The Japanese don't generally move as much as North Americans, though there are some people who are forced to move regularly because of their jobs. Once one buys a house, one usually lives there forever. I've never experienced moving until I left Japan. My parents still live in the same house I grew up in and it is nice that I can go back to it. It has not changed much and it is full of memories of my childhood. Most Japanese probably don't think about moving much. As a result, they tend to keep many things (including unused or unnecessary things) in a rather small house. I am sometimes surprised to find some of things that my mom kept for all these years. Japanese translation

July 7th is Tanabata, Star Festival. People write their wishes on strips of a paper and hang them on leafy bamboo. They are quite pretty and are like summer Christmas trees.

When the weather gets warm, I crave mugicha (roasted barley tea). It is often served cold and is a refreshing summer drink in Japan. It is probably similar to ice tea in North America, but mugicha is not usually sweetened. When I was a child, a big jar of mugicha, made by my mom, was always in the fridge. When I saw the jar of mugicha, I felt summer had arrived. I still like drinking mugicha in the summer. Studies show it may help to reduce stress, which is also good news for me. Japanese translation

June is the rainy season (tsuyu) in Japan. It lasts until mid-July in most parts of Japan, except the northern island, Hokkaido. The Japanese children make a little doll called, "teruteru-bouzu" when they wish for a sunny day. They look like little ghosts that you’d see at Halloween. When I first saw little Halloween ghosts in North America, they reminded me of teruteru-bouzu. There is a song about "teruteru-bouzu." When we were little, we sang this song and flipped a shoe to the sky, and if it lands on its face it would be sunny tomorrow. Such simple fun, isn't it? Japanese translation