It's Snowing on New Year's Eve in Tokyo

Well, the family is gone and they made it home safely. The weather was great while they were here but it has turned colder since. The view here is from my balcony down onto the temple gate below.

I went into work onthe 29th and 30th. The 29th is the "official" last day of work and then there is the week long New Year's holiday which is one of most looked forward to in Japan. On the last day, Chiyoda holds an office party.

Everyone has a drink and there are snacks. Afterwards, it seems to be tradition to go to a karaoke bar at Chiyoda. I went and we had a good time. Since I had not had quite as much to drink as some of the others it was a little bit hard to get me to sing but I finally relented. For those who must know, I sang Hank Williams "Jambalaya" and the old blues song "Stormy Monday". These songs are simple, don't have any vocal range, and nobody there knew if I was singing it right anyway.

My friends from work were a little more lively. They sang Western and Japanese songs in about equal number and I was surprised at how good some of them were. The girls usually danced while they sang and if they did duets they were pretty much dancing in unison - it must have been memorized from the video. Anyway, it was good fun.

Today I have been doing the housework and just relaxing.

Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu - Have a happy New Year!