looking for a tree in the forest. They said it was not as easy finding one but they settled with this.
Say bye-bye to our little plastic tree!
Trying to figure out how to make the tree stand. Brian always figures out a way.
The lights are on, some ornaments the children crafted are hung. Now the children just count the days till the christmas day.
One thing we have been acquainting ourselves with is the idea of hunting. In recent years we are told there are more and more wild animals seen in the residential areas. This affects farmers and residents. More people are getting a hunting license. Brian was also asked if he would take an exam for a license but he had to pass this time due to the language barrier.
This little heater got us through the winter. It is not quite powerful enough to heat the entire room so we all end up sitting around. It is nice as it keeps the family together but fights often erupt between children. Some got burnt…
When Brian is not at brewery, he is constantly chopping wood.
We had to watch how fast we go through the firewood. We would often get very close to not having anymore wood.
Kids playing outside is a sign that it is getting warmer outside.