Bridget was in rare form this day. She decided to dress herself in black diamonds and chains, complete down to black socks, black jewled headband, and dark blue shoes (she doesn't have any black ones). I am not sure what suggested this outfit to her but what are you going to do? Notice that she has to dance with one hand to keep the hair out of her eyes.
We had fun last night; the girls went Trick-or-Treating with about 15 other kids to about, well, 8 houses. Most of the Japanese haven't caught on to this great tradition yet. But at least each house gave us handful of candy, so the girls were happy! P.S., can you spot them? Clue: Bridget switched to a more weather-appropriate costume.
We live in the Yagoto prefecture of Nagoya, and we're a half mile away from one of the biggest and oldest Pagodas. It's five stories high and dates back to the early 1800's. This particular festival is one where the Japanese write the names of their ancestors on blocks of wood and cast them into a huge fire at the top of the hill. I think the idea is that the ashes then float into heaven... it was nice to watch them do this, as it obviously was meaningful for them. After the festival was over, the girls got to help blow out the rows and rows of candles.
We went to the Nagoya Samauri parade a few weeks ago, and I just had to post this picture especially for our good friend from Connecticut, Jackson Chaffin. Last week I read he was singing, "the Ninjas on the bus go Hi-ya! Hi-ya! Hi-ya!...(you know the rest)". Actually, I guess these are Samauri Warriors, but close enough...
