I think it’s time to say that celebrating my 22^nd Birthday is now over.  My family have always been there for me, they are very supportive and caring, but this last week has really made me realise how many amazing friends I have. I received many airmail packages and even a song by one of my bestests, Dan Steward. This last week I have racked up the Skype hours and I have really enjoyed lengthy conversations with my nearest and dearest.

Shabu-Shabu 

This is my first and probably my last ever birthday in Japan. I worked in the day time, but I enjoy my job so it wasn't bad at all. In fact it was my first day at a new kindergarten, and they all sang happy birthday to me which was so lovely.  In the evening we went for shabu-shabu (also spelt shyabu-shyabu). Essentially it is a Japanese hot pot consisting of paper thin slices of raw meat and raw vegetables, cooked by each diner at the table in a skillet. The skillet is full of boiling flavoured broth, and you swish your meet into the broth for a few seconds, dip into a sauce and enjoy! The name comes from the sound that is made as the meat is swishing through the broth: ‘swish swish.’

My birthday cake

For 3000 Yen, it was unlimited amounts of meat, vegetables, soft drinks and ice cream for 90 minutes. I ate far too much!!! And to top off the evening I enjoyed several different versions of happy birthday being sung to me by all the restaurant staff and my colleagues and I received a lovely birthday cake and card from the restaurant. It is a great sociable night out and often many Japanese people will serve shabu-shabu in their homes, particularly in the winter to warm you up. 

I received many cards, more than I expected as many of my family sent me birthday wishes before I left. I love getting cards, they mean so much, especially when they contain little message inside as they always make me smile!

My birthday cards hanging up in my room

I particularly loved one from an adult student of mine. The card has a beautiful red and gold Japanese card on the front, which you can remove from the card and use on these hot and humid days. Inside was a lovely message: "Happy Birthday. I hope that you will have many more memorable experiences here with us." 

Origami lily and home-made card

I also received several gifts, but my favourite are those with special meanings. James sent me a lovely couple of cards and an origami lily. Every year he has bought me lilies, as they are my favourite flowers and Lily is also my middle name. Obviously, getting fresh flowers to me this year was a little problematic, so he made it from paper instead! 

I got an omamori お守 from Stephen who is also a teacher here at Hosaka English Academy, it was a very thoughtful gesture from him as I have always wanted one ever since he showed me his omamori when I first arrived. Omamori's are Japanese amulets (charms) commonly sold in religious sites (shrine or temple) often serving to provide various forms of luck or protection. They should be carried around on ones person or tied to a backpack, purse etc. and replaced each year to ward off bad luck from the previous year. They should be treated with respect and the amulet should never be thrown away in general waste, but returned to the place of purchase. This particular Omamori was bought from Mishima Taisha, and provides protection; I carry it with me every day.

Omamori - providing protection

Japanese names are usually written in Kanji, which are characters of usually Chinese origin in Japanese pronunciation. I started to get really interested in Kanji when a student of mine made me a little poster illustrating a few of the possible Kanji for my name. I did not realise the complexity involved in choosing Kanji for your name. A particular Kanji itself can have multiple meanings and pronunciations, one name may have several possible written forms and only one will be correct for a given individual.

The look of your kanji and also the amount of strokes in the Kanji is very important. If there are too many or too little strokes in your Kanji it is thought to bring bad look upon you. A student of mine told me last week that they went to the courts to have his sons name in Kanji changed as a Chinese fortune teller told them that he had one too many stokes in his name.

Kanji for Marion

My Hanko

Anyway I have chosen the following Kanji it means Jasmine (mari) and sound (on), it’s a complicated but visually pleasing Kanji, stable and suited to my personality (so I am told). I now have my very own hand carved Hanko with a big thanks to Sumie-san. It is a beautiful and traditional Japanese gift which I will treasure for the rest of my life. Hankos are personal seals often used instead of a signature; it is a small stamp bearing your name in kanji.  For most things in everyday life such as signing for a parcel, you will be fine just using a signature, but if you need to open a bank account, transfer money, buy a house of get married you need your own hanko. You don’t have to have a posh, hand carved hanko, you can just buy them straight of the shelf but as a result it may hold a very different /peculiar meaning. For example, Ali’s hanko means “turtle hill”. Ha.

And finally how can I forget all the chocolate, Dan, Lewys and Ali you know me well! No more midnight cravings for me for a little while and bye bye beach body. I must say the Terry's chocolate orange was gone straight away, but I am managing to pace myself with the rest.

My new camera 

<<< Oh and this camera was a little treat to myself! A bargain at £240 brand new, lens and warranty! I Love Japan.

I will do some art next week and update the blog. I have had such a busy week that I haven’t had time to do a few sketches.

But once again, thank you to everyone who made my birthday special. 

Marion