A Happy Golden Week!

This is probably more relevant to our members residing in Japan, but we want to wish you a pleasant and enjoyable Golden Week, this year 10 days long thanks to the imperial succession!

A lot of people seem to make the most of the uncommonly long holiday and travel abroad, others - like us - will stay at home indulging in the tranquillity and serenity of empty neighbourhoods. But not everyone seems to be ecstatic:




How will you be spending the expanded Golden Week holidays?


For those who are not familiar with GW:

Holidays - Golden Week

Today we are going to go to Munakata Taisha in Fukuoka. I'll try to take some pictures and post them. Sun is shinning now so it should be a fine day. Although the temperature may only reach 17c, a bit cold still.

Have a nice trip, looking forward to your pictures!

thomas said:

Have a nice trip, looking forward to your pictures!

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Thank you thomas.

I've never been to that part of Fukuoka, but I think the wife has in her college years. Today I really feel it might be a "memory lane" type of trip for her, not sure why, but that is how I feel. She just isn't one for visiting shrines and temples here in Japan. So other then taking pictures, I'm really going to watch her reactions to going there.

Sweet collage days... Have a nice trip, musicisgood-san!
I need to stay in my office in the first half of this GW. I also have a local festival on April 29, and have to participate in it.
It's a bit cold also here in the last few days. Hope the second half of GW is fine...

Toritoribe said:

I need to stay in my office in the first half of this GW. I also have a local festival on April 29, and have to participate in it.

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Hang in there, @Toritoribe san, still plenty of holidays left! And enjoy your matsuri!

Toritoribe said:

Sweet collage days... Have a nice trip, musicisgood-san!
I need to stay in my office in the first half of this GW. I also have a local festival on April 29, and have to participate in it.
It's a bit cold also here in the last few days. Hope the second half of GW is fine...

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Thanks Tori
Yes, it's a bit cold here also this morning. 17c I think it will max out. Not sure what the weather will be at Munakata Taisha since I have a feeling it up in the mountains in the countryside.
Not really much on Youtube about it other then it says its actually 3 temples/shrines. But the sun is out here so should be fine picture taking day.

Wow! You have have to work, sounds like the wife. She'll be 71 in a few months, I just don't understand Japanese work ethnics. Why?
I gave up on trying to find out why and just have to live with it. But damn I'm not Japanese.

Frankly, I stopped giving much thought to GW since a fair number of years ago. I seem to remember that the don't-care attitude started about when my daughter entered high school, as we all know that is show-time for those that want to get serious about moving into the post-high school schooling in this country. GW was time for extra study and so no more driving all over the place, and so on.

But this one of so many days, and I am not 100% sold on it strictly being for the honoring of the incoming new royal boss --- that Abe fella is mighty sneaky about certain things --- anyway, this length of so many days offers a really neat opportunity to create an interesting image that I do not think one has ever seen before on a certain government website.

Anybody want to try and guess what I have in mind?

And a very interesting thing seems to have crossed paths, musicisgood. I just sent my daughter a C-mail message about --- just checked 1932hrs --- I was informing her that government work is every day and all day and for some there is never a chance for the same type holidays as others.. The firefighters are still at their duty stations. The police have it a tad harder during these special holidays. Then you have the transportation workers in civilian jobs that are going to be really stressed out.

But I was thinking about that comment on work ethics, and I can assure you, it was a whole mess different about 30 plus years back. No, even further back. But the thing is that it seems a lot less folks work on Saturdays now, for starters.

Oh what the heck. I'm just an old man. Things and attitudes change. I know I put in way too many hours a day these days, but my time is now going to be a heck of a lot shorter on the surface of this planet and I have some work that needs doing, so I have no choice. My wife works with handicapped folks and she claims she's in her 60s, but I think that is an untruth and she is trying to trick me and she is really down around 40ish something. But the point is, them handicapped folks can be mighty difficult at times. Must admit it worries me a tad too much.

Okay, I better stop rambling.

Happy EGW, everyone! I mean, we have to give this one a special name, yes? Extra Golden Week is not too bad. I'm sure someone has a better idea.

First day was nice to get outdoors, but yesterday and today its a bit rainy.
Hope to make it to Fukuoka on the 5th. Was going to the "Friendship Day" at the military base in Iwakuni, but wife wants to see the festival in Fukuoka, me too!