Golden Week

Last week was Golden Week, a string of national holidays including Showa Day--a controversial holiday instituted for the first time this year to honour the birthday of Emperor Hirohito, reigning emperor before, during and after WWII. This year Golden Week fell mostly on the weekend so I didn't actually get much time off. Still, I was lucky enough to spend several days in Kyoto and Osaka with my friend Aaron, one of the current Shansi-in-China Fellows who hopped over to Japan for a visit.