Victoria's Blog

If you ask a Japanese person what image they have of a temple, they will more often than not say, `funerals`. Often the first encounter a Japanese person has with a temple or a Buddhist priest is when a relative dies and they become involved with the funeral process.

Sunday of last week was a very busy day, I found myself booked to be at three different places, all at the same time. As much as I would like to transcend my body and be everything to everyone everywhere.....some things are just not possible.

This morning, when I took my oldest son to school at 5:30am, the sign at the side of the road told me that it was minus 5.  I had been toying with the idea of changing my snow tyres to normal tyres, but I will just wait until the middle of April, just to be sure I don't get caught out by late snow.

Today I gave a memorial service at a member's house and it was such a quirky, funny experience that I thought I would share it here. 

The months of January and February are very cold here in Takachiho. The cold wouldn't be too bad, if only the houses were made to withstand this cold! The outside temperature gets down to about minus 8 or 9 on a regular basis, and the living room is 2 degrees when I wake up in the morning. So, I do not recommend visiting us at this time of year at all, unless you are an outdoor survivalist-type.